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Armenia to Deploy 46 Troops to Iraq

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  • Armenia to Deploy 46 Troops to Iraq

    Armenia to Deploy 46 Troops to Iraq
    By AVET DEMOURIAN

    The Associated Press
    12/24/04 14:07 EST

    YEREVAN, Armenia (AP) - Armenia's parliament voted Friday to send
    46 non-combat troops to Iraq, a move that was backed by President
    Robert Kocharian but drew sharp criticism from many Armenians and
    opposition groups.

    After more than seven hours of debate behind closed doors, lawmakers
    in the National Assembly voted 91-23, with one abstention, to send
    the contingent, which will include bomb-disposal experts, doctors
    and transport specialists.

    The troops could be deployed to Iraq as early as next month and could
    serve in Iraq for up to a year, said Defense Minister Serzh Sarkisyan,
    adding that the contingent would only conduct humanitarian operations.

    "There is not, and will not be an Armenian military presence in
    Iraq," Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanyan said. "In the humanitarian
    aspect, it is preferable for Armenia to contribute to the postwar
    reconstruction of Iraq, in establishing democracy in this country
    which has important significance for the region and which could have
    an impact on the Caucasus."

    The troops would serve as part of the Polish-led multinational force,
    officials said. That force operates in a belt of territory south of
    Baghdad, though Armenia has not specified where its troops will deploy.

    The Constitutional Court ruled earlier this month that Kocharian's
    plan to send non-combat troops to Iraq did not violate the country's
    constitution.

    Kocharian has sought to portray the decision to send troops to Iraq
    as a way to boost ties with Europe.

    But the proposal had been widely criticized by opposition parties,
    many Armenians and even the 30,000-strong Armenian community in Iraq,
    which feared being targeted for attacks if the troops were sent.

    "We shouldn't even be sending humanitarian troops to Iraq, because we
    can't jeopardize the security of Armenians living Iraq, said Viktor
    Dalakyan, a leader with the opposition party Justice. "Moreover their
    lives are already being threatened."

    In August, an Armenian Apostolic church in Baghdad was hit in a wave
    of attacks on Iraq's minority Christians that that killed 11 people
    and injured more than 50.

    The troops will join a multinational division that includes troops
    from other former Soviet countries, such as Georgia and Armenia's
    archrival, Azerbaijan.

    Other former Soviet republics that have also sent troops to Iraq are
    Ukraine, Georgia and the three Baltic countries.
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