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02/15/2005
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1) The Aftermath of Hariri’s Death
2) Kocharian, ARF Lebanon React to Hariri’s Assassination
3) Armenian Youth Determined to Gain Genocide Recognition
4) ARF Leader Stresses Turkey Has Nothing to Offer through Mere ‘Dialogue’
5) Mediator Sees No Organized Settlement Policy in Karabagh

1) The Aftermath of Hariri’s Death

–US Recalls Ambassador from Syria

BEIRUT (MSNBC)–The United States recalled its ambassador to Syria on
Tuesday,
expressing “profound outrage” amid growing suspicion that Damascus was
involved
in a massive bombing in Lebanon a day earlier that killed Lebanon’s former
Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.
Condemnation and expressions of grief echoed throughout the Arab world and
beyond, while in southern Lebanon an angry mob attacked Syrian workers.
The bombing and its aftermath raised fears that Lebanon might revert to the
political violence of the 1970s and ’80s, and the US Embassy in Beirut warned
Americans in the Lebanese capital to exercise extreme caution.
French Foreign Ministry spokesman Herve Ladsous said the UN Security Council
was working on a declaration demanding that the Lebanese government bring to
justice those responsible for the assassination and could adopt it later
Tuesday.
“For us, it is very important that the text can effectively express today and
without waiting the unanimity of the international community in condemning
this
criminal and odious act,” Ladsous said.
The European Union’s foreign policy chief, Javier Solana, told The Associated
Press on Tuesday he saw no immediate need to change EU relations with Syria,
but supported an international investigation into the bombing. EU
relations, he
added, could change depending “on how the responsibilities on the
assassination
of Mr. Hariri are resolved.”
Interior Minister Suleiman Franjieh suggested that, based on the crater in
the
middle of the road and preliminary reports, the attack may have been carried
out by a suicide bomber who rammed Hariri’s motorcade with a vehicle laden
with
explosives.
State Department spokesman Richard Boucher, announcing the move to withdraw
American ambassador to Damascus Margaret Scobey, said it reflected the Bush
administration’s “profound outrage” over Hariri’s assassination.
Boucher did not accuse Syria of being involved in the bombing Monday in
Beirut. “I have been careful to say we do not know who committed the murder at
this time,” he said.
But he said the deadly attack illustrated that Syria’s strong military and
political presence in Lebanon was a problem and had not provided security in
the neighboring country.
Earlier, Scobey delivered a stern message to Syrian officials, a senior State
Department official told NBC News, saying the Syrians needed to take action to
fight terrorism in Lebanon, stop interfering in Lebanon’s internal politics,
and abide by a UN resolution that calls for Syrian troops to withdraw from
Lebanon.
Boucher refused to describe Syria’s reaction to Scobey’s diplomatic messages
in Damascus. Syria has not yet taken any reciprocal action, such as
withdrawing
its own ambassador to Washington.
White House spokesman Scott McClellan said the United States has “made it
clear to Syria that we expect Syria to act in accordance with the United
Nations Security Council resolution calling for the withdrawal of all foreign
forces and the disbanding of militias.”
McClellan said, “We also made it clear to Syria that we want them to use
their
influence to prevent the kind of terrorist attack that took place yesterday
from happening.”
Although most suspicion has fallen on Syria or its supporters in Lebanon, it
was clear the possibilities also might include rogue Syrian intelligence
operatives, or even factions among the country’s myriad religious groups.
Claims of responsibility by Islamic militants also raised the possibility that
Hariri had been targeted because of his close ties to Saudi Arabia–a top
enemy
of al-Qaida and other groups.
But Justice Minister Adnan Addoum played down that possibility, and Hariri’s
political allies openly accused Syria and its Lebanese allies of being to
blame.
In Hariri’s hometown of Sidon on southern Lebanon’s Mediterranean coast,
dozens of demonstrators attacked Syrian workers Tuesday, slightly wounding
five
before police intervened. Hundreds of others marched in the streets. Black
banners and pictures of the slain leader covered the streets as the country
began three days of official mourning.
On Monday night, a mob attacked the offices of the Lebanese chapter of
Syria’s
ruling Baath Party in Beirut with stones and set fire to shacks used to
exchange money and sell cigarettes in front of it.
Police said the toll from the bombing was 14 dead and about 120 injured. A
claim of responsibility by a previously unknown Islamic militant
group–Support
and Jihad in Syria and Lebanon–was not considered credible, with Addoum
warning it could be an attempt “to mislead the investigation.”
At Hariri’s Beirut residence Tuesday, long lines of mourners offered
condolences to the family. Dignitaries also arrived to pay their respects,
including Syrian Vice President Abdul-Halim Khaddam, a longtime friend;
Spanish
Foreign Minister Miguel Moratinos; and Hariri’s political ally, Cardinal
Nasrallah Sfeir, head of the Maronite Catholic Church.

2) Kocharian, ARF Lebanon React to Hariri’s Assassination

(Combined Sources)–President Robert Kocharian conveyed his condolences to his
Lebanese counterpart Emil Lahoud, expressing sorrow for the assassination of
Lebanon’s former Prime Minister, Rafik Hariri.
Praising Hariri as a leading political figure who made considerable
contributions to strengthening Lebanon’s statehood and Armenian-Lebanese
relations, Kocharian said Hariri’s death is a difficult challenge not only for
Lebanon, but also for the entire region.
In his message to Hariri’s widow Nazik Hariri, Kocharian said, “Rafik Hariri
not only made an invaluable contribution to strengthening of peace and
stability in Lebanon and in the whole region, but also exerted considerable
efforts to strengthen the relations between Armenia and Lebanon. I remember my
meetings with Rafik Hariri with special warmth. On behalf of the Armenian
people and myself, I express deep condolence to you and all his relatives.”
The Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) Central Committee of Lebanon also
issued a statement on Monday denouncing the assassination and extending its
condolences to the families of Hariri and other victims.
The statement condemns the blast, calling it “an attempt to infringe on the
Homeland’s security, peace, civil serenity, and national accord.”
“This crime was committed against the Lebanese Homeland and points to the
dangerous stage Lebanon has come to,” the statement continued.
Urging all to maintain internal unity and underscoring national
responsibility
in the dangerous and sensitive situation that Lebanon and the region are
facing, the statement concludes, “The absence of Rafik Hariri, a symbol of the
national accord and prominent political leader, will felt greatly in Lebanon
and the Arab world.”

3) Armenian Youth Determined to Gain Genocide Recognition

YEREVAN (Armenpress)–The youth divisions of Armenia’s political parties,
student councils, and a number of non-government organizations (NGOs) released
a joint statement on Tuesday condemning the Turkish media for deliberately
distorting historical facts about the Armenian genocide.
The deputy head of the Armenian NGO youth division, Abraham Bakhchagulian,
said youth must work for the recognition of the Armenian genocide, and are
ready to organize various events to attain that goal.
He said it is inadmissible to talk about the Armenian genocide in a
dismissive
manner, as the Turkish mass media and political elite do, in order to hinder
the process of the international recognition of the Armenian genocide.
“We condemn the activity of the organizations and people who aim to cast
doubt
on the Armenian genocide and impede the process of condemning this crime
against humanity. Armenian youth are determined and united in its position to
promote the recognition of the Armenian genocide,” the statement reads.

4) ARF Leader Stresses Turkey Has Nothing to Offer through Mere ‘Dialogue’

YEREVAN (RFE/RL)–Levon Mkrtchian, who heads the Armenian Revolutionary
Federation’s (ARF) faction in parliament, described an offer to the ARF to
engage in “dialogue” with Turkey, as “unserious,” and questioned the motives
behind yesterday’s invitation.
He also questioned the credentials of Turkish businessman Kaan Soyak, who
made
the offer at a news conference in Yerevan yesterday. Soyak co-chairs the
Turkish-Armenian Business Council (TABC).
“Dashnaktsutyun [ARF] has received no formal offers to that effect,”
Mkrtchian
said. “I don’t know who that person represents, what goals he is pursuing here
and how substantiated his proposals are.”
“Offers of a dialogue addressed to Dashnaktsutyun [ARF] must be much more
serious. They must specify the subjects or topics of such a dialogue.
Dashnaktsutyun [ARF] ascertained those topics long ago,” Mkrtchian added.
Mkrtchian argued that Turkish-Armenian rapprochement and reconciliation is
hardly possible because Turkey’s ruling establishment remains unwilling to
come
to terms with its Ottoman past. “Modern-day Turkey, given its position on the
genocide issue and policy on the Republic of Armenia, has nothing to offer
Dashnaktsutyun [the ARF] in a dialogue,” he said.

5) Mediator Sees No Organized Settlement Policy in Karabagh

By Jean-Christophe Peuch

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) last week
completed an unprecedented fact-finding mission to regions around Mountainous
Karabagh to verify Azeri claims that Armenian authorities are sending settlers
to the area. The mission, which was supervised by the three co-chairs of the
OSCE Minsk Group, was the first of its kind since the suspension of the
1988-94
Karabagh war. In an exclusive interview with RFE/RL, France’s Minsk Group
co-chairman, Bernard Fassier, discussed the mission’s preliminary findings.

PRAGUE–For more than a week, experts from the Organization for Security and
Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) conducted an unprecedented tour of the Kelbajar,
Lachin, Qubadli, Fuzuli, Cebrayil, Zangilan, and Agdam districts around
Mountainous Karabagh.
The eight-member mission was placed under the supervision of the Minsk Group
of nations that has been mediating the Karabagh conflict for the past 13 years
on behalf of the OSCE. That Group has been co-chaired by France, Russia, and
the United States, beginning in 1996.
France’s co-chair, Bernard Fassier, who toured the territories with the OSCE
experts, said that the mission, which had long been demanded by Azerbaijan,
was
made possible only after arduous talks between Baku and Yerevan. Azerbaijan
claims the Armenian and Karabagh authorities have already sent some 23,000
settlers to the areas and demands that an end be put to what it says is a
deliberate policy of colonization.
“The determinant factor that made this mission possible–despite Armenia’s
earlier objections–was a compromise reached recently by the two countries
under the aegis of the Minsk Group co-chairs. The main provision of the
compromise was that Azerbaijan would suspend its action at the United Nations
in return for–among other things–Armenia’s consent to that mission, the
technicalities of which were agreed to by both parties,” Fassier said.
In early 1993, ethnic Armenian forces were in full control of Mountainous
Karabagh and had already secured the strategic southern corridor of Lachin
that
links the exclave to Armenia.
In March 1993, ethnic Armenian forces launched a two-pronged offensive that
drove Azerbaijan’s army farther east.
Kelbajar fell on April 3, 1993. Agdam, Fuzuli, Cebrayil, and other cities and
towns followed soon thereafter.
Azerbaijan claims the Armenian and Karabagh authorities have already sent
some
23,000 settlers to the areas and demands that an end be put to what it says is
a deliberate policy of colonization.
But French Ambassador Fassier said that, with one noticeable exception,
Armenian migration into the occupied territories seems to be largely
spontaneous and improvised.
“Contrary to what many people thought, there doesn’t seem to be a deliberate,
large-scale plan to settle those areas. One exception, however, is the Lachin
district. In Lachin, one can say that the [Armenian] settlement is being
encouraged and sponsored. But with regard to the six remaining districts, its
seems that up to 80 to 90 percent of settlers have gone there either on their
own or with the support of local nongovernmental organizations or the
[Armenian] diaspora. Except for Lachin, there is no large-scale involvement
from [the capital of Mountainous Karabagh Republic] Stepanakert, even less so
from Yerevan,” Fassier said.
The French diplomat said the largest group of settlers is made up of Armenian
refugees who fled Azerbaijan before the Karabagh war broke out in 1988 and in
the early months of the conflict. The second-largest group is composed of
victims of the December 1988 earthquake that leveled the Armenian city of
Spitak and partially destroyed Leninakan, Stepanavan, and Kirovakan.
“Finally, there is a third and much smaller group that consists of people who
have fled Armenia for economic reasons, or who live in mountainous areas of
Armenia and come on a seasonal basis to these more temperate areas for
cattle-breeding purposes. During the winter season, these families come down
from their mountains to graze their few cows or sheep in these more temperate
zones,” Fassier said.
Fassier noted that most Armenian settlers are apparently receiving no
assistance whatsoever from Yerevan or Stepanakert. He said the precarious
Armenian settlements, generally made up of a few families, remain isolated
from
each other because there are neither roads nor any means of communication.
With the exception of Lachin, no organized effort has been made to restore
infrastructure destroyed during the war. Also, Fassier said, no reconstruction
program has been initiated and many settlers continue to live in appalling
conditions more than 10 years into the cease-fire.
“In many areas there is no electricity and poverty predominates. I wouldn’t
say people live. Rather, they are surviving in half-destroyed walls topped
by a
tin roof. To survive, these families rely on small gardens or plots of land
that offer only limited agricultural possibilities. Sometimes, they also rely
on what a few fruit orchards that have been in a state of neglect for the past
10 years are still able to produce. In the most extreme situations there is no
electricity and just a hole in the ground, a fountain or a well to draw water
from. In areas where conditions are slightly better, accumulators allow for
just enough electricity to supply a single bulb. In other areas there are
small
generators. Sometimes electricity is either imported from Karabagh or supplied
by an Armenian military base nearby,” Fassier said.
Due to its key strategic importance as a land bridge between Karabagh and
Armenia, Yerevan insists that the notion of returning the Lachin corridor to
Azerbaijan is a nonnegotiable issue.
In Lachin, Fassier said, migrants live in much better conditions then in
other
occupied lands. The reconstruction rate is nearing 50 percent. Schools have
been built with government support, water and electricity supplies
progressively restored, and local administrations set up.
The OSCE experts are due to present their final report to the Minsk Group
co-chairs. The latter will then add their own recommendations and political
conclusions before passing on the report to the other Minsk Group members and
the OSCE Permanent Council in Vienna–tentatively scheduled for the second
half
of March.

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