Never Used the Term Defeat Since the Moment of Signing the November 9 Declaration, Says Aghazaryan

Many of us refer to the wars in Artsakh as the first, second, or third wars. I apologize, but I do not agree with that terminology, because the war is not even over today; it was not over in 1994 either, as only a ceasefire was established. We have had a struggle for existence, interspersed with relatively peaceful periods. This was stated today in the National Assembly by the MP from the ‘My Step’ faction, Hovik Aghazaryan.

“As a result of glorious victories in battles, we had victorious generals, heroes, and as a result of their activities, a population of 4 million became 2.5 million. The economy collapsed; I do not know to what extent. There was a severe decrease in the population, an economic downturn, and there were the second and third phases of the war, where we recorded painful outcomes,” Aghazaryan noted, speaking about those painful outcomes.

The MP stated that since the moment of signing the November 9 statement, he has never used the term defeat. “I have said that we did not win; I do not accept defeat because if you are defeated, then the opponent is victorious. I do not consider that our opponent has defeated us. The semi-colonial behavior that they continue to display today speaks of something completely different,” he added.

Aghazaryan mentioned that significant changes will occur in this geographic region over the next 50 years, and we must be prepared for them, but he did not disclose specifics. He did indicate that serious reforms must be made in the military. He proposed the principle of nation-army, where the main element is that a young person goes to service at the age of 18, ideally for one year, is free for a year or two after serving, and returns to the unit where he is attached until the age of 55.

The MP also suggested transitioning to a bicameral parliamentary system in Armenia. “In my profound conviction, we must move to a bicameral parliamentary system. We will have an upper chamber, in addition to our existing chamber, let’s say consisting of 100 members, where 50 will be elected from Artsakh and our homeland, while the other 50 will be elected from around the world. They will gather once a year and carry out certain functions that can be detailed,” Aghazaryan said. The MP proposed adding to the powers of the Public Council at the start of this path.