ARF LEBANON CENTRAL COMMITTEE PRESS OFFICE ISSUES THE FOLLOWING STATEMENT
Aztag Armenian Daily, Lebanon
Sept 11 2006
On September 5, 2006, the Armenian Revolutionary Federation Lebanon
Central Committee Press Office issues the following statement to
Lebanese media agencies.
The Armenian Revolutionary Federation Lebanon Central Committee held
a special session, during which the main topics of discussion were
the latest developments in Lebanon, and particularly the stance the
Lebanese government has taken relative to the possible participation
of Turkish troops in the U.N. peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon.
The A.R.F. Lebanon Central committee reiterated that thanks to the
united front the Armenian community presented against the deployment
of Turkish troops in the south, the cabinet discussed the matter,
after being urged to do so by the Lebanese president. However,
the Lebanese government did not respect the wishes of the Armenian
community. By doing so, the Lebanese government ignored the calls
of all the leaders and representatives of the community, including
Catholicos of all Armenians Aram I, the leaders of the three Armenian
Christian denominations in Lebanon, and the leaders of the three
active Armenian political parties in Lebanon.
a- We see the denial of the demands of the Armenian community as an
insult to one of Lebanon’s seven main secterian groups: this violates
the basic idea of co-habitation which Lebanon is built on, and harms
the efforts to establish secterian dialogue and unity. Unity among
ths sects in Lebanon is necessary for the implementation of any major
policies in the counrty, and contributes to the formation of a strong
Lebanese government.
b- None of the officials statements made by government officials
provide any justification for the unfair stance the Lebanese government
has taken in this situation. In fact, the government has decided to
ignore the objections of the Armenian community, objections based on
moral, political, and ethical arguments.
c- The deployment of Turkish troops to the region will not help the
peace process, it will in fact hurt it, given that Turkey cannot be
impartial, since it has signed a military pact with Israel. All over
the world, peacekeeping forces sent to any region are required to
be impartial.
It is important to mention that the government has decided to allow
the participation of Turkish troops in the UNIFIL mission despite the
objection of a number of minister, who have sided with the Armenian
community on this issue.
The A.R.F. Lebanon Central Committee, while highly praising these
particular minister, consider the cabinet as a whole responsible for
this unfair and insulting decision. The Central Committee also assures
that the Armenian community is determined to correct this mistake.