Aztag Daily, Lebanon
Aug 25 2006

The Three Armenian Political Parties in Lebanon Issue Joint Statement
on Turkish Participation in Peace-Keeping Forces

Representatives of the three Armenian political parties active in
Lebanon – The Armenian Revolutionary Federation, the Social Democrat
Hunchak Party, and the Liberal Democratic (Ramgavar) Party held a
meeting at the Shaghzoyan Center in Beirut, on August 24. After the
meeting, they issued the following statement. Below is the text of
this statement:

We, the leaders of the three Armenian political parties, the Armenian
Revolutionary Federation, the Social Democratic Hunchak Party and the
Liberal Democratic Ramgavar Party, deeply appreciate the efforts of
the Lebanese government to set a ceasefire, stop the bloodshed caused
by war, establish peace and stability and restore what has been
destroyed in the recent Israeli attacks on Lebanon.

We also welcome the UN Security Council Resolution 1701 that intends
to increase the number of the peacekeepers in South Lebanon. We,
however, voice the Lebanese Armenian community’s rejection of the
idea to include Turkish troops in the peacekeeping forces because:

a. Participation of Turkish troops in the international forces
breaches the principle of impartiality for international forces and
therefore would obstruct the efforts of establishing peace and
stability in Lebanon. No country participating in the international
forces should be an ally of a conflict party. Turkey, however, has a
history of enmity with many countries and nations, and its history
demonstrates the bloody core of its relations with those nations. In
addition, Turkey has a military treaty with Israel which also
includes the cooperation of special services. That treaty threatens
the peace process in the region, and Turkey’s biased foreign policy
makes us mistrust Turkey.

b. Turkey continues its occupation of Cyprus, blockade of Armenia and
refuses to recognize the 1915 Armenian Genocide it perpetrated and
refuses to apologize for that crime.

c. Turkey continues to violate human rights and rights of minorities
making it ineligible for peacekeeping mission.

d. There is no doubt that any country participating in international
forces should be accepted by the Lebanese public: Turkey’s history of
violence in Lebanon does not grant it such acceptance considering
that the Lebanese people in its collective memory still endures the
consequences of Turkish crimes and tyranny.

Taking into account these realities, we reaffirm our opposition and
refusal of the inclusion of Turkish troops in the peacekeeping forces
to be deployed in South Lebanon and demand that the Lebanese
government reject the inclusion of the Turkish troops in these forces
in support of the Lebanese Armenian community, which is an important
element of Lebanese society.

In this letter addressed to the Lebanese government, we demand that
the Lebanese government take into consideration the Armenian position
in its agenda, given that the views of all communities in Lebanon
should be respected.

Armenian Revolutionary Federation
Social Democratic Hnchak Party
Liberal Democratic Party