Author: Nahapetian Zhanna

‘TURKISH SOLDIERS MAY FACE RESISTANCE IN LEBANON’
Nursun Erel

The New Anatolian, Turkey
Aug. 28, 2006

Parliament Foreign Affairs Commission head Mehmet Dulger speaks to TNA

Turkey is preparing to send Turkish soldiers to join the UN
peacekeeping efforts in Lebanon, and some say this will be a
prestigious task for Turkey. But what about the risks? Why hasn’t
this vital issue been debated in Parliament?

I had such questions in my head while going to meet Mehmet Dulger,
chairman of Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Commission. His office in
the Parliament building was still under renovation, but we found two
comfortable chairs to sit on and talk about the hot issues. Here’s
what he had to say to us:

TNA: Being here, I must be luckier than the Israeli ambassador,
because according to rumor you turned down his request for a meeting.

DULGER: In fact I’d really like to talk to him, not only the Israeli
ambassador but also l the Lebanese and Palestinian ambassadors. But
as you see, the weather’s been too hot recently and our office is
undergoing renovations.

TNA: How do you see the situation in Lebanon right now?

DULGER: Well, I saw some cartoons in today’s newspapers. One of them
wonderfully described the situation, showing how the Americans are
trying to get the best advantage from the situation.

TNA: How do you see the opposition to sending Turkish soldiers to
the area?

DULGER: Actually the situation is extremely complex in the Middle
East now and that’s why most of the crises there are unpredictable.

Especially the Lebanese state mechanism is set up on a very complex
ethnic base. So there are risks and opportunities waiting for Turkish
soldiers there. What are the opportunities? Because of the rejected
March 1, 2003 resolution (which would have allowed U.S. troops to be
stationed on Turkish soil for the imminent Iraq invasion) Turkey had
to stay out of developments in the Mideast, but now there’s a chance
of getting back in the game.

Risks in Lebanon

TNA: What are the risks?

DULGER: Lebanon has a very complex ethnic situation, so even for a
peacekeeping mission, Turkish soldiers may face strong opposition.

Because we’re Sunni, but the Lebanese are mostly Shiite. Additionally
there are all kind of extremist minorities in Lebanon like the
Armenians and Greek Orthodox groups. They would never be happy to
see a Turkish presence in Lebanon. So this is a vital decision for
Turkey and it has to be considered very seriously.

TNA: How do you see UN Resolution 1701 and the related documents? Are
they clear enough about describing the peacekeeping mission?

DULGER: First of all things happened too late, that’s why the urging
parties lost a great deal of prestige in the eyes of the victims. And
also the resolution is far from being unbiased, since it openly
reflects U.S. views. But we have to admit that if U.S. hadn’t insisted
this would never have happened.

TNA: Could you elaborate on that?

DULGER: Well, it seems that this is a kind of a war which was almost
predestined, developed and strategically designed long ago. The U.S.

is among the players and it’s clear this is a part of its project to
reshape the Middle East. So what do we do now? Hundreds of civilians,
even children, have been killed in this war, most of the infrastructure
is destroyed, none of the kidnapped (Israeli) soldiers have been
returned, Hezbollah hasn’t been disarmed, its ties with Iran and
Syria haven’t been cut, and on the contrary now it’s stronger than
before. I’m afraid similar resistance will be used by others too.

Parliament will debate deployment

TNA: Are you satisfied with the information given by the government
on the UN resolution?

DULGER: So far I haven’t gotten much detailed information either on
UN Resolution 1701 or about our government’s policies. So I don’t
know what kind of advantages there are in taking part in this project.

TNA: According to the opposition, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan
is purposely avoiding detailed discussion around the resolution. It’s
said he especially doesn’t want the issue to be dealt with in
Parliament, because there’s a concern something could happen among
AK Party members like with the March 2003 resolution. What do you
think about this?

DULGER: I don’t think so, because there’s no decision (on deployment)
yet. Without such a decision and without any document to talk about,
what will we debate in Parliament? First we have to wait for the
final decision, this way or that. If they decide to join UNIFIL,
the motion will certainly be debated in Parliament.

TNA: But we’ve heard some foreign leaders claim the Turkish government
has already declared its willingness to join the force, so isn’t it
strange that we still don’t know the final decision of the government?

DULGER: Some journalists asked me whether we will send Turkish soldiers
to the area or not. But I’m not the man to answer that question.

TNA: If Turkish soldiers are sent to the area, do you think such a
gesture will help repair the Turkish-American relationship, which
is still chilly since the March 2003 resolution was rejected by
Parliament?

DULGER: Let’s look at the details of what’s happening in the area.

First of all an indirect war between Iran and U.S. is escalating,
there are the tensions between the ethnic groups, the U.S. has an
imperial project in the area, and Iran is trying to emphasize its
dominance there too. Supported by the U.S., Israel claims to balance
the regional politics. Syria can’t stand with Lebanon without their
obedience. And there’s the huge Iraq problem.

So that picture is important for Turkey for different reasons. First,
the PKK (terrorist Kurdistan Workers’ Party) is a vital issue for us,
and its command mechanism and sources of legitimacy are in Iraq. So
as long as we can’t accomplish our goals in the region concerning the
PKK, this becomes more risky for us, because a populist nationalism
is on the rise, which I think is very dangerous.

Another negative regional development is that Turkish and American
interests are more and more at odds. I mean our policies and theirs on
issues like the PKK, Israeli aggression, and the stand towards Iran
and Syria aren’t parallel. So once we go hand in hand with the U.S.,
our other interests are being harmed. The U.S. will stay here for 50
years at most but our neighbors will always be there. So we have to
find common ground here.

If someone else comes to power in the US

TNA: Due to the different administrations, even U.S. regional policies
can change, don’t you think?

DULGER: If another administration comes and changes its policies,
what will happen then? Because in changing our stand, we will be
taking great risks in the region. So all these factors are extremely
important and we have to check them all very carefully. Many Turks
support Hezbollah’s cause in Lebanon, so they say: What will we do
there? Will we protect Israeli soldiers? Or try to take arms away
from Hezbollah members? I was recently in Antalya, and many people
came to me asking those questions.

TNA: How do you see other regional governments’ stances?

DULGER: No one really knows what kind of risks there are. Also there’s
another issue, namely that the West is downplaying the victims of
war. Do you know how many casualties there have been in Iraq? We don’t
know yet how many Iraqis have died so far, but everyone knows the
number of American casualties. Also the number of Lebanese casualties
isn’t known, but everyone knows how many Israelis died. So it’s clear
there’s a great prejudice against the people of the Middle East. We
must change this first. After Sept. 11, the West got paranoid about
terror. But what about us? What about the PKK? Is the PKK a terror
group? If they say yes, than they have to push for the necessary
steps to be taken too.

TNA: How do you see the PKK coordinator expected to be appointed soon
by the U.S.?

DULGER: Let’s wait and see his positions and words. Because during
her visit, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice saw the Turkish
determination on the PKK issue, so they felt the need to take this
stand. It’s a very vexing situation that there’s such cooperation
among the Kurds in northern Iraq. Even though it’s crystal clear
that the PKK is provoking all kind of terror actions against Turkey,
Iraqi leaders Jalal Talabani and Massoud Barzani let them survive,
because they are also Kurds.

TNA: Everyone seems to be obsessed about the Israel-Lebanon war,
but there are other hot issues too. How do you see Turkey’s European
Union accession process?

DULGER: Normally we deal with issues as they come up, but I’m not
sure if we’re ready for the important days we’re going to be facing
soon. The new EU progress report on Turkey will be discussed next
month in Brussels and there are about 437 different proposals to
make changes to the report. Some of them are against our interests,
and some are in favor, so I propose our party puts together a group
of 20 deputies from Parliament and let them lobby in Brussels.

TNA: Is there any reason why this can’t happen?

DULGER: No but we have to do this as soon as possible, otherwise
those negative proposals will be a headache for Turkey. For example
the Croatians don’t have any problem with their accession but they
organized themselves so well, yet with so many problems we fail to act.

The Cyprus issue and flirting

TNA: How do you see developments on the Cyprus issue?

TNA: Well, our Greek Cypriot friends must stop talking on behalf
of the Turkish Cypriots. If things go on like this, separation will
become unavoidable. They must give up their unrealistic dreams. Just
like trying to flirt with a young girl, if you keep on pressing but
she turns you down again and again, you can say it 50 times but you
can’t say it a 51st time, at that point you have to leave her alone.

TNA: Let’s discuss domestic politics too. When do you expect the next
general elections?

DULGER: I haven’t checked the calendar, but any Sunday of November
2007.

Presidential election

TNA: So that means you don’t expect early elections, but many people
believe that in this case the presidential election set for May 2007
will cause fierce debate.

DULGER: I can’t see the logic behind such an argument. Why do they
question the legitimacy of an elected president? Let’s look at the
last three elections. What was the number of the votes for previous
presidents and what are we talking about now? When I was a member of
the True Path Party (DYP), we opposed President Turgut Ozal because
he didn’t really represent Turkish society; his votes were sharply
declining in both general and local elections. But we don’t have any
problem like that. So now I have only one wish: that the new president
be elected from among the deputies of this Parliament. I get the sense
that even Mr. Deniz Baykal (main opposition Republican People’s Party,
CHP, leader) is close to such a dialogue with the AK Party.

TNA: If the AK Party decides who the next president is, some people
are concerned that its "hidden agenda" will come out. This is because
then most high court members and university rectors will be appointed
by this new AK Party-origin president, and the headscarf ban could
also be overturned. How do you respond to this?

DULGER: I totally reject these stupid allegations. There’s no
such hidden agenda. I hear what they say, they even speculate that
Sharia law could be applied or all the women will become headscarved
overnight. But this is total nonsense. If I had any thought like that
I wouldn’t be sitting here, and if anybody tried to do that I’d fight
them till the very end. This is the paranoia of some circles. So how
do they explain that AK Party came to power with all the values those
circles brand it with? And more importantly, how do they explain the
stable term AK Party government up to now?

TNA: How do you see the developments on the right? For instance,
former Premier Mesut Yilmaz is back in politics, and there are efforts
to unify right-wing parties. Do you think anything will come of this?

DULGER: Most of them are my good old friends, but unfortunately
I don’t expect them to succeed. Because it’s quite clear that all
their efforts are for certain individuals and groups around them,
instead of new political dimensions.

Bring the nails

During our interview Dulger told a joke and said, "This is where we
plan to send our troops."

"Up in heaven, Jesus was so bored one day so he said to God, ‘Father,
it’s so dull living in paradise all the time, I want to do something.

I see down on earth things aren’t going well, especially in Africa,
thousands of people are dying of starvation, let me go down and help
them.’ God said okay, so Jesus went down to Africa and went into a
market and told the owner, ‘Hi there, all your shelves are full of
food but outside the people are starving, let’s give all that food
away to the people. Don’t worry; I’ll fill your shelves tomorrow with
twice as much as there is now.’ So the food was given away to the
people. The next day the shelves had twice as much food. Then they
did it again and Jesus kept on filling the shelves. In a few days,
the starvation ended in Africa and Jesus went back to heaven with
satisfaction. He went on living like that for a while, but then he
again got bored with the routine and once again asked God: ‘Father,
can I go back again? Because I’m so bore! d here and the things
aren’t going well on the earth.’ God said okay, but this time he
wanted Jesus to go to the Palestinian-Israeli area, saying, ‘There’s
so much hunger there.’ So Jesus went down and knocked on the door
of a supermarket filled with food. A man opened the door and asked,
‘What do you want?’ Jesus said, ‘Hi there, all your shelves are full
of food but outside the people are starving, let’s give all that food
away to the people. Don’t worry; I’ll fill your shelves tomorrow with
twice as much as there is now.’ The man stood silently for a moment and
than yelled to the back of the store: ‘Hey Mishon, bring the hammer,
nails, and wood here, be quick, that pimp is back.’

HAIGAZIAN UNIVERSITY
Mira Yardemian, Public Relations Director
Rue Mexique – Kantari
P.O. Box 11-1748
Riad El-Solh 1107 2090
Beirut – Lebanon

Beirut, 28/08/2006

Haigazian University grieves the passing of its beloved longtime professor:
In memoriam of Dr. Ingrid Semaan

Dr. Ingrid Semaan, beloved teacher, scholar and researcher passed away from
complications due to illness, in the evening of August 27, 2006, at 10:10
pm local time in Hungary, at the age of 67.

Dr. Semaan received her B.A. from the University of Dubuque in Modern
Languages in 1960. In 1970 she graduated with a Masters degree in American
Literature from the American University in Beirut, and later on with a
Doctorate in English Literature from the University of Iowa.

During her longtime career, she served as an English instructor in the
American University of Beirut from the year 1969 till 1971, and as a
research assistant in the University of Iowa from the years 1974 till 1975.
She had served on the faculty of Haigazian University from 1975-1999 and
was the head of its English Department.

Dr. Semaan, a teacher of prodigious intellect, wit and humor, contributed
greatly to the academic life of the university, including research and
valuable contributions to the Haigazian Armenological Review.
Her most recent contribution to our community was the donation of a large
collection of her books to the Barsoumian Library.

Interested mostly in drama, music and handcraft, her students still recall
her joyful character, dedication and professionalism.

Dr. Semaan is survived by her husband, Dr. Wanis Semaan.

Haigazian University mourns her passing, yet thanks God that Dr. Semaan’s
gifts were shared with the community so richly.

August 25, 2006

PRESS RELEASE

Western Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church of America
H.E. Archbishop Moushegh Mardirossian, Prelate
6252 Honolulu Avenue
La Crescenta, CA 91214
Tel: (818) 248-7737
Fax: (818) 248-7745

E-mail: [email protected]

Website:

PRELATE MEETS WITH REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ASSOCIATION OF
GREEK-ARMENIANS OF LOS ANGELES

On Thursday, August 24, H. E. Archbishop Moushegh Mardirossian,
Prelate, welcomed representatives of the Association of Greek-Armenians
of Los Angeles to the temporary Prelacy offices in Encino.

The representatives, Chairperson Mrs. Marie Birebirian, Treasurer
Deacon Nigoghos Mazmanian, and Co-Treasurer Mrs. Rose Altounian,
informed the Prelate of their general activities and upcoming
projects. The Association, established in 1991, will celebrate its
15th anniversary this year. Throughout the years, it has undertaken
various benevolent works including providing aid to Armenia, Armenian
organizations, and educational institutions via its fundraising events.
The representatives also conveyed to the Prelate that they have asked
to hold requiem services for departed members of the Association on
Sunday, September 24th, at St. Garabed Church in Hollywood. A banquet
to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the organization will be held
on October 21st.

The Prelate highly commended the dedicated services of the Association
and wished them success in their endeavors.

SADOYAN ASPIRES FOR US ASSISTANCE IN ELECTION CONTROL

Panorama.am
14:49 23/08/06

Arshak Sadoyan, leader of National Democratic Alliance (NDA), thinks
that the authorities are going to fake the parliamentary elections
once again. Sadoyan is very concerned since he believes that in case
Armenia does not take the path of democracy, world powers will oust
the country from the important processes, which has been already done
on the regional level. "Recent announcements have made it clear that
there will be no forgiveness this time," Sadoyan said.

Connecting hopes with $6.5 mln grant promised by the Secretary of
State Condoleezza Rice, Sadoyan has developed a complex program to
control elections. He even says that his plans may be implemented
on $2.5 mln only. The rough budget of the project runs as follows:
electronic control equipment – $ 200,000 -250,000, training of
personnel (20,000-25,000 trainees) – $500,000-600,000, free radio and
TV air and an independent newspaper – $ 700,000, advocacy -$700,000.

Sadoyan says several donors have approved the program, among them
U.S. Ambassador John Evans, OSCE, U.N., USAID. Sadoyan says they are
going to complain to the international community and leading media
outlets if the program is turned down.

Sadoyan already claims that the opposition representatives are not
included in the election committees whereas community heads take
schools and kindergarten principles to trainings on their personal
cars resulting in 100% pro-authority committees.

CONSTITUTIONAL COURT SAYS CITIZENS STILL HAVE VAGUE IDEA OF GROUNDS FOR APPEAL
By Karine Kalantarian

Radio Liberty, Czech Rep.
Aug. 21, 2006

A senior staffer at the Constitutional Court handling citizen appeals
says citizens in Armenia still have no clear idea on what matters
they can apply to the country’s highest judicial body.

Robert Chobanian told RFE/RL on Monday that only 109 out of 288 appeals
filed since early last month have been registered and accepted by the
Court. The appeals of most visitors turned away did not correspond
to the requirements of the constitution.

Armenia’s Constitutional Court began accepting appeals from ordinary
citizens for the first time in early July following the entry into
force of one of the recently enacted amendments to the Armenian
constitution.

Until recently, only the president of the republic, at least one
third of the members of parliament as well as election candidates had
the legal right to ask Armenia’s highest judicial body to overturn
policies or actions which they believe are unconstitutional. The
constitutional reform extended this prerogative to all citizens and
permanent residents of the country and now the Constitutional Court
also considers the constitutionality of legal provisions applied
against individuals.

According to Chobanian, 13 of the accepted 109 appeals have been
forwarded for further consideration. Two staffs of the court have been
set up to study applications for a month and then appoint specific
dates for review by the Constitutional Court. Twelve of the 13 appeals
were lodged by ordinary citizens. And only one appeal was submitted
by a private company.

Constitutional Court chief of staff Arushan Hakobian announced the
dates for the consideration of six appeals – from September 12 to
November 14.

According to Hakobian, during its September 12 session the Court will,
for example, consider an appeal from a citizen, Manushak Kocharian,
who disputes the constitutionality of the provision of the law that
stipulates that citizens must have social cards to be paid social
pensions.

According to him, a number of appeals concern corresponding articles
of Armenia’s Civil Code, mainly regarding the property right, and
some concern Article 4 of the Constitution dealing with human dignity.

The first appeal submitted to the Constitutional Court was from Artak
Zeynalian, a senior member of the opposition Hanrapetutyun party who
is challenging the legality of a decree signed by President Robert
Kocharian in January. Kocharian set up a caretaker body that briefly
managed the Office of Armenia’s Ombudsman following the resignation
of the first ombudsman Larisa Alaverdian. Alaverdian and Armenian
opposition leaders described the decree as unconstitutional.

Zeynalian’s appeals against it were thrown out by lower courts.

"My appeal was not accepted unanimously. Therefore it was discussed at
a meeting of the whole staff of the Constitutional Court," Zeynalian
told RFE/RL.

The Constitutional Court will gather to hear Zeynalian’s appeal on
November 14.

LEVON ARONYAN ACHIEVES "CHESS 960" CHAMPION’S TITLE

ArmRadio.am
21.08.2006 12:17

Grand Master of Armenia, 2005 World Cup holder, 2006 World Olympic
Champion Levon Aronyan scored 5:3 in the game with Russian Grand
Master Pyotor Svedler, thus achieving the "Chess 960" Champion’s
title. The tournament was held in Mainz, Germany in the framework of
the chess festival.

Levon Aronyan won Pyotor Svedler in the last 7th and 8th games,
preceding which the score was equal.

Levon Aronyan competed also with chess players of Mainz.

Azerbaijan hands over three captives to Armenia through Red Cross

Arminfo
17 Aug 06

Yerevan, 17 August: Today three Armenians (all civilians), who were
in captivity in Azerbaijan, were returned to Armenia through the
mediation of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

The handover took place between the Armenian town of Idzhevan and
Azerbaijani town of Qazax, the press service of the ICRC told Arminfo.

The ICRC, which implemented its neural mediation mission at the request
of the Armenian and Azerbaijani authorities, assisted in repatriation
of prisoners only after delegates of the ICRC visited them and found
out that the prisoners were returning to their homes voluntarily.

To recap, there is no information who are they and how they were
taken hostage.

The ICRC has mediated in the return of 659 people since the beginning
of its mission in the zone of the Nagornyy Karabakh conflict in
1992. The organization is ready to further help with similar mission
in future too.

Press Release
Catholicosate of Cilicia
Communication and Information Department
Contact: V.Rev.Fr.Krikor Chiftjian, Communications Officer
Tel: (04) 410001, 410003
Fax: (04) 419724
E-mail: [email protected]
Web:

PO Box 70 317
Antelias-Lebanon

Armenian version:

Watch the recorded video here:

Thousan ds of faithful attended the blessing
of grapes by His Holiness Aram I

"FAITH, UNITY, AND COMPASSION SHOULD BECOME THE
DRIVING FORCE OF OUR CHRISTIAN LIFE"
Said His Holiness ARAM I

In his pontifical message on the occasion of the feast of Assumption, His
Holiness Aram I emphasized the vital importance of faith, unity, and
compassion. Thousands of people took part in this traditional ceremony which
is also the pilgrimage day of the Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia’s
Bikfaya Monastery. The celebration of the Eucharist, held on Saturday
evening by bishop Dirair Panossian, was preceded by special worships and
Bible studies in the Chapel of the monastery throughout the week. Youth and
women from different parts of Beirut attended church services and the Bible
Studies which were conducted by Vartabeds and deacons of the Seminary.

In his message His Holiness Aram I reminded the people, that faith should
become the basis of the life of any person who claims to be Christian. He
said: "Faith is at the heart of the Gospel. Being Christian means living a
faith-driven life. Being Christian means translating faith into a quality of
life marked by love, compassion, engagement and service. Faith also implies
faithfulness to all values and principles that constitute the essence and
the purpose of Christianity".

His Holiness strongly stressed the imperative of unity which "is not a
conceptual notion, but a firm commitment to a way of life based on common
values". Referring to the current situation in Lebanon, Aram I reminded that
"unity is the source of strength. It calls for participation and commitment.
It must be articulated concretely in all areas of our community life". His
Holiness identified three areas of unity: the inner unity of the Lebanese
Armenian community, the unity of Lebanese people in which the Armenian
community must play an important role, and pan-Armenian unity.

Speaking about the importance of compassion, His Holiness considered it an
essential Christian virtue: "As Christians each of us must become a ‘Good
Samaritan’ helping the poor families, the needy students, the refugees, the
homeless, marginalized and oppressed. For me, the Pontiff said, the real
Christian is the one who articulates his or her Christianness by identifying
himself or herself with the suffering people. The church must become a
church for the poor and the oppressed. The church should go beyond its
institutional boundaries to serve the people".

His Holiness appealed to the Armenian Community in Lebanon to help those
refugees who have been forced to leave their homes and villages in South
Lebanon. "We must not forget, that the Lebanese people, Christians and
Moslems, accepted us in this country after the Armenian Genocide, and they
shared their bread with us. This is the time that we reciprocate by tangibly
expressing the same compassion towards our Lebanese sisters and brothers".

At the end of the ceremony according to the tradition of the Armenian Church
His Holiness blessed grapes and ‘Madagh’.

##
View the photos here: tm

*****

The Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia is one of the two Catholicosates of
the Armenian Orthodox Church. For detailed information about the history and
mission of the Cilician Catholicosate, you may refer to the web page of the
Catholicosate, The Cilician Catholicosate, the
administrative center of the church is located in Antelias, Lebanon.

LES ARMENIENS DU LIBAN CONTRE UNE PARTICIPATION TURQUE A LA FINUL

Agence France Presse
16 août 2006 mercredi 5:42 PM GMT

Le parti Tachnak, le plus populaire parmi la communaute armenienne
du Liban, a annonce mercredi son "refus" d’une participation turque
a la force de l’Onu renforcee qui doit se deployer au Liban sud.

"La communaute armenienne du Liban s’oppose et refuse la presence
de l’armee turque au Liban et exprime l’espoir que l’Etat libanais
refuse egalement", ecrit le Tachnak dans un communique.

Le texte enumère les "jalons noirs" de l’histoire turque, rappelle "le
joug de l’empire ottoman subi par les Libanais de toutes confessions",
son "occupation d’une partie" de l’île de Chypre et "le genocide
armenien que l’Etat turc continue de refuser d’admettre avoir commis".

Le parti Tachnak juge que "l’accord de defense commun signe entre
Ankara et Israël represente une menace pour le processus de paix"
au Proche-Orient et invite la Turquie a "reviser ses calculs avant
de considerer la participation a une force internationale de maintien
de la paix".

"Nous considerons qu’un accord du Conseil de securite de l’Onu a une
participation de forces turques a la force internationale au Liban
sud blesse la memoire collective du peuple armenien", conclut le texte.

La Turquie est un contributeur potentiel de la Finul renforcee et
son ministre des Affaires etrangères Abdullah Gul etait mercredi a
Beyrouth pour discuter de la participation d’Ankara.

Les Armeniens qui ont trouve refuge au Liban il y a 90 ans sont bien
integres dans le pays et leur communaute, qui a droit a six sièges
au Parlement libanais (sur 128 membres), ne compte plus que quelque
120.000 personnes, selon ses responsables politiques et religieux.

–Boundary_(ID_VppSDWUjtJqmL+N92z1YBA) —

3 RADAR TRACKING STATIONS IN AZERBAIJAN

AZG Armenian Daily
16/08/2006

This the way that genuine Oriental diplomacy can be.

Azerbaijan runs 3 radar tracking stations – one Russian and two
American. One is there to track the moves of the USA and NATO the other
two to track missile launch from the Russian and Iranian side. This
fact is not something new. The Russian station of Gabala dates back
to soviet times and used to be the largest in the region; the American
ones were set in 2002 in Astara, nearby Iranian border, and in Khizi,
at the Russian border. But neither the US nor the Azerbaijani official
sources spoke of the stations till September 2005 when US Ambassador
to Azerbaijan, Reno Harnish, suddenly announced about them. The issue
of the stations’ existence was touched upon in the US press lately
making the Azeri side edgy.