The Armenian National Committee of Australia (ANC Australia), representing over 35 Armenian-Australian organisations, has written to Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and the Russian, French and US ambassadors to Australia in protest over the "undue and unreasonable" pressure being applied on Armenia by the Misk Co-Chair countries to force dangerous concessions on the Nagorno Karabakh issue.

At the recent G8 Summit, the Presidents of the Russian Federation (Dimitri Medvedev), France (Nicolas Sarkozy) and the United States of America (Barack Obama), released a joint statement that reads as follows:

"We, the Presidents of the OSCE Minsk Group’s Co-Chair countries: France, the Russian Federation, and the United States of America affirm our commitment to support the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan as they finalize the Basic Principles for settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict."

"We are instructing our mediators to present to the Presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan an updated version of the Madrid Document of November 2007, the Co-Chairs last articulation of the Basic Principles."

Among the basic principles referred to in this statement is "the return of the territories surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh to Azerbaijani control and an interim status for Nagorno-Karabakh providing guarantees for security and self-government".

ANC Australia's letter to Prime Minister Rudd and the Ambassadors clarifies the position of Armenians in Australia, and around the world, that "the so called ‘Madrid Principles’ are not in line with the nature of the conflict and its history... and completely ignore the will of the NKR people that they have already so legitimately expressed through the referenda of 1991 and 2006".

Furthermore, the letter introduces the subjects to a resolution at last week's Pan-Armenian conference that better represents the will of all Armenians. Included is the urging that no peace can be achieved in Nagorno Karabakh without the Republic of Nagorno Karabakh at the negotiations table.

The ANC Australia letter states: "Without this participation, a fair and enduring peace is simply not possible."

ANC Australia President, Mr. Varant Meguerditchian said: "By writing to the Prime Minister of Australia, we are asking he transmits the concerns of the Armenian-Australian community to the Department of Foreign Affairs & Trade and express these concerns through the appropriate diplomatic channels to the governments of the United States of America, Republic of France and the Russian Federation as Co-Chairs of the Minsk Group."

He added: "And by sending this correspondence to the ambassadors to Australia of the Minsk Group Co-Chair countries, we are confident they will pass on our concerns to the relevant authorities in the USA, France and Russia."


ANC AUSTRALIA'S FULL LETTER BELOW

15 July, 2009

ATT: The Hon Kevin Rudd MP
Prime Minister
Parliament House
CANBERRA ACT 2600

Cc: The Hon. Stephen Smith MP    (Minister for Foreign Affairs)
His Excellency Alexander V. Blokhin    (Russian Federation Ambassador to Australia)
His Excellency Dan Clune        (US Ambassador to Australia)
His Excellency Michel Filhol        (French Ambassador to Australia)

Dear Prime Minister Rudd:

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 Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan, we are writing to share with you the profound disappointment of the Armenian-Australian community over the undue and unreasonable pressure being applied upon Armenia by the Minsk Group Co-Chair countries to force unilateral and dangerous concessions regarding the Nagorno Karabakh conflict.  These concessions would imperil the security of the people of Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh Republic (NKR), 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.

Among the most striking flaws in the current peace process is its exclusion of the duly elected representatives of the NKR.  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 NKR 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.  Moreover, they completely ignore the will of the NKR people that they have already so legitimately expressed through the referenda of 1991 and 2006.

The concerns of the Armenian-Australian, and worldwide Armenian community, are outlined in the resolution (see pages 3 and 4) that was unanimously adopted at a Pan-Armenian Conference on July 11th in Stepanakert, the capital of the NKR. This major Pan-Armenian 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, NKR, 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 the NKR’s viability and hence should not be endorsed by the authorities of Armenia.

We are confident that you will transmit the concerns of the Armenian-Australian constituency and the resolution (see pages 3 and 4) to the relevant authorities within the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) and express these concerns through the appropriate diplomatic channels to the governments of the United States of America, Republic of France and the Russian Federation as Co-Chairs of the Minsk Group.

We have also sent copies of this letter to the Australian Ambassadors of the Russian Federation, the United States of America and France, and we are confident they will transmit this correspondence and the attached resolution to the relevant authorities in their countries.

Yours sincerely,
 
Varant Meguerditchian
President – Armenian National Committee of Australia

(The Armenian National Committee of Australia writes this correspondence on behalf of the 35 Armenian-Australian organisations it directly represents in public affairs. For full list, please consult http://anc.org.au/about_us)


PAGE 3 & 4 - Resolution of the Pan-Armenian Conference held in Stepanakert, NKR

We, the representatives of Armenian communities in 25 countries of the world, having discussed, at a conference organised under the high patronage of the President of NKR, the current issues of utmost importance for the nation and the state, namely the issues of Nagorno Karabakh and the Armenia-Turkish relations, herewith determine:

1.    Armenia and the Armenians are at an important and decisive stage. The preservation of our identity, the future of the two Armenian states and of our nation depends on the further course and the resolution of the two issues on our agenda.

2.    We are determined to protect the interests and the rights of the nation and the state and to secure our independent and dignified place in the family of civilised nations, using all possible and impossible means.

3.    We demand confidence, realism and political will from the incumbent and future authorities of the Republic of Armenia and the Republic of Nagorno Karabakh; in these two critical issues, they should be guided solely and exclusively by the interests of the Armenian nation and the sense of responsibility before generations to come.

4.    We realise that all issues related to the foundations of the state and domestic and foreign policy are inter-related and insist on comprehensive and balanced position [on these issues].

5.    The Republic of Armenia, NKR and the Diaspora can become an organised power only if we act as parts of the whole, establish a format for exercising our joint will, employ our capacities and prove to our neighbours and centres of power of the world that the Armenian nation shall not tolerate infringement of our legitimate rights.

In view of the above, the conference herewith states in relation to Armenia-Turkey relations:

Armenia and Turkey, as neighbour states, will eventually have to establish normal relations. Armenia’s initiative to start diplomatic relations and open the borders without any preconditions has already been a concession and a demonstration of good will towards Turkey. In more than a year, Turkey however, has not responded commensurately to Armenia’s such unilateral readiness. None of Turkey’s leaders made any public statement on their wish to normalise relations without any preconditions. Turkey continues to establish preconditions, consistently increases her biased role in the Nagorno Karabakh issue and, in reality, instead of heading for the normalisation of relations, successfully misguides the international community by thus removing the Armenian issue from the agenda.

In this context, signing the joint statement of April 22, 2009 was a wrong and a short-sighted move. Present trends are equally and even more dangerous, as the power centres of the world are trying to impose some accelerated solutions of the Nagorno Karabakh issue and by doing so steer the course of Armenia-Turkey relations in the direction which is beneficial for Turkey [alone]. It is already obvious that Armenia and the Armenians have to deal with a concerted policy of Turkey-Azerbaijan tandem.

In these circumstances, we are confident about the relevance of the below considerations and the importance of pursuing them at a state level.

a)    Lifting the blockade and establishing diplomatic relations based on general provisions of international law and without any preconditions should be viewed as a natural entry point for the dialogue between the two states. True friendly relations with Turkey may be established upon the recognition of the Armenian Genocide and the restoration of the rights of the Armenian people.

b)    Universal recognition and condemnation of the Genocide and, specifically, recognition and condemnation by Turkey is of fundamental significance both in terms of restoring historical justice and in the context of establishing an atmosphere of mutual confidence in the region and prevention of such crimes in the future. This provision of Armenia’s national security concept has de facto ceased to be a guiding principle of Armenia’s foreign policy. Any attempt to turn the fact of the Genocide into a matter of a historical debate is equally inadmissible.

c)    Normalising Armenia-Turkey relations at the expense of Armenia’s sovereignty and viability, and the rights of future generations, is absolutely inadmissible. The authorities of the Republic of Armenia should not allow Turkey to use the imitation of negotiations for scoring additional political and advocacy points in the international arena.

d)    Armenia’s authorities have a duty to revisit and reconsider the course of public interaction initiated one year ago and its negative outcomes, and should reveal to the international community Turkey’s true intentions and discontinue the negotiations.

In relation to the current stage of the Nagorno Karabakh issue, the conference herewith states that:

The regional status quo is the result of Azerbaijan’s policy aimed at shattering the right of free self-determination of the people of Nagorno Karabakh, unleashing a war and losing it. Not only Nagorno Karabakh managed to defend her right to life, but it created a democratic state conforming to all international norms; this state grows and develops normally. Today and tomorrow, the dignity, the viability and the future of Armenia and the Armenian nation are contingent on Nagorno Karabakh’s independence and security. Certain trends in relation to providing a hasty solution to the problem and Azerbaijan’s belligerent statements require that we remain vigilant, keep the issue in the focus of the national discourse and, as appropriate, prevent any possibility of unfair resolution of the conflict.

In view of the above, the conference believes that:
a)    The course of the final settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh issue is that of peaceful negotiations; the distorted format of these negotiations should however change so that the NKR becomes a full-fledged party in the negotiations.

b)    The negotiations process should be based on the accomplished fact of the independence of the people of Nagorno Karabakh and the results of the 1991 independence and the 2006 Constitution referenda. The negotiations should have, as an objective, an immediate recognition of NKR independence and ensuring her security, and should not circumvent the issue of occupied areas of Getashen, Mardakert and Martuni and the rights of hundreds of thousands of Armenians displaced from Azerbaijan.

c)    Nagorno Karabakh has never been a part of the independent Azerbaijan; she declared independence in 1991 in the territory which did not belong to Azerbaijan. The demise of the Soviet Union put an end to the Soviet Azerbaijan’s jurisdiction over Nagorno Karabakh. The commencement of the Nagorno Karabakh war and its consequences are the responsibility of Azerbaijan alone.

d)    While we realise that negotiations imply mutual concessions, we at the same time maintain that mutual concessions, in view of all components of the settlement of the conflict, may only be commensurate, equal, concurrent and within the package solution framework. Otherwise, any weakening of the security belt around the NKR, without restoring its territorial integrity, will increase the likelihood of war and thus threaten the safety of Nagorno Karabakh’s population.

e)    Within this context, the call of the co-chairs for the expedited settlement of the conflict based on the so called Madrid Principles is not in line with the nature of the conflict and its history. Moreover, it completely ignores the will of the NKR people that they have already so legitimately expressed. The conference believes that adopting any international document without direct participation of the key party to the conflict, i.e. the authorities of the NKR, is condemnable, inadmissible and devoid of any legal power. The conference affirms that the Republic of Armenia is not in a position to replace NKR in resolving this vital issue. The conference further demands that the proposed document be not signed and that urgent measures be taken to return the NKR to the negotiations table as a full-fledged party.

f)    Armenia should take all measures to guarantee the security and independence of the NKR and attain an international affirmation of her status. Accordingly, only a document excluding any use of force and signed between the RA, NKR and Azerbaijan under the auspices of the international community may ensure the irreversibility of the peaceful negotiations process.

g)    For us, Nagorno Karabakh is Armenia and shall remain as such. We have already scored a victory by mobilising the Armenian nation in the war unleashed by Azerbaijan, and there should be no doubt that we shall do the same should anyone decide to use the language of warfare against our nation.

We, the participants of the two-day conference on the Nagorno Karabakh issue and Armenia-Turkey relations herewith reaffirm our unity and determination in relation to issues of importance for the nation and the state. The independent Republic of Armenia, the free Nagorno Karabakh, the organised Diaspora and inalienable rights of our nation continue to remain our ultimate values.

Stepanakert
July 11, 2009