Peace Agreement Would Eliminate Monopoly

PEACE AGREEMENT WOULD ELIMINATE MONOPOLY

Lragir.am
24 June 06

Ararat Zurabyan, the leader of the All-Armenian Movement Party, thinks
that the governments of Armenia and Azerbaijan are not different. Both
are illegitimate and both cause trouble to their societies. Therefore
the resolution of the Karabakh conflict is delayed, said the leader
of AAM June 24 at the Azdak Club. According to him, there is not a
family in Armenia that would like the war to begin. "We are not going
to take Baku. If we had had the opportunity, we would have captured
it, and winners are not tried.

Unfortunately, we did not have the opportunity and we could not have
had," says Ararat Zurabyan.

Unlike the ARF principle of genetic incompatibility, the AAM believes
that both peoples will remain neighbors forever and are doomed to
signing a peace. Especially that there is a precedent. "Germany and
France, which had serious disputes, are partners, and it was positive
for their societies," says Ararat Zurabyan.

With regard to the former and present approaches towards the conflict
over Karabakh, Ararat Zurabyan said the best way of evaluating a
person is comparison of his former and present words. "People who
alleged a 8000 km Karabakh, have nothing to yield, not a strip of land,
became very tolerant at once. Whereas the AAM always said that Lachin
and Kelbajar are a security area and cannot be considered. The other
regions will be returned," says Ararat Zurabyan. According to him, the
settlement should be acceptable for Armenia, Karabakh and Azerbaijan.

"The right for conciliation should be passed over to the generations,
not the threat of war," says the leader of the AAM, and adds that
it would not be bad to delay the question of the status of Nagorno
Karabakh. "Delaying the question of the status for some 30 years
might be positive, and there might be no borders in 30 years. Who
would think in post-war Europe that borders would become conventional?"

Opening the border would be double benefit for Armenia, believes
Ararat Zurabyan. "After signing a peace these oligarchic, monopolistic
relations will vanish. Because it is impossible to open borders and
wait for somebody to get the protection of the government to import
sugar or fuel," says the leader of the AAM.