ARMENIA CAN’T BE IN THE STATUS OF AN AGGRESSOR
LILIT POGHOSYAN

Hayots Ashkhar Daily
01 Nov 08
Armenia

NA Vice-Speaker Hrayr Karapetyan and MP Michael Manukyan left for St.
Petersburg recently, to participate in the session of the Commission on
Defense and Security Issues of CIS Summit.

By representing some noteworthy details of the session, during the
press conference yesterday Hrayr Karapetyan particularly said that the
delegation managed to render harmless Azerbaijan’s efforts to make
certain emphases in the bill of the model law on the struggle against
separatism and extremism. By the proposal of the Azerbaijani delegation
it has been enshrined in the bill that any action against the
territorial integrity of any country is considered `extremism’. Our MPs
met with the Chairman of the Committee and as a result of the
negotiations the before mentioned problematic formulation was removed
from the bill.

Hrayr Karapetyan also touched upon the radical anticipations of
creating an atmosphere of panic and fear around the settlement of
Karabakh conflict: `Today our political atmosphere is filled with
panic, linked with the anti-Armenian settlement of Karabakh issue. It
can have a very bad impact on the settlement of that issue, it can have
bad impact on the people’s psychology it can create defeatist moods. It
is not a secret for anyone that at present we have lots of problems,
because of the existing economic, social difficult situation, so we
can’t say that Karabakh issue is number 1 problem for our people, as it
used to be in 1988. Unfortunately we have lack of national mentality
nowadays.

The NA Vice-Speaker believes these moods don’t have any materialistic
grounds: `Of course unlike the Azerbaijani President whose last speech
you have heard, our President is a rather modest person and he never
makes similar announcements, not to prevent the settlement of the
issue. But this doesn’t mean that tomorrow we will appear in such a
situation that Azerbaijan will have a more powerful army and will be
able to solve the issue in military way and that’s why we will have to
be ready for cessions. I don’t see similar prerequisites. But I saw
similar tendencies, similar analyses in our mass media, which is
terrible to read.’

The thing is Azerbaijan has more grounded reasons for concern. Our army
is efficient, completely ready to resist the attacks of the enemy. And
if Azerbaijan over again tries to use aggression against Karabakh they
will suffer bigger losses.

Moreover Armenian party can even continue its progress in Azerbaijani
territory right up to the sea and establish land communication with
Russia.

`I’m not joking. Let’s remember, before the Artsakh liberation struggle
who could think that Karabakh will be an Armenian territory together
with its neighboring areas. Only dashnaks and their supporters, those
who have national mentality. And who can guarantee that after 5-10
years we will not have what I said before and plus United Armenia.’

But the press belonging to LTP of course counterbalanced the precept of
not yielding to the defeatist moods. `How can our armed forces be more
powerful than the Azerbaijani army?’ They even mocked saying that if we
are so powerful why we don’t attack Azerbaijan.

In response to which Hrayr Karapetyan stated that Armenia has never
been the first to attack: `We were not the ones to start Artsakh war.
We were defending ourselves and staging national-liberation struggle.
Azerbaijan was the one to attack us. We can’t afford being in the
status of an aggressor. If the status quo is internationally enshrined
we will be quite satisfied. But we must also respond to all types of
bellicose announcements. People must know that we are really ready to
move forward if someone tries to erase Armenians’ from Armenia, when I
say Armenia I mean Karabakh as well.’