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Christian Armenians Voice Deep Affiliation To Syria

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  • Christian Armenians Voice Deep Affiliation To Syria

    CHRISTIAN ARMENIANS VOICE DEEP AFFILIATION TO SYRIA

    China.org
    April 24 2013

    While marking the 98th anniversary of the Armenians' Martyrs Day,
    Scores of Christian Armenians participated in the prayers ceremony
    that was held Wednesday in the Syrian capital of Damascus to stress
    their deeply- rooted affiliation to Syria.

    "The Christians are the sons of this country and our duty is to
    encourage dialogue and promote the coexistence between the sons of
    Syria and we carry such responsibilities over our shoulders," Armash
    Nalbandian, primate of the Armenian Church of Damascus, told Xinhua
    at the Armenian Church in the old quarter of the capital Damascus.

    "We are also keen to stay here and also to remember our martyrs across
    Syria," Nalbandian said.

    On April 24, 1915, the Ottoman Empire arrested more than 600 Armenian
    intellectuals, poets, diplomats and leading figures in Istanbul and
    slaughtered them due to growing unrest at that time.

    The Armenians have been pushing for Turkey to acknowledge the genocide,
    however, Turkish officials acknowledged the death of large numbers of
    Armenians but said the overall death toll was exaggerated and that
    the deaths occurred in the civil unrest during the collapse of the
    Ottoman Empire.

    Currently, around 100,000 Armenians live mostly in Syria's northern
    city of Aleppo and about 7,000 others live in Damascus.

    After two-years of deadly conflict in Syria, a small portion of
    Armenians have chosen to go back to Armenia due to the deteriorating
    situation in the war-torn country. "About 6,000 Armenians went back to
    Armenia last year and are waiting for the situation in Syria to clam
    down and they are determined to come back because Syria for is a home
    country the Armenians and they are Syrians of an Armenian origins,"
    Arshak poladian, the Armenian ambassador to Syria, told Xinhua during
    the ceremony Wednesday.

    Vartan Kogahitan, a participant told Xinhua that "every year in
    this time, the Armenians and other Christian factions join us in a
    prayer for the peace of the martyrs. I would love to go to Armenia,
    but here is my country and Armenia comes next."

    The small-scale return of Armenians to their original country has also
    come as Syria has engulfed into a sectarian violence with reports of
    targeting Christians and Churches as well as other minority groups
    in Syria by radical groups.

    On Monday, two bishops were abducted while traveling outside Aleppo
    city when gunmen cut off their car, killing their driver and snatching
    them to unknown location.

    Syria's Foreign Ministry on Wednesday submit a complaint to the UN
    Security Council about the kidnapping and accused an armed group
    affiliated with the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front of being behind
    the abduction.

    The ministry underscored that Syria is determined to confront the
    organized Takfiri terrorism "which targets its national unity and the
    cohesion of its society which is culturally, religiously and ethnically
    diverse," adding that this diversity has been a characteristic of
    Syria for hundreds of years and represents a model of coexistence in
    the region.

    The kidnapping has also raised the ire of Christian communities
    nationwide amid conflicting reports about the whereabouts of the
    two priests.

    Syria's Christians, who pose 10 percent out of Syria's Sunni- majority
    populations, still showing unwavering support to embattled Syrian
    President Bashar Assad after more than two-year of deadly conflict.

    Observers believe that the Christians' backing to Assad emanates
    from fear that a regime change could deprive them of the veneer of
    protection Assad has long ensured for them.

    Damascus still contains a sizeable proportion of Christians, with
    churches existing in various areas of the city, mainly in the district
    of Bab Touma.

    http://www.china.org.cn/world/2013-04/24/content_28652050.htm

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