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ARMENIAN COMMUNITY CRITICIZES TURKISH AUTHORITIES OVER KESSAB FAILURE
11:20 10.06.2014
Turkey's Armenian community has criticized Ankara's indifference
towards Armenians from Syria's Kessab region fleeing from the war-torn
country and seeking shelter in Turkey, also bringing attention to the
inadequacy of Turkish-Armenian associations, including the Armenian
Patriarchate, in helping Kessab Armenians settle in Turkey, Today's
Zaman reports.
The Turkish-Armenian community came together on Saturday in a
conference to discuss the problems of Kessab Armenians, whose
predicament appeared in the Turkish media earlier in April when two
Armenian sisters from Kessab, Satenik (82) and Surpuhi (80) Titizian,
arrived in Yayladagı after being escorted by Syrian rebels to the
Turkish-Syrian border. They were offered refuge in Vakıflı village,
the only remaining Armenian village in Turkey.
Kessab is located on the Mediterranean coast of northern Syria,
close to the border with Turkey. Having been populated by Armenians
for centuries, Kessab is a town with a Christian population in a
country with a majority Islamic population. As the Syrian civil
war continues, some areas of the country have been taken over by
extremist and Islamist militants. Kessab came under attack by some
of those militants. The Turkish government has been criticized over
its complacency and even support for rebel extremists who have found
safe haven in Turkey near the Syrian border to carry out operations.
"The Titizyan sisters were not brought to Turkey, they were kidnapped,"
said Aris Nalcı, a Turkish-Armenian journalist from IMC TV during
an event held about the life of Kessab Armenians in Vakıflı village
on Saturday.
Before the Titizyan sisters came to Turkey, there were reportedly
130 people living in Vakıflı, mostly elderly individuals. On May
5, 19 more ethnic Armenians from Syria, most of them elderly and on
wheelchairs, joined the Titizyan sisters in Vakıflı. After most
moved on to Lebanon, there are now only six Kessab Armenians left in
Vakıflı. An old man who was also planning to leave for Lebanon died
of a heart attack in Vakıflı and was buried there.
"They were people in the depths of despair," said an old Armenian
resident from Vakıflı, sharing his experiences and impressions. He
welcomed the arrival of ethnic Armenians fleeing Syria to Turkey to
their village, which is within view of the Syrian-Turkish border in
Hatay province.
"It was a very emotional moment for me when I heard them murmuring
to each other that they were among Armenians after they noticed we
were all speaking Armenian," the old man said.
Ankara had said in April that Turkey's doors are "wide open" to the
largely Armenian residents of the Kessab region of Syria, which is
under the threat of clashes between Syrian rebel forces.
Turkey has been criticized by Armenians worldwide for providing
assistance to al-Qaeda-linked terrorist groups who are killing
Armenians in Syria. Dismissing the criticisms, Foreign Minister
Ahmet Davutoglu has argued against what he called the "wrong image of
Turkey," adding that the country's doors are wide open for Armenians
living in Kessab.
He also said Turkey has made official statements about the case of
Kessab Armenians since the beginning of the clashes near Kessab and
has informed the acting Armenian patriarch and other minority leaders
in Turkey about the incidents.
http://www.armradio.am/en/2014/06/10/armenian-community-criticizes-turkish-authorities-over-kessab-failure/
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
11:20 10.06.2014
Turkey's Armenian community has criticized Ankara's indifference
towards Armenians from Syria's Kessab region fleeing from the war-torn
country and seeking shelter in Turkey, also bringing attention to the
inadequacy of Turkish-Armenian associations, including the Armenian
Patriarchate, in helping Kessab Armenians settle in Turkey, Today's
Zaman reports.
The Turkish-Armenian community came together on Saturday in a
conference to discuss the problems of Kessab Armenians, whose
predicament appeared in the Turkish media earlier in April when two
Armenian sisters from Kessab, Satenik (82) and Surpuhi (80) Titizian,
arrived in Yayladagı after being escorted by Syrian rebels to the
Turkish-Syrian border. They were offered refuge in Vakıflı village,
the only remaining Armenian village in Turkey.
Kessab is located on the Mediterranean coast of northern Syria,
close to the border with Turkey. Having been populated by Armenians
for centuries, Kessab is a town with a Christian population in a
country with a majority Islamic population. As the Syrian civil
war continues, some areas of the country have been taken over by
extremist and Islamist militants. Kessab came under attack by some
of those militants. The Turkish government has been criticized over
its complacency and even support for rebel extremists who have found
safe haven in Turkey near the Syrian border to carry out operations.
"The Titizyan sisters were not brought to Turkey, they were kidnapped,"
said Aris Nalcı, a Turkish-Armenian journalist from IMC TV during
an event held about the life of Kessab Armenians in Vakıflı village
on Saturday.
Before the Titizyan sisters came to Turkey, there were reportedly
130 people living in Vakıflı, mostly elderly individuals. On May
5, 19 more ethnic Armenians from Syria, most of them elderly and on
wheelchairs, joined the Titizyan sisters in Vakıflı. After most
moved on to Lebanon, there are now only six Kessab Armenians left in
Vakıflı. An old man who was also planning to leave for Lebanon died
of a heart attack in Vakıflı and was buried there.
"They were people in the depths of despair," said an old Armenian
resident from Vakıflı, sharing his experiences and impressions. He
welcomed the arrival of ethnic Armenians fleeing Syria to Turkey to
their village, which is within view of the Syrian-Turkish border in
Hatay province.
"It was a very emotional moment for me when I heard them murmuring
to each other that they were among Armenians after they noticed we
were all speaking Armenian," the old man said.
Ankara had said in April that Turkey's doors are "wide open" to the
largely Armenian residents of the Kessab region of Syria, which is
under the threat of clashes between Syrian rebel forces.
Turkey has been criticized by Armenians worldwide for providing
assistance to al-Qaeda-linked terrorist groups who are killing
Armenians in Syria. Dismissing the criticisms, Foreign Minister
Ahmet Davutoglu has argued against what he called the "wrong image of
Turkey," adding that the country's doors are wide open for Armenians
living in Kessab.
He also said Turkey has made official statements about the case of
Kessab Armenians since the beginning of the clashes near Kessab and
has informed the acting Armenian patriarch and other minority leaders
in Turkey about the incidents.
http://www.armradio.am/en/2014/06/10/armenian-community-criticizes-turkish-authorities-over-kessab-failure/
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress