Dancers among Aussies saved from Lebanon
July 17, 2006 – 7:14AM

The Age, Australia
July 17 2006

Members of an Armenian dance troupe who had been stranded in Lebanon
were among 86 Australians safely evacuated from the war-torn country
by bus, braving Israeli bombing attacks to cross to safety in Syria.

A Sydney spokesman for the Sevan Dance Group, Archbishop Aghan
Baliozian, said the 45 young performers and 36 parents and supervisors
had been picked up from their Beirut hotel in a three-bus convoy.

The busloads of Australians fled Beirut, heading north along the
Mediterranean coast road and early Monday night (AEST) crossing the
Syrian border and onto the capital Damascus.

"They had an uneventful trip to Syria and I can confirm they are now
having lunch in (the Syrian capital) Damascus," Archbishop Baliozian
told AAP.

"We expect them to be taken to Jordan tomorrow, where they will fly
to Bahrain, and to be back in Sydney in two days time."

Thousands more Australians remain trapped in Lebanon as Australia
struggles to get them home, but the successful operation could be
repeated in days to come.

"Tomorrow, we will endeavour to try and repeat this exercise,"
Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said as he announced the evacuation
in Adelaide.

Hundreds more are set to be evacuated by ship later this week, he said.

Mr Downer had earlier warned of the potential danger of evacuating
Australians by road, saying some Italians fleeing Lebanon had almost
been hit by a missile.

The coastal route north from Beirut to Syria has been used by a number
of other nations to evacuate their citizens, but convoys have been
held up by Israeli bombing attacks as part of their campaign against
Hizbollah guerrillas.

While Mr Downer said earlier that Australia believed it had found a
safe land route out of Lebanon, he warned: "This is a difficult and
hazardous exercise."

"It’s a war situation and in a war there are high risks – there are
risks trying to get out of the country, there are risks staying in
the country."

Mr Downer said he had spoken to Israel’s foreign minister before the
busload of Australians departed Beirut, but said Israel had given no
assurances about the safety of those on the buses.

However he said Australia’s close relationship with Israel was a key
factor in the safe evacuation.

"I really appreciate the fact that we gave the information to the
Israelis about what we were doing and the route we were taking … in
that context it was a pretty trouble-free journey," he said.

"That is not to say that if we were to attempt it again tomorrow on
that route or a different route, it won’t be hazardous because there
are of course risks involved.

"There are risks in staying put, there are risks involved in taking
transport – transport and communications are being very much targeted
by the Israelis."

The rescued dance troupe had been bunkered down in their Beirut hotel
since the Israeli military began its attacks on Lebanon six days ago.

"Everyone is fit and well," Archbishop Baliozian said.

"We thank the Australian government and the media for their help.

"They were picked up … and taken out of the country in the coaches.

"We knew about the plans, but before this we had not been able to
say anything about the evacuation, because of security concerns."

Like many other nations, Australia is also negotiating to charter a
ship to take evacuees to Cyprus, although Lebanese ports have also
been targeted by Israeli bombs.

"We hope that will go ahead on Wednesday," Mr Downer said, adding
the ship would be able to carry about 600 Australians.

Prime Minister John Howard urged patience as families desperate to
be reunited with loved ones criticised the government over the pace
of the evacuations.

With Beirut’s airport out of action because of Israeli bombing,
Britain, France, Italy and other nations have sent warships or
chartered cruise ships to evacuate citizens.

New Zealand has asked for help from Britain to get up to 40 of its
citizens out, possibly by British warship.

Opposition Leader Kim Beazley said Australia too should evacuate its
citizens by ship, as roads were too dangerous.

"The government needs to be as vigilant as their European counterparts
in securing a decent outcome here for the Australians who are there,"
Mr Beazley said.

But Mr Howard denied Australia’s response had been slow.

"One reason is of course we’re a lot further from the area of
conflict," Mr Howard said.

He promised the federal government was working overtime to help
stranded Australians.

"It’s important in this situation to balance the risk versus the
opportunity," Mr Howard said.

The federal government urged people to contact the Department of
Foreign Affairs and Trade in Canberra if family members wanted to be
evacuated from Lebanon.

"This is the best we can do in the circumstances, it’s going to take
a bit of time," said Mr Downer.

"It’s very important that people don’t just rush the embassy, that
they communicate with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
in Canberra and allow the embassy to contact people when places are
going to be made available.

"If they all flocked to the embassy then that is going to create
a situation of chaos, it’s very important that we, having been
successful in getting the first 86 out, that there be an orderly
approach to this."

Close to 5,000 Australians are registered as being in Lebanon, while
up to 25,000 dual Australian-Lebanese citizens are also thought to
be living there.