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Armenians Rally Against Erdogan In Lebanon


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Turkish prime minister warns sectarian tensions in Lebanon will affect region

 

The Associated Press

Published: January 3, 2007

 

BEIRUT, Lebanon: Turkey's prime minister warned that growing sectarian tensions in Lebanon will affect the entire Middle East if left unchecked and offered to mediate in the political crisis if asked by rival factions.

 

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan arrived here on a one-day visit for talks with feuding Lebanese leaders on the country's deepening political crisis.

 

Shortly after his arrival, Erdogan met with Lebanese premier Fuad Saniora whose Western-backed government is facing increasing pressure in the form of street protests led by Hezbollah and other opposition groups.

 

"I told Saniora that sectarian differences will leave repercussions on the region," Erdogan told reporters.

 

"I also told him that all parties in Lebanon and all states in the region must act to solve this problem," Erdogan said, stressing that a solution to the Lebanese crisis should be reached through dialogue.

 

Erdogan's visit came as the growing political and sectarian tensions among Lebanese factions threaten to tear the country apart. It also came more than a week after Arab League chief Amr Moussa said that his efforts have failed to reach a solution to the crisis.

 

Tensions between pro- and anti-Syrian groups erupted when six pro-Hezbollah Cabinet ministers resigned in November after Saniora rejected their demand for a new national unity government that would give Hezbollah and its allies a veto power on key Cabinet decisions.

 

Erdogan met Saniora who has been living at his office complex in central Beirut amid a tight security cordon near the thousands of Hezbollah supporters and allies camping nearby.

 

Erdogan, speaking in Turkish, said Turkey was not mediating in the Lebanese crisis but was ready to do so if asked to help by feuding parties.

 

Saniora said because of its close ties with the Arab world, Turkey can play "an important role" in promoting a solution to the Lebanese crisis.

 

"We stressed on stability in Lebanon and its impact on the region," he said.

 

Before meeting with Lebanon's president and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, a Hezbollah ally, Erdogan flew by a Turkish military helicopter to southern Lebanon where he inspected Turkish troops serving with the U.N. peacekeeping force known as UNIFIL. He reviewed an honor guard, thanked troops for their service and had lunch with military officers.

 

Some 260 Turkish troops, deployed near the southern port city of Tyre, are helping rebuild bridges and roads damaged in last summer's war between Hezbollah and Israel. Turkish officials said that the total number of Turkish personnel in Lebanon would ultimately reach 681, including sailors and engineers.

 

Erdogan also said he will meet later Wednesday with legislator Mohammed Raad, head of Hezbollah's 11-member parliamentary bloc.

 

While Erdogan was meeting Saniora, thousands of Armenians, raising Lebanese and Armenian flags, gathered in the streets north of Beirut shouting slogans against the Turkish premier's visit, witnesses said. All shops in the Armenian neighborhood of Bourj Hammoud north of Beirut closed for a couple of hours.

 

"Turkey, Israel's strategic ally, cannot keep peace in Lebanon," read a placard by the protesters. The protesters dispersed peacefully but the demonstration caused a traffic jam on Beirut's northern highway.

 

Ahead of Erdogan's arrival, about 100 Armenian citizens, waving Lebanese flags, also gathered outside the Beirut airport to protest his visit.

 

In October, thousands from Lebanon's 80,000-100,000 strong Armenian community rallied in downtown Beirut to protest Turkish participation in the U.N. peacekeeping force because they blame Turkey's Ottoman rulers for the mass killing of Armenians in the early 20th century.

 

Turkey, a U.S. ally and NATO's only predominantly Muslim member, has close ties to both Israel and Arab states.

 

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/01/03/...anon_Turkey.php

 

http://www.aztagdaily.com/Today/Pic/Tsouytz-otagayan.gif

 

http://www.aztagdaily.com/Today/Pic/tsouytz010307.gif

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I was watching the Persian news program of VOA (Voice of Israel) and they said "one hundred Armenians protested against Erdogan"

 

You see, this is the meaning of Yiddish terms such as "Democracy", "Freedom of Speech", "Liberty", etc.

 

Of course, when they have the media in their claws they can mock the Armenians to their contentment. This is how they trivialize whatever they don't like and magnify whatever they do...

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A very interesting clip.

 

I've also noticed that the commentary is in Western Armenian, yet the woman sounds exactly like the Հայաստանցի reporters. The girl at the end also looks like a Հայաստանցի. Usually the diasporan Armenians look very different, especially the ones from Egypt. But the Lebanese Armenians seem to be the closest to the Armenians in Armenia; they're the most fresh and the least tainted with foreign impurities.

 

Sorry, I know this is irrelevant but it's just something that I've been observing.

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Good observation, Tro. It does look like she has the voice of a Hayastantsi woman. She looks like one too.

Are you Hayastantsi yourself?

 

Thanks for the pictures, Nvard.

 

Speaking of Lebanese Armenians... There was an Armenian Christmas special on LBC earlier on. Did anyone catch it?

Edited by Dave
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well, i guess they've gained something you just don't get

Like what?

 

 

I have enough experience of discussing this topic with YOU guys(i hope you know what i mean by the word YOU,I'm just kinda annoyed by this t.....ks word).And any discussion with most of YOU is totally useless.

So,pardon me,fellow, if you don't get the meaning of actions,I am not eager to discuss it with you

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I have enough experience of discussing this topic with YOU guys(i hope you know what i mean by the word YOU,I'm just kinda annoyed by this t.....ks word).And any discussion with most of YOU is totally useless.

So,pardon me,fellow, if you don't get the meaning of actions,I am not eager to discuss it with you

 

Kneres kuyrik jan,

 

inds el es ed YOU guys i mej nerarum?

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լիբանահայ է՞ աշչիքը: հայաստանծիի նմանում է: հայաստանծի շեշտի հետ էլ խոսում է բայց արեւմտահայէրենբարով: Բայց կիճ են աս Թուրկէրը ու Հազբոլլահ՛ն: Լիբանահայնէրը շատ արաք են խոսում ու կ՛յօդաւորեն:

 

yes well the purest armenians are the irlandahyes lol

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