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From RFE/RL Armenia Report - 10/15/2013
Ruling Party Leader Rejects Russian Control Over Karabakh
Ruzanna Stepanian, Lusine Musayelian
15.10.2013
A leader of the ruling Republican Party of Armenia (HHK) rejected on
Tuesday the idea of placing Nagorno-Karabakh under Russian control
which has allegedly been floated by a prominent pro-government
intellectual.
The Karabakh-born writer and columnist, Zori Balayan, caused a storm
in Yerevan this week when he publicized an extensive open letter to
Russian President Vladimir Putin implicitly urging Moscow to lay claim
to the disputed territory. Balayan argued that Karabakh as well as
much of modern-day Azerbaijan was incorporated into the Russian Empire
in the early 19th century in accordance with a Russian-Persian treaty
which he said still has a legal force.
`There is no Karabakh problem, there is a Russian problem,' wrote the
man who played a major role in the 1988 movement for Karabakh's
unification with Armenia.
Balayan, who has long had warm ties with President Serzh Sarkisian and
his predecessor Robert Kocharian, came under fire from mostly
opposition politicians, public figures and media commentators in both
Armenia and Karabakh. They accused him of favoring Karabakh's
incorporation into Russia more than two decades after its de facto
secession from Azerbaijan.
Some of these critics also see a connection between Balayan's long
letter and Sarkisian's controversial decision to join a Russian-led
customs union, which they believe jeopardizes Armenia's national
independence.
Galust Sahakian, a deputy chairman of the ruling HHK, insisted that
the Armenian authorities have nothing to do with the letter. He
rejected as `unacceptable' Russian control over Karabakh, calling the
idea an affront to the memory of thousands of Armenians who died in
the 1991-1994 war with Azerbaijan.
`Karabakh has already exercised its right to self-determination,'
Sahakian told RFE/RL's Armenian service (Azatutyun.am). `So I reject
this variant. I don't think that any Armenian can imagine Karabakh
being part of another state.'
Sahakian at the same time disputed critics' claims that Balayan wants
Karabakh to again become part of Russia.
Balayan gave similar assurances when contacted by RFE/RL's Armenian
service on Monday. `Where did I write that Karabakh must be part of
Russia?' he said.
Press Review
15.10.2013
Armenian newspapers actively discuss prominent intellectual Zori
Balayan's open letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin in which he
called for Nagorno-Karabakh's incorporation into Russia.
`The beginning of the end,' reads a headline in `168 Zham.' The paper
links the letter to President Serzh Sarkisian's decision to join the
Russian-led customs union, saying that it has inspired pro-Russian
elements like Balayan who have until now avoided openly expressing
their `slave-like' views. It notes that Balayan's move has been
welcomed by a number of other `palace intellectuals.' The authorities
remain silent on these statements because these individuals are
`catering for a policy whose ultimate goal is to make Armenia and
Karabakh part of Russia,' according to `168 Zham.'
`Zhamanak' calls Balayan's letter a `bad omen.' `The moment is really
important, and it is evident that some developments are being plotted
in the Karabakh direction,' speculates the paper. It too links the
letter to the Armenian foreign policy U-turn.
The key question for `Zhoghovurd' is whether Balayan coordinated the
controversial letter with the Armenian government. The paper is
worried that it may have been commissioned by President Sarkisian.
`Chorrord Inknishkhanutyun' lashes out at Balayan, accusing him of
being a member of a ruling clique that has `plundered' Armenia and
Karabakh, sold key economic assets to Russia and ruined the Armenian
economy.
`Zori Balayan is a serious public figure who has had many achievements
in his life,' Hovannes Sahakian, a senior member of the ruling
Republican Party of Armenia (HHK), tells `Iravunk.' `I think that such
an individual has the right to publicly express his views. This is a
personal view and I don't think it right to react to it in any way. I
can only say that we have our approaches in connection with the
Karabakh problem which we have expressed on different occasions.' That
means Karabakh should remain an `independent and sovereign republic,'
concludes Sahakian.
(Tigran Avetisian)
From RFE/RL Armenia Report - 10/15/2013
Ruling Party Leader Rejects Russian Control Over Karabakh
Ruzanna Stepanian, Lusine Musayelian
15.10.2013
A leader of the ruling Republican Party of Armenia (HHK) rejected on
Tuesday the idea of placing Nagorno-Karabakh under Russian control
which has allegedly been floated by a prominent pro-government
intellectual.
The Karabakh-born writer and columnist, Zori Balayan, caused a storm
in Yerevan this week when he publicized an extensive open letter to
Russian President Vladimir Putin implicitly urging Moscow to lay claim
to the disputed territory. Balayan argued that Karabakh as well as
much of modern-day Azerbaijan was incorporated into the Russian Empire
in the early 19th century in accordance with a Russian-Persian treaty
which he said still has a legal force.
`There is no Karabakh problem, there is a Russian problem,' wrote the
man who played a major role in the 1988 movement for Karabakh's
unification with Armenia.
Balayan, who has long had warm ties with President Serzh Sarkisian and
his predecessor Robert Kocharian, came under fire from mostly
opposition politicians, public figures and media commentators in both
Armenia and Karabakh. They accused him of favoring Karabakh's
incorporation into Russia more than two decades after its de facto
secession from Azerbaijan.
Some of these critics also see a connection between Balayan's long
letter and Sarkisian's controversial decision to join a Russian-led
customs union, which they believe jeopardizes Armenia's national
independence.
Galust Sahakian, a deputy chairman of the ruling HHK, insisted that
the Armenian authorities have nothing to do with the letter. He
rejected as `unacceptable' Russian control over Karabakh, calling the
idea an affront to the memory of thousands of Armenians who died in
the 1991-1994 war with Azerbaijan.
`Karabakh has already exercised its right to self-determination,'
Sahakian told RFE/RL's Armenian service (Azatutyun.am). `So I reject
this variant. I don't think that any Armenian can imagine Karabakh
being part of another state.'
Sahakian at the same time disputed critics' claims that Balayan wants
Karabakh to again become part of Russia.
Balayan gave similar assurances when contacted by RFE/RL's Armenian
service on Monday. `Where did I write that Karabakh must be part of
Russia?' he said.
Press Review
15.10.2013
Armenian newspapers actively discuss prominent intellectual Zori
Balayan's open letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin in which he
called for Nagorno-Karabakh's incorporation into Russia.
`The beginning of the end,' reads a headline in `168 Zham.' The paper
links the letter to President Serzh Sarkisian's decision to join the
Russian-led customs union, saying that it has inspired pro-Russian
elements like Balayan who have until now avoided openly expressing
their `slave-like' views. It notes that Balayan's move has been
welcomed by a number of other `palace intellectuals.' The authorities
remain silent on these statements because these individuals are
`catering for a policy whose ultimate goal is to make Armenia and
Karabakh part of Russia,' according to `168 Zham.'
`Zhamanak' calls Balayan's letter a `bad omen.' `The moment is really
important, and it is evident that some developments are being plotted
in the Karabakh direction,' speculates the paper. It too links the
letter to the Armenian foreign policy U-turn.
The key question for `Zhoghovurd' is whether Balayan coordinated the
controversial letter with the Armenian government. The paper is
worried that it may have been commissioned by President Sarkisian.
`Chorrord Inknishkhanutyun' lashes out at Balayan, accusing him of
being a member of a ruling clique that has `plundered' Armenia and
Karabakh, sold key economic assets to Russia and ruined the Armenian
economy.
`Zori Balayan is a serious public figure who has had many achievements
in his life,' Hovannes Sahakian, a senior member of the ruling
Republican Party of Armenia (HHK), tells `Iravunk.' `I think that such
an individual has the right to publicly express his views. This is a
personal view and I don't think it right to react to it in any way. I
can only say that we have our approaches in connection with the
Karabakh problem which we have expressed on different occasions.' That
means Karabakh should remain an `independent and sovereign republic,'
concludes Sahakian.
(Tigran Avetisian)
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