INITIATIVE: KARABAKH STARTS LOBBYING FOR INTERNATIONAL RECOGNITION
Naira Hayrumyan
ArmeniaNow correspondent
Karabakh | 29.04.10 | 12:40
A recognized NKR will become a legitimate part of the regional security
architecture, ensuring its own protection," says Mayilyan.
Armenian political parties have welcomed the initiative of the Public
Council for Foreign and Security Policy of Nagorno-Karabakh to start
lobbying for the international recognition of the self-declared
republic. Earlier this week the Council appealed to influential
Diaspora lobbying groups and traditional Armenian parties to step up
efforts on an international recognition of NKR. Artyusha Shahbazyan,
secretary of the parliamentary faction of the Armenian Revolutionary
Federation (Dashnaktsutyun), a party that has strong influence in
the Diaspora, said that if Stepanakert considers it expedient now to
come up with such an initiative, it is necessary to support it. The
head of the ruling Republican Party’s parliamentary faction Galust
Sahakian also says that time has come when Nagorno-Karabakh itself
should be able to raise issues before the international community.
Chairman of the Board of the opposition Heritage Party Armen
Martirosyan thinks the initiative should have been taken a long
time ago. "Before we turn to the parliaments of foreign countries
to recognize the independence of the Republic, Stepanakert should
resolve the issue with Armenia," said Martirosyan. Heritage twice
initiated the recognition of Karabakh by Armenia, but the initiative
was dismissed by the government.
(Authorities in Armenia deem a formal recognition of Karabakh’s
independence inexpedient at the moment as it will draw unnecessary
international backlash, including accusations of Armenia as being an
‘aggressor’ state. Besides, such a decision would turn one of the main
subjects of the current negotiations, i.e. the status of Karabakh, into
a moot point thus making further talks meaningless and the likelihood
of a new war higher. At the same time, Armenia says such a decision
could be the ‘last bullet’ in its arsenal should Azerbaijan decide
to torpedo the talks and opt for a military solution.)
In an interview with ArmeniaNow chairman of the NKR Public Council
Masis Mayilyan said that the reason for passiveness in the matter
of pushing for the recognition of Nagorno Karabakh was the hope of
resolving problems with Azerbaijan as part of the negotiating process.
"Now that it is clear that the proposals of the [OSCE] Minsk Group
clash with the interests of Artsakh [Karabakh] and Armenia, when
the West and Russia have set precedents of recognizing new states
without considering the opinion of the former ‘center’, threats
of destabilization have been heard from Baku, and lately also from
Ankara – the issue of NKR’s recognition as a mechanism to enhance
the security of Karabakh has become quite urgent," said Mayilyan.
He considers that Armenia should continue to participate in the
Minsk process and simultaneously it is necessary to work purposefully
towards the international recognition of Karabakh. "A recognized NKR
will become a legitimate part of the regional security architecture,
ensuring its own protection," said the expert.
Mayilyan believes it is necessary to take measures to neutralize the
Turkish-Azerbaijani military threat. "There may be two options: the
first is the supply of arms and military equipment to the Armenian
sides free of charge to maintain the balance of power in the region,
the second is the international recognition of NKR and its invitation
under one of the existing ‘security umbrellas’," said Mayilyan.
Expert for the Armenian Center for National and International Studies
(ACNIS) Mavel Sargsyan says there is one solution – the international
recognition of the reality. "If the realities are recognized, the
conflict is exhausted. That is what the policies of Armenia and
Nagorno-Karabakh should be directed at," said the expert.
Nagorno-Karabakh, a former autonomous oblast in Soviet Azerbaijan,
declared its independence from Baku in 1991 after several years of
ethnic tensions. The Armenian republic’s de jure independence has
not been recognized by the world community or any country yet. In
2006, Armenian President Robert Kocharyan stated that Karabakh’s
recognition [by Armenia] is possible if the talks with Baku on the
Karabakh conflict reach an impasse.
While negotiations have been stalling, Armenian authorities have been
reluctant to formalize the recognition of Karabakh, presumably not
to provoke an escalation of conflict.
Azerbaijan’s leadership has repeatedly warned that it will consider
renewing military operations should Armenia choose to recognize
Karabakh’s independence de jure.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
