Armenian Genocide Resolution and ANC rally intensified the political life in Armenia

PanARMENIAN.Net - Another ANC member Aram Manukyan said, that the Congress is going to sue the state for raising the gas prices in Armenia.

ANC will hold permanent rallies, if the current government will continue to conduct its 'failed’ internal and foreign policies, Vladimir Karapetyan, ANC representative told a in an interview to PanARMENIAN.Net

On Tuesday, March 2, Suren Surenyants, member of Republic party political council and Artak Zakaryan, MP from RPA parliamentary group held a public debate over the internal political developments in Armenia in Yerevan.

“The legitimacy of the Armenian authorities is questioned. To improve the situation, reforms are needed. Otherwise, the aggravating political crisis will lead to change in power,” Suren Surenyants said.

In turn, Mr. Zakaryan remarked that the legitimacy of the country's leadership cannot be questioned by a 20000 rally. “All governing bodies function in accordance with the law and any talk about a domestic crisis is improper,” he said.

Commenting on the Armenian-Turkish rapprochement, Suren Surenyants particularly mentioned that Armenia should ratify the protocols ahead of Turkey. According to him, the U.S. Congress is unlikely to pass the Armenian Genocide resolution. “It’s somehow offending that the Armenian cause has become a plaything for Armenia,” Mr. Surenyants said.

On the same day a joint press conference of Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian and Foreign Minister of Spain holding EU Presidency Miguel Ángel Moratinos was held in Yerevan.

Touching upon regional issues, Mr. Moratinos said that the European Union will continue efforts aimed at the Nagorno Karabakh conflict resolution. As to Armenia-Turkey rapprochement, he said the Protocols should be ratified “without preconditions in the shortest terms”.

Minister Nalbandian, for his part, remarked that using the language of preconditions, Turkey hampers the reconciliation process. Commenting on the Karabakh conflict settlement, he reminded about Azerbaijan’s warlike statements and unwillingness to withdraw snipers from the frontline. “Yerevan and Baku regularly submit proposals on the conflict resolution to the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs,” he said.

The Minister also referred to the Armenian pogroms in Sumgait and Baku, saying that the perpetrators of the massacre will be sooner or later called to account.

On March 2 Miguel Ángel Moratinos was also received by RA President Serzh Sargsyan in Yerevan.

During the meeting, Armenian leader gave high assessment to Armenia-EU collaboration. Serzh Sargsyan also thanked EU for financial and consultative assistance to Armenia.

Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Miguel Angel Moratinos, in turn, characterized his visit to Armenia as EU’s strategic vision aimed at strengthening of Armenia-EU relations.

The parties focused on priority directions in Armenia-EU collaboration: visa regime facilitation, free trade zone and associative agreements. The discussion also covered Armenia-Turkey rapprochement and peaceful settlement of the Karabakh conflict. Serzh Sargsyan presented official Yerevan’s position on the issue.

Miguel Angel Moratinos expressed confidence that threat of force is not a way to Karabakh conflict settlement. “We support peaceful settlement of Karabakh conflict,” he stated.

On March 4, ANC spokesman Arman Musinyan spoke about the scheme of overcoming the March crisis developed by the Armenian National Congress during a news conference in Yerevan.

In near future the opposition will start active public discussion of ANC’s “100 steps” economic program. According to him, ANC intends to take legal action against the increase of gas prices.

Commenting on the question of a PanARMENIAN.Net reporter , whether it would be advisable to restrict themselves to specific date for early parliamentary and presidential elections in Armenia, Arman Musinyan stated that the date was already submitted to EC consideration, so little digressions from the date specified are of little importance.

Dwelling on the discussion of the Armenian Genocide Resolution 252 at U.S. House Committee on Foreign Affairs, Armen Musinyan expressed doubts over US agreeing to sacrifice its vital regional interests to the recognition of the Genocide. “The issue of international recognition of the Armenian Genocide exhausted itself, after the RA President agreed to form the Armenia-Turkey intergovernmental historic subcommittee,” he emphasized.

Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian commented on March 4 on Ahmet Davutoglu’s statement about Ankara’s readiness to ratify protocols within 3 days. The Armenian Foreign Minister noted that Protocols could just be ratified several months ago.

“Protocols were submitted to the Turkish parliament in October 2009, and that’s a long time,” Edward Nalbandian stated adding that Ankara’s statements signal of Turkey’s artificially dragging out the ratification, which is an obvious violation of agreements reached.

“Even before taking any steps towards implementation of agreement, Turkey threatened to halt the rapprochement process, adding the language of threats to the language of preconditions. Negotiations can’t progress unless Turkey reconsiders its methods,” Edward Nalbandian stressedd.

On March 4, at the end of the day, the US House Foreign Affairs Committee's passed a resolution recognizing and commemorating the Armenian Genocide by a vote of 23-22. A number of statements by different political forces followed.

As Giro Manoyan , head of the Central Office of Hay Dat (Armenian Cause) told a news conference on March 5 in Yerevan, it is already clear that Turkey does not intend to ratify the Armenian-Turkish Protocols. According to him the recent statements of Turkey are the pretext for Armenia to declare that the Armenian-Turkish normalization has failed because of Ankara, to withdraw from the process and to state that Armenia would return to talks only if Turkey agrees to held talks without preconditions. "The later we withdraw from the process, the harder it would be," Manoyan said.

He also referred to the statements of some U.S. Congressmen, who argued that the decision of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs to adopt the resolution 252 may interfere with Armenian-Turkish process. According to him, those statements became a lever of pressure on Armenia in the Karabakh settlement.

According to Manoyan, on April 24 the U.S. President on the pretext of Armenian-Turkish normalization again can avoid the ‘Genocide’ term in his speech. "The Committee's decision has no legal effect and does not obligate the U.S. president to anything," Manoyan said.

“The question of international recognition of the Armenian Genocide can not be traded. This recognition is a moral obligation for all countries in the world,” Armen Rustamyan, chairman of the Standing Parliamentary Commission on Foreign Affairs, member of the ARFD Supreme Body told a news conference held the same day in Yerevan.

In his opinion, the Armenian-Turkish Protocols impede the process of international recognition of the Armenian Genocide. "Turkey must not hope that may hinder our just struggle. All the ARF structures will continue working towards a full recognition of the Armenian Genocide by the U.S. Congress," Armen Rustamyan said.

He added that the adoption of resolution 252 by the House of Representatives Committee is important, but inconclusive victory, and stressed that Armenia must mobilize all its forces for the adoption of a resolution by the Congress.

According to Armen Rustamyan Armenia must ratify them only with reservations. This, according to him, would not contradict to Armenia's obligations assumed under international agreements. Turkey, turning from preconditions to open threats and blackmail, today stimulates the possibility of renewed war in the Karabakh conflict zone.

He also informed, that ARFD is actively working with Social Democratic Party of Sweden to achieve the Armenian Genocide recognition by the Swedish Parliament. Voting in the Swedish Parliament will be held on March 11.

”Yesterday’s vote disproved opinion of some experts who thought that Armenia-Turkey rapprochement hampers the process of the Genocide international recognition, the chairman of RA NA committee on science, education, culture, youth and sports affairs Artak Davtyan said the same day.

Commenting on US House Foreign Affairs Committee’s passage of Genocide resolution, he noted that Turkey might use the situation to drag out Protocols ratification. “US House Foreign Affairs Committee decision is a message to Turkey,” he emphasized, adding that Turkey can’t become a democratic state until it comes to terms with its past.

He didn’t rule out the possibility of resolution being discussed at US Congress. “As a democratic state and protector of human rights, US must recognize the Armenian Genocide,” Davtyan stressed, venturing a supposition that the resolution can be accepted in some 2 years.