"Robert Kocharian And Serge Sargsian Feel Constrained About NKR Pro

"ROBERT KOCHARIAN AND SERGE SARGSIAN FEEL CONSTRAINED ABOUT NKR PROBLEM," NIKOL PHASHINIAN BELIEVES

Noyan Tapan
Jul 17 2007

YEREVAN, JULY 17, NOYAN TAPAN. "Robert Kocharian, the President of
the Republic of Armenia, and Serge Sargsian, the RA Prime Minister,
feel constrained about the problem of the Republic of Nagorno Karabakh
because they defined a too high populistic stake, promising a Karabakh
of eight million kilometer square." This statement was made by Nikol
Phashinian, a member of the "Alternative" non-governmental political
organization and the editor of the journal "Haykakan Zhamanak"
("Armenian Time") during the debate with Armen Ashotian, an MP and a
member of the Board of the Republican Party (RPA), which took place
on July 17. According to Nikol Phashinian, the Kocharian-Sargsian
couple cannot make decisions concerning the Karabakh problem below
the level of the above-mentioned stake and, therefore, cannot make
compromises. Whereas, in the conviction of the editor of the "Haykakan
Zhamanak" ("Armenian Time"), the problem should be settled through
compromises. However, at present, according to Nikol Phashinian, "the
land problem has reached a level where Aghdam has become a papal land."

A. Ashoatian also mentioned that in difference to Nikol Phashinian,
the other opponents blame the authorities for having an intention to
hand the lands over. In response to this observation, Nikol Phashinian
stated: "The others are not opponents: they are the very people, who
handed the post of the president of the country to Robert Kocharian
and who were betrayed: "let down", by the very Robert Kocharian. He
mentioned that the President acted the same way with Jirayr Sefilian,
the coordinator of the non-governmental initiative "In defence of
the liberated territories."