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| Caucasus |
| NATO Cancels Planned Maneuvers In Azerbaijan |
| 2004-09-14 |
| EFL - looks as if Azerbaijan didn't understand the title of the proposed excercises. NATO's Cooperative Best Effort-2004 exercises, scheduled to take place on 14-27 September in Azerbaijan, have been canceled, according to a NATO press release of 13 September. "We regret that the principle of inclusiveness could not be upheld in this case," the press release stated, without elaborating. But Lieutenant-Colonel Ludger Terbrueggen, who is a spokesman for NATO military command, told RFE/RL's Armenian Service the same day that "the reason...is that Azerbaijan did not grant visas to soldiers and officers of Armenia." Since January, Baku has sought repeatedly to thwart the planned Armenian presence at this year's Cooperative Best Effort maneuvers. Three Armenian military officers who tried to travel to Baku in early January first from Turkey and then from Georgia to attend a planning conference for the maneuvers were prevented from doing so. In June, members of the radical Karabakh Liberation Organization (QAT) picketed, and then forced their way into, a Baku hotel where two Armenian officers were attending a second planning conference in preparation for the exercises. Five of those QAT activists were arrested and sentenced in late August to between three and five years' imprisonment on charges of hooliganism, violating public order, and obstructing government officials. Those verdicts triggered protests from across the political spectrum, fueling public opposition to the Armenians' anticipated arrival. [...] Adding the Azerbaijan/Armenia controversy to the Turkey/Greece headache should be the mortal thrust for NATO. |
| Posted by:Super Hose |
| #2 Oh, well. After all, it was just a "Best Effort". They'll try harder next year. Perhaps the Git Yer S**t Together and Git'er Done exercises will go smoother. |
| Posted by: Pyscho Hillbilly 2004-09-14 10:40:25 AM |
| #1 How about moving the whole thing to Armenia? |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2004-09-14 10:05:45 AM |