Armenian pressure group urges tougher stance on Karabakh

Arminfo
22 Mar 07

Yerevan, 22 March: The Defence of Liberated Territories of NKR
[Nagornyy Karabakh republic] organization believes that the statement
by the US Department of State that Nagornyy Karabakh and seven regions
have been occupied by Armenia is the product of Yerevan’s defeatist
policy on the Nagornyy Karabakh issue, a statement by the organization
said today.

According to the organization, the US State Department’s declaration
was the result of the constant talk by the Armenian authorities about
readiness to cede territories. The statement said it is notable that
the US State Department did not mention the names of Vardan
Malkhasyan, a member of the Defence of Liberated Territories
organization, and Zhirayr Sefilyan, the head of the organization, in
the list of political prisoners. The prisoners are categorically
against the return of territories under the Armenian control. "This
is not only a case of double standards by the United States, but also
an attempt to support the ruling anti-people regime," the statement
said.

The authors of the statement also criticized the leader of the Orinats
Yerkir (Law-governed country) Party, former parliament speaker Artur
Baghdasaryan, who they said "dreamt of Turkish investments and
Azerbaijani energy". They criticized him for an interview with The
Wall Street Journal, in which he talks of the "necessity of the issue
of disputable territories of Nagornyy Karabakh". "Using such
statements Baghdasaryan, who pretends to be in opposition, seeks
favours from the West," the statement said.