The Vice President of the Republican Party of Armenia, Armen Ashotyan, wrote on Facebook on August 20th where he expressed concern over the provisions regarding Artsakh in the government’s 2021 plan. Ashotyan noted that the phrase “Republic of Artsakh” is missing in this government program. “The term “Republic of Artsakh” is missing from the government’s program. The subjectivity of Artsakh has been eliminated, and it will finally die at this rate in the next five years.
The government does not plan to accuse Azerbaijan and Turkey of causing the recent Artsakh war and bringing them to international responsibility. There is no question that the circumstances of that war, the crimes against humanity, the involvement of militants, and the torture and killing of prisoners should be investigated by international investigative mechanisms, although there is also fertile ground for our efforts (official reports of the European Parliament, assessments of international human rights NGOs, etc.),” Armen Ashotyan wrote.
We tried to find out why this government avoids using the term Republic of Artsakh in its program, but Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s spokesperson Mane Gevorgyan did not answer our calls. A number of deputies of the ruling party and the Foreign Ministry spokesperson also did not respond to our calls. However, after studying the pre-election programs of governments and political forces of different years, Aravot Daily found out that, for example, in 2018, the term “Republic of Artsakh” was used in the pre-election program of the My Step alliance, but in the government program formed in 2018, “Republic of Artsakh” was not used.
The phrase was not used in the 2019 government program, either. It is noteworthy that “Nagorno Karabakh” was not written in Serzh Sargsyan’s pre-election program in 2013, either. In those years and until 2017, Nagorno Karabakh or the Republic of Nagorno Karabakh was officially used, as the “Republic of Nagorno Karabakh” was enshrined in the Nagorno Karabakh Constitution, but the new 2017 Constitution used “Republic of Artsakh.”
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In the government programs of 2013 and 2014, “Nagorno Karabakh” was written in the provisions concerning Artsakh. And in the five-year program of the government for 2012-2017, in the provisions concerning Artsakh, “Republic of Nagorno Karabakh” was used. In the program of the government of the Republic of Armenia for 2016, “Nagorno Karabakh Republic” was used, and in the five-year program for 2017-2022 – “Republic of Artsakh.” It is noteworthy that in the programs of the governments of 2000-2003 (from 01.11.1999-30.04.2000, the Prime Minister was Aram Sargsyan), 2003-2007 (Prime Minister Andranik Margaryan), 2007 (Prime Minister Serzh Sargsyan) and 2008-2012, the phrases were not included in provisions related to Nagorno Karabakh or Artsakh. Essentially, the government and election programs are documents for internal circulation, but what impact can they have on the outside world and international relations?
Nelly Babayan
