POLITICAL FORCES LIKED SERZH SARGSYAN’S SPEECH
JANUARY 16, 2013 17:05
Yesterday the whole Establishment gathered in the Ministry of
Defense. In his speech, President of the Republic of Armenia Serzh
Sargsyan talked about the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and Azerbaijan’s
recent behavior. In particular, S. Sargsyan said that the Azeri people
would still not be ready for peaceful coexistence for a long time,
and disseminating Armenophobia in Azeri society was a serious threat
to the security in the region. Then the president warned and reminded:
“The Karabakh people have never reconciled themselves with the illegal
action taken by Stalin, natives of Karabakh have never considered
themselves citizens of Azerbaijan; they have never reconciled
themselves with the decision of annexation by Azerbaijan.” During a
conversation with , representatives of different political
forces deemed Serzh Sargsyan’s strong speech positive and described
his statements as an adequate response to Azerbaijan’s policy.
Armen Martirosyan, a deputy chairman of the Heritage Party executive
committee, said in this regard: “What Serzh Sargsyan said is not
enough, since Raffi Hovhannisyan has said many times what steps the
Armenian side should take. I think Serzh Sargsyan did the right thing
in the sense that Aliyev’s rhetoric is a policy of Armenophobia; using
that rhetoric, he prepares the society not for peace, but for war. It
is good that Serzh Sargsyan says it now, but the Heritage Party and
Raffi Hovhannisyan said many years ago that one should give up on the
Madrid Principles, recognize the independence of Nagorno-Karabakh,
Nagorno-Karabakh should return to the negotiating table, and the main
guarantor of our security were we ourselves. Unfortunately, all this
is said now. It is good that they come closer to some ideas of Raffi
Hovhannisyan in the course of time, use the terms he used.
“I think this step of Serzh Sargsyan is a positive one, regardless
of the fact that the government took it. The president had to make
speeches about the very situation and in the Armenian interest.
Therefore, when the president makes such a speech, it is positive
anyway.”
Gurgen Yeghiazaryan, a member of the Armenian National Congress
(ANC), stated: “Azerbaijan has been obviously pursuing a policy of
Armenophobia for the past decade. The press, the television have
been mobilized to rebuke Armenians. They were called Caucasian
Tartars at the time. Now those fools’ appetite has grown and they
make Yerevan an Azeri territory etc. Today small drones controlled
from land fly on the Armenia-Iran border. They photograph and examine
our border. Those rogues have killed a young man on the border once
again. But our response is not adequate. President Aliyev himself
rebukes Armenians instead of solving his internal problems. This is
not Armenian elections so that I can say that they have been rigged,
election bribes have been given. This is perhaps the first adequate
step in foreign policy. This is not football diplomacy, where we
suffered a crushing defeat; these are not protocols, when we kneeled
before the Turks. Now the ball is in our court, but it is the European
ball covered with pricks, and if we touch it, it will explode. This
is a response to an impudent person. At the end of the day, one should
say something about any impudent behavior. I welcome that step.”
In this context, G. Yeghiazaryan urges to make up our mind where we
are heading.
Tatev HARUTYUNYAN