A decision to grant Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) the status of an Armenian region should be left absolutely to its people’s discretion, a founding member of the radical opposition party Sasna Tsrer said today, warning of the Abkhazian precedent.
According to Zhirayr Sefilyan, such decision should receive backing by the majority of the country’s population, especially in the light of recent geopolitical developments.
“The threat of ‘Abkhazianation’ is looming over Artsakh, so we must avert that within the shortest possible timeframes. We are hopeful the incumbent authorities in Yerevan will also assist in the process, ” he said.
Sasna Tsrer had earlier launched a petition in Artsakh, proposing the idea of granting suffrage to the country’s population in the parliamentary elections and referendums in Armenia.
Sefilyan said he does not make any distinction between citizens of Artsakh and citizens of the Republic of Armenia. “There is no such thing as citizenship of Artsakh. The Artsakh Armenians hold Armenian passports, the only difference dealing with the registration data. So this petition has attracted the citizens who are registered in Artsakh and who, for so many years, have been deprived of the right to vote in the [nationwide] elections in Armenia,” he added.
Amalya Arakelyan