The initiative dubbed Hayakve (Armenian vote) was launched by a group of Armenian political activists and public figures this summer following Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s controversial pledge to recognize Azerbaijani sovereignty over Karabakh through an Armenian-Azerbaijani peace treaty.
The campaigners have specifically demanded two new articles of the Criminal Code which would make the Armenian government’s recognition of Karabakh’s incorporation into Azerbaijan and its refusal to seek greater international recognition of the 1915 Armenian genocide crimes punishable by between 10 and 15 years in prison. They argue that this would be in line with a 1990 declaration of independence adopted by Armenia’s first post-Communist parliament.
Armenian law requires the parliament to discuss any initiative backed by at least 50,000 citizens. Hayakve has collected 58,000 signatures in support of its demands.
The parliament committee on legal affairs gave a negative assessment of the initiative at the end of a heated discussion that lasted for seven hours and involved bitter recriminations between its pro-government and opposition members. The decision means that the National Assembly controlled by Pashinian’s Civil Contract party is unlikely to even include the issue on the agenda of its plenary session on Tuesday.
Artsvik Minasian, a parliament deputy from the main opposition Hayastan alliance, accused Civil Contract of “deceiving” Armenians who voted for it in the June 2021 general elections. Minasian argued that in its election manifesto the ruling party pledged to assert the Karabakh Armenians’ right to self-determination.
The Armenian government stopped making references to that right on the international stage one year before Pashinian declared that it recognizes Karabakh as a part of Azerbaijan. It cited instead the need to protect the “rights and security” of the Karabakh Armenians through the Armenian-Azerbaijani peace treaty and other international mechanisms.
Pashinian’s administration appears to have stopped seeking such security guarantees as well after the recent Azerbaijani military offensive that restored Baku’s full control over Karabakh and forced its practically entire population to flee to Armenia.
Alen Simonian, the Armenian parliament speaker and a key Pashinian ally, said last week that the peace treaty should not contain any special provisions on Karabakh and the return of its ethnic Armenian residents.
Eduard Aghajanian, another senior Civil Contract lawmaker, backed Simonian’s stance on Monday, saying that the security of the Karabakh Armenians will be best ensured in Armenia.
“Right now it’s better to concentrate on eliminating the consequences of the Artsakh people’s post-traumatic stress and doing the best to establish peace,” Aghajanian told reporters.