Today is the day the RA Declaration of Independence was adopted. On August 23, 1990, the Supreme Council of Soviet Armenia adopted the 12-point document, thus starting the legal process of Armenia’s independence.
Lengthy discussions and debates in the Central Committee preceded the adoption of the document. Before that, by the August 4 decision of the Cabinet of Ministers, a commission for the preparation of the Declaration of Independence of Armenia was created, which included 15 deputies. A few days later, the draft of the Declaration was ready. The Declaration was adopted due to absolute consensus among all forces represented in the Central Committee. Aram Manukyan, representing the Armenian Nationalist Party, read it at the Central Committee.
With the first clause of the Declaration Declaration, the Armenian SSR was renamed the Republic of Armenia, abbreviated as Armenia. The Republic of Armenia was to have its own flag, coat of arms, and anthem.
The second point said that Armenia is a sovereign state.
In the fifth point, it is stated that the Republic of Armenia creates its armed forces, internal troops, and state and public security bodies subordinate to the Supreme Council to ensure its security and the integrity of its borders.
The sixth point of the Declaration stipulates that Armenia, as a subject of international law, conducts an independent foreign policy and establishes direct relations with other states and national-state entities of the USSR.
A separate vote was adopted for each point of the Declaration.
However, the most debate was about whether the issue of the Armenian Genocide should find a place in the legal document.
The Speaker of the Parliament, Levon Ter-Petrosyan, and his political team, ANM, considered that, from a political and diplomatic point of view, putting the issue of genocide in the Declaration of Independence is not correct and that it can be addressed in another document. However, since the majority of deputies were in favor of that provision. ANM gave in to that demand but with politically subtle wording. The document says Armenia supports the international recognition of the Armenian Genocide in 1915 in Ottoman Turkey and Western Armenia.
However, 25 MPs voted against including the clause in the Declaration Declaration.
The 12th clause at the end of the Declaration said that this document serves as a basis for the development of the Constitution and for the implementation of amendments and additions to the current Constitution, the activities of state bodies, and the development of new legislation of the republic.
The Declaration of Independence of Armenia is the founding document of the Republic of Armenia. This became the basis for holding a popular referendum in September 1991.
