Union for National Self-Determination


Union for National Self-Determination is an Armenian political party. It was founded in 1987 by Paruyr Hayrikyan, a Soviet dissident seeking independence for Armenia.

History

After the 1995 Armenian parliamentary election, the party gained 3 seats in the National Assembly. The party lost all representation in the National Assembly after the 1999 Armenian parliamentary election.
Following a long absence from politics, Paruyr Hayrikyan announced his intentions to create a "democratic alliance" with other liberal pro-democratic parties. Prior to the 2017 Armenian parliamentary election, the Union for National Self-Determination requested to join the Way Out Alliance, however their request was never responded too.
Despite the set-back, Hayrikyan confirmed that the Union for National Self-Determination will participate in future key elections, however the party would not participate in the 2018 Armenian parliamentary election.

Activities

In April 2016, Paruyr Hayrikyan held a press conference with Tigran Khzmalyan, leader of the European Party of Armenia. Both leaders announced the creation of a mass-petition to be signed by citizens calling on the government to give up cooperation with Russia and deepen their ties with European institutions.
In June 2019, during a press conference, Hayrikyan urged Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan to strengthen democratic values in Armenia.
On 30 November 2019, Hayrikyan called on the government of Armenia to recognize the Ukrainian Holodomor as a genocide during a speech at the Ukrainian Embassy in Yerevan.

Ideology

The party believes that the Caucasus region, including Armenia should move towards European Union integration and have greater integration with Western countries. The party has maintained for 15 years the position that the integration of Armenia and Azerbaijan into the EU would make the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict senseless, and therefore EU integration should be pursued as a lasting solution to the conflict.