OPPONENTS SPURN DASHNAK CRITICISM OVER TURKEY, KARABAKH
Anush Martirosian

Armenialiberty.org
Aug 26 2009

Representatives of Armenia’s government and opposition camps have
spurned, for different reasons, the criticism contained in the latest
statement of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (Dashnaktsutyun),
in which the nationalist party called for Yerevan’s major policy
change on Turkey and Nagorno-Karabakh.

In a statement released on Tuesday, Dashnaktsutyun’s Executive Council
of Armenia, in particular, called for an end to negotiations with
Turkey, which it described as "seriously dangerous for Armenia" and
"serving Turkish interests".

"Time has shown that these negotiations are fruitless," Artyusha
Shahbazian, a member of the party’s supreme body, stressed in an
interview with RFE/RL on Wednesday. He added that Dashnaktsutyun
would not limit itself to a public rally in Yerevan on September 2
dealing with the current state of Armenian-Turkish relations and the
Nagorno-Karabakh settlement process, but would continue to present
its demands on these issues also "in other ways".

Dashnaktsutyun, which cited foreign policy differences to quit
Armenia’s ruling coalition in April after staying within Armenian
governments for nearly a decade, also reaffirmed on Tuesday that it
continued to hold Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian responsible
for "diplomatic failures" both in the current Armenian-Turkish
rapprochement and in the continuing peace talks with Azerbaijan over
Nagorno-Karabakh.

Vice-Chairman of the ruling Republican Party of Armenia (HHK) Razmik
Zohrabian laughed off the stance of the former coalition partner,
noting that the foreign minister solely fulfils the policy of the
current political coalition and the president.

"If they [Dashnaktsutyun] demand the resignation of the foreign
minister, it means they also hit the political coalition," Zohrabian
underscored.

In its statement, Dashnaktsutyun also demanded that Nagorno-Karabakh
regain a full party’s status in the continuing talks with Azerbaijan
where at present Armenia effectively negotiates on its behalf.

Hovannes Igitian, a senior member of the opposition Armenian National
Movement (HHSh), called Dashnaktsutyun’s demand ‘illogical’ given
the party’s tacit support for the policy of former president Robert
Kocharian, whom Armenia’s main opposition group holds responsible
for supplanting Nagorno-Karabakh as a negotiating party.

"Dashnaktsutyun supported him and perhaps out of gratitude did not
interfere with Kocharian’s policies and did not point out those
mistakes. And today, when the process is becoming irreversible,
suddenly Dashnaktsutyun remembers that something wrong has
happened. This all is more connected with individuals rather than
with the objective situation," said Igitian.

The main opposition Armenian National Congress (HAK), of which the
HHSh is a core member, is also known to support Stepanakert’s return
to the negotiating table as a full party.

The HAK and its top leader, ex-president Levon Ter-Petrosian, have
also repeatedly denounced the current administration’s policy on
Turkey as a gross failure.