[25 February 1988]
Statements by Ross Vartian, executive director of the Armenian Assembly of America, released following reports of large-scale demonstrations by Armenians in Armenia and Karabagh
The demonstrations in Yerevan and Stepanakert (Karabagh) are based on a legitimate historical grievance that dates back to the Stalin years. To accommodate the government of Turkey, and to establish the border between the Soviet Union and that country, the interests of the Armenian people were sacrificed.
While the Soviet Central Committee last week rejected the appeal of the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabagh to unite that land with Armenia, it is clear that the issue remains unresolved. It is conceivable that the Central Committee at some future time will have to reconsider this decision, particularly if the public outcry continues at such an unprecedented level.
Soviet society, under the banner of glasnost, is undertaking a painstaking review of the Stalin era and appears intent on addressing the consequences of errors made during that period.
The Nagorno-Karabagh question is making headlines today, but it is one of many such border questions in the multinational Soviet state that will not go away. General Secretary Gorbachev recently stated that developing a nationalities policy is “the most vital, fundamental issues of our society.” The demonstrations in Yerevan and elsewhere underscore the need to address the nationalities question.
[The Armenian Mirror-Spectator, March 5, 1988]
The Karabagh File, Documents and Facts, 1918-1988, First Edition, Cambridge Toronto 1988, by the ZORYAN INSTITUTE, edited by: Gerard J. LIBARIDIAN, pp. 114-115.
