Artsakh issue being discussed on the wrong plane, expert says
Since 1991, the Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) issue has been considered on the wrong plane, Larisa Alaverdyan, the Director of the Foundation against Violation of Law NGO, told a news conference on Wednesday.
“We are passing an important phase. Europe expressed its stance on the process of realization of the right to self-determination exercised in a flawless manner in Catalonia. From the very beginning Europe, except Yugoslavia and the Soviet Union, was against it. The UN cannot overtly stand against it, since this is not a matter of principle but rather a right of self-determination to nations. Neither the U.S. nor Canada refrain from overtly supporting it, since both of them are facing similar issue inside their states,” she said.
According to Ms. Alaverdyan, the Artsakh issue requires right accents. Highlighting the fact that the Armenian people of Artsakh were exposed to the threat of genocide twice in the same century, the expert urged to consider the issue in this perspective.
In the speaker’s words, the Armenian political and diplomatic thinking fail to get over the approaches of the 1990s. She pointed to another issues regarding the use of terms by the Armenian politicians, such as ‘security zone’ and ‘seven districts’, highlighting Armenia’s stance, strangely enough, contradicts the Artsakh position.
“Artsakh views the entire territory as Nagorno-Karabakh, while Armenia says a part of it is Artsakh, the next part is a security zone. Thus, regardless of all the good remarks, it cannot change the plane this issue is being discussed on,” the speaker noted.
Ms. Alaverdyan also pointed to the fact that Azerbaijan keeps voicing about the issue of its refugees, while Armenia has long left the issue out of its agenda.
“The Artsakh issue is the issue of the Armenian people living and prospering in that land. Only the person who is able to change the plane of the Nagorno-Karabakh issue and to put in into a new track should become Armenia’s leader,” she remarked.
The expert believes it is never too late to start dealing with the issue in the right way.