A leading member of Armenia’s main opposition alliance sees “serious changes” in the current Karabakh settlement process, which he says has reached “a very worrisome point”.
David Shahnazarian also contends that by stifling democracy in Armenia, including through suppressing last year’s opposition demonstrations in Yerevan, the authorities lost “the few pro-Armenian elements” in the Karabakh talks.
Shahnazarian, a former chief of national security and current member of the Armenian National Congress (HAK), spoke to RFE/RL on Monday assessing the latest round of talks between the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan over the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute.
Serzh Sargsyan and Ilham Aliev held a three-and-a-half-hour meeting in Russian capital Moscow on Friday. They made no announcement for the press afterwards. The cochairmen of the Minsk Group of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) from the United States, Russia and France, who at one point joined the negotiating parties in the discussion, said afterwards that no document was signed during the meeting.
The Group’s American co-chair Matthew Bryza described the meeting between Sarkisian and Aliev as “deep” and unprecedented by “openness of discussion and activeness in exchange of opinions”. But Bryza added he was “a little disappointed that no new decisions were made.”
Meanwhile, Shahnazarian claims the Karabakh process has gained some “new quality with elements of the Dayton process”. (The agreement reached as a result of the Dayton process put an end to the long and bloody war in Bosnia in the early 1990s.)
“The three co-chair countries seem to have a common interest. If not about an ultimate settlement, but at least about achieving an essential change in the current status-quo in the conflict,” Shahnazarian explained.
Shahnazarian also described the basic Madrid principles revealed by the co-chair countries’ leaders on July 10, a week before the Moscow negotiations, as “alarming” and containing “no positive element”.
“I can say that in these six points, there is not even a hint at self-determination. It is obvious that the Armenian authorities keep agreeing to new concessions,” asserted the oppositionist, adding that the main reason for concessions is the situation in Armenia’s domestic politics.
“Not only the peaceful demonstration but also the few pro-Armenian elements remaining in the Karabakh settlement process were gunned down on March 1,” said Shahnazarian, referring to the suppression of the opposition’s post-election street demonstrations in 2008.
At the same time, Shahnazarian said the distortion of the process began in 1998 – the year when current opposition leader Levon Ter-Petrosian resigned as president and Robert Kocharian succeeded him in office.
“Kocharian changed the whole philosophy of the Karabakh process based on his personal interest,” said Shahnazarian, implying Armenia’s effectively supplanting Karabakh as a full party to the negotiations.
Shahnazarian also said that Turkey will make no step in improving bilateral ties with Armenia until it is satisfied there is tangible progress in the Karabakh issue.
“And Sarkisian has set a deadline in the Armenian-Turkish rapprochement for October. Even in this matter Sarksian put himself in a very difficult situation,” said Shahnazarian.
Remarkably, the Minsk Group cochairmen said in Moscow that the next meeting between Sarkisian and Aliev will be held “no later than early October.” Sarkisian is expected to visit Turkey on October 14 to attend a World Cup 2010 qualifier between the national soccer teams of Armenia and Turkey at the invitation of Turkish President Abdullah Gul.
Also, Shahnazarian calls Nagorno-Karabakh’s recent statements voicing concern over the settlement “not enough”.
“Statements that Karabakh must return to the negotiations as a full party no longer mean anything. They should say if they trust Sarkisian as their representative or not,” he said. “The authorities and people of Karabakh must understand that their toleration of the occupation regime in Armenia for 11 years has been at the expense of prospects of Karabakh’s liberties and security. And Sarkisian must understand that he has nothing to do and he must resign proceeding from the state and national interests.”
Shahnazarian, a former chief of national security and current member of the Armenian National Congress (HAK), spoke to RFE/RL on Monday assessing the latest round of talks between the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan over the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute.
Serzh Sargsyan and Ilham Aliev held a three-and-a-half-hour meeting in Russian capital Moscow on Friday. They made no announcement for the press afterwards. The cochairmen of the Minsk Group of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) from the United States, Russia and France, who at one point joined the negotiating parties in the discussion, said afterwards that no document was signed during the meeting.
The Group’s American co-chair Matthew Bryza described the meeting between Sarkisian and Aliev as “deep” and unprecedented by “openness of discussion and activeness in exchange of opinions”. But Bryza added he was “a little disappointed that no new decisions were made.”
Meanwhile, Shahnazarian claims the Karabakh process has gained some “new quality with elements of the Dayton process”. (The agreement reached as a result of the Dayton process put an end to the long and bloody war in Bosnia in the early 1990s.)
“The three co-chair countries seem to have a common interest. If not about an ultimate settlement, but at least about achieving an essential change in the current status-quo in the conflict,” Shahnazarian explained.
Shahnazarian also described the basic Madrid principles revealed by the co-chair countries’ leaders on July 10, a week before the Moscow negotiations, as “alarming” and containing “no positive element”.
“I can say that in these six points, there is not even a hint at self-determination. It is obvious that the Armenian authorities keep agreeing to new concessions,” asserted the oppositionist, adding that the main reason for concessions is the situation in Armenia’s domestic politics.
“Not only the peaceful demonstration but also the few pro-Armenian elements remaining in the Karabakh settlement process were gunned down on March 1,” said Shahnazarian, referring to the suppression of the opposition’s post-election street demonstrations in 2008.
At the same time, Shahnazarian said the distortion of the process began in 1998 – the year when current opposition leader Levon Ter-Petrosian resigned as president and Robert Kocharian succeeded him in office.
“Kocharian changed the whole philosophy of the Karabakh process based on his personal interest,” said Shahnazarian, implying Armenia’s effectively supplanting Karabakh as a full party to the negotiations.
Shahnazarian also said that Turkey will make no step in improving bilateral ties with Armenia until it is satisfied there is tangible progress in the Karabakh issue.
“And Sarkisian has set a deadline in the Armenian-Turkish rapprochement for October. Even in this matter Sarksian put himself in a very difficult situation,” said Shahnazarian.
Remarkably, the Minsk Group cochairmen said in Moscow that the next meeting between Sarkisian and Aliev will be held “no later than early October.” Sarkisian is expected to visit Turkey on October 14 to attend a World Cup 2010 qualifier between the national soccer teams of Armenia and Turkey at the invitation of Turkish President Abdullah Gul.
Also, Shahnazarian calls Nagorno-Karabakh’s recent statements voicing concern over the settlement “not enough”.
“Statements that Karabakh must return to the negotiations as a full party no longer mean anything. They should say if they trust Sarkisian as their representative or not,” he said. “The authorities and people of Karabakh must understand that their toleration of the occupation regime in Armenia for 11 years has been at the expense of prospects of Karabakh’s liberties and security. And Sarkisian must understand that he has nothing to do and he must resign proceeding from the state and national interests.”