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Glendale News Press, CA
Aug 31 2013
Potential air strikes in Syria cause concern for Syrian-Armenians in Glendale
Leaders in local Syrian-Armenian community oppose U.S. military action.
August 30, 2013|By Brittany Levine and Veronica Rocha |
By Brittany Levine and Veronica Rocha
While President Barack Obama announced Friday that any military action
responding to chemical attacks in Syria would be limited in scope,
leaders in the Syrian-Armenian community in Glendale said they oppose
any armed response from the United States.
`I don't want my country to be that merchant of destruction,' said
Zaven Khanjian, an Aleppo native and Glendale real estate agent who
leads the nonprofit Syrian Armenian Relief Fund. `Whatever [the
military action] is, it will bring death and destruction.'
As the conflict between rebels and the sitting government led by
Syrian President Bashar Assad has worsened over the past two years,
locals' fears for their friends and family in Syria - especially those
in the large city of Aleppo, which has been one of the hardest hit by
violence - have ballooned.
They hear stories almost daily of kidnappings, stray bullets striking
innocents, panic and economic hardship in historically Armenian
neighborhoods in Aleppo.
During a televised announcement Friday, Obama said he has not made a
final decision, but he assured Americans he is against a long-term
response.
`We're not considering any open-ended commitment. We're not
considering any boots-on-the-ground approach,' he said.
The president's announcement comes after the U.S. intelligence
community released a report Friday detailing a chemical weapons
attack, which they believed was carried out by the Syrian government
using a nerve agent.
Despite Obama's assurance, the Armenian community in Syria is
preparing for an imminent attack and war, said Lena Bozoyan,
chairwoman of the Armenian Relief Society of Western USA's executive
board.
Her organization, which has given financial aid to Syrian-Armenian
charities during the conflict, believes `the whole Armenian community
worldwide [is] very wary and concerned of military intervention that
would only add to the suffering of all people on both sides and would
not be a solution to the conflict in Syria and could threaten and
destabilize the whole region.'
The British Parliament voted on Thursday against taking military
action in Syria, while French President Francois Hollande supported
air strikes.
http://articles.glendalenewspress.com/2013-08-30/news/tn-gnp-potential-air-strikes-in-syria-cause-concern-for-syrianarmenians-in-glendale-20130830_1_aleppo-syrian-armenians-military-action
Aug 31 2013
Potential air strikes in Syria cause concern for Syrian-Armenians in Glendale
Leaders in local Syrian-Armenian community oppose U.S. military action.
August 30, 2013|By Brittany Levine and Veronica Rocha |
By Brittany Levine and Veronica Rocha
While President Barack Obama announced Friday that any military action
responding to chemical attacks in Syria would be limited in scope,
leaders in the Syrian-Armenian community in Glendale said they oppose
any armed response from the United States.
`I don't want my country to be that merchant of destruction,' said
Zaven Khanjian, an Aleppo native and Glendale real estate agent who
leads the nonprofit Syrian Armenian Relief Fund. `Whatever [the
military action] is, it will bring death and destruction.'
As the conflict between rebels and the sitting government led by
Syrian President Bashar Assad has worsened over the past two years,
locals' fears for their friends and family in Syria - especially those
in the large city of Aleppo, which has been one of the hardest hit by
violence - have ballooned.
They hear stories almost daily of kidnappings, stray bullets striking
innocents, panic and economic hardship in historically Armenian
neighborhoods in Aleppo.
During a televised announcement Friday, Obama said he has not made a
final decision, but he assured Americans he is against a long-term
response.
`We're not considering any open-ended commitment. We're not
considering any boots-on-the-ground approach,' he said.
The president's announcement comes after the U.S. intelligence
community released a report Friday detailing a chemical weapons
attack, which they believed was carried out by the Syrian government
using a nerve agent.
Despite Obama's assurance, the Armenian community in Syria is
preparing for an imminent attack and war, said Lena Bozoyan,
chairwoman of the Armenian Relief Society of Western USA's executive
board.
Her organization, which has given financial aid to Syrian-Armenian
charities during the conflict, believes `the whole Armenian community
worldwide [is] very wary and concerned of military intervention that
would only add to the suffering of all people on both sides and would
not be a solution to the conflict in Syria and could threaten and
destabilize the whole region.'
The British Parliament voted on Thursday against taking military
action in Syria, while French President Francois Hollande supported
air strikes.
http://articles.glendalenewspress.com/2013-08-30/news/tn-gnp-potential-air-strikes-in-syria-cause-concern-for-syrianarmenians-in-glendale-20130830_1_aleppo-syrian-armenians-military-action