Former Artsakh State Minister Artak Beglaryan stated that the right of Artsakh Armenians to return is uncompromising and inalienable.
He added that the right does not depend on the will of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, although “its realization still does,” and several concrete medium-term issues must be addressed before such a return becomes realistic.
“Some of Pashinyan’s latest anti-Artsakh absurdities I addressed in my interview with France 24, though its main purpose was responding to Ilham Aliyev. However, I would like to once again remind of several points:
The Artsakh movement cannot end as long as the people of Artsakh and the need to protect their rights exist.
The right of the people of Artsakh to return is uncompromising and inalienable, especially since many Artsakh Armenians wish to return. This right does not depend on Pashinyan’s will, though unfortunately its realization still does.
Recognizing that our return is currently unrealistic under the present internal and external conditions, we have several concrete medium-term tasks to address until conditions for return are ensured sooner or later, in particular:
- Ensuring a dignified and prosperous life for Artsakh Armenians in Armenia (housing, employment, income, and stable psychological conditions), both to secure our rights and to properly realize our potential for a stronger and more united Armenia.
- Strengthening the legal and political foundations of the right of return, keeping the issue visible and forming international mechanisms.
- Protecting the cultural heritage of occupied Artsakh and our private and public property to prevent their destruction or appropriation by the Azerbaijani occupation regime.
- Returning all Armenian captives and clarifying the fate of the missing.
- Preserving and strengthening Artsakh’s state and public institutions as pillars of collective struggle and identity.
- Ensuring international and domestic investigations to identify and hold accountable those responsible for the ethnic cleansing and displacement of Artsakh Armenians.
As for the hostile narrative comparing the return of the people of Artsakh with the alleged ‘return’ of Azerbaijanis, it is a completely false and criminal comparison. In the past, the Artsakh Union initiative published relevant facts and arguments.
The authoritarian Aliyev regime will continue its genocidal and occupation policies against Armenia’s statehood and the existence and identity of the Armenian nation, regardless of the extent of concessions by Armenia’s authorities and the so-called ‘romance of peace,’ which cannot have a positive outcome under conditions of Azerbaijani Armenophobia and genocidal policies,” Beglaryan wrote.
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan earlier stated that continuing the Karabakh movement would mean a new war. He said the ruling Civil Contract party is the only political force clearly stating that the Karabakh movement should not continue.
“Ktrich Nersisyan has clearly assumed the leadership of the party of war, and the others — Levon Ter-Petrosyan, Robert Kocharyan, Serzh Sargsyan and others — fit within this logic. The people must make this choice. If they decide to continue the Karabakh movement, they must vote for the forces under Ktrij Nersisyan’s pyramid. If they do not continue the Karabakh movement, they should vote for the Civil Contract party,” the prime minister said.
