Hayots Ashkharh Daily, Armenia
Nov 3 2007

WE SHOULDN’T LOOK FOR THE ROOT OF THE EVIL IN KARABAKH

Recently Ter-Petrosyan `brought his regular pleasant surprise’ to
the native society, and made Raffi Hovhannisyan happy by promising the
latter to visit the central office of `Heritage’ party.
`Does this mean that `Heritage’ activists are ready to participate
in the initiative of nominating the ex-President as pro-opposition
united candidate?’
In response to our question Secretary of NA `Heritage’ faction,
Stepan Safaryan shrugged his shoulders and said, ‘The party hasn’t
discussed such issue.’
How did he evaluate Levon Ter-Petrosyan’s speech delivered during
October 26 demonstration? It turned out that Mr. Safaryan had just
returned from Tehran where he didn’t have access to the Internet and
didn’t manage to familiarize himself with the epochal speech of the
ex-President.
After being informed from us that ex-President appeared in the
opening of the demonstration season with a `white tailcoat’, with
absolutely no hint about the numerous temptations faced by the people
during his sensitive years of power, calling the government in power
`pro-Kocharyan criminal administration’, no more no less than a `state
of chieftains and plunderers’. Our interlocutor asked with
astonishment `Did he really say that?’ And added, `If the conversation
is about normal political process, naturally both sides must give
detailed explanation not regarding the past but also the current
processes.’
`Anyhow, how does the member of the political power that came out
with an initiative on `Armenia’s recognition of NKR’ evaluate Levon
Ter-Petrosyan’s concept of the regulation of Karabakh issue?’
`I don’t think Levon Ter-Petrosyan came out with his approaches on
the regulation of Karabakh issue. I haven’t seen it yet,’ the
Secretary of `Heritage’ faction diplomatically recorded.
By announcing in his speech in `Armenia-Marriott’ that Karabakh
issue needs swift `solution’, otherwise Armenia won’t have future and
that day-by-day Azerbaijan makes its attitude tougher and that it will
never agree to mutual concessions, didn’t Levon Ter-Petrosyan
reconfirm his capitulatory attitudes of 1997? Doesn’t this mean that
the root of all our problems that is to say the evil is Karabakh?
`I don’t agree that Karabakh is the reason of our bad life. I would
agree to this concept had we conducted effective governance during the
previous years and came to a conclusion that it is not enough. Of
course no one can refuse that the failure to regulate Karabakh issue
hinders the country’s development but this doesn’t mean that NKR
conflict is to blame for all the problems faced by the country,’
S. Safaryan underscored in response to our question.
In his accusations addressed to the `administration’ Levon
Ter-Petrosyan didn’t forget to mention about the abrupt economic
growth recorded by Azerbaijan during the recent years, as compared to
which Armenia’s 12% annual economic growth `is nothing’. Does this
mean that it is the fault of `pro-Kocharyan administration’ that
Azerbaijan has oil, but Armenia unfortunately lacks oil resources.
According to our interlocutor ex-President didn’t make a revelation
by saying this, `Of course in comparison, in terms of financial and
economic means Azerbaijan’s progress is logical. In my view the issue
is on quite another plane – from the point of view of security to what
extent are we interrelated to the European security system are we able
to neutralize the danger? Here we have real slip-ups.

S. HARUTYUNYAN