ANC member accuses PM of denying right to self-determination

PanARMENIAN.Net - Aram Manukyan, vice-president of the Armenian National Congress, has criticized Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's recent statements regarding the Karabakh Movement, asserting that the prime minister's remarks reject the universal principle of self-determination, reports Sputnik Armenia.

During a Q&A session in the National Assembly, Pashinyan stated that the Karabakh Movement should not continue, emphasizing that as long as he is the prime minister, this remains Armenia's official position. He suggested that the movement has hindered the establishment of Armenian statehood.

Manukyan responded by stating, "One can comment on a normal or contentious idea, but it's impossible to comment on emptiness; it's not even worth arguing with such emptiness." He emphasized that the world has two languages for resolving conflicts: territorial integrity and the right to self-determination. According to Manukyan, the Karabakh Movement was based on the right to self-determination, a principle that Azerbaijan had fully accepted, with documented evidence and delegations formed for negotiations with Nagorno-Karabakh.

He further noted that during that period, even the authorities in Baku recognized Nagorno-Karabakh's right to self-determination and engaged in negotiations accordingly. Manukyan highlighted that during the Soviet era, the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region was established based on the principle of national self-determination, a fact acknowledged by various countries.

"He rejects this principle, rejects the principle of civilization. People who have lived on that land for 3,000 years had the right to raise these issues, and the Karabakh Movement emerged precisely on that basis. He has destroyed the universal principle of the right to self-determination and is now consistently undermining one of the fundamental values of civilization. Perhaps he justifies his destructions and his being a scourge in this way: he behaves like the last hooligan," Manukyan stated.

Manukyan also added that the prime minister's actions and statements have undermined millennia of civilizational heritage, including cultural heritage, educational, and spiritual institutions.

He believes that the prime minister's position on discontinuing the Karabakh Movement could lead to serious upheavals in Armenia, disrupting domestic political stability.