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Coalition: Armenia is ready to recognize Karabakh's independence, but
is waiting for the right time
Analysis | 29.10.10 | 15:43
Photolure
By Aris Ghazinyan
ArmeniaNow reporter
The Armenian parliament decided Friday, October 29, to postpone till
December the voting of the bill on NKR independence submitted by the
Heritage faction.
According to Heritage leader Raffi Hohannisian, members of the faction
had a meeting on October 28 with the parliament speaker and
coalitional forces during which they suggested to Heritage that the
voting be held after the December summit of OSCE in Astana.
`I do not believe that the summit in Astana is going to change
anything, something has to be changed in us, so we are making a
compromise in that respect and suggest postponing the voting,' says
Hovannisian.
The coalition has made statements in this connection as well. Head of
the Ruling Republican party faction Galust Sahakyan said that the
coalition parties - RPA, Prosperous Armenia and Country of Law - are
convinced that the issue of NKR's independence by the international
community has no other alternative but to be recognized.
Believing that NKR's recognition by Armenia leaves no alternatives,
the coalition members at the same time emphasize that doing so at this
stage is not in Armenia's interests since `it contradicts the logics
of negotiations and Armenia's constructive position within the
framework of OSCE Minsk Group'.
The statement says in part: `when the time is right for Armenia to
recognize NKR's independence, the coalition will submit such a bill or
will support the initiative of other political forces.'
But, are Armenian MPs ready for the impending voting?
`Before proceeding to voting so far the only resolution passed in 1992
on Nagorno Karabakh would have to be ratified and amended,' says
Garegin Gabrieylan, head of Keni analytical center.
It should be noted that on July 8,1992 the Armenian parliament passed
a resolution according to which official Yerevan `will support the
decision made by NKR' and `will not accept any documents which state
the Republic of Nagorno Karabakh as part of Azerbaijan'.
`The ratification of that resolution is important in many respects,'
says Gabrielyan. `The resolution itself was passed during the period
of active hostilities, and, consequently, has to be adjusted to the
current conditions of the negotiation process and world tendencies in
general.'
Secondly, the document was passed before the adoption of the 1995
Constitution which grants exclusive authority to the president of the
country. Armenia's first president Levon Ter-Petrosyan, who had
unlimited power, did not base his policy on that resolution and
lobbied the first option of peace settlement proposed by the OSCE
Minsk Group.
The document was submitted to the sides - Armenia and Azerbaijan - two
years after the adoption of the RA Constitution and was not disclosed
up until 2001.
In 2001, first the Azeri, then the Armenian mass media publicized the
content of the `Comprehensive agreement on Nagorno Karabakh conflict
settlement' presented by OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs in July 1997.
The status of Nagorno Karabakh in that document was determined by two
principles: a) all Parties of the conflict recognize the territorial
integrity and the stability of borders of Azerbaijan and Armenia; and
b) Nagorno Karabakh is a state and territorial formation within
Azerbaijan.
`Considering the fact that we have a precedent when Armenia's first
president ignored the fundamental issues of the 1992 resolution, it's
high time we ratified that document,' says Gabrielyan.
Many today say that the resolution has to be ratified, believing that
it would become a kind of probing of the international reaction, at
the same time remaining Armenia's internal matter.
From: A. Papazian
is waiting for the right time
Analysis | 29.10.10 | 15:43
Photolure
By Aris Ghazinyan
ArmeniaNow reporter
The Armenian parliament decided Friday, October 29, to postpone till
December the voting of the bill on NKR independence submitted by the
Heritage faction.
According to Heritage leader Raffi Hohannisian, members of the faction
had a meeting on October 28 with the parliament speaker and
coalitional forces during which they suggested to Heritage that the
voting be held after the December summit of OSCE in Astana.
`I do not believe that the summit in Astana is going to change
anything, something has to be changed in us, so we are making a
compromise in that respect and suggest postponing the voting,' says
Hovannisian.
The coalition has made statements in this connection as well. Head of
the Ruling Republican party faction Galust Sahakyan said that the
coalition parties - RPA, Prosperous Armenia and Country of Law - are
convinced that the issue of NKR's independence by the international
community has no other alternative but to be recognized.
Believing that NKR's recognition by Armenia leaves no alternatives,
the coalition members at the same time emphasize that doing so at this
stage is not in Armenia's interests since `it contradicts the logics
of negotiations and Armenia's constructive position within the
framework of OSCE Minsk Group'.
The statement says in part: `when the time is right for Armenia to
recognize NKR's independence, the coalition will submit such a bill or
will support the initiative of other political forces.'
But, are Armenian MPs ready for the impending voting?
`Before proceeding to voting so far the only resolution passed in 1992
on Nagorno Karabakh would have to be ratified and amended,' says
Garegin Gabrieylan, head of Keni analytical center.
It should be noted that on July 8,1992 the Armenian parliament passed
a resolution according to which official Yerevan `will support the
decision made by NKR' and `will not accept any documents which state
the Republic of Nagorno Karabakh as part of Azerbaijan'.
`The ratification of that resolution is important in many respects,'
says Gabrielyan. `The resolution itself was passed during the period
of active hostilities, and, consequently, has to be adjusted to the
current conditions of the negotiation process and world tendencies in
general.'
Secondly, the document was passed before the adoption of the 1995
Constitution which grants exclusive authority to the president of the
country. Armenia's first president Levon Ter-Petrosyan, who had
unlimited power, did not base his policy on that resolution and
lobbied the first option of peace settlement proposed by the OSCE
Minsk Group.
The document was submitted to the sides - Armenia and Azerbaijan - two
years after the adoption of the RA Constitution and was not disclosed
up until 2001.
In 2001, first the Azeri, then the Armenian mass media publicized the
content of the `Comprehensive agreement on Nagorno Karabakh conflict
settlement' presented by OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs in July 1997.
The status of Nagorno Karabakh in that document was determined by two
principles: a) all Parties of the conflict recognize the territorial
integrity and the stability of borders of Azerbaijan and Armenia; and
b) Nagorno Karabakh is a state and territorial formation within
Azerbaijan.
`Considering the fact that we have a precedent when Armenia's first
president ignored the fundamental issues of the 1992 resolution, it's
high time we ratified that document,' says Gabrielyan.
Many today say that the resolution has to be ratified, believing that
it would become a kind of probing of the international reaction, at
the same time remaining Armenia's internal matter.
From: A. Papazian