Babayan to Pashinyan: You have no mandate to speak on behalf of the  self-determined people of Nagorno- Karabakh. You have no right to  close their issue

ArmInfo.  Nikol Pashinyan's (Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia) approaches to  the Nagorno-Karabakh issue have long been known. However, with his  latest statement in Germany, he crossed another dangerous line,  declaring that those who talk about the unresolved Nagorno-Karabakh  issue want a new war. Moreover, he equated the right of return of  people forcibly displaced from Nagorno-Karabakh with the Karabakh  movement, manipulating public opinion, as stated by former Commander  of the Artsakh Defense Army Samvel Babayan. 

Recall, on December 11, during a press-briefing  with journalists in  Germany, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan proposed  Baku to  jointly develop a roadmap and, in parallel, close not only the  Karabakh issue but also the so-called "Western Azerbaijan" narrative.   "I also told the people of Karabakh that their return is unrealistic.  If we continue the return agenda, it will mean relaunching the  Karabakh movement.  But I said that we should not continue the  Karabakh movement. The Karabakh movement is over, and attempts to  renew it are futile. However, on the other hand, Armenia also sees  that Azerbaijan constantly uses the incomprehensible terminology  "Western Azerbaijan." Now we need to understand what is the cause and  what is the effect," Pashinyan said. He expressed hope that this  proposal will reach its intended recipient. "Eliminating this issue  in the long-term strategic perspective means eliminating any conflict  situation at all," Pashinyan believes.

 "So, when you claim that those who talk about the Nagorno-Karabakh  issue are seeking a new war, you're not mistaken, but you're  intentionally distorting reality. The issue of the people of  Nagorno-Karabakh remains unresolved. This is a fact, not a slogan.  This is not a war, it's reality. Those who talk about unresolved  issues don't want war. Wars stem from hushed-up problems. And a  hushed-up problem is an unexploded mine. The danger of war arises  when a government, guided by political expediency, tries to disguise  defeat with a "peace" film and silence those who refuse to  participate in this deception," Babayan wrote on his Facebook page.   According to him, Pashinyan touches on the topic of Nagorno-Karabakh  in almost every speech, but at the same time insists that it  shouldn't be discussed, citing the false narrative of "Western  Azerbaijan."

"Are you comparing a people who have self-determined in accordance  with international law and have had statehood for three decades to a  political fake?" the military and political figure asks. So, he  continued, for approximately three decades, everything was done to  disgust the people with their own victory, because it was presented  as a burden, and today, as an obstacle to a "peaceful future." This  is not a reassessment of history, but a consistent erosion of  national identity, the former commander of the Defense Army is  convinced.

Furthermore, he believes, when Pashinyan states that one of the  reasons for the sharp rise in public debt is the issue of forcibly  displaced persons from Nagorno-Karabakh, he is deliberately inciting  internal strife.  By pointing out the poor citizens and residents of  Karabakh, he is not pursuing a social policy, but sowing hatred. And  he is doing it intentionally. It is a mechanism for reproduction  through the division of society.  "When talking about support for  IDPs from Nagorno-Karabakh, you should have explained: - how much  money you received from international partners under this name, -  what you spent it on, - why you don't allow Nagorno-Karabakh's  elected representatives to have any say in managing these funds," the  former NKR Defense Minister noted.

"Now about your policy. You declared that 'Artsakh is Armenia.' Then,  that you have no mandate to negotiate on behalf of the people of  Nagorno-Karabakh. Then, you confirmed to your predecessors that you  are the guarantor of the security of the people of Nagorno-Karabakh.  Then, you amended this, saying only that you are the guarantor of  social protection. You abandoned the war to its own devices. You  lost. You surrendered.

Then, you stopped fulfilling your obligations to the Nagorno-Karabakh  Defense Army, but never returned control of the army to  Nagorno-Karabakh." And at that fateful moment you chose "not to  interfere in the internal affairs of Nagorno-Karabakh."

As a result of your decision, an entire people was left stateless,  without status, without a future, leading them to embark on a path of  migration. But in their homeland, they were refugees-stateless,  homeless, and without a master. And today, you are not creating any  real opportunities for these people: no housing, no employment, no  systemic integration. Instead, in the "bastion of democracy," you  forbid discussions about their rights and possible protection. You do  not decide whether the Nagorno-Karabakh issue is closed or open.  Aliyev does not decide either.

This is a geopolitical process that transcends both of you. But you  must understand that anyone who avoids resolving the issue will face  a bigger and more dangerous conflict. Yes, you do not have the  mandate to speak on behalf of the self-determined people of  Nagorno-Karabakh. You have no right to close their issue to please  someone's political whims.

The people of Nagorno-Karabakh are endowed with natural rights. And  no temporary political calculations have the right to limit, bargain,  or silence these rights. Truth is not a call to war. It is a refusal  to admit defeat. And no matter how hard you try to silence it, truth  will inevitably return-as a question, as a demand, and as a  responsibility," Samvel Babayan concluded.