Author: Andres-Papazian

news.am, Armenia
Jan 29 2011

Sudan may serve as precedent for Nagorno-Karabakh, however there is no
shortage of such precedents, Armenian FM says

January 29, 2011 | 10:11

Armenia never ignored and does not ignore historical facts. Turning a
blind eye on the past and historical roots of various controversial
issues will not help to find a solution, Armenian Foreign Minister
Edward Nalbnadian stated in an interview with Russia Today.

`However, one should look at the future and seek conflict solutions
instead of saying the goal is zero problems, at that bringing about
new problems. Each conflict is specific in its roots, peculiarities,
dynamics, development and formats of the negotiation process.
Therefore, it is incorrect to draw parallel between them. However,
there can be some common elements between conflicts. For this reason,
I do not think one conflict must be directly compared with another.

Commenting on the precedent of Sudan, which has recently declared
independence in a national referendum, Nalbandian said: `Certainly,
Sudan can serve as a precedent. However, there is no shortage of such
precedents. Sudan is simply the latest one. The formation of many of
the UN member-states may serve as a precedents, which became
independent by enforcement of nation’s right to self-determination.
Nagorno-Karabakh and Karabakhi people have equal rights with other
nations to decide their destiny under the sun,’ the FM emphasized.

From: A. Papazian

news.am, Armenia
Jan 29 2011

Armenian FM: Not just majority, but nearly entire population of
Nagorno-Karabakh voted for independence

January 29, 2011 | 09:19

According to the decision of the Caucasian Bureau of the Bolshevik
Party (Russian Communist Party) Karabakh was included into Azerbaijan,
Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian stated in an interview
with Russia Today.

`Of course, people of Nagorno-Karabakh opposed this decision. However,
the leaders of the Soviet state said there are no borders between
nations, but only territorial-administrative borders, as we all live
in one state,’ the minister said.

Edward Nalbandian stressed when the Soviet Union collapsed, a national
referendum was held in Nagorno-Karabakh and 99.89% of Karabakhi people
voted for independence. On November 26, 1991, Supreme Soviet of
Azerbaijan adopted the resolution on dissolution of Nagorno-Karabakh
autonomous oblast, according to which NKAO was liquidated as
national-territorial formation. On November 28, USSR Committee of
Constitutional control issued a decree, condemning the act of
Azerbaijan legislative body on dissolution of NKAO as violating the
status of NKAO.

`Two weeks later, 99, 89% of the participants voted for the
independence of Nagorno-Karabakh in a national referendum. The vote
showed not just majority, but nearly the entire population of
Nagorno-Karabakh voted for independence. In response, Azerbaijan
launched large-scale military operations and perpetrated ethnic
cleansings in Nagorno-Karabakh and other Armenian-populated
settlements of Azerbaijan, unleashing an aggression against Karabakh,’
the Minister recalled.

From: A. Papazian

news.az, Azerbaijan
Jan 29 2011

Bad peace is much better than war, Nalbandian
Sat 29 January 2011 07:06 GMT | 9:06 Local Time

Armenia supports principles and elements, offered by the co-chairs as
a basis for negotiations to reach solution.
Armenian FM Edward Nalbandian gave an interview to Russian Today channel.

Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian called an attempt to
resolve the conflict by military means a big illusion.

“Those who think that it is possible to solve conflicts by use of
force or through military actions, it is a big illusion, because after
all wars it is necessary to get back to the negotiating table, but in
worse conditions’, Nalbandian said in an interview with Russia Today.

According to him, any bad peace is better than any war. “It is
natural, because, you know, problems cannot be solved by way of war”,
Nalbandian said.

Speedy resolution of the Karabakh conflict meets the interests of all
parties, the minister said. “Firstly, I believe that time does not
play into the hands of either side: the sooner we solve this conflict,
the more it will meet the interests of all parties to the conflict”,
said Nalbandian.

He disagreed with the view that the positions of the parties have not
become closer since the moment of signing an agreement on ceasefire in
1994.

`In the past we were close to solving the conflict, for example, in
2011, when negotiations, mediated by France, were held in Paris.
France, as one of the Minsk Group co-chairs, at that time played an
active role and the sides were very close to resolution of the
conflict. Unfortunately, Azerbaijan, President Heydar Aliyev denies
the agreements, which were attained in Paris, the so-called Paris
principles, who were further put on paper in Key-West’, Nalbandian
said. He said the Azerbaijani president explained this by saying that
the public opinion in Azerbaijan is not ready to this.

Almost all its population voted for independence of Nagorno Karabakh,
Nalbandian said. He noted that Karabakh was included into Aezrbaijan
on the basis of the decision of the Caucasus bureau of the boshevik
party.

`Certainly, the population of Nagorno Karabakh, people of Nagorno
Karabakh did not agree with this decision. But the leaders of the
Soviet state used to say: you know we have no borders between the
states, there are territorial-administrative borders, we all are
inside a single state. But when the case came to the USSR collapse,
the referendum was held in Nagorno Karabakh and 99.89% voted for
independence’, Nalbandian said.

He noted that before this on 26 November 1991 the Supreme Council of
Azerbaijan eliminated the Karabakh autonomy, as the national
territorial formation and in two days the Committee of Constitutional
Supervision of the USSR condemned this decision.

`It is important that the ceasefire achieved in 1994 is still
maintained. Separate incidents really take place. In order to support
these incidents, there were the offers of the international community,
OSCE, Minsk Group co-chairs, supported by Armenia, about adopting
measures to consolidate ceasefire, withdrawal of snipers from the
contact line, proposal to attain agreement on nonuse of force.
Unfortunately, Azerbaijan refuses to implement these proposals of the
world community’, the Armenian foreign minister said.

`Armenia supports principles and elements, offered by the co-chairs as
a basis for negotiations to reach solution. But it is for the people
of Nagorno Karabakh to decide whom to live with, how to live. And this
free will of the people of Nagorno Karabakh must have a legal force.
This is fixed in proposals, presented by the Minsk Group co-chairs’,
the Armenian FM said.

The Southern Sudan may become a precedent for the resolution of the
Karabakh conflict and there are many precedents of this kind’,
Nalbandian said in the interview.

Armenian FM Edward Nalbandian considers Turkey’s position destructive
in the issue of Karabakh and resolution of bilateral relations.

`Turkey’s position is not merely constructive, but destructive in
terms of this conflict and in terms of normalizing the
Armenian-Turkish relations’, Nalbandian said.

`Yes, we started the process, held talks and came to signing protocols
(in 2009), agreeing with the Turkish side that we do this without
prerequisites. But after signing the protocols, Turkey showed no will
to observe one of the main principles of the international law, which
emerged with democracy-this is the principle pacta sunt servanda, that
is agreements must be observed’, Nalbandian said.

He said these prerequisites are the attempts to bind the resolution of
the Karabakh conflict to normalizing of Armenian-Turkish relations.

News.Az

From: A. Papazian

Panorama, Armenia
Jan 29 2011

Nalbandyan: Public opinion shouldn’t be aroused, but prepared for compromises

Time is not on either side of the conflict; as soon as we settle the
conflict it will be for the benefit of all sides of conflict, Armenian
FM Edward Nalbandyan said in a televised interview with Russia Today,
answering to the question if the time plays in favour of one of the
sides.

Referring to the second part of the question the ceasefire between
Azerbaijan, Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh was signed in 1994 and
probably ever since, the sides’ positions in the diplomatic sense did
not become closer, Edward Nalbandyan answered:

`I do not quite agree with the view that the sides’ positions have
never been closer. Back in 2001 we were close to the conflict’s
settlement during talks in Paris through the mediation of France. At
that time, as a co-chairman of the Minsk Group, France was playing a
more active role, and the sides were very close to the conflict’s
settlement. Unfortunately, Heydar Aliyev, the then President of
Azerbaijan rejected the agreements reached in Paris – the so-called
Paris Principles which were later committed to paper in Key West. He
explained his decision by the fact that allegedly public opinion in
Azerbaijan was not ready for that. But for settlement of any conflict
the public opinion should be prepared in advance-not afterwards. The
public opinion should not be aroused. You know, by pouring oil on the
fire – what’s happening in Azerbaijan at the moment – but it is
necessary to prepare public opinion for the settlement, prepare for
compromise.’

From: A. Papazian

news.am, Armenia
Jan 29 2011

Six major principles were picked from Madrid proposals, Armenian FM says

January 29, 2011 | 06:24

Negotiations on Karabakh are held within the OSCE Minsk Group co-chair
states, all of them issued statements, resolutions and decisions
during those three years that are in line with Armenia’s position,
Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian said in an interview with
Russia Today.

`It is about 3 principles and 6 main elements on the settlement of the
Nagorno-Karabakh issue. The negotiations are currently conducted on
the basis of the Madrid proposals that were presented to the sides
back in November 2007. The six major principles were picked from the
Madrid proposals and voiced in the statements of Presidents Medvedev,
Obama and Sarkozy on Nagorno-Karabakh in L’Aquila and Muskoka in the
frameworks of the G8 Summits. What are the international community,
international mediators, Armenia and Azerbaijan saying? The
international community through the mediators is saying that that the
issue should be settled on the basis of the three principles and six
elements,’ he stressed.

There are the principles of non-use of force or threat of force, right
to self-determination and territorial integrity.

`The international community is saying that the parties are to conduct
negotiations based on those principles to reach settlement. And it is
underlined that those 3 principles and 6 elements have been conceived
and proposed as an integrated whole, and it is unacceptable to select
some elements or principles over the others,’ he said, adding that
Armenia fully shares world community’s approach that the principles
are conceived as an integrated whole.

`And what is Azerbaijan saying? Azerbaijan is saying that they accept
only one principle out of the three, as for the six elements they are
saying that they will be ready to hold a discussion on the five other
elements after the implementation of one of them. With regard to this,
at the OSCE Summit in Astana the US Secretary of State, on behalf of
the Minsk Group Co-Chairs stated, once again reminding that those
principles and elements have been conceived as an integrated whole
,it is a package. And we should move forwards towards the settlement
of the issue on the basis of it,’ Nalbandian stressed.

`In those elements, proposed by Russia, the United States and France
it is mentioned that the final status of Nagorno-Karabakh should be
decided by the Nagorno-Karabakh people through free expression of will
that should have a legally binding force. And before that final
decision, Nagorno-Karabakh should have an interim status. What does
the interim status mean? Saying interim status, it is supposed that
the final status has not yet been defined. And it is one of the main
elements proposed by the Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group as a basis
for the settlement,’ Armenian FM said.

From: A. Papazian

news.az, Azerbaijan
Jan 29 2011

Armenians, residing in Nagorno Karabakh, want to live by Azerbaijani laws
Sat 29 January 2011 08:15 GMT | 10:15 Local Time

Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan is well aware that his thoughts are
far from the reality.
He should realize that the sooner the occupied lands of Azerbaijan are
liberated, the better it will be for them, chief of the Azerbaijani
community of Nagorno Karabakh Bayram Safarov said.

Ruling party of Azerbaijan reports that according to Safarov, on the
background of Azerbaijan’s rapid development, Armenia is further
weakening.

`Crisis in Armenia will further strengthen. Therefore, people leave
this country, the Armenian population is decreasing. Armenians,
residing in Nagorno Karabakh, want to live by Azerbaijani laws.
Ordinary Armenians witness the development of Azerbaijan and want to
see the same development in their lives. But the leadership of the
occupier-country does not give this opportunity. I think the Armenian
leadership will have to reconcile with it sooner or later. In the face
of Azerbaijan’s strengthening might, such people as Sargsyan grow even
meaner’, he said.

1news.az

From: A. Papazian

Panorama, Armenia
Jan 29 2011

H. Karapetyan: `Azerbaijan buys old weapons and is busy with money laundering’

If Azerbaijan was sure that Armenian Army wasn’t able to resist their
provocations they would not think even a while to start war, ARF
faction deputy, Chairman of NA standing committee on defense, national
security and domestic affairs Hrayr Karapetyan told Panorama.am when
asked for a comment on violation of ceasefire regime in the line of
contact.

`They are sure we have strong army, we’re equipped with rich
armaments, and that our army has moral victory towards the Azerbaijani
army,’ NA deputy told Panorama.am.

Azerbaijan, according to the official, attempts to exceed in armaments
Armenian Army, but they know they can’t do it. `If they waste their
oil money to buy weapons, mainly old and used, they are busy with
money laundering, Armenian Army targets modern and new armaments in
favor to our army,’ H. Karapetyan said.

From: A. Papazian

news.am, Armenia
Jan 29 2011

Armenian FM says Turkey failed to observe pacta sunt servanda principle

January 29, 2011 | 07:24

Turkey’s position is not just unconstructive, but even destructive
both in the viewpoint of this conflict and normalization of
Armenia-Turkey relations, Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian
said in an interview with Russia Today.

`You know that it was initiated by the Armenia’s President to start
the process of normalizing Armenia-Turkey relations. Yes, we started
the process; we conducted negotiations and reached the stage of
signing protocols, having agreed with the Turkish side that we were
doing it without any preconditions. But after protocols were signed,
Turkey could not bring itself to observing one of the major principles
of international law, which was born together with diplomacy – the
pacta sunt servanda principle, meaning that all the agreements are to
be implemented,’ he noted.

Minister Nalbandian stressed that Armenia and Turkey signed the
protocols in the presence of Switzerland, Russia, the United States,
France, as well as members of the European Union and the Council of
Europe. And then the Turkish side has got back to the same
preconditions it was presenting before the start of this process, the
preconditions keeping normalization of Armenia-Turkey relations at a
deadlock.

`What are those preconditions? First, it’s an attempt to link the
Nagorno-Karabakh settlement with Armenia-Turkey relations. Russia, the
US and France – in the mediators of the Nagorno-Karabakh settlement –
repeatedly made statements. The attempts to link those two processes
would harm both of them. The Turkish side is pretending that it does
not see or hear what the international community is saying,’ he said.

The second point, Foreign Minister considers, is the recognition of
the Armenian Genocide. `When we started this process, we said that
genocide recognition by Turkey is not a precondition for normalization
of our relations despite the fact that Turkey has been denying
Armenian genocide for 95 years. But this cannot be Turkey’s
precondition to Armenia,’ he added.

Edward Nalbanidan said Armenia has been emphasizing it will never
question either the fact of Genocide, or the importance of its
international recognition. `We told Turkey, the intermediaries and all
the countries supporting the process of normalization of
Armenia-Turkey relations about it. Unfortunately Turkey has returned
to the language of preconditions that was used at the beginning of the
process. By doing so it took a counterproductive position both in
settling the Armenia-Turkey relations and the settlement of
Nagorno-Karabakh issue, because as I have mentioned before, the
international community is saying that linking these two processes may
affect the Nagorno-Karabakh settlement,’ he stated.

From: A. Papazian

news.am, Armenia
Jan 29 2011

Armenian fund wins Genocide museum lawsuit

January 29, 2011 | 12:56

Under U.S. court decision, all properties located in the center of
Washington, purchased and donated by Gerard Cafesjian, will be
returned to the Cafesjian Family Foundation (CFF).

The Voice of America reported decision by Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly
is a significant victory for Gerard Cafesjian in over 3-year long
legal battle for the project of construction of the Armenian Genocide
Museum. All accusations against Gerard Cafesjian and the Cafesjian
Family Foundation were dismissed. The ruling reinstated CFF on the
board of the Armenian Genocide Museum & Memorial. Legal fees of
Cafesjian will be compensated as well.

The verdict was passed after open court hearings were held last November.

From: A. Papazian

The Youth Party unites with Prosperous Armenia Party
29.01.2011 19:21

Lusine Vasilyan
`Radiolur’

The youth Party of Armenia has united with the Prosperous Armenia
Party. The decision was made during today’s 10th special session of
the party. 921 out of 923 delegates voted for the unification. Leader
of the Party Vahan Babayan said the they had taken a historic and
correct decision.

The decision was welcomed by the leader of the Prosperous Armenia
Gagik Tsarukyan, who said that `such unifications should serve as an
example for other parties, as well.

`This is a good example of the fact that parties should unite when
there are common ideas and programs,’ Gagik Tsarukyan told reporters.

According to him, the process will continue, since many parties wish
to unite with the Prosperous Armenia Party.

From: A. Papazian