Karabakh was on the verge of dictatorship

09-03-2007 18:59:16 – KarabakhOpen

`We were on the verge of self-destruction, and the line we adopted in
1999 saved the people of Karabakh. We were on the verge of becoming a
dictatorship because arbitrariness was becoming a law for most
people,’ said NKR President Arkady Ghukasyan in a meeting at Artsakh
State University yesterday.

He reminded about the post-war situation in Nagorno Karabakh which was
leading the country to a military junta. `There was autocracy in
Karabakh for some time. People were killed, violated, and nobody was
punished, and nobody could do anything about it. My supporters and I
choose another track leading to the establishment of a system in the
country in which people leave without fear. It was the most important
thing. Now people live without fear in Karabakh, there is freedom of
speech, without transgressing borders though. Anyone can criticize the
president, the government. No opposition force underwent pressure,
violence, they have freedom of speech,’ the president said.

Arkady Ghukasyan emphasized that by the level of democracy Karabakh is
ahead of the post-Soviet countries. The president also emphasized that
there are no governmental media in the country which focus on
criticism against the opposition, while the opposition keeps
criticizing the government. The president thinks there is nothing
above democracy.

`Democracy is one of our goals. This is not an end in itself but a
chance to reach international recognition. This chance may be
successful or not very successful but we have to follow this track,’
the president said.