A NUMBER OF ARMENIAN POLITICAL-PUBLIC ORGANIZATIONS DEMAND RECONSIDERING TREATY OF KARS

Noyan Tapan
Feb 21 2007

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 21, NOYAN TAPAN. Reconsidering the Treaty of Kars
and starting new negotiations around it should become one of pivotal
directions of Armenian foreign policy. The Azgayin Miabanutyan Ukht,
Armenian Progressive United Communist Party, United Communist Party
of Armenia, Armenian Aryan Union, representatives of Azat Hayk,
Huys and Apaven, Mitk NGOs made such a joint statement on February
21. These organizations are going to apply to RA and NKR Presidents,
National Assemblies and governments demanding touching upon this issue
and holding special hearings at RA NA dedicated to the Treaty of Kars.

Rafayel Hambartsumian, Chairman of Azgayin Miabanutyan Ukht Party, said
that by the Treaty of Kars signed on October 13, 1921 between three
Transcaucasian states – Armenia, Georgia, Azerbaijan, and Turkey with
participation of Soviet Russia, Nakhichevan passed under Azerbaijan’s
subordination. After the collapse of the USSR, in R. Hambartsumian’s
words, Azerbaijan refused to be considered the legal successor of
Soviet Azerbaijan. But up to present "it is trying to appropriate"
the territories under Soviet Azerbaijan’s subordination – Nakhichevan
and Karabakh.

In the words of Yuri Manukian, leader of United Communist Party, the
issue of Nakhichevan should become a pan-national issue: this is not
only the matter of RA government or Foreign Ministry. At the same time,
he said that unless their demands are satisfied, the coming generation
"will not condemn them for inactivity."