PRESS RELEASE
The Heritage Party
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27 November 2012
RAFFI HOVANNISIAN’S LETTER TO ICAPP CO-CHAIRMEN
Yerevan–On November 25, upon his return to Armenia’s capital, Raffi
K. Hovannisian addressed an official letter to the co-chairmen of the
International Conference of Asian Political Parties, the 7th General
Assembly of which Hovannisian had addressed in Baku on November 23.
The full text of the letter follows.
25 November 2012
Jose de Venecia Jr.,Founder and Co-Chairman
Chung Eui-yong, Co-Chairman and Secretary General
ICAPP
Dear Sirs:
I herewith formalize my oral remarks made during and after the closing
session of the 7th General Assembly.
The `Baku declaration’ is a sham and a forgery. It was imposed upon
the delegates to the Assembly in flagrant disrespect of their rights
and dignity; in intentional violation of the procedures of the
organization which required a) adoption by consensus (at least I
opposed it publicly and in no uncertain terms) and b) distribution of
its final draft to all delegates before the closing session (which was
purposefully not done); and in what appeared to be a premeditated
conspiracy of commission (at least by the distinguished senator from
Pakistan who headed the drafting committee and was informed in advance
that I demanded, in accordance with the aforementioned procedural
preconditions, to see the draft declaration and to speak in reference
to it if it turned out to be one-sided, partisan and/or untruthful)
and of silence (both of you sat quietly by as the ICAPP rules and
regulations were being railroaded by the Azerbaijani delegation and
the senator in charge of drafting the resolution).
As you well know, not only was I denied the right to reply when during
the 4th plenary session at least five Azerbaijani delegates attacked
me by name with slanderous falsehoods and calls to arms, but I was
expressly refused my fundamental prerogative to express my position on
participating in, or opposing, the consensus required for adoption of
the declaration.
In short, there was no consensus; the rule of law was mocked in broad
daylight; and, what is worse, the text of the `final’ document
included a section on Mountainous Karabagh which was stealthily added
at the last moment, hence rendering it a declaration of standard
Azerbaijani propaganda which not only was spurious and self-serving
but effectively supported their war rhetoric and incitement to
violence (as manifested in the most uncivil banging of fists to which
all of us can testify) instead of the cause of peace, security, and
reconciliation. How ironic.
I do not know if this was the price the ICAPP leadership had to pay in
exchange for the arrangements and other undisclosed benefits delivered
by the host state and its ruling party. Frankly, that is not my
concern, but rather a matter for your conscience and of your own
fidelity to the high principles and values of ICAPP.
I hereby demand that you do the right thing, correct your misconduct,
and cancel the corruption called the `Baku declaration,’ as well as
its publication, forthwith and in toto.
That failing–and even if no other delegate of good conscience
registers his or her protest in formal fashion–I demand that you
remove the word `Armenia’ from that falsified piece of paper.
If the ICAPP leadership wishes to remain complicit in this deceitful,
bellicose affair, and wants to associate itself with war and not
pacific settlement, that is your choice. I will not be a part of it.
In closing, I thank you for your kind invitation and the opportunity
to attend the 7th General Assembly, but painfully must underscore that
under your `guidance’ I have borne witness to one of the greatest
frauds and most egregious breaches of human trust over my entire
career in politics and diplomacy.
I attach a copy of my address to the General Assembly for the record,
for your reference, and for a reflection of the spirit in which I came
to Baku. And I regret that this letter has become necessary.
Respectfully yours,
Raffi K. Hovannisian
Chairman, Heritage Party
Former Minister of Foreign Affairs
Republic of Armenia
From: A. Papazian