STEPANAKERT (Realist English). The co-chairman of the “Congressional Armenian Caucus”, member of the US House of Representatives, Frank Pallone, called on the Baku Minisultanate to grant Artsakh the status of autonomy.
“Azerbaijan must clearly understand, as well as Russia and other post-Soviet states, that during the Soviet Union there were autonomous regions, and Nagorno-Karabakh was not the only one (such an area), there were many of them. They had a status under the Constitution of the USSR. Yes, Azerbaijan was a republic, but Nagorno-Karabakh was an autonomous region, and this should continue. Azerbaijan, as a constituent part, a member of the peace treaty, should understand that Artsakh has a status, and should provide some kind of autonomous status for the preservation of Armenian culture and people there,” Pallone said in an interview with the Armenian Public Television.
My dear Congressman Pallone made an inaccuracy, because in November 1991 Baku has revoked the autonomous status of the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region. And on December 10, 1991, a referendum on independence was held in Artsakh. That is, at the time of the declaration of its independence, Artsakh did not have the status of autonomy. It means that it cannot return to the status of autonomy. To return to the status of autonomy is to betray the right of the Armenian people to self—determination, which is guaranteed by the UN Charter for all peoples of the world, including Armenians.
The Armenians of Artsakh did not fight the Baku gangs for the right to have autonomy as part of the Baku minisultanate. The Armenians of Artsakh fought the Baku gangs so that the pogroms in Baku and Sumgait would not reach the villages and towns of Artsakh.
We must clearly convey to politicians in the United States and Europe that Artsakh cannot be part of the Baku minisultanate, which was created by the Kemalists and Young Turks for the final solution of the Armenian issue in the Caucasus — for the continuation of the Armenian Genocide. Therefore, I urge Mr. Pallone, who does a lot to protect the rights of the Armenian people, to take into account the circumstances I have indicated.
Sarkis Tsaturyan is the Editor-in-Chief of the Realist News Agency
