ARMENIA THIS WEEK
Monday, December 13, 2004
In this issue:
Armenian Constitutional Court approves Iraq deployment
France urges Turkish recognition of Armenian Genocide
Suspect pleads guilty in NATO PfP course murder
Statement of FM Oskanian at the OSCE MInisterial
HIGH COURT APPROVES IRAQ MISSION, AS ANOTHER ARMENIAN CHURCH ATTACKED
Armenia’s Constitutional Court voted last week to approve the
Armenian-Polish agreement that will form the legal basis for Armenian
servicemen to deploy with the Polish-led multi-national division of the
U.S.-led coalition in Iraq. The vote came a day after another Armenian
church came under attack in Iraq. According to media reports, gunmen
burst into Armenian Catholic and Chaldean churches in Iraq’s northern
city of Mosul, forced those inside to leave and then set off explosives
damaging the buildings but not hurting any of the parishioners. Iraq’s
Christian minorities, including some 15,000 Armenians, have increasingly
been targeted by anti-U.S. insurgents. Concerns over the safety of
Armenians in Iraq and elsewhere in the Middle East have forced Armenia
to initially distance itself from the U.S.-led war in Iraq.
Defense Minister Serge Sargsian argued that the dwindling Armenian
community in Iraq would be at risk whether Armenia joins the coalition
or not. He said Armenia is sending a non-combatant force in part because
of the community’s concerns. Sargsian also pledged that Armenia’s
50-person task force, made up of military transportation, engineering
and medical personnel, would be drawn exclusively from among volunteers.
The Armenian Army, which is composed primarily of draftees, also has
thousands of officers and NCO’s serving on contract, primarily in tense
border areas. Sargsian again defended the government’s decision, which
is unpopular both in Armenia and Diaspora communities. The Defense
Minister argued that political losses from Armenia’s non-participation
in the U.S.-led coalition far outnumber likely risks associated with the
deployment.
The Armenian unit would be deploying in Iraq as the security situation
there remains tenuous at best. The month of November saw the second
highest number of U.S. and coalition casualties since the war began and
insurgent attacks are expected to continue in the run up to the Iraqi
national elections tentatively set for the end of January. An increasing
number of countries are either withdrawing or reducing their forces in
Iraq. The total number of U.S.-led coalition members has reduced from 35
to 28 countries over 2004, and two more of the U.S.’ NATO allies,
Hungary and the Netherlands, are expected to withdraw soon. At the same
time, the U.S. non-NATO allies, such as Albania, Georgia and Romania,
are due to increase their troop commitments.
It is now up to Armenia’s Parliament to give final approval for the
deployment. Governing coalition factions led by Prime Minister Andranik
Margarian (Republicans) and Speaker Artur Baghdasarian (Country of Law)
have already backed the move. They are also supported by the
non-coalition United Labor Party led by Gurgen Arsenian. Another
coalition partner, the Armenian Revolutionary Federation remains
undecided, with opposition Justice and National Unity factions strongly
opposed to the government’s decision. (Sources: Armenia This Week 11-15;
Washington Times 12-2; Arminfo 12-8, 9, 10; Noyan Tapan 12-8, 9; RFE/RL
Armenia Report 12-8; Donga.com 12-10)
FRANCE URGES TURKEY TO ACKNOWLEDGE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE
France’s Foreign Minister Michel Barnier said that his country will
request that the Turkish government recognize the Genocide of Armenians
early last century, as part of its negotiations for membership in the
European Union (EU). The EU summit this week is expected to give
conditional approval to negotiations on Turkey’s membership application.
France is one of the growing number of countries worldwide which have
officially affirmed the Armenian Genocide. The French Armenian
community, which is the largest in Europe, has in recent months
intensified its campaign for the French government to take up key
Armenian issues as part of Turkey-EU talks. In his letter two weeks ago,
Armenia’s President Robert Kocharian urged the EU leaders to discuss
Turkey’s anti-Armenian policies, such as the decade-long blockade and
recent measures to criminalize the Armenian Genocide affirmation within
Turkey. For its part, Turkey has refused to condemn the deaths of over
one million Armenians and long pressured the international community to
avoid the issue. Turkey has also refused to establish normal relations
with Armenia. (Sources: Armenia This Week 12-6; Agence France Presse
10-13)
AZERI SAYS GUILTY IN BUDAPEST MURDER CASE
The lieutenant, who was praised as a national hero in Azerbaijan after
brutally killing an Armenian counterpart at a NATO English language
course last February, has said he was sorry about the murder. “It was
not my plan to be so cruel, savage,” the 27-year-old Ramil Safarov said
as his trial began in Budapest. The Hungarian police said that Safarov
attacked the Armenian officer Gurgen Margarian while he was asleep and
struck him repeatedly with an axe until Margarian’s head was nearly cut
off. Safarov said he was taking revenge over Azeri losses in the
Karabakh war. He reportedly tried but failed to kill another Armenian
participant of the same course. Armenian officials have argued that the
the crime was a consequence of the Azeri government’s policy of
fomenting anti-Armenian hysteria in Azerbaijan.
Safarov’s actions were praised by senior Azeri officials and much of the
public, with calls for more violence against ethnic Armenians. The Azeri
officials have since toned down their rhetoric as part of the effort to
seek Safarov’s extradition. Last week, Safarov’s lawyers claimed he was
beaten by his Hungarian prison guards. In the meantime, court experts
determined that Safarov was sane and competent to stand trial but had
somewhat retarded intellectual faculties. The trial was adjourned until
February 8 of next year on the request from the defense, which asked for
more time to prepare. (Sources: Armenia This Week 2-27, 8-30; Reuters
11-23; Noyan Tapan 11-30; Regnum.ru 11-30; Day.az 12-4)
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