AZG Armenian Daily #084, 03/05/2008
National Interest
ARMENIA AND TERRORISM ACCORDING TO US DEPARTMENT OF STATE
On May 1 the US Department of State published its annual report on
terrorism. In these reports, published regularly since 2004, are being
figured out the statistics for anti-terror actions in the world and US
cooperation with other states. Naturally, we are first of all
interested in the statistics about struggle against terrorism in
Armenia and its neighbors, Azerbaijan and Georgia.
Comparing the conclusions about Armenia and Azerbaijan, at once we
noticed that a great number of people were arrested in Azerbaijan
under suspicion of being involved in terrorist organizations. The
report says that 15 civilians, calling themselves "North Army of
Mahdee" were detained and accused for being in contact with the
Iranian Revolution Guardians’ Corpse. Another terrorist group, lead
by some Arab, Abu Jafar, was caught in Sumgayit. 11 people were
arrested in September. It is said they were preparing a terrorist
attack against the US Embassy in Baku.
However, the report on Azerbaijan, so rich with arrests and terrorist
organizations, lacks the most important part – the conclusion. It is
uncertain, whether the United States are concerned with the large
number of terrorists in Azerbaijan, or not.
On the contrary, the report on Armenia, where not a single incident
however linked with terrorism was recorded, is full of conclusions of
the American "experts". It turns out that the USA is troubled with the
intensive Armenian-Iranian relations. The "experts" elaborated in
details, how last year the President and the Defense Minister of Iran
visited Armenia and how close the diplomatic relations between Yerevan
and Teheran are. By the way, the President and the Defense Minister of
Iran also visited Azerbaijan in 2007, but nothing is said about that
in the report.
At the same time Department of State report says that although Armenia
cooperates with the USA the in struggle against terrorism, the
corruption in the Government, shadow economy and high level of
criminal may permit illegal transfer of arms, terrorists and money
through the territory of Armenia.
Our conclusion is simple and obvious: the Department of State had
nothing to write about Armenia and all the absurd was written in order
to write just something. The report on Armenia has no legal or
juristic grounding and is only aimed at stating that there are
"certain criminal elements" in Armenia, which may possibly cooperate
with terrorist financial structures. This sounds absurd, when at the
very same time there are dozens of such criminals in Azerbaijan, which
are already cooperating both with financial and militant terrorist
structures. The report clearly shows that the United States, having
nothing to say against Armenia, but minding to equalize Armenia and
Azerbaijan, invented inconsistent and fake "accusations" (if this word
is suitable here).
By A. Manvelian, translated by A.M.