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08/23/2006
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1. Lebanon ARF Meets with Defense Minister
2. Turkish Troop Presence in Lebanon Would Perpetuate Instability
3. Evans to Vacate Ambassadorial Post Early Next Month
4. Armenia’s Population at 3,219,400
5. Azeri Foreign Minister Ready to Meet With Oskanian
6. Syria Warns Against Deployment of Troops

1. Lebanon ARF Meets with Defense Minister

BEIRUT (Aztag)–A delegation representing the Armenian Revolutionary
Federation
Central Committee of Lebanon met Tuesday with Lebanese defense minister Elias
Mur, who hosted the meeting at his residence.
Hovig Mkhitarian and Hagop Pakradouni praised the defense minister and the
Lebanese army for their resolute posturing during the Israeli attacks and
expressed their condolences for the soldiers who were killed as a result of
the
war.
The two sides also assessed the current security and defense issues of the
country, emphasizing the important role the Army will play in protecting the
borders and ensuring the national security of Lebanon.
The delegation also expressed its support for the United Nations cease-fire
resolution and conveyed the ARF’s vehement opposition to the proposed
participation of Turkey as part of the mandated peacekeeping force to be
deployed in southern Lebanon.
Mur told the delegation that he was very familiar with the ARF position and
the concerns that the Armenian community has regarding the deployment of
Turkish forces in Lebanon. He emphasized the need for popular Lebanese consent
for any troop deployment in the country.

2. Turkish Troop Presence in Lebanon Would Perpetuate Instability

The European-Armenian Federation for Justice and Democracy welcomes the
cease-fire that has put an end to the Israeli bombings of Lebanon and to the
suffering of the people. The Federation also supports the International
Community’s current efforts aimed at the normalization of the region under the
aegis of the United Nations.
However, the European-Armenian Federation is gravely concerned about the
possibility of Turkish troops participating in the peacekeeping force in this
sensitive region.
"Let’s remember that Turkey is the old colonial power of the Near East with
clear territorial ambitions vis-à-vis Arab countries. Turkey’s record of
genocide, torture and suffering is permanently inscribed in the collective
memory of the Lebanese. Furthermore, Turkey’s current abuse of its own ethnic
minorities, including those of Arab nationality, is a well-known reality in
the
region," declared Hilda Tchoboian, chairwoman of the European-Armenian
Federation.
"The presence of Turkish troops in an international force would be a serious
mistake with dire consequences for the peacekeeping operations. Turkey is
not a
peacemaker. Turkish forces will only aggravate the current delicate situation
in South Lebanon by adding Turkey’s own regional liabilities to the present
complexities in Lebanon. After so much suffering, the Lebanese people deserve
better,» added Hilda Tchoboian.
The European-Armenian Federation also emphasizes that Turkish troops would be
particularly ineffective and inappropriate due to the fundamental conflict of
interest between their responsibility as credible and responsible peacekeepers
and the higher national interests of Turkey anchored in the extensive
requirements of its military and strategic alliance with Israel.
The Federation therefore urges the International Community to make a more
suitable choice for the makeup of the UN peacekeeping force.

3. Evans to Vacate Ambassadorial Post Early Next Month

YEREVAN (Yerkir)–US Ambassador to Armenia John Evans told Arminfo news agency
Tuesday that he will complete his tour of duty in Armenia and return to the US
in early September
At the same time, Evans refused to comment on the Senate’s ongoing process to
approve Richard Hoagland, the Administration’s nominee to serve as the next
ambassador to Armenia saying, "I do not comment on the activity of the
Congress."
The State Department, with the blessing of the White House, fired ambassador.
Evans in response to his February 2005 statements at Armenian American
community functions, during which he properly characterized the Armenian
Genocide as "genocide." Following his statements, Ambassador. Evans was forced
to issue a statement clarifying that his references to the Armenian Genocide
were his personal views and did not represent a change in US policy. He
subsequently issued a correction to this statement, replacing a reference to
the genocide with the word "tragedy."
The American Foreign Service Association, which had decided to honor
Ambassador. Evans with the "Christian A. Herter Award," recognizing creative
thinking and intellectual courage within the Foreign Service, reportedly
rescinded the award following pressure from the State Department in the days
leading up to Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s visit to
Washington, DC to meet with President Bush.
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee delayed Hoagland’s confirmation
hearing, pending concrete answers by the candidate to questions by nine out of
the 18 Senators on the committee regarding the US policy on the Armenian
Genocide.

4. Armenia’s Population at 3,219,400

YEREVAN (Noyan Tapan)–As of July 1 of this year, there were 3,219,400 people
residing in Armenia up from 3,215,800 at the same time last year, announced
the
Armenia’s Census Bureau on Wednesday.
According to the report, 64.6 percent of the population is between the
ages of
18-65, while 12.7 percent are above the age and 22.7 percent are under that
age
bracket.
From January to July the population increased by 3,144 people, down 12
percent
from the same time last year. There were 17,513 births and 14,369 deaths
during
that period. During the same period last year there were 17,447 births and
13,873 deaths.

5. Azeri Foreign Minister Ready to Meet With Oskanian

BAKU (Armenpress)–Azeri Foreign Minister Elmar Mamedyarov Wednesday expressed
readiness to meet with his Armenian counterpart Vartan Oskanian within the
framework of "Prague process".
According to Day.az, Mamedyarov said that at present the time and place of
the
meeting are being discussed.
"Yesterday I was talking with the French co-chair of the Minsk Group. The
co-chairs have forwarded several suggestions about the place and time of the
meeting. Azerbaijan has already expressed its agreement," the foreign minister
said.-
In Stepanakert, President of Nagorno Karabakh Republic Arkady Ghoukassian
Tuesday met with the personal representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office
Andrzej Kasprzyk who presented the results of the monitoring conducted on the
same day on the Karabakh-Azeri border.
Karabakh presidential press service told Armenpress that during the meeting
the representative said that the monitoring was conducted according to the
planned schedule and no violation of the cease fire had been registered.

6. Syria Warns Against Deployment of Troops

BEIRUT (AP)–Israel’s foreign minister said Wednesday the situation in Lebanon
was "explosive" while Syria’s president says the deployment of international
troops along the Syria-Lebanon border would be a "hostile" act.
The escalating rhetoric came as the 10-day cease-fire was shaken by the
deaths
of three Lebanese soldiers killed defusing a missile and an Israeli killed
by a
land mine in south Lebanon.
Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Saniora urged the US to help end Israel’s sea
and
air blockade, saying his country was making "every effort" to secure its
borders.
"Time is working against those who would like to see this resolution
applied,"
Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni said after talks her French counterpart,
Phillipe Douste-Blazy. "We are now in the most sensitive and explosive
position."
"We therefore need extremely quick action from the international community,"
she said.
Syrian President Bashar Assad was quoted as saying he would consider such a
deployment along the Lebanon-Syria border a "hostile" move toward his country.
"First, this means creating a hostile condition between Syria and Lebanon,"
Assad told Dubai Television, according to excerpts released by the TV station
ahead of the broadcast. "Second, it is a hostile move toward Syria and
naturally it will create problems."
Assad did not elaborate on that point in the excerpts. But Finland’s foreign
minister, after meeting with his Syrian counterpart, said Damascus threatened
to close the frontier with Lebanon if UN peacekeepers were deployed there.
"They will close their borders for all traffic in case UN troops will be
deployed along the Lebanon-Syria border," Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja said
after meeting Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Moallem in Helsinki. Finland holds
the rotating presidency of the European Union.
"This closing of the border would certainly have negative consequences for
the
people living in the region," Tuomioja told reporters after his meeting with
Moallem.
An Aug. 11 UN resolution outlined a cease-fire agreement that called for a
15,000-member force of international peacekeepers and another 15,000 Lebanese
army troops to deploy to southern Lebanon, as Israeli troops withdraw.
But efforts to raise the force were moving slowly with the European Union
nations expected to lead it reluctant to commit troops without safeguards to
ensure they do not get sucked into the conflict.
On Tuesday, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Israel would not lift its air and
sea blockade until international peacekeepers were deployed at the Beirut
international airport and along the Lebanese border with Syria. Hezbollah’s
vast arsenal of rockets and other weapons is believed to originate in Iran and
reach the guerrillas across the Syrian border.
"The United States can support us in putting real pressure on Israel to lift
the siege," the Western-backed Saniora said Wednesday. His government has
called the blockade a violation of the UN-brokered cease-fire, and has asked
the international community to intervene.
Olmert’s tough stance on the blockade appeared to be an attempt to pressure
the international community to speed the dispatch of a vanguard of the
15,000-strong force of international peacekeepers called for by the cease-fire
agreement.
Sporadic violence has marked the UN-brokered cease-fire that took hold
Aug. 14
and ended 34 days of ferocious fighting between Israel and Hezbollah. But the
truce has held thus far.
The cease-fire was tested Wednesday when the Israeli army fired artillery
into
a disputed border region in response to what it said was an attack from inside
Lebanon.
Lebanese security and military officials said there had been no fire by
either
Hezbollah or the Lebanese army in the region. The officials spoke on condition
of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk with reporters.
Israel claimed there was a three-hour exchange of fire in the disputed
Israeli-occupied Chebaa Farms area, where the borders of Lebanon, Syria and
Israel meet.
Lebanese security officials said Israeli military fired artillery into the
village of Chebaa, which is controlled by Lebanon. The officials said the
artillery fire landed near Lebanese army positions but no one was hurt.
Lebanese troops entered the village of Chebaa last week for the first time in
four decades as part of an eventual deployment of 15,000 troops in southern
Lebanon under the cease-fire deal.
Lebanon has demanded that Israel hand over maps of the mine emplacements in
the region. Hezbollah guerrillas also have laid mines in the south before and
during the recent fighting to stop the Israeli army’s ground push.
Three Lebanese soldiers were killed Wednesday near the village of Tibnine
while they dismantled an unexploded missile in southern Lebanon, Lebanese
security officials said.
Earlier in the day, an Israeli soldier was killed and three others were
wounded by a land mine Israel planted in southern Lebanon, Israeli officials
said. The soldier was the second casualty since the truce.
The Israeli military said it could not confirm the incident.
Hundreds of Israeli troops have remained on the positions in southern Lebanon
they occupied during the war as they wait for a UN peacekeeping force to move
in and guarantee a buffer zone between Israel and Hezbollah guerrillas.
Diplomats said EU talks in Belgium on Wednesday were unlikely to produce a
breakthrough, though there were expectations that nations may come forward
with
at least tentative offers of more troops ahead of a meeting scheduled Friday
with UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan.
Saniora also said Wednesday his government would accept a $230 million aid
package offered by President Bush, despite widespread criticism in Lebanon of
US support for Israel.

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