InternationalSamvel Babayan: “We must do everything to avoid a war”
Legendary commander talks about May 9 celebrations, the possibility of a new war, and the policy of repopulating the liberated territories
Published: Friday May 08, 2009
Samvel Babayan. Hayk Badalyan / Photolure
Yerevan - According to Nagorno-Karabakh's former defense minister and army commander Samvel Babayan, May 9 is not only the celebration of the liberation of Shushi but also the day a ceasefire was established. In 1992, between May 7 and 9 Armenian forces moving toward Lachin and led by Commander Babayan liberated the ancient Armenia fortress city of Shushi. Two years later, on May 9, 1994, Azerbaijan signed the ceasefire document.
"For me, the signed ceasefire document is more important. We have already had 15 years of peace and God willing, that peace will be eternal. The liberation of Shushi was one of the first achievements that elevated the Armenian spirit. May 9 is also celebrated in Nagorno-Karabakh as Army Day and for the victory of the Great War, 1941-1945 [World War II]," said Mr. Babayan.
On May 9, 1994, Azerbaijan's Defense Minister Mammadrafi Mammadov, the next day Armenia's Defense Minister Serge Sargsian and on May 11 the Commander of Nagorno Karabakh's Defense Forces Samvel Babayan addressed a letter to the foreign and defense ministers of Russia, stating that late on May 10, early May 11 the conflicting sides had agreed to lay down their weapons.
On February 23, 2001, the late Azerbaijani President Haydar Aliev said in the Azerbaijani parliament: "I want to repeat once again, that the May ceasefire was a very important step and we moved in that direction consciously. Even though the issue has not been resolved, the ceasefire was necessary. Unfortunately, many have forgotten the war, they now live in comfort. Unfortunately they have forgotten the war."
Deterring Baku
Samvel Babayan is one of the few people who believe that the possibility of the war starting again is real. He is also convinced that Azerbaijan is ready for a new war, but there is one "however."
"Azerbaijan is prolonging the resolution of the conflict to once again go to war. I do not agree with that opinion that Azerbaijan is not yet ready for war. Azerbaijan is ready for war, but there is one problem: what if it loses? Azerbaijan is getting ready for that, to make 100 percent sure that it will win the next war. Because if a new war begins, it will lose more territories and it will no longer have anything to say in the negotiations. It is for this reason that Azerbaijan is avoiding a war and not because its army isn't ready," Mr. Babayan said.
The former commander is also convinced that even if a war begins, the Armenian army will win, but it is important to understand at what price. "We have to do everything to avoid a war. Our military leadership must not allow the adversary to become emboldened, or to think that in case of war they can register even the smallest success," he said.
After liberation
Seventeen years have already passed since the liberation of Shushi; however the city's population continues to be around 3,000, the same as it was in the mid-1990s. The ceasefire has been in place now for 15 years, yet just as in the liberated territories, in Nagorno-Karabakh resettlement has not taken place. If in the mid-1990s almost 13,000 people lived in the liberated territories, today only 7,000 do.
"In my opinion the authorities are not taking steps in that direction. The authorities are obligated to develop a policy to have those territories resettled; not by lightly renovating burnt-out homes and settling people there with no electricity, gas, water and then complain that people aren't going there. They must create conditions for people that are normal for living. Because a resettlement policy is not in place, the authorities don't believe that they will be able to keep those territories," concluded Mr. Babayan.
Referring to the process of conflict resolution, Mr. Babayan blamed the former authorities of Nagorno-Karabakh for Stepanakert being left out of the negotiation process.
"The issue will be resolved in Stepanakert, only in Stepanakert. When the time comes that the people of Karabakh feel danger, they will not submit to anything and will rebel. The Armenian nation does not have a de Gaul to persuade the people Karabakh of that which they have known for a long time. Yes, the conflict must be resolved by mutual concessions but those concessions must have a limit," he said.
The former commander doesn't see the Karabakh conflict resolution coming anytime soon. "Any political power that is conducting the negotiations has to understand whether it is able to carry that burden (concessions) or not. In today's political field, there isn't that person who will agree to those concessions that are being talked about today."
Mr. Babayan disagrees with the view that after mutual concessions, when peace has been established and the borders have been opened, only then will the economy of Armenia flourish.
"The issue isn't Karabakh and the 100,000 people who live there. The land belongs to he who lives on that soil. Karabakh has been a part of Armenia, and will be a part of Armenia. Even if they hang a nuclear bomb around the neck of the Armenian people, if we concede Karabakh, then we will no longer have the right to live as a people every again," said Mr. Babayan and concluded with the words of Monte Melkonian, another legendary commander of the Karabakh war: "If we lose Karabakh, then we will turn the final page in Armenian history."
