YEREVAN (Realist English). How can we prevent the transfer of Artsakh to Azerbaijan and suspend the aggressive actions of the enemy? What steps can be proposed to the society? Lengthy discussions of the members of the movement “Amahmbum” (“Unity”) on these issues led to the idea of the civil legislative initiative “Azat Artsakh-Hayakve”, which means “The Free Artsakh is the voice of the Armenian”, around which extensive discussions were held on May 11 with members of the movement, as well as with individuals and organizations interested in joint activities.
The essence of the initiative was presented to more than 100 participants of the meeting: This is a draft law, in fact, providing for criminal liability for the refusal of self-determination of Artsakh, which will be implemented through the will of the citizens of Armenia. The referendum and the legislative initiative preceding it today can become one of the most effective political and legal actions in the constitutional field.
The initiative group proposes to start collecting signatures and voting on an amendment to the criminal legislation, which provides for strict punishment on behalf of the Republic of Armenia for actions to recognize Artsakh as part of Azerbaijan and belittle the significance of the Armenian Genocide.
The initiators take as a basis the Declaration of Independence of the Republic of Armenia, the Constitution of the Republic of Armenia and the Resolution of the Supreme Council of the Republic of Armenia of July 8, 1992. In particular, the Declaration of Independence sets two national goals: the unification of the Republics of Armenia and Artsakh and the international recognition of the Armenian Genocide. These are the national goals set by our state as basic and indefinite.
After the large-scale preparatory stage of the project, the initiative group will appeal to the CEC (Central Election Committee), after which a 60-day deadline will be set for organizing voting and collecting signatures. 50 thousand signatures will allow submitting a legislative initiative to the RA National Assembly. At the moment, preparation begins, new individuals and organizations are joining the initiative. Further information will be provided as the initiative develops.
