NKR PRESIDENT: THE SPIRIT OF A UNIFIED VICTORY HAS MADE THE UNSHAKABLE WILL AND READINESS OF THE PEOPLE OF THE NAGORNO KARABAGH REPUBLIC TO LIVE FREELY AND INDEPENDENTLY IN THEIR OWN LAND BE HEARD MORE AUDIBLE
ArmInfo
2009-07-10 16:10:00
ArmInfo. "I welcome cordially the participants of the conference
on the Artsakh issue and the Armenian-Turkish relations and put
special emphasize on the fact that it takes place in the Nagorno
Karabagh Republic. This representative conference intends wholesome
and comprehensive discussions of the issues on the agenda with
participation of attendees from Armenia, Diaspora and Artsakh, who
made national concerns of the Armenian people their daily life and
the essence of their very existence", NKR President Bako Sahakyan said
at the "Armenian-Turkish Relations and the Artsakh Issue" Conference
in Stepanakert, ArmInfo special correspondent in Stepanakert reports.
"Being very much aware that those present are competent and
professional people, I would like, nevertheless, to touch upon our
recent history. It is know that in this period of the modern history
of the Armenian people, Artsakh found itself in the frontline of the
liberation movement, giving a new impetus to the revival of national
consciousness and unity of all Armenians. Almost two decades have
passed since the world-spread Armenians putting aside ideological
and party discords, personal ambitions and priorities have stood
by the Artsakh people fighting for restoration of their rights and
justice. Unity became our first victory in this struggle.
It unified the will and spirit of the Armenian people at the
epoch-making and hard time, when Armenia having survived destructive
earthquake and the influx of tens of thousands refugees, was imposed
to the blockage and found itself on the verge of humanitarian
catastrophe. We, the people of Artsakh, will never forget all of
those who during the hard days of the Motherland where with us, in
our ancient land, where the fate of Artsakh was to be decided. The war
was not our choice; it was imposed on us in response to our peaceful
and civilized call for restoration of historical truth. Heavy and
unequal battles created our Defense Army, which in a very short period
of time carried out its sacred duty of defending Artsakh people and
statehood with flying colors. Each of you has personal contribution
to great and small, military and economic victories of Artsakh. And
this very spirit of a unified victory has made the unshakable will
and readiness of the people of the Nagorno Karabagh Republic to live
freely and independently in their own land be heard more audible. This
spirit predetermined our past, it determines the present and the
future of our people. On September 2, 1991, the Nagorno Karabagh
Republic was proclaimed. On 10 December of the same year the people
of Artsakh carried out a nation-wide referendum and announced their
decision to live in a free and sovereign country. Our position has
been is clear-cut and unchangeable. The independence of the Nagorno
Karabagh Republic is an accomplished fact and is not is not a subject
to discussions. Any attempt to present the Nagorno Karabagh Republic
ithin the frameworks of Azerbaijani territorial integrity is both
incomprehensible and unacceptable for us. This neglects natural
development of history and life, as well as contradicts the realities
of the past. Since the proclamation of independence we have stood
behind the path of our choice, successfully defending the borders of
Artsakh, building and strengthening our state, efficiently overcoming
difficulties on the way of recreating and developing the country. As
the result the world has been convinced that it deals with the
established state and society, which has all the necessary attributes
of statehood, embarked on the path of democracy. For this very reason
we do not consider the restoration of the full-fledged negotiation
format as an additional pretext to remind about our existence, but
because this format is indeed a deficient one. Artsakh, being the
main party to the Azerbaijani-Karabagh conflict, is now out of the
negotiations and we should restore this important principle. Without
the consent of the people of the Nagorno Karabagh Republic any
decision will be impossible to implement. We have reiterated many
times that we support equal participation of all parties in the
peaceful settlement of the Karabagh conflict. However, political
leadership of Azerbaijan has another vision and always speaks about
its would-be right to solve the conflict in a military way. We cannot
be indifferent towards the policy the neighboring state follows. The
authorities of Armenia and Artsakh have made many statements on the
impermissibility of the dissemination of hatred and militant rhetoric.
The people of Artsakh have gone through all the hardships of war
and are fully conscious of the price and importance of peace for
our region.
However, it does not mean that we are not ready to repel any
aggression of the enemy. As to the Armenian-Turkish relations then
this complex and multilevel issue touches upon both political and
economic spheres and to a great extend depends on some historical and
psychological factors, which exercise influence on political reality
and developments. In any case it is very much clear that any shift
in the Armenian-Turkish relations must not and cannot be implemented
to the prejudice of the Karabagh conflict settlement. Any attempts
to interconnect these two issues lying in different realms will
definitely lead to an impasse. Another important issue that touches
upon both the settlement of Artsakh issue and the Armenian-Turkish
relations is orderliness and unity of our people. Today we are much
more obliged to have a united front to address issues of pan-national
importance and assess the situation. This must be so not only by
words and viewpoints, but also y our united and joint approach and
towards solving issues we face.
That is true for Armenia, for the Diaspora and for Artsakh. We need
work that will unify the whole potential of the Armenian people thus
creating firm foundation for our struggle. From this very viewpoint
we rate high the undertaking of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation
to hold this pan-Armenian conference in Artsakh, where we steadily
strengthen the independence reached at the cost of numerous victims
and much hardship. On this path we have already gained great and small
victories standing behind either successes or the issues still to be
solved. Only unity, deep comprehension of national goals and priorities
it will be possible to overcome difficulties and neutralize the threats
we face. Friends, I am confidant that combining efforts of Armenia,
Artsakh and the Diaspora we will be able to solve all problems, build
and make prosperous our two Armenian states and create worthy future
for the generations to come", B. Sahakyan said.