ASBAREZ Online [08-21-2006]

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08/21/2006
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WEBSITE AT <;HTTP://WWW.ASBAREZ. COM 1. Lebanon ARF Meets with Prime Minister on Turkish Troop Deployment 2. 1st Century Ruins Unearthed in Karabakh 3. Gul to Visit Syria on Lebanon Peacekeeping Force 4. Plans Underway for Armenian, Azeri Foreign Ministers Meeting 5. UNHCR Praises Armenia For Its Refugee-Related Policies 1. Lebanon ARF Meets with Prime Minister on Turkish Troop Deployment BEIRUT (Aztag)--A delegation representing the Armenian Revolutionary Federation Lebanon Central Committee Saturday met with Lebanese prime minister Fuad Siniora to express its opposition to a proposed deployment of Turkish troops as part of a United Nations mandated peacekeeping force to southern Lebanon. Hovig Mkhitarian and parliament member Hagop Pakradouni were part of the delegation, which initially applauded Siniora for his leadership and posturing during the crisis and praised his decision to dispatch the Lebanese Army units to the border with Israel. The delegation went on to express the Armenian community's collective opposition to deploying Turkish troops on Lebanese soil, explaining that when all Armenian religious leaders collectively are opposing this process, it should signal a community-wide consensus on the issue. It was emphasized agreement to deploy Turkish troops in Lebanon will create across the board dissatisfaction and outrage within the community, which has continuously and historically supported the government. Siniora informed the delegation that he was grappling with the reality that there were not sufficient international forces available to fulfill the needs of the international peacekeeping force, but stressed that he fully comprehended the expressed position of the delegation. The delegation emphasized that the deployment of forces to Lebanon, under any circumstances would endanger Lebanon's stability. At the conclusion of the meeting, parliament member Pakradouni discussed the details of the meeting and announced that the delegation was firm in its opposition to the deployment of even one Turkish soldier on Lebanese soil. "We have continually worked toward bolstering Lebanon's stability and security. This Turkish issue will undoubtedly create instability in Lebanon," explained Pakradouni. On a related note, during a joint press conference with United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Gutierrez, Armenia's foreign minister Vartan Oskanian stressed that Lebanon should decide which country can or cannot participate within the peacekeeping force on its territory. This comment was also reiterated by the UN leader. Continuing its lobbying efforts on this matter, Pakradouni met with the UN representative in Lebanon Georges Nasri and presented the ARF Lebanon Central Committee appeal to UN Secretary General Kofi Anan. Pakradouni extensively discussed the reasoning behind the vehement opposition by the Lebanese-Armenian community on deployment of Turkish troops in southern Lebanon. Nasri explained that a final decision on the matter has not been made and pledged that he would personally convey the concerns and deliver the appeal to the Secretary General, adding that he fully understood the mindframe behind the Armenian community's posturing. Pakradouni was joined by Mkhitarian during a meeting with Iran's ambassador to Lebanon Mohammad Rida Shibani and expressed the community's opposition to the Iranian diplomat. The envoy highly praised the role of the Lebanese Armenian community in the recent crisis, especially emphasizing the leadership role the ARF had assumed in the process. He also pledged to present a detailed report on the meeting to the Iranian government. On a similar front, the Armenian Democratic League (Ramkavar Party) and the Social Democratic Hunchakian party leadership separately issued announcements over the weekend opposing the proposed deployment of Turkish troops in Lebanon. 2. 1st Century Ruins Unearthed in Karabakh STEPANAKERT (Karabakh Open)--The Yerkir Society presented a report Monday pointing to the recent discovery of ruins dating back to the First Century, BC from the Tigran the Great Era, in the Tigranakert region, which falls within the liberated territories around the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, near Aghdam. In Monday's press conference, Hamlet Petrossian the leader of the archeological dig announced that during excavations in the region from August 3 to 18, several important artifacts, including a gate from a fortress, a support wall of a stairway, a 5th Century church, pottery and other pieces that date back to the creation of Tigranakert in the 1st century BC. "The preliminary analysis of the artifacts point to a constant existence of Tigranakert from 1st Century BC to 14th Century AD. The unearthed buildings and pottery are similar to ones in other Armenian areas, especially those in the Ararat Valley, all of which attest to historical accounts of Armenian life in the area," announced Vahram Gevorkyan, a board member of the Yerkir Society. "The ruins also reinforce that the region is Armenian and that the Armenian civilization and history was developed in that region," added Gevorkyan. The experts emphasized that based on the available information, "this territory must be administered only by Armenians. This should be one of the important issues for Armenians." 3. Gul to Visit Syria on Lebanon Peacekeeping Force ANKARA (AFP)--Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul is expected to make a brief visit to Syria to discus the conflict in Lebanon, his ministry has said. A statement Monday said he would meet Tuesday Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his counterpart Walid al-Muallem, returning to Ankara the same day. Gul visited Israel Sunday and was in Lebanon last Wednesday where he discussed possible Turkish participation in an enhanced United Nations peacekeeping force. Turkey is ready to contribute to such a force, as provided for by United Nations Security Council resolution 1701, but has taken no formal decision. Turkey will clarify its decision on joining the international peace force to be deployed in southern Lebanon. Gul was scheduled to brief Monday's session of National Security Council on his visits. It is reported that the Government will clarify its final decision on troop deployment after Gul's visits and the NCS meeting. However, Ministry of Foreign Affairs wishes the immediate announcement of the decision on the grounds that it might help Turkish troops assume the task that Ankara prefers. According to the information received, the military unit that may be sent to Lebanon would not be a combatant force. General Staff conveyed its opinion where within the blue line is appropriate for deployment of Peacekeeping Forces. Israel wants Turkish troops to join the international peace force. Defense Minister Peretz, who met with Gul, expressed the Israeli view, saying that "I want Mr. Gul to send Turkish troops to the region." Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who said, "Turkey is a country Israel has faith in," also stated, "Turkey is performing an important role in the region. Hopefully, it will." Gul also met Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs Tzipi Livni in Jeruselam yesterday. Gul said, "Ultimately, there will be peace, but it needs to be immediate and permanent." Stressing that the kidnapped Israeli soldiers should be released, he also said to the Israeli minister, "Release the elected Palestinian representatives and ministers you arrested." Gul said this will create "a new climate for peace." It has been reported that Livni made no comment on the Hamas members in Israeli prisons. By the time Gul voiced his demand, Israeli troops arrested Hamas MP Mahmoud al-Ramahi in Ramallah. Gul then moved to Ramallah. Gul, during his meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, reiterated Turkey's support. Gul criticized the Israeli attitude by saying that no viable resolution will be achieved by unilateral decisions and use of force. 4. Plans Underway for Armenian, Azeri Foreign Ministers Meeting YEREVAN (Armenpress)--Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian announced at a press conference Monday that initial discussions regarding the organization of a meeting of the Armenian and Azeri foreign ministers are being held, adding that the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group are specifying time and place of the meeting. Oskanian also announced that the Minks Group co-chairmen had not made new proposals to Armenia, as was announced following the August 2 meeting of the Russian, French and US co-chairmen of the OSCE body. Oskanian was holding a joint press conference with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Gutierrez also said that Armenia has not received new proposals from the co-chairs. Gutierrez said that while the UN was not involved in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict resolution process, the international body, nevertheless, was interested in its peaceful resolution. During the press conference Oskanian announced that the Armenian side had not understood the reason for Azerbaijan to appeal to the UN regarding the wildfires in the bordering regions with the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic. "It is necessary to find practical solutions to the issue, especially since the personal representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office Andrzej Kasprzyk said in his report that the fires were caused due to very hot weather. This year the fires occurred more frequently and there have been difficulties by Armenia to address the matter due to limited resources.," Oskanian said. Oskanian said Karabakh officials had assured him that that the fires had been extinguished and that there were only small fires, which do not present any real threat to the region. As for a recent statement by Azeri Foreign Minister Elmar Mamedyarov that Azerbaijan has applied to Armenia with concrete suggestions for preventing the spread of fires, Oskanian said that the Armenian side has always been willing to cooperate but it had not received any suggestion. "I think the Karabakh authorities will also be ready to cooperate both with international organizations and Azeris as it is a mutual issue of interest and by helping each other it will be possible to extinguish the fires completely," the minister said. 5. UNHCR Praises Armenia For Its Refugee-Related Policies YEREVAN (RFE/RL)--The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has praised the efforts of the Armenian government to create conditions that promote the integration of refugees into society. Antonio Gutierrez, paying his first visit to the region, reiterated on Monday that granting citizenship is the best tool for protecting refugees if the ultimate goal of the government is to ensure their full integration into society. "I hope it is the ultimate goal both in Armenia and Azerbaijan," he told a press conference in Yerevan. Gutierrez stressed the high level of his agency's cooperation with Armenia and expressed his particular satisfaction with the efforts of the country's authorities to create a legislative and institutional framework for immigrants and asylum-seekers, extending special thanks to the Armenian government for accepting refugees from Lebanon. For his part, Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian said that the UNHCR Office has worked in Armenia for years and has been a great help to the Armenian government to solve different problems connected with refugees. "Although we are a non-political agency, we are extremely interested in the peaceful resolution of the Karabakh conflict," Gutierrez said. "We think that the agreements that will allow displaced people to return to the places of their former residence can become an element of mutual trust that in turn can promote an ultimate solution to the problem in the future." Regarding the possibility of refugees recovering their lost property or getting compensation for that, Gutierrez said: "We think that one of the positive things of the peaceful solution could be the restoration of property rights on both sides. If we speak about the return of refugees, it could be the restoration of their ownership rights. If the return is not on the cards, then it can be solved through compensation." Gutierrez denied the recent Azeri press reports that quoted him as calling the policy of the Armenian government related to refugees a failure. He also denied having made a series of other statements that appeared in the Azeri press and were ascribed to him. In particular, the Azeri media quoted Gutierrez as saying that the situation with forcibly displaced people in Azerbaijan was the gravest in the world. "I couldn't have said such a thing, as it is a common knowledge that this problem is much bigger in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Sudan or Colombia than in Azerbaijan," he said. Gutierrez said that instead of the word 'excellent' he used the expression 'more mature' to describe the UNCHR's relations with Azerbaijan and stressed that he was "careful enough never to use the word 'Armenia' in his press conference in Baku. To a reporter's question to share his impressions of the refugee camps in Azerbaijan, Gutierrez said: "The only thing that I can tell you is that necessary investments are being made in Azerbaijan to create new homes for refugees. There are still people who live in very poor conditions in both countries, but I can say for Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia that the governments in these countries take very seriously the necessity of improving the situation of refugees living in extreme conditions." 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