AZERI DEFENCE MINISTRY RAPS ARMENIA FOR TRUCE BREACH, PLEDGES PROPER REPULSE

Ekho
March 6 2008
Azerbaijan

The Azerbaijani Defence Ministry has blamed Armenia for resorting to
truce violation in order to divert attention from "rigged presidential
election", Ekho newspaper has said. In a press statement, the
ministry said that Armenia’s attacks were repulsed fittingly and the
Azerbaijani army inflicted heavy casualties on the enemy forces. Troops
and military hardware concentration were also reported in Tartar and
Goranboy fronts, the press release said, adding that any provocation
would be met properly. The following is the text of B. Safarov report
by Azerbaijani newspaper Ekho on 6 March headlined "Armenians asked
for mercy" and subheaded "By appealing to the Azerbaijani Defence
Ministry leadership and international organizations with a cease-fire
request"; subheadings have been inserted editorially:

The Armenian military leadership, having found itself deadlocked, has
asked the Azerbaijani Defence Ministry and international organizations
for an immediate cease-fire, an official report from the press service
of the Azerbaijani Defence Ministry said in connection with the
latest events on the contact line of firing (Novosti-Azerbaijan). Let
us remind that throughout 4 March until one o’clock on the night
of 5 March, the Armenian armed forces staged another provocation
by assuming the offensive in the Tartar and Goranboy fronts. Four
Azerbaijani troops died in the fierce battle.

The Armenian side sustained 12 losses with 15 wounded.

"What happened on the front line on 4 March and fitting rebuffs by
the Azerbaijani army against the military offensives of the enemy
served another proof that the enemy will not manage to apply force
against our army. The level of combat readiness of the Azerbaijani
national army is at the highest level," the document said.

Tension runs high in Armenia

The report said that heavy losses of the Armenian army caused a new
round of tension in Armenia. "Armenia is engaged in circulation of
misinformation and the cause of this is obvious. Trying to divert
attention of the world community from the rigged presidential
election and ensuing civil confrontation at home, the enemy resorted
to provocation, but, as obvious, it did not achieve anything as a
result," the press release of the Defence Ministry said.

However, the Armenian president denies that Armenian troops
were killed. At a news conference yesterday, Robert Kocharyan
told journalists that "the Armenian side sustained no losses, an
officer was wounded in the hand and another servicemen was hurt on
an anti-personnel mine" (Novosti-Armenia). Kocharyan also added that
"the defence ministries established direct contacts as a result of
which an agreement on a cease-fire was reached".

Simultaneously, Kocharyan complained that "the Karabakh defence
forces" came under mortar and artillery strikes. In the meantime, the
Azerbaijani Defence Ministry notes that by trying to hush up the actual
picture of own losses, the Armenian side is feeding the media with
wrong information, "and this is not the first time when the Armenian
authorities try to keep silent about own losses" (Novosti-Azerbaijan).

"By launching an offensive, the enemy had to foreseen in advance heavy
losses in own ranks as the principle of waging combat operations is
that the attacker incurs heavier losses as compared with the defender,"
the official press release of the Azerbaijani Defence Ministry said. In
the meantime, the Armenian armed formations are drawing up large amount
of military hardware in the Tartar direction of the front (1news.az).

Apart from this, Armenia is also concentrating troops on the front line
in Tartar and Goranboy directions. It is visible from the Azerbaijani
side that Armenians started to feverishly reinforce their positions on
the occupied territories. A regional correspondent of 1news.az reports
that a relative calm is being observed along the whole perimeter of
the front, no firing of the positions of the Azerbaijani national
army was registered.

Monitoring to shed light on cease-fire breach

"A monitoring on the Karabakh front line will be conducted in a
day or two in connection with the aggravation of the situation in
the front line and the clashes between the Armenian and Azerbaijani
armed forces," Russian ambassador to Azerbaijani Vasiliy Istratov
said at the press centre of Novosti yesterday. The monitoring will
be conducted by experts and specialists of the OSCE from the both
sides of the front line and after this an official opinion would be
concluded and a report would be drawn up to shed light on causes and
consequences of the clashes which were incomparable for intensity
over the several years of the cease-fire regime, Istratov said.

For his part, Azerbaijani general consul in Los Angels Elin Suleymanov
considers that "the attempts of the Armenian authorities to divert
attention from the political crisis in Yerevan were predictable"
(Day.az). "The Azerbaijani side from the onset did not want to
interfere in Armenia’s domestic affairs despite the provocation of the
Armenian authorities who first opened polling stations on our territory
and now resorted to military confrontation against our armed forces.

"As is known, Armenians protested against the results of the latest [19
February presidential] election outside the Armenian Consulate General
in Los Angels. That is to say, even among the Diaspora understanding
is gaining ground that the Yerevan regime’s approach has no prospects.

"Apparently, having realized this and applying a series of other
methods, the Armenian authorities decided that by only going to
provocation on the front line, they can retain power in Yerevan.

Enforcing censorship in the Internet and stepping up propaganda,
the Yerevan regime wants again to use the nationalist hysteria for
strengthening its shaky positions."