The historic blunder of undermining LTP’s Karabagh settlement policy.

Vahe H Apelian

Levon Ter Petrosyan prominence came about with the Karabagh liberation movement he led. Subsequently he became the first nationally elected president, in the long tortuous Armenian history, on November 11, 1991, just fifty days after Armenia declared its independence on September 21, 1991 and long before the newly independent Republic of Armenia, voted to approve its  constitution on June 5, 1995. 

The Karabakh liberation war raged under the watch of Levon Ter Petrosyan and culminated in the Bishkek Protocol on May 5, 1995 which was a provisional ceasefire, with no final peace agreement. 

Two and half years - 2 years, 5 months, 28 days –after the Bishkek agreement, president Levon Ter Petrosyan published his “War or Peace, Time to get Serious” position paper for the resolution of the Karabagh conflict on November 1, 1997, where he advocated concessions for resolving the lingering Karabagh conflict. 

The position LTP outlined in that document created an uproar in Armenia and resulted in the palace coup engineered by Robert Kocharian, Serzh Sargsyan, Vazken Sarkissian and Vartan Oskanian leading to president LTP’s resignation a few months later, on February 3, 1998, and paving the way for two terms presidency of Robert Kocharian, followed by two terms Serzh Sargsyan presidency. Both failed to settle the Karabagh conflict. They also did not recognize the Republic of Karabagh, nor annexed it onto Armenia. On may 8, 2018 Nikol Pashinyan, after a popular uprising, was voted the PM of Armenia in a snap parliamentary election. The rest is history.

The PM Nikol Pashinyan has asked the presidents to a public debate. I do not think presidents Robert Kocharian and Serzh Sargsyan will accept it. They lead the opposition. I am wondering if LTP will accept. But he had already presented his position on the matter and his political stand to resolve the Karabagh issue. But, as noted, the two power brokers who became the presidents, undermined his Karabakh issue settlement  policy and forced him to resign.

It is important that interested Armenians read LTP’s “War or Peace, Time to get Serious”. I have translated it in four segments and posted below. 

In his position paper “War or Peace, Time to get Serious”, LTP had emphatically noted a historic concession – I quote – “It is not about giving or not giving Karabakh. It is about keeping Karabakh Armenian. It was inhabited by Armenians for 3000 years and it should be inhabited by Armenians after 3000 years.” 

Historic Karabakh is completely depopulated of its native inhabitants 

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The translation of Levon Ter Petrosyan “War or Peace, Time to get Serious”

Part 1 – The only option for solving the Karabakh question is compromise,'

http://vhapelian.blogspot.com/2024/10/war-or-peace-time-to-get-serious_23.html

Part 2 - The path of adventurers will lead to inevitable defeat

http://vhapelian.blogspot.com/2024/10/war-or-peace-time-to-get-serious_29.html

Part 3 - Five myths and  two riddles

http://vhapelian.blogspot.com/2024/11/war-or-peace-time-to-get-serious.html

Part 4/4 - Our only ally is the refusal of adventure

http://vhapelian.blogspot.com/2024/11/war-or-peace-time-to-get-serious_12.html

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