NOT GOING TO BAKU IS THE COMPROMISE, GOOD GOVERNANCE IS THE RESOLUTION

Lragir, Armenia
Nov 15 2006

The Brotherhood of the Liberation War Council of Commanders made
a statement November 15 calling all the classes of the society to
join the Movement of Civil Disobedience to overcome the danger to
the future of the state not to lose the victory in the Karabakh war
and the statehood. The head of the Yerkrapah Union Arkady Karapetyan,
who was one of the commanders of the Karabakh force during the war,
read the statement at the Hayeli Club. The call for civil disobedience
is not related to the election, but the goal is change of power in
Armenia. "If people disobey now, and disobedience means that you do
not recognize that this man is your president, it means you are ready
to do everything. You can say hey, go away, let one of us replace
you who will prove that they deserve to rule, to be our leader with
the life he lives, morality, abilities," says Arkady Karapetyan. The
former commanders of the war in Artsakh forming the Brotherhood
of the Liberation War are worried by the likelihood to return the
liberated territories the minister of foreign affairs, the minster
of defense and the president display. "If Serge announces that this
is a security area, we have to bargain, and so on, and so forth, they
have been carrying on with this for two-three years. Not once or twice.

They instill in people’s consciousness that it is not ours, it has
been occupied. The word "occupied" already means that it is not ours,"
says Arkady Karapetyan. He says Aghdam is our homeland, and all the
other liberated territories.

Arkady Karapetyan says the population of Karabakh does not accept
any approach involving return of the territories but they are trying
to create an atmosphere there as well. However, the leader of the
yerkrapahs of Karabakh says these attempts may lead to terrible
consequences, including shots. Arkady Karapetyan says it does not
mean that a civil war may start. "What civil war can there be? The
question of several people will be settled," says Arkady Karapetyan.

He has his proposal regarding the compromise. If the Armenians stopped
and did not occupy Baku, it is already a compromise, thinks Arkady
Karapetyan. He says it does not mean that they are militaristic. "A
normal person, who saw the war, does not want war.

The war is a terrible thing, I do not want. I lost people in that war,"
says Arkady Karapetyan.

He emphasizes that the call for civil disobedience is not only for the
territories but also for the state of the country. "Today, according
to their indexes, an Armenian family has 1.6 child. In other words,
the nation is dying, the nation is dying due to this policy. So what do
territories mean, what does the state mean, what does Armenia mean and
what does Karabakh mean? The land is yours if you can keep it. When
you lead your nation to this state, the land is not yours. And they
are demolishing the nation. When the nation is demolished, how can
it keep the land, preserve its values? And if we have no values,
we cannot preserve anything," says Arkady Karapetyan.

Therefore, he states that the key to the Karabakh issue and the
resolution of the national and public problems is building a normal
state, which is worth something, which has something to say.

"Six or seven years ago an American ethnographer came and asked how we
imagine the resolution of the Karabakh conlfict. He said if the problem
is solved, the blockade will be lifted, and so on. I told him that the
settlement of the Karabakh issue is not related to the blockade, and we
are not in a blockade. There was a blockade in Japan, in Israel, it was
really tough, but these states, Japan, for instance, prospers. He said
Japan has friends with powerful economies. You answered your question,
I said. I said you need us because we live in this part of the Earth
and because we are Armenians. We are not Iranians, although we have
a common root, we are not Russians, although we want to be close to
Russia. We are not Turks, we are not Georgians, therefore you need
us. He said you are right," tells Arkady Karapetyan presenting his
idea of the settlement of the issue through this story. He clarifies
that the problem of Armenia is not Karabakh but bad leaders.