NKR celebrates 25th anniversary of Artsakh movement NKR celebrates 25t

[MosJan]

NKR celebrates 25th anniversary of Artsakh movement

 

http://media.pn.am/media/issue/146/786/photo/146786.jpg

February 20, 2013 - 21:20 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - On February 20, Artsakh Republic President Bako Sahakyan attended the solemn events dedicated to the 25th anniversary of the Artsakh national liberation movement.

The republic’s top officials, veterans of the movement, supreme command staff of the defense army and guests from Armenia were present at the festivities.

[Yervant1]

KARABAKH STILL MOVING A NATION

 

http://asbarez.com/108401/karabakh-still-moving-a-nation/

 

Wednesday, February 20th, 2013

 

The marches that sparked a movement

 

BY ARA KHACHATOURIAN

 

When hundreds of thousands of Armenians took to the streets on

February 20, 1988 to demand the reunification of Karabakh with

Armenia, a modern-day Armenian liberation struggle was born~Wa movement

that still unites and mobilizes the Armenian Nation.

 

This movement was a direct challenge to then Soviet leader Mikhail

Gorbachev~Rs policies of openness~WGlasnost and Perestroika~Wand

effectively began the collapse of the Soviet Union.

 

More importantly, however, it became a true struggle for the universal

right to self-determination, which 25 years later is still at the

center of the Karabakh question.

 

This simple call for self-determination, freedom and justice, however,

was met with the most brutal of responses when not even a week after

the spark of the movement Azeri OMON forces, aided by the Soviet Red

Army began a systematic massacre and deportation of

Armenians~Wpogroms~Win the industrial city of Sumgait outside Baku.

 

These brutal killings would continue in Kirovabad and Baku, and, like

the Armenian Genocide they remain crimes that have gone unpunished and

ignored by the international community.

 

The Armenian people~Rs expression of free will and their exercise of

democratic norms also unleashed indiscriminate attacks on the civilian

population of Karabakh that soon escalated into a full-fledged war.

 

The heroism of the people of Artsakh inspired an entire nation and won a war.

 

Today, Artsakh~Wthe Nagorno-Karabakh Republic~Wstands tall and

victorious and has become a model for democracy and through the

arduous process of rebuilding it is a jewel in the Caucasus.

 

One of the most significant aspects of the Karabakh liberation

movement is that at a time of political uncertainty during the latter

days of the Soviet Union, this movement brought together the Armenian

nation, which was dispersed around the world as a result of the

Armenian Genocide and divided by the iron curtain. It became a

rallying call for all Armenians to unite behind a banner of liberty

and justice and the preservation and perseverance of our nation,

bringing renewed impetus to the Armenian liberation struggle.

 

Karabakh remains at the center of our national reality. The Azeris

continue their aggressive campaign of military intimidation and

threats against civilian life through their continued violation of the

cease fire and relentless sniper attacks, casting a pall over

residents of the Artsakh and destabilizing the region.

 

The most recent victim, 20-year-old Gor Ghazarian, was shot and killed

by Azeri snipers at the Karabakh-Azerbaijan border on Wednesday, the

day of the 25th anniversary of the Karabakh movement. The Karabakh

Defense Ministry reported ~Sunprecedented activity~T by Azeri forces in

recent days.

 

Yet a generation that was born during the war is committed and

determined to protect its nation, be that on the ground in Artsakh or

elsewhere in the Armenian World.

 

Today~Rs conscripts in the Karabakh National Armed Forces were children

when their parents bore arms to protect their historic homeland. Their

brethren in the Diaspora were too young to understand the wrath of

war, but today through different efforts, such as the AYF Youth Corps

and With Our Soldiers campaign, are ensuring that the liberation

movement that began a quarter of a century ago continues until justice

prevails.

 

Today, as we reflect on the enormous importance and impact of February

20, 1988, we must bow our heads in remembrance and respect to all the

heroes who gave their lives on the road to freedom, and recognize that

we, as a nation, are still guided by roots of the Karabakh movement.

[Yervant1]

ARMENIA SHOULD AT LEAST RECOGNIZE LEGITIMACY OF KARABAKH'S ESTABLISHMENT - FORMER HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDER

 

NEWS.AM

February 22, 2013 | 01:57

 

YEREVAN. - Solutions that are beyond the legal domain are impossible in

the Nagorno-Karabakh (NK) issue, Armenia's first Human Rights Defender,

Larisa Alaverdyan, told Armenian News-NEWS.am.

 

"We ourselves do not recognize the [Nagorno-KarabakhRepublic] NKR's

legitimacy within the present-day boundaries. If the political elite

are afraid to recognize NK's independence, they should at least

recognize the legitimacy of NK's establishment," she stressed.

 

Alaverdyan is convinced that this matter is not at all linked to the

concern that the OSCE Minsk Group negotiation process could fail, or

Azerbaijan could launch military operations, should Armenia recognize

NKR's independence.

 

"It is important that the right political moment should be chosen for

this [that is, Armenia's recognition of NKR's independence]. This was

discussed in 1992, as in 2008, when the independence of Kosovo was

recognized. Not gaining a political capital was simply inexpedient

at the time," Armenia's first ombudswoman stated.

 

Larisa Alaverdyan also stressed that the greater activeness in

the informational field, and with respect to the NK issue, can be

considered as an undisputed achievement of Armenia's President,

Serzh Sargsyan.