Time has come to seriously consider the right of people to self-determination

PanARMENIAN.Net - The events of the last few weeks shocked the South Caucasus region, making it a centerpiece of the international media. I think those were very serious lessons for all of us, Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan said in his address to the UN General Assembly.



"I would mention only two of them:



First, we, the UN member states must strictly follow the letter and spirit of the UN Charter. If any country increases its military budget and brags about it, if limitations on weapons stipulated by the international agreements are being violated and done so openly, if a country signed a cease-fire agreement, which constitutes an international responsibility, but on any occasion threatens to resume military actions, it must receive a rapid and firm response.



Prevention is preferable over cure and a potential military conflict must be prevented on the stage of planning. We must confirm unequivocally that the violation of the existing cease-fire or the threat of violation contains elements of aggression.



Second, the time has come to seriously consider the right of people to self-determination. We continue to witness that in our times the fight of people for self-determination inevitably turns into the struggle for survival. People striving for self-determination are either provided with the opportunity to freely express their will through the referendum or that people are being expelled from their land, undergoing ethnic cleansing or genocide. There is no doubt in my mind that in the 21st century it mustn't be the way.



We don't insist on and actually oppose the idea that each claim for self-determination should be resolved though secession. However we witness that that outcome more often than not becomes the solution for the conflicts.



There is no doubt that to be viable that solution should be endorsed by all the parties involved. That is why we continue to actively negotiate with the Azeris in the framework of the OSCE Minsk Group seeking the recognition by that country of the 16 years-long actually independent Republic of Nagorno Karabakh.



The people of Nagorno Karabakh, who followed the legal path for declaring their desire for self-determination, were subjected to a brutal war. For months they were on the brink of extinction. At that time it was only an autonomous region which had neither a regular army, nor arms and ammunition, nor any intention or ability to occupy any of Azeri territory. I think it is at least not fair to label the people who fought for their right to live the "occupants". Meanwhile, Azerbaijan is doing exactly that, using even this high podium," the President said.