Pashinyan’s Constitutional game – Words are different, deeds are different – 2024-07-07 20:35:26

by times news cr

2024-07-07 20:35:26

Author: Elchin Alioglu

Source: Trend

There is one and very simple condition for the signing of the final peace agreement between Azerbaijan and Armenia. In the Constitution of Armenia, the territorial claim against our country should be canceled. Otherwise, there will be neither peace nor stability in the South Caucasus.

Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan stated in his address to the people on the occasion of the Constitution Day that the country needs a new Constitution.

“The Constitution is the collective understanding of citizens regarding the rules of life, rights and obligations in the country. The current Constitution has created serious social and psychological tension among citizens. For reasons known to all, today’s citizens of Armenia believe that the current Constitution reflects their ideas about the rules of life in society and the state. They see the Constitution as a document created by the ruling elite,” said N. Pashinyan.

According to him, the main problem is not what is written in the Constitution, but how it is accepted: “Armenia needs a Constitution that will be considered by the people and reflect their thoughts about the state and relations with the state. We need a Constitution that is organically connected to the people who created it.”

N. Pashinyan further stated that the issue of the new Constitution has recently become the subject of a political game. Despite this, Pashinyan believes that work on strengthening the institutional, psychological and physical stability of Armenia should be continued.

“We should focus on the interests of the people of real Armenia, who created the Republic of Armenia as a means to ensure freedom, prosperity, happiness and security in internationally recognized territories,” said N. Pashinyan.

The prime minister of Armenia should not be considered wrong in what he said about the necessity of reforming the country’s Constitution. Because if there are no constitutional reforms, if necessary additions and changes are not made to the supreme law of the country, it is not worth talking about sustainable peace and permanent stability in the South Caucasus.

Territorial claims against Azerbaijan are included in the preamble of the Constitution of Armenia and the Act of State Independence of the country. As long as those claims remain in force, it is possible that the revanchists in Armenia will become active and start new military operations against our country.

The reason is simple: Armenian identity has been built on centuries of territorial claims, mythical “Great Armenia from sea to sea”, territorial claims against Turkey and Azerbaijan, and decades of lies “Karabakh is the land of Armenia”.

Nikol Pashinyan’s desire to “establish the 4th Republic of Armenia” and make changes to the country’s Constitution is explained by the official Yerevan as a desire to “make the state more competitive”.

However, the pace of negotiations regarding the demarcation and delimitation of the conventional state border between Azerbaijan and Armenia, the signing of the final peace agreement, the restoration of transport communications and the commissioning of new logistics routes has slowed down a bit.

Even if most Armenians do not admit it, they understand: the current Constitution, which includes the territorial claim against Azerbaijan, is similar to stolen goods in the hands of a thief walking along the road with the police standing in front of them. If the thief wants a lighter sentence, he must get rid of those things. No, he will be punished if he continues to keep the things in his hands saying that they are valuable and dear to him.

In the “Declaration of State Independence” adopted in Armenia in the summer of 1990, shortly before the de jure collapse of the USSR, there is a phrase “unification of Armenia and the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Province”.

Since the preamble of the Constitution of Armenia refers to that document, this is the official Yerevan’s de jure claim to the territories of Azerbaijan.

Nikol Pashinyan did not realize this. He wanted to hold a referendum to change the composition of the Constitutional Court in 2020. The COVID-2019 pandemic prevented voting. Despite this, the “Civil Agreement” party, led by N. Pashinyan and in power in Armenia, managed to appoint the necessary judges and achieve a majority in the Constitutional Court through parliamentary voting.

Now, N. Pashinyan needs 600,000 votes to reach his goal in the referendum on amendments and additions to the Constitution. Considering that his rating in Armenia has fallen too much, the power in Yerevan is facing a problem that is not easy to solve.

The position of Azerbaijan is clear: changes must be made to the Constitution of Armenia, and the clause containing the territorial claim against our country must be removed.

The Armenian society, authorities, media and political space evaluate this request of official Baku as “an attempt to interfere in the internal affairs of Armenia”.

Is that so?

First of all, let’s note that the Constitution defines the basic principles, rights and obligations of citizens, as well as the borders of the state as the basis of the legal system of any state. If a state’s Constitution includes territorial claims against a neighboring country, it can no longer be considered “internal affairs” under any circumstances.

The main principle of international law is the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the state. The UN Charter (Article 2, Clause 4) prohibits the claim or use of force against the political independence and territorial integrity of any state.

This principle is included in a number of international documents, including the Helsinki Final Act (1975), which reaffirms the inviolability of borders in Europe.

In addition, according to the principles of international law, neighboring countries should build their relations on the basis of mutual respect and good neighborly principles. Territorial claims fundamentally contradict those principles, and this was confirmed in the Declaration “On Principles of International Law” (1970).

Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity, sovereignty and border inviolability have been recognized by all countries, including the UN and Armenia, which is also a member of this organization. In other words, Armenia has undertaken obligations and threats regarding the recognition of Azerbaijan’s borders. The Vienna Convention on the Law of International Treaties and Agreements (1969) states: “A party may not rely on its domestic law for failure to fulfill the terms of a contract, agreement or international agreement that it has signed or agreed to.”

It is for this reason that the inclusion of the territorial claim against Azerbaijan in the Constitution of Armenia is not an “internal matter” of Yerevan, but a fact fundamentally contrary to international law, a threat to stability and peace as a source of tension in international relations and especially in the South Caucasus region.

In order to prevent escalation in our region, Armenia must make changes to its Constitution and remove the statements we are talking about from the supreme law of the country.

The United States, France and the European Union, which owns Nikol Pashinyan and the Armenians, should also demand this from Yerevan.

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