ARF SLAMS U.S. PRESSURE ON ARMENIA
Asbarez
Jan 26th, 2010
YEREVAN (RFE/RL)-The opposition Armenian Revolutionary Federation
denounced on Monday the U.S. State Department for welcoming an Armenian
Constitutional Court ruling on Turkey that has sparked a diplomatic
dispute between Yerevan and Ankara, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
reported.
ARF leaders said the United States is interfering in Armenia’s
internal affairs and pressuring Yerevan to unconditionally implement
the controversial Turkish-Armenian agreements which is considers by
Armenian in the homeland and Diaspora to be a sellout to Turkey.
While upholding the constitutionality of the two "protocols,"
the Constitutional Court ruled on January 12 that they place no
obligations on Armenia with regard to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict
and cannot inhibit its pursuit of greater international recognition
of the Armenian genocide.
The ARF welcomed this court’s interpretation of the U.S.-backed
protocols, saying that the Armenian parliament should include the
corresponding reservations if it were to ratify the agreements. Its
top representatives said in particular that the court effectively
invalidated a protocol clause that commits Armenia to explicitly
recognizing the existing border with Turkey.
The Turkish government has likewise claimed that the ruling runs
counter to the letter and spirit of the deal and jeopardizes its
implementation by Turkey. Armenia’s leadership has brushed aside
these claims, accusing Ankara of seeking "artificial pretexts" for
delaying its parliamentary ratification.
U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Philip Gordon said on
Friday that Washington regards the judgment as a "positive step
forward in the ratification process of the normalization protocols"
that "does not appear to limit or qualify them in any way." Armenian
pro-government politicians and media were quick to welcome the U.S.
reaction as a crucial endorsement of Yerevan’s position in the dispute.
"This U.S. statement is an unacceptable interference in Armenia’s
internal affairs," said Giro Manoyan, the party’s chief foreign
policy spokesman, accusing Washington of pressuring Yerevan into
signing the agreements.
The Constitutional Court ruling is an effective disagreement between
the Executive and the Judicial branches, which requires the court’s
reservations to be submitted with the agreements, Manoyan said. He
described Washington’s assertion that the court ruling paves the way
for an unconditional ratification as "a flagrant disregard towards
the Armenian Constitutional Court’s decision."
"When a representative of a foreign state tries to teach us some
lessons I don’t think that is acceptable," Manoyan told RFE/RL.
Artsvik Minasian, a senior ARF member, agreed with Manoyan. "It was
a statement made a bit prematurely, and I don’t think that it is
only aimed at somehow benefiting Armenia," he said, commenting on
Gordon’s remarks. "What is more, I think that was a form of pressure
on Armenia aimed at making sure that we don’t ratify the protocols
with reservations," he told RFE/RL.
Minasian said the ARF has drafted legal amendments that would empower
Armenia’s parliament to ratify international treaties and agreements
signed by the executive branch with conditions or reservations. He said
they will be presented this week to 13 other mostly small opposition
groups aligned in an ARF-led coalition opposed to the protocols.
Leaders of those parties met at the ARF headquarters in Yerevan over
the weekend to discuss their further actions. One of them, Armen
Martirosian of the Heritage party said he believed that the parliament
majority loyal to President Serzh Sarkisian will unconditionally
endorse the protocols should they be put to the vote and would not
respect the legislation.
A deputy chairman of Sarkisian’s Republican Party of Armenia, which
has a clear majority in the National Assembly, confirmed that. "If
we add reservations to the protocols, the Turks will never ratify
them," Razmik Zohrabian told RFE/RL. "We should therefore avoid any
reservations."