Armenian National Committee of America
1711 N Street, NW
Washington, DC 20036
Tel. (202) 775-1918
Fax. (202) 775-5648
[email protected]
Internet
PRESS RELEASE
July 14, 2009
Contact: Elizabeth S. Chouldjian
Tel: (202) 775-1918
ANCA CHAIRMAN DENOUNCES MINSK GROUP PRESSURE TO SECURE UNILATERAL
ARMENIAN CONCESSIONS IN KARABAGH PEACE TALKS
— Hachikian Letter to Pres. Obama Calls for Direct Nagorno
Karabagh Republic Participation in Peace Negotiations; Expresses
Concern Regarding Madrid Principles as Basis for Ongoing Talks
WASHINGTON, DC ? Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA)
Chairman Ken Hachikian expressed "profound disappointment" today at
the unreasonable pressure being applied by the Organization of
Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Minsk Group Co-Chairs,
which could threaten the viability of Armenia and Nagorno Karabagh.
The concern was expressed in a July 14, 2009, letter to President
Obama, where Hachikian noted that the Minsk Group’s "heavy handed"
approach to secure unilateral and dangerous concessions by
Armenians regarding the Nagorno Karabagh conflict would "imperil
the security of Armenia, the Nagorno Karabagh Republic (NKR) and
the Armenian people; increase the prospects of renewed Azerbaijani
aggression; and undermine the ability of the actual parties to this
conflict to reach a truly lasting and durable peace."
Hachikian went on to argue that the Nagorno Karabagh Republic’s
participation in the peace process is fundamental to the success of
the endeavor. "As a direct party to this conflict, the primary
victim of Azerbaijan’s aggression, and a full stakeholder in the
search for regional peace, the Nagorno Karabagh Republic must be a
full and equal participant in all aspects of the peace process,"
explained Hachikian. Similar concerns were addressed in letters
sent to French Ambassador to the U.S. Pierre Vimont and Russian
Federation Ambassador Sergey Kislyak.
The ANCA has also initiated a letter writing campaign to President
Obama and the State Department as well as the Embassies of France
and Russia in the U.S. encouraging Armenian Americans and human
rights activists to express their thoughts to Minsk Group Co-Chair
country leaders. The action alert may be viewed at:
3737266&type=ML
The effort reflects worldwide Armenian apprehension following a
July 10 statement issued by U.S. President Barack Obama, French
President Nikolas Sarkozy and Russian Federation President Dmitry
Medvedev calling on Armenia and Azerbaijan to "to resolve the few
differences remaining between them" based on an updated version of
the "Basic Principles" advanced by the co-chairs in the November
2007 Madrid Document. According to a White House fact sheet, those
principles include:
— return of the territories surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh to
Azerbaijani control
— an interim status for Nagorno-Karabakh providing guarantees for
security and self-governance
— a corridor linking Armenia to Nagorno-Karabakh
— future determination of the final legal status of Nagorno-
Karabakh through a legally binding expression of will
— the right of all internally displaced persons and refugees to
return to their former places of residence; and
— international security guarantees that would include a
peacekeeping operation.
The complete statement can be viewed on the White House website:
e/Joint-Statement-on-the-Nagorno-Karabakh-Conflict /
Armenian President Serge Sargsyan and Azerbaijan president Ilham
Aliyev are set to meet on Friday July 17th in Moscow.
Concerns about the Nagorno Karabagh peace process and ongoing
Armenia-Turkey dialogue based on an undisclosed "roadmap" were
presented at a pan-Armenian conference held at the Nagorno Karabagh
Republic’s capital, Stepanakert, on July 9-10. Over 120 Armenian
leaders from some 25 countries, representing a broad cross-section
of the political, academic, religious, business and civil society
leadership from Armenia, Nagorno Karabagh, and the Diaspora
discussed the ongoing Karabagh negotiations and unanimously adopted
a resolution urging Karabagh’s direct participation in the talks
and calling for vigilance in the face of pressure to adopt a "hasty
solution to the problem and Azerbaijan’s belligerent statements."
The full text of Hachikian’s letter to President Obama and the
resolution from the pan-Armenian conference are provided below.
#####
July 14, 2009
The Honorable Barack Obama
President of the United States
1600 Pennsylvania Ave, NW
Washington, DC 20500
Dear Mr. President:
In the wake of the G8 Summit and on the eve of the planned July
17th meeting in Moscow between President Serzh Sargsyan of Armenia
and President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan, I am writing to share
with you the profound disappointment of the Armenian American
community over the undue and unreasonable pressure being applied in
a heavy-handed manner upon Armenia by the Minsk Group Co-Chair
countries to force unilateral and dangerous concessions by
Armenians regarding the Nagorno Karabagh conflict. These
concessions would imperil the security of Armenia, the Nagorno
Karabagh Republic (NKR) and the Armenian people; increase the
prospects of renewed Azerbaijani aggression; and undermine the
ability of the actual parties to this conflict to reach a truly
lasting and durable peace.
Mr. President, in 2008, you pledged to work "for a lasting and
durable settlement of the Nagorno Karabagh conflict that is
agreeable to all parties, and based upon America’s founding
commitment to the principles of democracy and self determination."
Such a settlement is severely hampered by exclusion of the duly
elected representatives of the Nagorno Karabagh Republic from the
current peace process. As a direct party to this conflict, the
primary victim of Azerbaijan’s aggression, and a full stakeholder
in the search for regional peace, the Nagorno Karabagh Republic
must be a full and equal participant in all aspects of the peace
process. Without this participation, a fair and enduring peace is
simply not possible.
Furthermore, the so-called Madrid Principles are not in line with
the nature of the conflict and its history. They completely ignore
the will of the NKR people that they have already legitimately
expressed through the referenda of 1991 and 2006.
The concerns of the worldwide Armenian community are outlined in
the attached resolution that was unanimously adopted at a pan-
Armenian Conference on July 11th in Stepanakert, the capital of the
Nagorno Karabagh Republic. This conference brought together
Armenian leaders from over 25 countries, representing a broad
cross-section of the political, academic, religious, business and
civil society leadership from Armenia, Nagorno Karabagh, and the
Diaspora. After a detailed two-day review of the Nagorno Karabagh
peace process as well as the state of Armenian-Turkish relations,
the Conference concluded that both the flawed framework of the
current talks and the Basic Principles referred to by the
Presidents of the OSCE Minsk Group’s Co-Chair countries, France,
the Russian Federation, and the United States of America, represent
a direct threat to Armenia’s and NKR’s viability and hence should
not be endorsed by the authorities of Armenia.
Mr. President, we look to your principled leadership to direct our
Minsk Group representative to ensure that direct dialogue and the
fundamental right to the self-determination of the people of NKR
become an integral part of the Nagorno Karabagh peace process to
secure a lasting peace in the region.
Sincerely,
Kenneth V. Hachikian
Chairman
===================
Resolutio n of the Pan-Armenian Conference
held in Stepanakert, Nagorno Karabagh Republic
on July 10-11, 2009
We, the representatives of Armenian communities in 25 countries of
the world, having discussed, at a conference organized under the
high patronage of the President of NKR, the current issues of
utmost importance for the nation and the state, namely the issues
of Artsakh and the Armenia-Turkish relations, herewith determine:
1. Armenia and the Armenians are at an important and decisive
stage.
The preservation of our identity, the future of the two Armenian
states and of our nation depends on the further course and the
resolution of the two issues on our agenda.
2. We are determined to protect the interests and the rights of the
nation and the state and to secure our independent and dignified
place in the family of civilized nations, using all possible and
impossible means.
3. We demand confidence, realism and political will from the
incumbent and future authorities of the Republic of Armenia and the
Republic of Nagorno Karabagh; in these two critical issues, they
should be guided solely and exclusively by the interests of the
Armenian nation and the sense of responsibility before generations
to come.
4. We realize that all issues related to the foundations of the
state and domestic and foreign policy are inter-related and insist
on comprehensive and balanced position [on these issues].
5. The Republic of Armenia, Artsakh and the Diaspora can become an
organized power only if we act as parts of the whole, establish a
format for exercising our joint will, employ our capacities and
prove to our neighbours and centres of power of the world that the
Armenian nation shall not tolerate infringement of our legitimate
rights.
In view of the above, the conference herewith states in relation to
Armenia-Turkey relations:
Armenia and Turkey, as neighbour states, will eventually have to
establish normal relations. Armenia’s initiative to start
diplomatic relations and open the borders without any preconditions
has already been a concession and a demonstration of good will
towards Turkey. In more than a year Turkey, however, has not
responded commensurately to Armenia’s such unilateral readiness.
None of Turkey’s leaders made any public statement on their wish to
normalize relations without any preconditions. Turkey continues to
establish preconditions, consistently increases her biased role in
the Artsakh issue and, in reality, instead of heading for the
normalization of relations, successfully misguides the
international community by thus removing the Armenian issue from
the agenda.
In this context, signing the joint statement of April 22, 2009 was
a wrong and a short-sighted move. Present trends are equally and
even more dangerous, as the power centres of the world are trying
to impose some accelerated solutions of the Artsakh issue and by
doing so steer the course of Armenia-Turkey relations in the
direction which is beneficial for Turkey [alone]. It is already
obvious that Armenia and the Armenians have to deal with a
concerted policy of Turkey-Azerbaijan tandem.
In these circumstances, we are confident about the relevance of the
below considerations and the importance of pursuing them at a state
level.
a) Lifting the blockade and establishing diplomatic relations based
on general provisions of international law and without any
preconditions should be viewed as a natural entry point for the
dialogue between the two states. True friendly relations with
Turkey may be established upon the recognition of the Armenian
Genocide and the restoration of the rights of the Armenian people.
b) Universal recognition and condemnation of the Genocide and,
specifically, recognition and condemnation by Turkey is of
fundamental significance both in terms of restoring historical
justice and in the context of establishing an atmosphere of mutual
confidence in the region and prevention of such crimes in the
future. This provision of Armenia’s national security concept has
de facto ceased to be a guiding principle of Armenia’s foreign
policy. Any attempt to turn the fact of the Genocide into a matter
of a historical debate is equally inadmissible.
c) Normalizing Armenia-Turkey relations at the expense of Armenia’s
sovereignty and viability and the rights of future generations is
absolutely inadmissible. The authorities of the Republic of Armenia
should not allow Turkey to use the imitation of negotiations for
scoring additional political and advocacy points in the
international arena.
d) Armenia’s authorities have a duty to revisit and reconsider the
course of public interaction initiated one year ago and its
negative outcomes, and should reveal to the international community
Turkey’s true intentions and discontinue the negotiations.
In relation to the current stage of the Artsakh issue, the
conference herewith states that:
The regional status quo is the result of Azerbaijan’s policy aimed
at shattering the right of free self-determination of the people of
Nagorno Karabagh, unleashing a war and losing it. Not only Artsakh
managed to defend her right to life, but it created a democratic
state conforming to all international norms; this state grows and
develops normally. Today and tomorrow, the dignity, the viability
and the future of Armenia and the Armenian nation are contingent on
Artsakh’s independence and security. Certain trends in relation to
providing a hasty solution to the problem and Azerbaijan’s
belligerent statements require that we remain vigilant, keep the
issue in the focus of the national discourse and, as appropriate,
prevent any possibility of unfair resolution of the conflict.
In view of the above, the conference believes that:
a) The course of the final settlement of the Artsakh issue is that
of peaceful negotiations; the distorted format of these
negotiations should however change so that the NKR becomes a full-
fledged party in the negotiations.
b) The negotiations process should be based on the accomplished
fact of the independence of the people of Artsakh and the results
of the 1991 independence and the 2006 Constitution referenda. The
negotiations should have, as an objective, an immediate recognition
of NKR independence and ensuring her security, and should not
circumvent the issue of occupied areas of Getashen, Mardakert and
Martuni and the rights of hundreds of thousands of Armenians
displaced from Azerbaijan.
c) Nagorno Karabagh has never been a part of the independent
Azerbaijan; she declared independence in 1991 in the territory
which did not belong to Azerbaijan. The demise of the Soviet Union
put an end to the Soviet Azerbaijan’s jurisdiction over Artsakh.
The commencement of the Artsakh war and its consequences are the
responsibility of Azerbaijan alone.
d) While we realize that negotiations imply mutual concessions, we
at the same time maintain that mutual concessions, in view of all
components of the settlement of the conflict, may only be
commensurate, equal, concurrent and within the package solution
framework. Otherwise, any weakening of the security belt around
the NKR, without restoring its territorial integrity, will increase
the likelihood of war and thus threaten the safety of Artsakh’s
population.
e) Within this context, the call of the co-chairs for the expedited
settlement of the conflict based on the so called Madrid Principles
is not in line with the nature of the conflict and its history.
Moreover, it completely ignores the will of the NKR people that
they have already so legitimately expressed. The conference
believes that adopting any international document without direct
participation of the key party to the conflict, i.e. the
authorities of the NKR, is condemnable, inadmissible and devoid of
any legal power. The conference affirms that the Republic of
Armenia is not in a position to replace NKR in resolving this vital
issue. The conference further demands that the proposed document be
not signed and that urgent measures be taken to return the NKR to
the negotiations table as a full-fledged party.
f) Armenia should take all measures to guarantee the security and
independence of the NKR and attain an international affirmation of
her status. Accordingly, only a document excluding any use of force
and signed between the RA, NKR and Azerbaijan under the auspices of
the international community may ensure the irreversibility of the
peaceful negotiations process.
g) For us, Artsakh is Armenia and shall remain as such. We have
already scored a victory by mobilizing the Armenian nation in the
war unleashed by Azerbaijan, and there should be no doubt that we
shall do the same should anyone decide to use the language of
warfare against our nation.
We, the participants of the two-day conference on the Artsakh issue
and Armenia-Turkey relations herewith reaffirm our unity and
determination in relation to issues of importance for the nation
and the state. The independent Republic of Armenia, the free
Artsakh, the organized Diaspora and inalienable rights of our
nation continue to remain our ultimate values.
Stepanakert
July 11, 2009