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FEATURE: CHRISTIAN ARMENIANS VOICE DEEP AFFILIATION TO SYRIA
Xinhua General News Service, China
April 24, 2013 Wednesday 1:16 AM EST
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.
Xinhua General News Service, China
April 24, 2013 Wednesday 1:16 AM EST
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.