NO ALTERNATIVE FOR DEMOCRACY IN NAGORNO KARABAGH REPUBLIC
By Karine Mangassarian

Yerkir.am
July 20, 2007

On July 19 presidential elections were held in Nagorno Karabagh. Before
the elections we asked some political leaders in Armenia to comment
on what impact these elections can have on the Karabagh settlement
negotiations.

Secretary of the ARF’s parliamentary faction Artashes Shahbazian stated
that holding fair elections is very important to ensure a stronger
position for Karabagh in the negotiation process and reassure that
the country has the right to be independent and can have to connection
with Azerbaijan.

"Karabagh can have no connections with a country with an authoritarian
and militaristic regime," Shahbazian stated.

Chairman of the Christian Democratic Party of Armenia Khosrov
Harutyunian believes democratic elections in Nagorno Karabagh are
especially important against the background of Azerbaijan’s internal
political situation.

Democracy in Nagorno Karabagh has a high political value against the
background of undemocratic elections and pressure against the media
in Azerbaijan.

"The situation would have been much more favorable had the internal
life in Azerbaijan been as democratic as n Artsakh. In this case we
would be able to say that chances for success in the negotiations
process would be much higher.

We should use this situation to raise our concerns with the
international community by contrasting the democratic developments in
Artsakh with the non-democratic developments in Azerbaijan. We should
state that no long-term peace is possible if one of the parties is
an authoritarian state," Harutyunian said.

Commenting on the elections in Karabagh, Harutyunian noted that the
free and fair elections will have a positive impact on the negotiation
process. Any deviations from democracy can have a negative impact on
Artsakh’s reputation. Harutyunian believes the Armenians in Artsakh
believe in their country’s democratic future.

Commenting on the statements made by international structures
Harutyunian reminded that they had made similar statements before
every election but every time they continued negotiations with the
elected authorities.

"The position of the international structures derives from the fact
that there are no political alternatives because stating that they
recognize the results of the elections would mean to state that they
recognize Nagorno Karabagh’s independence.

Therefore, they are trying not to create tensions and state that
the elections can have no impact or consequences. However, let us
agree that if the elections fail to meet the expectations of the
international community they will immediately start reproaching the
legitimate authorities in Artsakh.

These statements are much more political rather than having any
legal-political implications. This is why the most important thing
for the Armenians in Artsakh is to be confident that democratization
of their public life has no alternatives. This is the only way to
achieve success in the negotiation process and in defending their
rights vis-a-vis the international community," Harutyunian said.

"I do not agree with the opinion voiced by Azerbaijan and the
international community that no matter how the elections in Nagorno
Karabagh are held they will have no impact on the negotiation process.

On the contrary, I believe that Karabagh should show to the world its
democratic nature, its commitment to integration with the international
community," leader of the New Communist Party of Armenia Yuri Manukian
said. Manukian believes the settlement of the Karabagh conflict
largely depends on the political developments in Karabagh.

Member of the Republican Party’s parliamentary faction Galust Sahakian
does not treat the statements made by the representatives of various
international structures seriously. "These statements should be
treated as opinions of individual political figures and not positions
of international organizations," Sahakian said.

Sahakian believes that if the international community follows the
principles of democracy, the impact of the democratic elections in
Karabagh will be that Karabagh will once again prove that it is a
democratic country. This is the most important factor in the Karabagh
settlement process.

Chairman of the National Self-Determination Union Paruyr Hayrikian
believes everyone in Karabagh, including the presidential candidates,
realize that the elections will be very important because they
will show to what extent Artsakh adheres to the principle of
self-determination.

Ex-member of the parliament Albert Bazeyan believes that free, fair
and democratic elections will contribute to the complete consolidation
of the Nagorno Karabagh Republic and will create favorable conditions
for the Republic’s international recognition.