SITUATION IN CONFLICT REGION AGAIN BROUGHT TO UTTER DEGREE OF TENSION
/PanARMENIAN.Net/
17.07.2009 19:50 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ In connection with the recent developments over the
Azerbaijani-Karabakh conflict settlement, the civil society of the
Nagorno Karabakh Republic in leaders of non-governmental organizations
and public experts adopted a statement:
"The recent statements by high-ranking officials of the co-chair
countries concerning the settlement of the conflict on the basis
of the Madrid principles fundamentally contradict the interests of
Artsakh and Armenia and reflect only those countries` own interests
that seem to always coincide with the Azerbaijani ones.
We, the representatives of the NKR civil society, view the imposed
variant of the conflict settlement as illegal, unfair, immoral and
disastrous for the whole South Caucasus region.
The situation in the region has again been brought to an extreme
degree of tension. It is fraught with unpredictable consequences. The
security of NKR and the Republic of Armenia, and consequently of the
region as a whole, is threatened.
The total disregard by the mediators of the existing realities
and legitimate rights of the NKR people have more than once caused
destabilization of the situation in the region.
We believe that the negotiation process on settling the
Azerbaijani-Karabakh conflict without participation of the NKR
representatives has proved its full inconsistence. In connection with
this we call on the mediators and participants of the negotiation
process to end this political farce and, taking the real situation
as a basis for settling the Azerbaijani-Karabakh relations, as well
as thoroughly reviewing the existing format and basic principles of
the negotiations, to finally engage in true peacemaking instead of
unleashing another phase in the conflict.
The people of Artsakh that 20 years ago rose against the discriminatory
policies of Soviet Azerbaijan towards the Armenian population of
Nagorno Karabakh, have once and for all determined their fate, having
proclaimed the independence of the NKR on the basis of a national
referendum with irreproachable observance of all legal norms and
formats. By repelling the military aggression of Azerbaijan aimed at
the total annihilation of the Armenian population of Nagorno Karabakh,
the people of Karabakh have defended their right to life in their
own free state.
The Constitution of NKR is the only immutable Law which the people
of Artsakh did and will follow. Any attempts by external forces to
violate the NKR Constitution which, inter alia, defines the liberated
territories, are doomed to failure. The NKR Defense Army, tens of
thousands reservists and Armenian volunteers from all over the world
are the main guarantee of the inviolability of national frontiers,
the lives, rights and freedoms of the Artsakh people.
We are ready to continue negotiations and work towards establishing
peace in the region, but not at the cost of our own security and
freedom for which thousands of lives of both soldiers and peaceful
citizens, including women, children, and elderly people, have been
paid. The memory of them is our dignity.
The platform of peaceful settlement is not a trading stand; Freedom
and Dignity are not commodities.
We remind that any agreement on Nagorno Karabakh cannot have legal
validity unless the document reflects the will and legitimate rights
of the NKR citizens, and unless it bears the signature of the elected
President of NKR. Insinuations are useless and ineffectual.
We do not only consider it necessary to give a political and official
assessment to the ongoing negotiation process, but we think it`s time
to make accountable those that have let the negotiation process to
develop by a scenario that has put not only the lives of the people
and the Armenian statehood per se under threat, but also the security
of the whole region, as well as the interests of Armenians and friends
of Armenia and Artsakh all over the world.
We remind henceforth all those officials, structures and other
institutions considering themselves having the right to determine
the fate of a whole region, of their personal responsibility both in
the face of the all Armenians of the world, and for the lives of the
people living in the region. Our right is inalienable. Our will is
unshakable," the statement said.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
