ARTSAKH ARF – DID PRESIDENT SARGSYAN CONSULT WITH THE PEOPLE OF KARABAKH?
Anahit Danielyan

yan/
2010/03/24 | 16:14

Nagorno Karabakh politics

Reactions to President Sargsyan’s statements in Syria leading to
the possibility of territorial concessions in Karabakh have elicited
reactions from the NKR as well. In a conversation with Hetq, Davit
Ishkhanyan, representative of the ARF’s Artsakh Central Committee,
asked if the president had consulted with either the NKR government or
people before making such a statement."Does such a position reflect
that of the Karabakh public? It’s no secret that for many years
attempts have been made to establish such a position which is presented
in the Madrid Principles. Is such a position now being confirmed by
the Karabakh society and the government?" asked Mr. Ishkhanyan.

The ARF official answered his own questions with a resounding "No"
and stated that it was clear to the people of Karabakh that any return
of territories would inevitably lead to the depopulation of Armenians
from the region and the loss of Karabakh

He stressed that the Karabakh issue was one that had pan-Armenian
significance and that a national approach should be adopted.

Mr. Ishkhanyan raised a number of legal aspects regarding the issue
and asked if President Sargsyan’s remarks weren’t in violation of
the NKR Constitution or outright interference. He said that on this
point the issue of a bilateral written agreement between the RoA
and the NKR, bandied about for years, comes into the picture. Such
a document would ensure certain guarantees as to the security of the
NKR and other matters linked to the settlement process.

Mr. Ishkhanyan also touched on the issue of repopulating the "security
corridor" with Armenians and noted that even though Armenia is not
conducting such a policy that doesn’t mean that the NKR isn’t doing so.

"If this is the policy of the RoA, then permit me to state that the
view of the NKR is different. It’s another matter entirely as to how
that policy is being implemented and at what speed," Mr. Ishkhanyan
said.

The ARF official concluded by pointing out that such an approach by
the Armenian government could possibly lead to a pan-national outburst
similar to what happened during the Turkish-Armenian normalization
process.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress