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Peninsula On-line, Qatar
Syria marks anniversary of Armenian killings
Web posted at: 4/3/2005 1:51:58
Source ::: AFP
YEREVAN: Mukhamed Al Razzaka heard all about the killings of Armenians
during 1915-1917 when he grew up half a century ago in what today is
northern Syria amidst those who escaped the massacres.
`Armenians who grew up with us under our roof told us about the genocide,'
the 61-year-old told reporters in Yerevan earlier this week, where he had
come with 11 other tribal leaders from northern Syria as part of ceremonies
marking the 90th anniversary of what Armenians and much of the world calls a
genocide.
`We came to Armenia in order to honor the memory of thousands of innocent
people,' Razzaka said after laying flowers at a memorial for the genocide
victims in the Armenian capital early in the week.
`Humanity should not forget the evil of the Ottoman Empire,' he said. `Our
fathers and grandfathers not only helped them survive but also taught them
to farm since most of the refugees were craftsmen.
`We are proud that we helped thousands of innocent people survive and live
through this tragedy,' he said, dressed in the traditional black robe and
wearing a white and black turban on his head. The massacres of Armenians
during World War I is one of the most controversial episodes in Turkish
history.
Armenians say up to 1.5 million of their kinsmen were massacred in
orchestrated killings nine decades ago during the last years of the Ottoman
Empire, the predecessor of modern Turkey.
Turkey categorically denies the genocide allegations, arguing that 300,000
Armenians and thousands of Turks were killed in what was civil strife during
World War I when the Armenians rose against their Ottoman rulers.
Tuesday's visit was one of a series of seminars, visits and ceremonies that
authorities in Armenia planned to mark the 90th anniversary of the start of
the killings, leading up to the official genocide remembrance day on April
24.
During the controversial period, Armenians were uprooted from their homes
and many fled to what today is Syria.
`My grandfather used to tell me how in those far away years, thousands of
Armenians crossed the... desert without food and water,' said Nauf Rakhip Al
Pashir, who was among the delegation visiting Yerevan on Tuesday.
`There were so many killed and injured that one village was called
`margate,' which means a collection of corpses, and `shatate,' which means
genocide,' he said.
Syria marks anniversary of Armenian killings
Web posted at: 4/3/2005 1:51:58
Source ::: AFP
YEREVAN: Mukhamed Al Razzaka heard all about the killings of Armenians
during 1915-1917 when he grew up half a century ago in what today is
northern Syria amidst those who escaped the massacres.
`Armenians who grew up with us under our roof told us about the genocide,'
the 61-year-old told reporters in Yerevan earlier this week, where he had
come with 11 other tribal leaders from northern Syria as part of ceremonies
marking the 90th anniversary of what Armenians and much of the world calls a
genocide.
`We came to Armenia in order to honor the memory of thousands of innocent
people,' Razzaka said after laying flowers at a memorial for the genocide
victims in the Armenian capital early in the week.
`Humanity should not forget the evil of the Ottoman Empire,' he said. `Our
fathers and grandfathers not only helped them survive but also taught them
to farm since most of the refugees were craftsmen.
`We are proud that we helped thousands of innocent people survive and live
through this tragedy,' he said, dressed in the traditional black robe and
wearing a white and black turban on his head. The massacres of Armenians
during World War I is one of the most controversial episodes in Turkish
history.
Armenians say up to 1.5 million of their kinsmen were massacred in
orchestrated killings nine decades ago during the last years of the Ottoman
Empire, the predecessor of modern Turkey.
Turkey categorically denies the genocide allegations, arguing that 300,000
Armenians and thousands of Turks were killed in what was civil strife during
World War I when the Armenians rose against their Ottoman rulers.
Tuesday's visit was one of a series of seminars, visits and ceremonies that
authorities in Armenia planned to mark the 90th anniversary of the start of
the killings, leading up to the official genocide remembrance day on April
24.
During the controversial period, Armenians were uprooted from their homes
and many fled to what today is Syria.
`My grandfather used to tell me how in those far away years, thousands of
Armenians crossed the... desert without food and water,' said Nauf Rakhip Al
Pashir, who was among the delegation visiting Yerevan on Tuesday.
`There were so many killed and injured that one village was called
`margate,' which means a collection of corpses, and `shatate,' which means
genocide,' he said.