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LATAKIA OFFENSIVE STIRS DARK MEMORIES FOR ARMENIAN-SYRIANS
The Wall Street Journal, NY
March 26 2014
By
Maria Abi Habib
@Abihabib
[email protected]
Biography
CONNECT
@Abihabib
[email protected]
Biography
When hardline Islamist rebels took over swaths of Latakia province this
week, it provided them with their first outpost on the Mediterranean
Sea.
The military offensive was symbolic for several reasons: rebels
from al Nusra Front taking over northern parts of Bashar al Assad's
hometown province while the Turkish air force shot down a regime war
plane trying to bombard the rebel advancement, as it flew near their
shared border. Nusra is al Qaeda's sanctioned offshoot in Syria.
But for Armenian-Syrians from the town of Kassab in Latakia, which
rebels overran this weekend, the Turkish involvement reminded them of
a dark chapter in their history: the Armenian genocide perpetrated by
the Ottoman empire in 1915. The Turks bristle at the term genocide,
although 1.5 million Armenians died at the hands of Ottoman forces.
For many of Kassab's Armenian-Syrians, the Nusra Front occupies one
side of the same coin the Turks do as well - an existential threat
in a war where initial concepts like freedom and democracy have been
sidelined by minorities' concerns, steeped in thousand-year-old
memories of past injustices perpetrated across the region. Better
the devil you know, than the one you don't, is the common Christian
refrain.
Armenian-Syrians expressed outrage Sunday over radical Islamist
rebels taking over Kassab, which they said would threaten the town's
Christian inhabitants, many supporters of President Bashar al Assad's
forces. Kassab residents cheered on Damascus in the fight against
rebels this weekend, believing the alliance with Mr. Assad -- an
Alawite, another religious minority -- a safer bet to protect their
interests.
Armenian-Syrians blamed Turkey for rebel advances in Kassab -- as
Ankara has long turned a blind eye to rebels crossing their borders and
weapons flows -- and equated a win by Nusra with the Armenian genocide.
When Ankara shot down the Syrian war plane, it was too much for
Kassab's residents. They claimed an old foe - Turkey - was conspiring
against them by allying with a new enemy - Sunni Muslim extremist
groups like Nusra.
"The Turks are [working against] us again. This is unacceptable
considering history. Genocide repeat [in] Kassab," said one Twitter
user from the town, in sentiments shared by many other Syrian-Armenians
on the social networking site. "What a bad day this has been. God
bless everyone who is defending the beautiful village of Kassab."
Turkey has denied it supports extremist rebels and said it shot down
the Syrian war plane to protect its territory.
The Free Syrian Army has struggled to convince minorities that they
will protect them, as some al Qaeda breakaway factions like the
Islamic State of Iraq and al Sham impose a hard-line version of Islam
on territory they capture and have even vandalized churches. The more
secular FSA is backed by Western and Gulf states and recently turned
their guns on ISIS.
Kassab is the last Syrian-Turkish border crossing in the government's
hands, according to rebels. The ancient town of Kassab features steep
mountains dropping into the Mediterranean's crystal blue waters,
stone houses next to quaint churches hundreds of years old.
"The people of Kassab are kicked out of their houses and living in
the Armenian church of Latakia [city] where they receive food from
the Armenians living there," said one student from Kassab, who now
lives in the U.A.E. but is in touch with family members who recently
fled the town.
"The place we used to spend our summer memories has turned into a war
zone....the Free Syrian Army is bombing the place while the Syrian Army
is doing all they can do to save Kassab...The only positive thing is
that the people in Kassab, including my friends and family, escaped
just in time. They will surely going to be homeless after the battle."
http://blogs.wsj.com/middleeast/2014/03/26/latakia-offensive-stirs-dark-memories-for-armenian-syrians/
The Wall Street Journal, NY
March 26 2014
By
Maria Abi Habib
@Abihabib
[email protected]
Biography
CONNECT
@Abihabib
[email protected]
Biography
When hardline Islamist rebels took over swaths of Latakia province this
week, it provided them with their first outpost on the Mediterranean
Sea.
The military offensive was symbolic for several reasons: rebels
from al Nusra Front taking over northern parts of Bashar al Assad's
hometown province while the Turkish air force shot down a regime war
plane trying to bombard the rebel advancement, as it flew near their
shared border. Nusra is al Qaeda's sanctioned offshoot in Syria.
But for Armenian-Syrians from the town of Kassab in Latakia, which
rebels overran this weekend, the Turkish involvement reminded them of
a dark chapter in their history: the Armenian genocide perpetrated by
the Ottoman empire in 1915. The Turks bristle at the term genocide,
although 1.5 million Armenians died at the hands of Ottoman forces.
For many of Kassab's Armenian-Syrians, the Nusra Front occupies one
side of the same coin the Turks do as well - an existential threat
in a war where initial concepts like freedom and democracy have been
sidelined by minorities' concerns, steeped in thousand-year-old
memories of past injustices perpetrated across the region. Better
the devil you know, than the one you don't, is the common Christian
refrain.
Armenian-Syrians expressed outrage Sunday over radical Islamist
rebels taking over Kassab, which they said would threaten the town's
Christian inhabitants, many supporters of President Bashar al Assad's
forces. Kassab residents cheered on Damascus in the fight against
rebels this weekend, believing the alliance with Mr. Assad -- an
Alawite, another religious minority -- a safer bet to protect their
interests.
Armenian-Syrians blamed Turkey for rebel advances in Kassab -- as
Ankara has long turned a blind eye to rebels crossing their borders and
weapons flows -- and equated a win by Nusra with the Armenian genocide.
When Ankara shot down the Syrian war plane, it was too much for
Kassab's residents. They claimed an old foe - Turkey - was conspiring
against them by allying with a new enemy - Sunni Muslim extremist
groups like Nusra.
"The Turks are [working against] us again. This is unacceptable
considering history. Genocide repeat [in] Kassab," said one Twitter
user from the town, in sentiments shared by many other Syrian-Armenians
on the social networking site. "What a bad day this has been. God
bless everyone who is defending the beautiful village of Kassab."
Turkey has denied it supports extremist rebels and said it shot down
the Syrian war plane to protect its territory.
The Free Syrian Army has struggled to convince minorities that they
will protect them, as some al Qaeda breakaway factions like the
Islamic State of Iraq and al Sham impose a hard-line version of Islam
on territory they capture and have even vandalized churches. The more
secular FSA is backed by Western and Gulf states and recently turned
their guns on ISIS.
Kassab is the last Syrian-Turkish border crossing in the government's
hands, according to rebels. The ancient town of Kassab features steep
mountains dropping into the Mediterranean's crystal blue waters,
stone houses next to quaint churches hundreds of years old.
"The people of Kassab are kicked out of their houses and living in
the Armenian church of Latakia [city] where they receive food from
the Armenians living there," said one student from Kassab, who now
lives in the U.A.E. but is in touch with family members who recently
fled the town.
"The place we used to spend our summer memories has turned into a war
zone....the Free Syrian Army is bombing the place while the Syrian Army
is doing all they can do to save Kassab...The only positive thing is
that the people in Kassab, including my friends and family, escaped
just in time. They will surely going to be homeless after the battle."
http://blogs.wsj.com/middleeast/2014/03/26/latakia-offensive-stirs-dark-memories-for-armenian-syrians/