ARMENIA: KARABAKH TALKS’ FAILURE LEADS TO TOUGHER CIVIL SOCIETY STANCE
Onnik Krikorian 7/09/07
Despite the recent goodwill visit by Azerbaijani intellectuals and diplomats, some Armenian civil society activists are taking an increasingly hard line on the 19-year dispute with Azerbaijan over the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh.
A statement issued by the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF), a party that is a member of the governing coalition, underscored the changing mood. It cautioned against "giving away any territory," and demanded an immediate policy of settling the regions surrounding Karabakh currently under Armenian control. [For additional information see the Eurasia Insight archive].
Although the ARF is widely acknowledged to be among Armenia’s most nationalist political groups, its adamant position is shared by what appears to be a growing number of Armenians, observers say. Less than two weeks before a June 10 meeting between Armenian President Robert Kocharian and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, nearly 50 organizations issued an open letter opposing the return of any territory by Armenia as part of a potential Karabakh peace deal. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive].
The open letter specifically demanded that Yerevan end all negotiations with Azerbaijan "regarding the possible surrender of the liberated regions of Artsakh [the Armenian name for Nagorno-Karabakh]." Further, it also stated that "any politician or public officer who should openly declare or demonstrate a willingness to surrender Armenian lands, will be regarded a national traitor and a blatant enemy of the state."
Samvel Martirosyan, founder of the OpenArmenia web portal, is one of the letter’s signatories. "Three or four years ago, society was really tired of the Karabakh issue and wanted to think about the economy," Martirosyan said. "But now people take a more radical position and this includes those who were more liberal and tolerant before." [Editor’s note: Martirosyan was once an occasional commentator for EurasiaNet].
The Association of Investigative Journalists of Armenia is a case in point. Despite having been involved in peace-building and regional integration projects, the association has now started to use the term "liberated territories" in its Hetq Online publication to describe the seven regions currently under Armenian control. The same publication has also criticized Armenian and Karabakh authorities for not doing enough to repopulate those territories with Armenian settlers, and has held public discussions to promote policy changes.
Martirosyan claims that attitudes are hardening because many Armenians no longer see any possibility of concluding a peace deal that benefits Armenia. The seeming reluctance of government bodies, along with many non-governmental organizations, to promote public debate on the Karabakh issue has contributed to the trend, Martirosyan added.
The opposition Heritage and Orinats Yerkir (Country of Law) Parties, the only two opposition parties represented in Armenia’s National Assembly, were among the few political forces that addressed the Karabakh issue during the recent parliamentary election campaign [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive]. Other parties largely avoided the issue, or did not express a well-defined position.
Stepan Safarian, former director of the Armenian Center for National and International Studies and a newly elected parliamentarian for the opposition Heritage Party, agrees that the lack of an active, broad-based discussion about Karabakh has fueled opposition to compromise with Azerbaijan, but notes that increasingly aggressive statements from Baku also have played a major role. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive].
Civil society activist Artak Ayunts maintains that a robust number of Armenians continue to support the search for a political compromise with Azerbaijan. "If Azerbaijanis visited Armenia and Karabakh, they could not have done so without the support of the Azerbaijani government," he said, referring to the June 28 goodwill mission. [For details, see the Eurasia Insight archive]. "Anyway, there are some NGOs here which are more liberal than others and who don’t want to react against a harder line coming from Azerbaijan by playing the same game."
Editor’s Note: Onnik Krikorian is a freelance photojournalist and writer based in Yerevan.
http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insight/articles/eav070907a.shtml
Despite the recent goodwill visit by Azerbaijani intellectuals and diplomats, some Armenian civil society activists are taking an increasingly hard line on the 19-year dispute with Azerbaijan over the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh.
A statement issued by the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF), a party that is a member of the governing coalition, underscored the changing mood. It cautioned against "giving away any territory," and demanded an immediate policy of settling the regions surrounding Karabakh currently under Armenian control. [For additional information see the Eurasia Insight archive].
Although the ARF is widely acknowledged to be among Armenia’s most nationalist political groups, its adamant position is shared by what appears to be a growing number of Armenians, observers say. Less than two weeks before a June 10 meeting between Armenian President Robert Kocharian and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, nearly 50 organizations issued an open letter opposing the return of any territory by Armenia as part of a potential Karabakh peace deal. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive].
The open letter specifically demanded that Yerevan end all negotiations with Azerbaijan "regarding the possible surrender of the liberated regions of Artsakh [the Armenian name for Nagorno-Karabakh]." Further, it also stated that "any politician or public officer who should openly declare or demonstrate a willingness to surrender Armenian lands, will be regarded a national traitor and a blatant enemy of the state."
Samvel Martirosyan, founder of the OpenArmenia web portal, is one of the letter’s signatories. "Three or four years ago, society was really tired of the Karabakh issue and wanted to think about the economy," Martirosyan said. "But now people take a more radical position and this includes those who were more liberal and tolerant before." [Editor’s note: Martirosyan was once an occasional commentator for EurasiaNet].
The Association of Investigative Journalists of Armenia is a case in point. Despite having been involved in peace-building and regional integration projects, the association has now started to use the term "liberated territories" in its Hetq Online publication to describe the seven regions currently under Armenian control. The same publication has also criticized Armenian and Karabakh authorities for not doing enough to repopulate those territories with Armenian settlers, and has held public discussions to promote policy changes.
Martirosyan claims that attitudes are hardening because many Armenians no longer see any possibility of concluding a peace deal that benefits Armenia. The seeming reluctance of government bodies, along with many non-governmental organizations, to promote public debate on the Karabakh issue has contributed to the trend, Martirosyan added.
The opposition Heritage and Orinats Yerkir (Country of Law) Parties, the only two opposition parties represented in Armenia’s National Assembly, were among the few political forces that addressed the Karabakh issue during the recent parliamentary election campaign [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive]. Other parties largely avoided the issue, or did not express a well-defined position.
Stepan Safarian, former director of the Armenian Center for National and International Studies and a newly elected parliamentarian for the opposition Heritage Party, agrees that the lack of an active, broad-based discussion about Karabakh has fueled opposition to compromise with Azerbaijan, but notes that increasingly aggressive statements from Baku also have played a major role. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive].
Civil society activist Artak Ayunts maintains that a robust number of Armenians continue to support the search for a political compromise with Azerbaijan. "If Azerbaijanis visited Armenia and Karabakh, they could not have done so without the support of the Azerbaijani government," he said, referring to the June 28 goodwill mission. [For details, see the Eurasia Insight archive]. "Anyway, there are some NGOs here which are more liberal than others and who don’t want to react against a harder line coming from Azerbaijan by playing the same game."
Editor’s Note: Onnik Krikorian is a freelance photojournalist and writer based in Yerevan.
http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insight/articles/eav070907a.shtml