Category: 2022

Armenian opposition changes tactics of political struggle

“The movement started by the Armenian opposition has become a [significant] factor for the international community, they no longer think they can do whatever they want with Armenia“. This statement was made by Ishkhan Saghatelyan, one of the leaders of the Resistance movement.

The Armenian parliamentary opposition began large-scale protests at the end of April. Their demand was the resignation of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. According to opposition representatives, the government led by Pashinyan intends to “make Nagorno-Karabakh as part of Azerbaijan.” Opposition deputies cite the statement of the Prime Minister of Armenia that “the international community expects Armenia to lower the bar on the status of Nagorno-Karabakh”.

France Square, where the opposition set up tents and blocked traffic, reopened on June 15. According to Saghatelyan, the tents have been removed, but this does not mean the end of the movement or a pause, but a change of tactics. The opposition intends to expand the range of its actions, create regional structures, involve Nagorno-Karabakh and the diaspora to the protest movement.

The movement is not considering the issue of a candidate for prime minister at the moment. The oppositionists say they will discuss this issue after the resignation of the current government.

• PM Pashinyan: “Any alternative to peace will be disastrous – both for NK and Armenia”
• “Peace, strengthening army or poverty” – what worries Armenians?
• Armenian Defense Minister: ‘No danger’ of new war with Azerbaijan

Referring to the prime minister’s latest speech, Saghatelyan said that Pashinyan had effectively lost his only trump card, the “peace agenda” promoted by his government.

“If there are no guarantees in terms of security, no guarantees in terms of peace, what will he do? It is obvious that Nikol and Aliyev have a schedule, an agreement on the transfer of the country”, said Ishkhan Saghatelyan.

According to him, as a result of opposition protests, this schedule was disrupted, but the process did not stop.

“If there is a sane person who thinks that it will be possible to ensure the security of the people of Nagorno-Karabakh, being part of Azerbaijan, then he is either a traitor or has no idea about the situation”, Saghatelyan said.

According to the oppositionist, the main issue – the removal of Nikol Pashinyan from power – remains unresolved, but over these months the movement has serious achievements.

According to him, before the street struggle, only “the voice of defeat and compromise” was heard from Armenia, which was also noticed by the international community:

“The Armenian people have shown that the current government does not have a mandate for new concessions”.

Saghatelyan assured that the opposition’s approach was heard by the international community. The oppositionist called this circumstance a historical achievement:

“No matter how much [the authorities] try not to ignore it, this movement is talked about at the highest level. They no longer think they can do whatever they want with Armenia”.

According to the leader of the movement, Azerbaijan is also following the developments in Armenia.

“Azerbaijan’s daily worries and statements are the result of this movement, because Aliyev is well aware that when he loses his partner in Armenia, his plans will remain unfinished”, he said.

Saghatelyan also spoke about the omissions of the movement, emphasizing that they failed to achieve a higher level of organization, and therefore failed to form a “regular civilian army” from the protesters. According to him, such an army could bring acts of disobedience to such a level that the government could not withstand this onslaught and filed a resignation.

According to Saghatelyan, the liquidation of the protest camp in France Square does not mean that the movement has retreated from its goals. He says the tents have already done their job, and the forces of citizens are needed elsewhere. Where exactly, the oppositionist did not specify.

“All the talk about the break, about the retreat is just talk. Our plan is not to take a break, but to expand areas of activity. The work is in full swing”, he said.

To increase the effectiveness of the struggle, the opposition intends to change the structure and tactics of the movement. In order to “achieve the final victory”, they consider it necessary to involve the inhabitants of the regions of Armenia, Nagorno-Karabakh and the foreign Armenian diaspora in the movement.

Saghatelyan said that the struggle to achieve the main goal, that is, the resignation of Prime Minister Pashinyan, will begin in August.

According to him, first it is necessary to create political and legal grounds for the resignation, and then nominate a new candidate for the post of prime minister.

The vice-speaker of the parliament confirmed that the opposition deputies would return to the National Assembly, but only with their own agenda. The oppositionists do not intend to give up their mandates, since, according to Saghatelyan, they will still be needed to consolidate their final victory in parliament.

The success of the movement depends on all the citizens involved, the defeat will also depend on the people, the leader of the opposition movement believes.

However, the plans of the opposition are not limited to the change of power. According to Saghatelyan, their goals should become the main tasks of the next government.

“The goal of our movement is to prevent the deportation of Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh, the Turkification of Armenia and threats to the sovereignty of Armenia. This agenda should be implemented after the change of power”, said Ishkhan Saghatelyan.

The oppositionist said that there are regular discussions between the members of the movement and former presidents Robert Kocharyan and Serzh Sargsyan. According to him, the goal of the presidents is to get the country out of the current situation, and not to return to power.

Ilham Aliyev on the rights of Armenians in Azerbaijan

“Azerbaijan is a multinational country, and Armenians are not the largest ethnic minority”, said Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, speaking about ensuring the rights and security of the Armenian population of Karabakh. “If Armenia questions the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, then Azerbaijan will have no other way but to question the territorial integrity of Armenia”, he said.

• PM Pashinyan: “Any alternative to peace will be disastrous – both for NK and Armenia”
• Ilham Aliyev: “If we are defining borders, what NK status is there to talk about?”

On June 16, the IX Global Baku Forum on the topic “Threats to the global world order” opened in the capital of Azerbaijan.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev delivered a speech at the opening ceremony of the forum.

Aliyev stated that the solution of the Karabakh problem will be beneficial for security and peace in the region.

“Azerbaijan won the war, which was fair and inevitable. It ended with the restoration of international law.

Now we are talking about peace. I believe that this is a rare case in the world when, after such a long confrontation, a country that restored justice and defeated the aggressor offered peace within a short time.

If you look at the history of wars, in many cases such a picture is not observed. Why did we choose peace? Because we want to see stable and sustainable development in the South Caucasus. This is a rare opportunity.

The South Caucasus was divided during the years of independence of the three South Caucasian countries. It was divided due to occupation by Armenia. Now is the time for peace and cooperation, and Azerbaijan is working on this”, the President of Azerbaijan said.

Speaking about the process of normalizing relations with Armenia, Aliyev cited five principles proposed to Yerevan by official Baku:

“We are satisfied that the Armenian government has adopted these five principles. This is a positive trend. But we now have to move into the practical phase. We need concrete steps.

Azerbaijan, for its part, has already created a commission on a peace agreement and we are waiting for the same step from Armenia. As soon as this step is taken, negotiations will begin”.

According to the Azerbaijani leader, the country also made its proposals to start delimiting the borders:

“Most of our border was under occupation and there was never a delimitation. This process has already begun and the first meeting of the Azerbaijani-Armenian border commission was held last month at the border. This was symbolic, and was an important message for progress on this issue.

Of course, we understand that this is a long way to go, but the process has already begun”.

“At the same time, we expect Armenia to fulfill the conditions of the tripartite statement of November 10, 2020 on opening communications”, Aliyev said.

According to him, the main goal is to open a land road between the main part of Azerbaijan and its exclave, the Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic:

“More than a year and a half has passed since the signing of the act of surrender by Armenia, but unfortunately, the issue has not yet been resolved. This is unacceptable.

Firstly, this is a violation by Armenia of the terms of the tripartite statement, and creates an imbalance. Because, under the same agreement, Azerbaijan assumed an obligation to freely withdraw from Armenia to the part of Karabakh, where the Armenian population of Azerbaijan lives.

So, for a year and a half they have been using the Lachin road, but the Azerbaijanis cannot use the Zangezur corridor. It’s unfair and we won’t put up with it”.

President Aliyev stressed that the statement of the President of the European Council Charles Michel after the last meeting in Brussels between the leaders of Azerbaijan and Armenia openly speaks of attention to the rights and security of the Armenian population of Karabakh:

“We wholeheartedly support this. The rights and security of the entire population of Azerbaijan are guaranteed by the country’s constitution. Azerbaijan is a multinational country, and Armenians are not the largest ethnic minority.

Representatives of all peoples in Azerbaijan are equal, including the Armenians living in the country. Yes, issues of rights and security will be provided from our side.

Unfortunately, we still hear thoughts from the Armenian government about the status of “Nagorno-Karabakh”. It is useless and dangerous for Armenia. Nagorno-Karabakh does not exist. There is no such administrative unit in our territory, and therefore, any mention of the “status” will lead to a new clash”.

“If Armenia questions the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, then Azerbaijan will have no other choice but to question the territorial integrity of Armenia. And we have the right to demand this from the point of view of history”, Ilham Aliyev said.

“If Armenia tries to demand status for Armenians in Karabakh, then why would Azerbaijan not demand status for Azerbaijanis in western Zangezur? The population of this region consists entirely of Azerbaijanis.

This approach will lead to a dead end. I believe that the Armenian government will not forget the lessons of the second Karabakh war and give up territorial claims”, he added.