MP says Iraqi involvement may turn Armenians into “terrorist” targets

Noyan Tapan news agency
3 Nov 04

YEREVAN

The Armenian government should aim to prevent Armenia and the Armenian
communities [abroad] from becoming a target for terrorist
strikes. This is the position of the board of the Armenian
Revolutionary Federation – Dashnaktsyutun [ARFD] which held its
session in [the town of] Dzhermuk at the end of last week.

At a news conference on 3 October, the chairman of the Armenian
National Assembly’s standing commission for foreign relations and a
member of the board of the ARFD, Armen Rustamyan, made public a
document adopted by the board. According to the document, the
dispatch of Armenian troops to Iraq is one of the most topical issues
now as it is the issue of safety of the Armenian people and
specifically of the Armenian community in the Middle East.

Having studied the government’s decision to endorse a proposal for the
Armenian defence ministry to join the appropriate memorandum [on
sending troops to Iraq], the ARFD board stated that on the issue of
Iraq the Republic of Armenia should strictly follow the resolutions
adopted by the UN Security Council and other international
organizations of which it is a part.

Asked by a Noyan Tapan correspondent about how the ARFD faction is
going to vote on the proposal to send Armenian servicemen to Iraq,
Rustamyan said that “the board will clarify its position and act on
that, once it receives an appropriate package”.

The board also touched on Turkey’s membership of the EU and said that
Turkey should first resolve its problems with Armenia before it joins
the EU. “We have two main conditions: the recognition of the Armenian
genocide and Turkey’s neutrality on the Nagornyy Karabakh conflict,”
Rustamyan said.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress