HOVANNISIAN WANTS KARABAKH RECOGNITION BY ARMENIA
By Ruzanna Khachatrian

Radio Libery, Czech Rep.
Aug 28 2007

Opposition leader Raffi Hovannisian demanded on Tuesday that Armenia
change a long-standing policy and formally recognize Nagorno-Karabakh
as an independent state.

The initiative took the form of a relevant bill introduced in the
Armenian parliament by Hovannisian. The bill has to be discussed and
evaluated by the parliament committee on foreign relations and the
government before it can reach the parliament floor.

Karabakh declared itself an independent state in 1991 shortly after
breaking away from Azerbaijani rule but has since failed to win formal
recognition by any country of the world, including Armenia.

The current and former authorities in Yerevan have resisted periodical
domestic calls to recognize the dispute territory’s independence,
saying that such a move would only complicate efforts at a peaceful
resolution of the Karabakh conflict.

Stepan Safarian, a parliament deputy from Hovannisian’s Zharangutyun
party, said the latest deadlock in Armenian-Azerbaijani peace talks
is a major reason for the bill’s circulation. He expressed hope that
the pro-government majority in the National Assembly will back it.

However, speaker Tigran Torosian and other majority leaders made it
clear that they will oppose the initiative, seeing ulterior motives
behind it. They also said it would create an additional obstacle to
a Karabakh settlement.

"Recognition of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic by the Republic of
Armenia must have a very serious justification," Torosian told
RFE/RL. "It is not right for individuals who are uninformed about
the course and details of [Armenian-Azerbaijani] negotiations to
introduce bills for known reasons to the parliament."

"If the Republic of Armenia unilaterally recognizes the
Nagorno-Karabakh Republic as an independent state, the work of
the OSCE Minsk Group will become meaningless," said Aram Safarian,
secretary of the parliament faction of the Prosperous Armenia Party.

A senior lawmaker from another governing party, the Armenian
Revolutionary Federation, took a similar view. "Such initiatives must
not be ends in themselves or stem from some political calculations
or party interests," said Armen Rustamian. "They must take into
consideration state interests and not obstruct the negotiating
process."