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TURKEY SEEKS TO DEVASTATE ARMENIAN-POPULATED SYRIAN REGIONS - OPINIONS
13:31 * 24.03.14
The armed tensions in Syria's north-west are a clear sign of Turkish
intentions to devastate the Armenian-populated regions across the
country, says an Armenian orientalist.
"All that is going on now was being plotted several years ago, as
Turkey began to be actively involved in the emerging disaster. We did
predict that the devastation of Syria's Armenian-populated regions
could be one of Turkey's goals, so we are now the eyewitness of that,"
Ruben Safrastyan told Tert.am, commenting on the Sunday militant
attack on Kessab.
He said the devastation plan is of a strategic importance for Turkey
given that the Armenian community of Syria (especially in Aleppo,
Damascus and the surrounding villages and regions) includes mainly
descendents of the Genocide survivors.
The expert noted that the Armenians in Syria had no intention to leave
(like those in other eastern countries who went moved to other states
in the course of time) up until the outbreak of the recent tensions.
"That's very important; they are now doing all their best to force
the Armenians out. The next factor is that the community in Syria -
which is very literate and patriotic - has published a considerable
literature. It is attached to the Armenian communities in Beirut and
Lebanon, so I believe it is one of Turkey's direct goals to empty
Syria of Armenians," he added.
Safrastyan said he thinks it is important to urgently draw the world's
attention to the problem. "At the same time, we must be able to be
a country giving hope to our compatriots. They must never lose the
hope that Armenia can lend a helping hand to them," he added.
Safrastyan further stressed the importance of cooperation with the
Syrian authorities. "We must be maintain contact to maximum assist the
Syrian authorities to offer the maximum the best possible protection
to the Armenians there," he said,
Catholicos Aram I of the Holy See of Cilicia had earlier contacted
President Bashar al-Assad's office to call for sending more troops
to Kessab to ensure a better protection for the Armenians.
The Syrian ambassador to Lebanon, who later visited the patriarch
,said President Assad had given him assurances that the Syrian state
and army would do all their best to re-establish peace in the region.
A former foreign minister of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, Arman
Melikyan, said in a post on Facebook earlier today that Armenia is
obliged to undertake measures to protect the Syrian-Armenians. He
called upon the authorities' efforts apply the United Nations Security
Council and Syria's ruling government in an effort to seek the best
possible protection for the Armenians in Syria.
Tigran Balayan, a spokesperson for the Foreign Ministry whom Tert.am
contacted for comments, declined to give any details, saying that
their activities are not subject to publication for the time being.
http://www.tert.am/en/news/2014/03/24/ruben-safrastyan-qesab/
13:31 * 24.03.14
The armed tensions in Syria's north-west are a clear sign of Turkish
intentions to devastate the Armenian-populated regions across the
country, says an Armenian orientalist.
"All that is going on now was being plotted several years ago, as
Turkey began to be actively involved in the emerging disaster. We did
predict that the devastation of Syria's Armenian-populated regions
could be one of Turkey's goals, so we are now the eyewitness of that,"
Ruben Safrastyan told Tert.am, commenting on the Sunday militant
attack on Kessab.
He said the devastation plan is of a strategic importance for Turkey
given that the Armenian community of Syria (especially in Aleppo,
Damascus and the surrounding villages and regions) includes mainly
descendents of the Genocide survivors.
The expert noted that the Armenians in Syria had no intention to leave
(like those in other eastern countries who went moved to other states
in the course of time) up until the outbreak of the recent tensions.
"That's very important; they are now doing all their best to force
the Armenians out. The next factor is that the community in Syria -
which is very literate and patriotic - has published a considerable
literature. It is attached to the Armenian communities in Beirut and
Lebanon, so I believe it is one of Turkey's direct goals to empty
Syria of Armenians," he added.
Safrastyan said he thinks it is important to urgently draw the world's
attention to the problem. "At the same time, we must be able to be
a country giving hope to our compatriots. They must never lose the
hope that Armenia can lend a helping hand to them," he added.
Safrastyan further stressed the importance of cooperation with the
Syrian authorities. "We must be maintain contact to maximum assist the
Syrian authorities to offer the maximum the best possible protection
to the Armenians there," he said,
Catholicos Aram I of the Holy See of Cilicia had earlier contacted
President Bashar al-Assad's office to call for sending more troops
to Kessab to ensure a better protection for the Armenians.
The Syrian ambassador to Lebanon, who later visited the patriarch
,said President Assad had given him assurances that the Syrian state
and army would do all their best to re-establish peace in the region.
A former foreign minister of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, Arman
Melikyan, said in a post on Facebook earlier today that Armenia is
obliged to undertake measures to protect the Syrian-Armenians. He
called upon the authorities' efforts apply the United Nations Security
Council and Syria's ruling government in an effort to seek the best
possible protection for the Armenians in Syria.
Tigran Balayan, a spokesperson for the Foreign Ministry whom Tert.am
contacted for comments, declined to give any details, saying that
their activities are not subject to publication for the time being.
http://www.tert.am/en/news/2014/03/24/ruben-safrastyan-qesab/