The “Hayaqve” legislative initiative members entered the draft with 58,000 signatures into the National Assembly. Let us remind you that it plans to amend the RA Criminal Code, stating that Artsakh cannot be recognized as a part of any third country and that the refusal of the Armenian Genocide will be considered a criminal offense. Considering that Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has already recognized Artsakh as part of Azerbaijan, what can this initiative give?
In this regard, Avetik Chalabyan, co-founder of the “ARAR” Foundation and member of the board of the “Consolidation” movement, answered: “Naturally, many people have the question of how relevant this draft law remains after the occupation of Artsakh by Azerbaijan and the ethnic cleansing carried out there.
We believe that it is more than relevant. What happened in Artsakh is a gross violation of international law. It is clear, isn’t it, that Artsakh has been a subject of international law? It has been a party to negotiations for decades; there were Madrid principles related to the final status of Artsakh, which were developed by the tri-presidency of the Minsk Group, so Artsakh, as a subject of international law, cannot disappear as a result of ethnic cleansing. No official of RA has the right to fix the genocidal actions that took place in Artsakh by any of his actions.
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Genocide took place in Artsakh. Ethnic cleansing, accompanied by violence against the civilian population, is a form of genocide. Everything that Nikol Pashinyan is doing today is complicity in the genocide and purification of that genocide. We and the 58,000 citizens who supported us must continue the struggle today to prevent Nikol Pashinyan from enshrining the genocide committed by Azerbaijan in international treaties.
Remember that what Nikol Pashinyan has done are just statements; no international agreement exists today, and we will fight for it not to exist because if such an international agreement exists, it will first eliminate Artsakh as an Armenian state and a subject of Armenian international law, and secondly, it will pave the way for aggression against Armenia.”
Chalabyan added that Aliyev does not recognize the territorial integrity of Armenia at all; he continues to make new demands to Armenia, and that is natural. “If you unilaterally recognize the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, including Artsakh, you get nothing in return; you get genocide. In the future, the continuation of that course will lead to the transfer of these genocidal actions to the territory of Armenia.
Therefore, if we want to prevent the mass genocide of the Armenian people and the loss of RA sovereignty, we must continue our struggle today.” Chalabyan urged not to believe the speeches of the Civil Contract from the podium of the National Assembly that they are fighting for the sovereignty of the Republic of Armenia; they are demagoguery.
“They say that they surrendered Artsakh to protect Armenia. Armenia has remained more than defenseless. Today, we must restore the subjectivity of Artsakh, and there are ways to do it; we must replay this situation and not allow the genocide that took place in Artsakh to be confirmed by the actions of RA officials.”
Hripsime JEBEJYAN
