[22 February 1988]
The statement of First Secretary of the Communist Party of Armenia, Karen Demirjian on Yerevan television
Precious Comrades,
Circumstances compel me to appeal to you.
As you know, in the last few days there have been meetings in the Square of the Opera Theater in Yerevan in defense of the request of the population of the Autonomous Region of Mountainous Karabagh to become part of the Soviet Armenia.
With regard to this question, resolutions have been drafted in meetings and forwarded to leaders of the Republic and the Union. The situation created around Mountainous Karabagh at the present time is of a serious political nature.
The superficial approach to that question may bring great damage to the relations between nations and to the friendship of peoples. The situation that has evolved is causing concern and requires a deep sense of responsibility, the undertaking of decisive measures and the avoidance of the occurrence of events which can lead to unforeseen consequences or to consequences that may not be possible to correct.
The Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union has examined the many facets of the events occurring in Mountainous Karabagh. The activities and demands that the national territorial structure, currently existing in that region, be reviewed contradict the interests of the workers of the Armenian S.S.R. and the Azerbaijani S.S.R.
It has been recommended to us to undertake the coordination of means necessary to improve the situation.
[…]
Our party recognizes the exceptional significance of the development of relations between nationalities in the present phase. One of the forthcoming sessions of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union will be devoted exclusively to problems related to nationalities policy. As Comrade M. S. Gorbachev indicated during the plenary session of February of the Central Committee, “We are speaking today about the development of national consciousness of all the nations and peoples of our country; the expression of national feelings (which sometimes appear in a distorted fashion) poses a living question, and they must be resolved.”
I would like to inform you that the Central Committees of the Communist Parties of Azerbaijan and Armenia and the Council of Ministers of the Republics have been instructed to develop the necessary socioeconomic measures that must be applied in Mountainous Karabagh.
The Central Committee of the Communist Party of Armenia is appealing to the workers collectives, their party organizations, all the communist workers, and our youth, and is asking them to show a high level of political and civic spirit. The friendship of nations is our priceless wealth — the guarantee of the future developments of the Armenian people in the family of Soviet brotherly nations — and we must keep that as a treasure in the name of the welfare of our socialist fatherland, we must solidify that friendship with our tireless efforts and enrich it with new patriotic endeavors.
[…]
Once more we are appealing to you, to the citizens of Soviet Armenia in this important moment to express bravery, self-control, thoughtfulness, patience, political maturity, a high level of organization, to more actively be involved in restructuring public life, and to the task of strengthening the international brotherhood of soviet peoples.
[Haratch, February 25, 1988]
The Karabagh File, Documents and Facts, 1918-1988, First Edition, Cambridge Toronto 1988, by the ZORYAN INSTITUTE, edited by: Gerard J. LIBARIDIAN, pp. 97-98.
[23 February 1988]
Decision of the Communist Party of Armenia on Karabagh
At a meeting of prominent members of the Communist Party of Armenia held on February 23, 1988 in Yerevan, the issue of the reunification of Karabagh with Armenia was discussed.
Among those addressing the meeting were Victor Hampartzoumian, president of the Academy of Sciences of Armenia; Karlen Dallakian, president of the Committee for Cultural Relations with Armenians Abroad; Hrachia Hovhannissian, the new president of the Writers’ Union of Armenia; Vartkess Bedrossian, the prominent writer; Karen S. Demirjian, First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Armenia; as well as Vladimir I. Dolhghik, a non-voting member of the Politburo of the U.S.S.R., and Anatoly I. Lukyanov, a Central Committee secretary.
The meeting concluded with the following decision:
To ask the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the U.S.S.R. that, when preparing for the plenary session of the Central Committee devoted to the problems of the policy on the nationalities, it examine in depth the issue of Mountainous Karabagh along with other problems.
[The Armenian Mirror-Spectator, March 12, 1988]
The Karabagh File, Documents and Facts, 1918-1988, First Edition, Cambridge Toronto 1988, by the ZORYAN INSTITUTE, edited by: Gerard J. LIBARIDIAN, pp. 100.
Photu – by Mayis Vardanyan
