ArmInfo.The ruling "Civil Contract" faction on December 7 refused to include a statement proposed by the opposition on delimitation and demarcation of the border in the agenda of the plenary session. According to head of the "Hayastan" opposition faction, former Minister of Defense of Armenia Seyran Ohanyan, the country's authorities are doing everything to avoid public discussion of such a sensitive issue, as a result, the public will learn about the agreements after the fact.
Ohanyan stressed that the Turkish-Azerbaijani aggression, the occupation of the territories of Artsakh, the invasion of the sovereign territories of the Republic of Armenia by Azerbaijan, unilateral delimitation and demarcation operations, the loss of the sovereignty of the Republic of Artsakh are a serious threat to the self-determination and existence of Artsakh. "It is obvious that, just like after the war, the government, having all the state tools of the situation, the activities of its own team, today also does not want to address such a sensitive topic, doing everything possible to organize a closed discussion," Ohanyan said.
According to the leader of the faction, the government, contrary to its promise to be accountable to the people, in every possible way avoids publicity of what is "happening behind the backs of the people." After the defeat, the winning side, Ohanyan stressed, increases external pressure on the defeated side. "We see this in Aliyev's statements on the Zangezur Corridor," he said.
Precisely in order to avoid such pressure or shady agreements that run counter to the interests of the people and the state, according to Ohanyan, the advantages of parliamentary control should be used. The government itself should use the tools of the opposition forces to prevent such phenomena, he said.
According to the former head of the Defense Ministry, the opposition demands an assessment of the Turkish-Azerbaijani aggression by the draft statement, and fulfill all agreements in accordance with the legislative procedures in force in Armenia. "We demand the restoration of the army, strengthening the borders, improving relations with strategic partners," he said.
In response, MP from the ruling Civil Contract faction Maria Karapetyan first reminded that the commission gave a negative opinion after the discussion, then stated that the agenda of delimitation and demarcation is not related to the Karabakh conflict. Leader of the "Civil Contract" faction, Hayk Konjoryan, in turn, stated that the document also contains statements with an internal political content, approaches that are part of the opposition's political narrative and are unacceptable for the Civil Contract. According to him, the opposition also understands this, and these approaches were included in the draft statement precisely with the aim of achieving internal political speculations.
After the voting, representative of the "Hayastan" faction Artsvik Minasyan said that they would finalize the draft statement and on December 14 at 12:00 they would initiate an extraordinary meeting on the same issue.
It should be reminded that the ruling Civil Contract faction on October 27 did not take part in the voting on the draft statement of the National Assembly on the situation around the Republic of Armenia and Artsakh, because of the internal political assessments in the document, thereby failing it. As rapporteur of the draft statement, Tigran Abrahamyan, Mp of the "I Have Honor" faction stated, in the document drawn up, including, as a result of a closed discussion, the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia condemns the large-scale armed aggression unleashed by Azerbaijan and Turkey against Artsakh on September 27, 2020 with the involvement of mercenaries and terrorists; gross violations of international law in relation to prisoners and hostages held by Baku, including after the cessation of hostilities; the seizure of the territories of the Republic of Artsakh by Azerbaijan; acts recognized as war crimes; invasion of the sovereign territory of the Republic of Armenia, prolonged use of force or the threat of its use. Armenian parliamentarians in the document also condemn the incessant rhetoric of hatred of the Armenian military-political authorities of Azerbaijan, the presentation of one-sided and distorted information to the international community from Baku. This policy, as noted in the statement, is accompanied by claims on the territory of Armenia and Artsakh.
State borders, as stated in the document, are determined on the basis of international law, on the basis of the UN Vienna Convention, according to which, among other things, any agreement on borders with the use or threat of use of force is invalid. The Mps of the RA parliament believe that the main condition for establishing peace in the region is the guaranteed realization of the right to self-determination of the people of Artsakh in their historical homeland, as well as the de-occupation of the occupied territories of Artsakh - in the format of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairmanship.
The parliamentarians urge to be guided by the RA Constitution, according to which the issues related to the change of the territory of the Republic of Armenia are resolved exclusively through a referendum. It is unacceptable for the RA to sign any document implying the inclusion of the Republic of Artsakh in Azerbaijan, the statement says.
The statement also calls on the Armenian government to refrain from any negotiations, written or oral agreements that violate the requirements of the RA Constitution and the will of the Armenian people, expressed in the Declaration of Independence, to provide the National Assembly with reliable parliamentary information and ensure maximum publicity in matters of reforms in the country's Armed Forces and concerning the safety of the RA.