The people of Artsakh have not authorized Armenia’s current authorities to speak on their behalf, said Ashot Danielyan, speaker of the National Assembly of the Republic of Artsakh, commenting on recent remarks by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan about Artsakh and the Karabakh movement.
In a statement, Danielyan said that Pashinyan’s recent comments in the European Parliament and in meetings with journalists about Artsakh and the Karabakh movement were based on “ignorance and falsehood.”
According to him, these remarks have angered thousands of Artsakh Armenians who have not accepted the “occupation of Artsakh carried out through crimes against humanity.”
Danielyan stressed that what he called “absurd statements” about the Karabakh movement cannot discredit the people’s struggle for freedom and peace.
“The authority of any country’s government, including Armenia’s, is limited to that country’s borders. Actions concerning events that occurred in another state’s territory — regardless of whether that state is internationally recognized — as well as decisions affecting the rights and fate of its population, constitute a gross violation of fundamental international principles,” the statement said.
He added that the people of Artsakh have never authorized Armenia’s current authorities to represent them or make Artsakh the subject of what he described as a “primitive political bargain.”
Danielyan questioned the Armenian government’s claims that peace had been achieved.
“If what exists is peace and not absolute and continuous capitulation, why do Azerbaijani troops remain on 240 square kilometers of occupied Armenian territory? Why have 150,000 Artsakh Armenians, subjected to ethnic cleansing and genocide, not returned to their homes? Why have Armenian detainees not returned from Baku’s prisons? Why are Armenian settlements, religious buildings and historical monuments in Artsakh being destroyed?” he asked.
He also accused the Armenian authorities of distorting the essence of the Karabakh movement and presenting it as a territorial dispute while repeating narratives promoted by Azerbaijan.
Danielyan said such statements before European Parliament members, who in previous years adopted resolutions condemning Azerbaijan’s actions and Turkey’s involvement, show disrespect toward that institution.
According to him, the transformation of the decades-long process of self-determination, carried out with reference to international law and supported by international organizations, into a mere territorial dispute represents a violation of international principles.
He also criticized what he described as the Armenian government’s attitude toward the Armenian Apostolic Church, national identity and the Karabakh movement.
Danielyan emphasized that the people of Artsakh retain the inalienable right to self-determination, to return to their homeland, to live safely and to determine their own future, and that this right cannot disappear through political statements or negotiations.
He added that, as a representative of a body elected by the people of Artsakh, he would continue to pursue all legal means to restore the rights of Artsakh and its population, with the support of individuals and organizations concerned about their fate.
Earlier, speaking at the Council of Europe, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said that Artsakh Armenians should permanently settle in Armenia.
“It is also important that the emotions of our brothers and sisters who have become refugees are not exploited by giving them false hopes,” he said.
