Hachikian Letter to Pres. Obama Calls for Karabakh’s Direct Participation in Negotiations
Expresses Concern Regarding Madrid Principles as Basis for Ongoing Talks
WASHINGTON – Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) Chairman Ken Hachikian expressed “profound disappointment” Wednesday at the unreasonable pressure being applied by the Organization of Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Minsk Group Co-Chairs, which could threaten the viability of Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh.
The concern was expressed in a July 14, 2009, letter to President Obama, where Hachikian noted that the Minsk Group’s “heavy handed” approach to secure unilateral and dangerous concessions by Armenians regarding the Nagorno Karabakh conflict would “imperil the security of Armenia, the Nagorno Karabakh Republic (NKR) and the Armenian people; increase the prospects of renewed Azerbaijani aggression; and undermine the ability of the actual parties to this conflict to reach a truly lasting and durable peace.”
Hachikian went on to argue that the Nagorno Karabakh Republic’s participation in the peace process is fundamental to the success of the endeavor. “As a direct party to this conflict, the primary victim of Azerbaijan’s aggression, and a full stakeholder in the search for regional peace, the Nagorno Karabakh Republic must be a full and equal participant in all aspects of the peace process,” explained Hachikian. Similar concerns were addressed in letters sent to French Ambassador to the U.S. Pierre Vimont and Russian Federation Ambassador Sergey Kislyak.
The ANCA has also initiated a letter writing campaign to President Obama and the State Department as well as the Embassies of France and Russia in the U.S. encouraging Armenian Americans and human rights activists to express their thoughts to Minsk Group Co-Chair country leaders. (View the action alert)
The effort reflects worldwide Armenian apprehension following a July 10 statement issued by U.S. President Barack Obama, French President Nikolas Sarkozy and Russian Federation President Dmitry Medvedev calling on Armenia and Azerbaijan to “to resolve the few differences remaining between them” based on an updated version of the “Basic Principles” advanced by the co-chairs in the November 2007 Madrid Document. According to a White House fact sheet, those principles include:
- Return of the territories surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh to Azerbaijani control;
- An interim status for Nagorno-Karabakh providing guarantees forsecurity and self-governance;
- A corridor linking Armenia to Nagorno-Karabakh;
- Future determination of the final legal status of Nagorno-Karabakh through a legally binding expression of will the right of all internally displaced persons and refugees to return to their former places of residence; and
- International security guarantees that would include a peacekeeping operation.
Read the complete statement on the White House website
Read the resolution from the Pan-Armenian conference
Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian and Azerbaijan president Ilham Aliyev are set to meet on Friday July 17th in Moscow.
Concerns about the Nagorno Karabakh peace process and ongoing Armenia-Turkey dialogue based on an undisclosed “roadmap” were presented at a pan-Armenian conference held at the Nagorno Karabakh Republic’s capital, Stepanakert, on July 10-11. Over 120 Armenian leaders from some 25 countries, representing a broad cross-section of the political, academic, religious, business and civil society leadership from Armenia, Nagorno Karabakh, and the Diaspora discussed the ongoing Karabakh negotiations and unanimously adopted a resolution urging Karabakh’s direct participation in the talks and calling for vigilance in the face of pressure to adopt a “hasty solution to the problem and Azerbaijan’s belligerent statements.”
The full text of Hachikian’s letter to President Obama are provided below.
July 14, 2009
The Honorable Barack Obama
President of the United States
1600 Pennsylvania Ave, NW
Washington, DC 20500
Dear Mr. President:
In the wake of the G8 Summit and on the eve of the planned July 17th meeting in Moscow between President Serzh Sargsyan of Armenia and President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan, I am writing to share with you the profound disappointment of the Armenian American community over the undue and unreasonable pressure being applied in a heavy-handed manner upon Armenia by the Minsk Group Co-Chair countries to force unilateral and dangerous concessions by Armenians regarding the Nagorno Karabakh conflict. These concessions would imperil the security of Armenia, the Nagorno Karabakh Republic (NKR) and the Armenian people; increase the prospects of renewed Azerbaijani aggression; and undermine the ability of the actual parties to this conflict to reach a truly lasting and durable peace.
Mr. President, in 2008, you pledged to work “for a lasting and durable settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict that is agreeable to all parties, and based upon America’s founding commitment to the principles of democracy and self determination.” Such a settlement is severely hampered by exclusion of the duly elected representatives of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic from the current peace process. As a direct party to this conflict, the primary victim of Azerbaijan’s aggression, and a full stakeholder in the search for regional peace, the Nagorno Karabakh Republic must be a full and equal participant in all aspects of the peace process. Without this participation, a fair and enduring peace is simply not possible.
Furthermore, the so-called Madrid Principles are not in line with the nature of the conflict and its history. They completely ignore the will of the NKR people that they have already legitimately expressed through the referenda of 1991 and 2006.
The concerns of the worldwide Armenian community are outlined in the attached resolution that was unanimously adopted at a pan-Armenian Conference on July 11th in Stepanakert, the capital of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic. This conference brought together Armenian leaders from over 25 countries, representing a broad cross-section of the political, academic, religious, business and civil society leadership from Armenia, Nagorno Karabakh, and the Diaspora. After a detailed two-day review of the Nagorno Karabakh peace process as well as the state of Armenian-Turkish relations, the Conference concluded that both the flawed framework of the current talks and the Basic Principles referred to by the Presidents of the OSCE Minsk Group’s Co-Chair countries, France, the Russian Federation, and the United States of America, represent a direct threat to Armenia’s and NKR’s viability and hence should not be endorsed by the authorities of Armenia.
Mr. President, we look to your principled leadership to direct our Minsk Group representative to ensure that direct dialogue and the fundamental right to the self-determination of the people of NKR become an integral part of the Nagorno Karabakh peace process to secure a lasting peace in the region.
Sincerely,
Kenneth V. Hachikian
Chairman