The Japan Times PUBDATE: 5/26/2009 PAGE: 6 C M Y K OUTPUT TIME: 19:22:13

5/26/199 / / PT SUP/PG 6/ED 1

6 THE JAPAN TIMES TUESDAY, MAY 26, 2009 (3)

Georgia independence day/world

Hezbollah denies Hariri link

BeirutLOS ANGELES TIMES

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Hezbollah on Sunday rejectedpotentially explosive allega-tions in a published report thatit was responsible for the 2005assassination of former PrimeMinister Rafik Hariri, leaderof Lebanon’s Sunni communi-ty.

Citing an unnamed sourceclose to the United Nations tri-bunal investigating the mur-der, the German weekly DerSpiegel reported Saturdaythat operatives with ties to theleadership of the Shiite Mus-lim militant group and politi-cal organization were emerg-ing as the primary suspects inthe car-bomb explosion thatkilled Hariri.

Hezbollah released a state-ment Sunday rejecting the re-port, which emerged twoweeks before parliamentaryelections, as baseless. Thegroup noted that a Kuwaitinewspaper recently publishedsimilar allegations.

‘‘It’s not the first time that amagazine or newspaperaimed at publishing such fab-rications,’’ read a statementcarried on the Web site of Hez-bollah’s Al Manar televisionstation. ‘‘It is nothing more

than police fabricationscooked in the same black roomthat has been keen on fabricat-ing such narratives for overfour years.’’

Israeli Foreign MinisterAvigdor Lieberman said thereport should lead to the ar-rest of Hassan Nasrallah, theleader of Hezbollah, which isengaged in a fight against theJewish state that has been on-going for decades.

Accusations that Hezbollahhad a hand in Hariri’s deathmight disrupt the delicate sec-tarian and political balance ofthe volatile country, whereelections are scheduled forJune 7.

Hezbollah and its Christianand leftist allies are facing offagainst a pro-Western alli-ance led by Saad Hariri, theslain leader’s son, in a rivalrythat has stoked Sunni-Shiitesectarian passions, on occa-sion leading to violence.

Rafik Hariri was popularamong most Lebanese groups.Nasrallah and the formerprime minister maintainedstrong, cordial ties.

Rather than Hezbollah,most Lebanese believe Syriaordered the elder Hariri killedto maintain its slipping controlover Lebanon.

Israel rebuffs U.S.over West Banksettlement freezeNetanyahu vowsnot to accept limitson Jewish enclaves

JerusalemREUTERS

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Israeli Prime Minister Benja-min Netanyahu on Sunday re-buffed U.S. calls for a full set-tlement freeze in the occupiedWest Bank and vowed not toaccept limits on building ofJewish enclaves within Jeru-salem.

Netanyahu’s defiant stanceset the stage for a possibleshowdown with U.S. PresidentBarack Obama, who, in talkswith the new Israeli primeminister in Washington lastweek, pressed for a halt to allsettlement activity, includingnatural growth, as called forunder a long-stalled peace‘‘road map.’’

‘‘The demand for a total stopto building is not somethingthat can be justified and I don’tthink that anyone here at thistable accepts it,’’ Netanyahutold his Cabinet, referring toJewish settlements in theWest Bank, according to an of-ficial.

Netanyahu said Israel hadno plans to set up any newWest Bank settlements. But hetold Obama, according to theofficial, that his government‘‘does not accept limitations onbuilding’’ within what Israeldefines as its capital, the Jeru-salem municipality, an areathat includes Arab East Jeru-salem and parts of the WestBank captured during a six-day war in 1967.

Palestinians want their ownstate in the West Bank and theGaza Strip, with its capital inJerusalem. The building ofsettlements within the city is a

particularly sensitive issuefor both sides.

‘‘What we are interested inseeing is that Israel should im-plement its obligations underthe road map, which includeshalting settlement activityand expansion in all itsforms,’’ Public Works andHousing Minister MohammedShatayyeh said.

Netanyahu’s comments re-affirmed a position he took inhis bid for the premiership in aFebruary election. By naturalgrowth, Israel refers to con-struction within the boundar-ies of existing settlements toaccommodate growing fami-lies.

Obama is expected to prodNetanyahu and PalestinianPresident Mahmoud Abbas toresume long-stalled peacetalks during a major speech inCairo early next month.

Abbas has ruled out restart-ing those talks until Netanya-hu, whose right-leaning gov-ernment took office March 31,commits to a two-state solu-tion and halts settlement ex-pansion.

Obama has surprised Israelwith his activism on the settle-ment issue, but it is unclearhow much pressure he will puton Netanyahu to freeze con-struction entirely, Israeli andWestern officials said. For-mer President George W.Bush called for a freeze butbuilding continued largely un-checked, Israeli antisettle-ment advocacy groups say.

Around 500,000 Jews live insettlement blocs and smalleroutposts built in the West Bankand Arab East Jerusalem, allterritory captured by Israel inthe 1967 conflict.

The World Court says allare illegal. The United Statesand European Union regardthem as obstacles to peace.

Merry piper: A Jewish settler plays the flute in front of therebuilt remains of an illegal outpost near the Kokhav HaShahar settlement in the West Bank on Sunday. REUTERS

Landmark events suggest maturing ties

Taro NakayamaCHAIRMAN, JAPAN-GEORGIA

PARLIAMENTARY LEAGUE

OF FRIENDSHIP

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On the occasion of theIndependence Day of Georgia,it is my great honor to extend mywarmestcongratulationsto thegovernment ofGeorgia and itspeople onbehalf of theJapan-GeorgiaParliamentaryFriendship League.

The relationship betweenJapan and Georgia commencedin 1992 and has beenaccelerated through suchoccasions as the visit ofPresident Mikhail Saakashvili toJapan in March 2007. Also, theEmbassy of Georgia was

opened in February 2007 inTokyo and Ambassador IvaneMatchavariani assumed hisduties as the first ambassador ofGeorgia to Japan in 2008, and Ihear from everybody that theambassador has been workingvery vigorously for the bilateralrelationship ever since.

This year, I believe, will beremembered as the year of agreat leap forward for thisbilateral relationship, whichstarted with the opening of theJapanese Embassy in Tbilisi inJanuary and was followed bythe visit of Foreign MinisterGregory Vashadze to Japan inMarch.

Georgia has faced greatdifficulties because of the tragicconflict concerning SouthOssetia last August. Japanpledged an assistance packageof up to $200 million at a donors’conference for the

reconstruction of Georgia.Georgia has achieved good

economic growth, and hasbeen making significantprogress in democratizationand in shifting to a marketeconomy. I have visited thecountry twice and was struck byGeorgia’s great developmentpotential. Japan has been anactive and consistent supporterof reform efforts in Georgia formany years, and I sincerelyhope that the country will bereconstructed and return to apath of stability anddevelopment soon.

I also hope that moreJapanese people will open theireyes to the charming aspects ofGeorgia such as the wonderfulfood and wine, and its richnature. Finally, I wish toexpress my best wishes for theprosperity and development ofGeorgia and its people.

Georgia commits to democratic path to reform, growthIvane MatchavarianiAMBASSADOR OF GEORGIA

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Georgia’s Independence Daycommemorates the establish-ment of the first independentD e m o c r a t i cRepublic ofGeorgia on May26, 1918, follow-ing the RussianRevolution. Af-ter being an-nexed by the So-viet Union in1921, Georgia regained its in-dependence in 1991 after thecollapse of the Soviet Union.

In the early 1990s, Georgia’syoung democracy wentthrough a period of nationalistrule, separatist wars and inef-fective governments. Howev-er, since the peaceful 2003Rose Revolution, Georgia hasmade remarkable progress indemocratization and transi-tion to a market economy. The

government has implementedwide-ranging economic re-forms that have resulted in arapidly growing economy anddramatically improved in-vestment climate. Georgia isnow a democracy with some ofthe most liberal economic pol-icies in the world, not just theregion, and has experiencedrapid and broad-based eco-nomic growth over the lastseveral years.

The independent, West-ward-leaning foreign policy ofGeorgia is vehemently op-posed by Russia, which wantsto re-establish its century-oldmonopoly over the transportof Caspian Sea energy re-sources and refuses to acceptthe right of former Soviet re-publics to pursue their inde-pendent destinies.

In August 2008, Russia in-vaded Georgia in support ofKremlin-backed separatist re-gimes in Georgia. The govern-

ment of Georgia had no choicebut to respond in self-defenseto a long-planned invasion byRussia’s 58th Army. Russia’sinvasion and continued occu-pation of nearly one-third ofGeorgian territory failed tooust Georgia’s democraticallyelected government, crippleGeorgia’s economy or cut offthe flow of oil and gas throughGeorgia.

The international commu-nity has strongly condemnedRussia’s occupation of undis-puted Georgian territory andunilateral recognition of twoseparatist regions of Georgiaas independent states, in vio-lation of the ceasefire plan ne-gotiated by French PresidentNicolas Sarkozy on behalf ofthe European Union.

In the aftermath of the war,the government of Georgia setthree priorities: (i) sustainingand strengthening the econo-my; (ii) development of closer

ties with the EU, the U.S. andNATO; and (iii) furtheringdemocratic reforms.

At the joint EU/World BankDonor Conference in Brussels,Belgium, in October 2008, 38countries and 15 internationalorganizations pledged the gen-erous sum of $4.5 billion in post-war economic recovery aid toGeorgia. Japan was among thelargest donors, pledging $200million in grant aid for emer-gency assistance and in loanaid over three years for the im-provement of the East-Westtransport corridor. With this vi-tal assistance, we have rebuiltdamaged infrastructure, stabi-lized the economy, and provid-ed housing, education, healthcare and employment andtraining schemes for those dis-placed by the war.

The financial support of theinternational community hashelped shore up investor confi-dence in Georgia’s economy.Major foreign investment pro-jects announced in 2009 in-clude (i) a project by the In-vestment Authority of Ras AlKhaimah, one of the UnitedArab Emirates, to expand theBlack Sea port of Poti and de-velop a 400-hectare free eco-nomic zone; (ii) a $3.8 billioninvestment by an Egyptianhome appliance manufactur-er to produce furniture, tex-tiles and ceramics in a freeeconomic zone in the westernGeorgian town of Kutaisi (aninvestment of unprecedentedsize for Georgia); and (iii) adeal by Turkish conglomerateAnadolu Group and Britain’sEnergon International to builda $150 million hydroelectricpower plant in theSamtskhe/Javakheti region.

Georgia continues tostrengthen its political andeconomic ties with the EU, theU.S. and NATO. In January,Georgia signed a StrategicPartnership Charter with theU.S., which details a frame-work for strategic cooperationbetween the U.S. and Georgia,support for Georgia’s sover-

eignty, independence and ter-ritorial integrity, andstrengthens Georgia’s demo-cratic institutions. Georgiaand the U.S. have agreed toupdate bilateral investmenttreaties, expand Georgia’s ac-cess to the Generalized Sys-tem of Preferences and dis-cuss entry into a free-tradeagreement.

The EU’s Eastern Partner-ship initiative, launched thisMay, will forge closer politi-cal ties, and further econom-ic integration between theEU and six ‘‘Eastern Part-ners’’: Georgia, Ukraine,Azerbaijan, Armenia, Moldo-va and Belarus. Under theinitiative, Georgia will havethe opportunity to enter into adeep and comprehensivefree-trade agreement withthe EU, and a regional trad-ing bloc with other EasternPartnership countries, coop-erate with the EU on mutual-ly beneficial energy securitymeasures, and benefit frommillions of euros in economicand technical assistance.

Georgia is committed tostrengthening and deepeningits excellent bilateral relation-ship with Japan. In addition tohaving consistently providedeconomic assistance to Geor-gia over the years, Japan hasshown a strong political com-

mitment tothe BlackSea andC a u c a s u sr e g i o nthrough its‘ ‘Arc ofF r e e d o mand Pros-perity’’ poli-cy, and itss p o n sorshipo f t h eGUAM Or-g a n izationfor Democ-racy andE c o n o m i cD e v e l o p -

ment, which promotes cooper-ation on democracy buildingand economic developmentamong Georgia, Ukraine,Azerbaijan and Moldova.

Foreign Minister GregoryVashadze visited Japan at theinvitation of the governmentin March and met ForeignMinister Hirofumi Nakasone.At their meeting, the minis-ters discussed a wide range oftopics, including the bilateralrelationship and global issuesof mutual interest, and agreedto schedule mutual visits byhigh-ranking officials on aregular basis.

This January, Japanopened an embassy in Geor-gia, which will furtherstrengthen the bilateral rela-tionship, and encourage thedevelopment of economic andcultural ties.

We invite Japanese compa-nies to participate in the recon-struction and modernization ofGeorgia’s transport, energyand municipal infrastructure;Japanese consumers to e n j o yworld-famous Georgian w i n e ,mineral water and ecologicallyclean agricultural products;and intrepid Japanese touriststo explore the wonders of Geor-gia’s high mountains, valleys ofvineyards, and unique culturaland architectural heritageblending East and West.

Enduring faith: Svetitskhoveli Cathedral in Mtskheta is an11th-century masterpiece of Georgian architecture.

Bilateral dialogue: Foreign Minister GregoryVashadze meets his counterpart HirofumiNakasone on March 10 at Iikura House inTokyo. EMBASSY OF GEORGIA