Gourgen Yeghazarian: Only A Legitimate Government in Armenia Can Guarantee Artsakh Independence

Armenia, Artsakh and the Surrounding Region

2008-11-27 13:09:35 -

YEREVAN -- On November 24th, addressing the 'Mirror' press club, former Deputy Minister of the National Security, Mr. Gourgen Yeghazarian, member of the Social Democrat Hunchakian Party's Central Committee in Armenia conveyed the Party's belief that nothing was gained by the recent discussion of the Artsakh situation initiated by Serzh Sarkisian with Armenian political parties. He stated that the discussion did not convey any key frameworks being reported in the press and acted as a mere show for the international community by the present regime to demonstrate that normalcy is currently prevalent in Armenia.
In relation to the key frameworks addressed in the press, Mr. Yeghazarian, specifically asked what exactly Serzh Sarkisian meant when he stated that there will be a referendum for the issue at hand. 'The populace of Artsakh has had for over a decade already informed the international community of its intention, a de-facto referendum,' he said. Mr. Yeghazarian also questioned how a referendum would work in a peaceful manner, how is it possible to obtain peace when Azerbaijan could flood Artsakh with 300 thousand Azeris to counter the free will of the Artsakhzis. Mr Yeghazarian also addressed to the press club exactly which borders Serzh Sarkisian entails will be determined through the international negotiations with Azerbaijan, when Armenia and Azerbaijan already have defined borders, as does Artsakh. Lastly, he questioned the validity of the guarantees Mr. Sarkisian expressed as to the people in Artsakh, when they already have a democratically elected government, with an executive and a legislative branch.
Mr. Yeghazarian stressed that in order to fully understand the scope of the latest developments of the Artsakh issue, as well as the recent invitation of political parties to 'address' these developments by the current Armenian regime, one has to look back to the February 19 Presidential elections in Armenia, and the opposition to the falsification of the elections by the Armenian people. He stated that with the falsified election, Mr. Sarkisian does not have any legitimacy within the country nor with the international community. He noted that in order for there to be a peaceful internationally backed resolution for the Artsakh issue with democratic principles of self determination as guidelines, Armenia must establish itself as a truly democratic country.
As for the reported Madrid peace accords, Mr. Yeghazarian stresses that any accord which as a starting point nullifies the democratically elected government as well as Artsakh's armed forces should be a nonstarter.