ABOUT 100 AGBU MEMBERS IN NKR
Azat Artsakh – Nagorno Karabakh Republic (NKR)
11 Oct 04
On October 8 at the meeting hall of the government about a hundred
members of the Armenian General Benevolent Union met with the NKR
president and the speaker of the National Assembly. Addressing
the guests who represent 24 countries, president Arkady Ghukassian
mentioned that the people of Karabakh won the war owing to the powerful
backing of Armenia and the Diaspora. However, the war still goes on
in the economic, cultural and finally political spheres, and in this
context the role of the Armenian Diaspora is increasingly important.
â^À^ÜIf the recognized countries can have only one ambassador in
one country, the unrecognized countries, including Karabakh may have
thousands of ambassadors. I appoint you ambassadors of Karabakh in your
countries,â^À^Ý stated Arkady Ghukassian. In the current political
situation he pointed out the importance of lobbing mentioning that
the Armenians of the Diaspora should do their best to make the
governments of their countries recognize that if they act against
Karabakh they will have to deal with the entire Armenian nation. Arkady
Ghukassian emphasized that it is not necessary that the visits of
the Diaspora Armenians to Artsakh be connected with some program,
connected with material. â^À^ÜThe people of Karabakh need to feel
that they are not alone in their struggle,â^À^Ý said the president of
NKR. Speaking about the activities of the AGBU in Karabakh, the head
of the country mentioned that during the war Stepanakert was bombed
from five directions and almost all the buildings of the town were
damaged. Today the traces of war have been removed but historic Shoushi
and thr regions of Artsakh need to be restored. â^À^ÜToday you visited
Gandzassar, as well as the far-away village of Norashen in Hadrout. You
drove both on repaired and ruined roads. You saw that Artsakh needs
your assistance,â^À^Ý mentioned A. Ghukassian. Answering the question
of Ashkhen Muradian (San Francisco) whether the reason for unsettled
areas in Karabakh is the lack of financing, the NKR president said that
both financial and human resources are needed. He mentioned that even
if all the villages are restored, people are needed to settle down
there, which in its turn requires providing certain conditions. In
this reference he mentioned that Karabakh with a state budget of 27
million dollars cannot afford to restore Shoushi, which requires 100
million dollars, the irrigation system which costs 60 million dollars,
build 60 schools in villages, repair all the roads. And in this matter
the Diaspora should have an essential role. During the meeting Arkady
Ghukassian also spoke about the necessity of propagating Karabakh
by the Armenians of the Diaspora. He mentioned that the Azerbaijani
propaganda is very active although they do not have a diaspora. At
the same time the guests emphasized that Karabakh needs to present
its problems in a proper manner. â^À^Ü Karabakh must raise the entire
Diaspora on their feet. Whereas this work is not done actively,â^À^Ý
said Ashkhen Muradian to â^À^ÜAzat Artsakhâ^À^Ý. And this despite the
fact that, as Arkady Ghukassian mentioned, NKR has representations in
the USA, Russia, France, the Near East, Australia, soon in Germany
too. Answering the question of the AGBU representative concerning
the talks for the Karabakh problem, Arkady Ghukassian noticed that
the process had been frozen in the recent years. â^À^ÜThe regular
meetings of the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan and the visits
of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairmen to the region cannot substitute
for a complete negotiation process in which Nagorni Karabakh also
participated as a conflict party in the years of 1992-1997. But the
alternative to the negotiation process is the war, and Karabakh will
do its best to prevent war. We are ready to discuss any question
without preconditions,â^À^Ý said Arkady Ghukassian, emphasizing
that the Armenian side recognizes the impossibility of a decision
without compromise. Arkady Ghukassian emphasized the role of the
Diaspora in the conflict settlement saying that it is necessary to
influence through political lobbing the international community which
should recognize that the independence of Karabakh is the only fair
settlement of the confrontation. The AGBU representative in Armenia
Ashot Ghazarian thanked the NKR president for the warm welcome and
mentioned that the members of the organization already have certain
programs. Among the Armenians who visited Karabakh was also the wife
of the chairman of the AGBU V. Sedrakian.
NAIRA HAYRUMIAN. 11-10-2004
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress