In a joint statement, they warned that Karabakh’s ethnic Armenian population will be subjected to “ethnic cleansing and annihilation” if Azerbaijan regains control over the disputed territory.
Addressing the Armenian parliament on April 13, Pashinian said the international community is pressing Armenia to “lower a bit the bar on the question of Nagorno-Karabakh’s status” and recognize Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity. He signaled Yerevan’s intention to make such concessions to Baku, fuelling more opposition allegations that he plans to recognize Azerbaijani sovereignty over Karabakh.
Karabakh’s leadership also deplored that declaration. In a resolution, the Karabakh parliament demanded that the Armenian authorities “abandon their current disastrous position.”
The statement issued by a dozen civic activists says Pashinian speech suggests that the Armenian government is involved in preparations for “a process which may have serious and dangerous consequences for the security of Armenia’s and Karabakh’s citizens.”
The signatories mostly affiliated with Western-funded NGOs also said that Pashinian’s conciliatory rhetoric is not and will not be reciprocated by Azerbaijan’s leadership. Baku is on the contrary continuing its “aggressive actions” against Armenia and Karabakh, they said.
“There are many reasons to think so,” Gayane Abrahamian, one of the signatories, told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service.
Eduard Aghajanian, a senior lawmaker and member of the ruling Civil Contract party, insisted late last week that Pashinian did not call for the restoration of Azerbaijani control of Karabakh. But he would not be drawn on what exactly “lowering the bar” on the territory’s status means.