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ARMENIAN FM SPEAKS AT UN HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL, REFERS TO ARMENIAN GENOCIDE, KESSAB
14:07, 03 Mar 2015
Siranush Ghazanchyan
On March 2, Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian participated and
delivered speech at the discussions, titled "Supporting the Rights of
Christians, particularly in the Middle East" held in the frameworks
of 28th session of the UN Human Rights Council.
Foreign Ministers of Russia, Armenia and Lebanon - Sergey Lavrov,
Edward Nalbandian and Gebran Bassil respectively - delivered welcoming
speeches.
In his remarks, Edward Nalbandian mentioned, "The Middle East
is a cradle of various civilizations and creeds, including the
Christianity. Regrettably, today the survival of Christianity in
these lands is under a serious threat. The alarming headlines about
targeting the Christian minorities are disseminated with terrible
frequency. Beheading of 21 Egyptian Copts and brutal attacks against
Assyrians in Syria are only the recent episodes of horrors faced by
Christians in the Middle East. However, the persecution of Christianity
in this region is not just a modern phenomenon. Suffice to say,
that the percentage of Christians relative to the region's overall
population has gone from more than 20% at the beginning of the 20th
century to less than 5 % in the beginning of the 21st century.
The Middle East Christians may be regarded as one of the most
vulnerable groups close to disappearance, hence requiring immediate
actions for their protection and support."
"We should not be misled by the fact that the ongoing violence against
religious groups, particularly Christians in Syria and Iraq, is being
perpetrated in the very name of religion. What we are countering here
are crimes against civilization perpetrated by ISIS, Al Nusra and
other groups. Barbarism has declared a war against the civilized world.
These terrorist groups greatly profit from the flow of the foreign
fighters and financial assets and pose an eminent threat to the life
of entire religious and ethnic groups. Thus, combating those terrorist
groups should be a part of genocide prevention efforts.
Armenia has unequivocally condemned the atrocities committed by
these terrorist groups, including against Yazidi minorities in Iraq,
and on numerous occasions called on international community to take
firm actions against this new scourge. We have continuously emphasized
that any support to the terrorist groups should be immediately stopped,
including using of the territory of neighboring countries in initiating
their cross-border attacks. In this regard, Armenia strongly supports
full implementation of the UN SC appropriate resolutions.
On March 21st, 2014, Al-Qaeda affiliated terrorist groups attacked
the predominately Armenian populated town of Kessab situated on the
borderline territory of Syria with Turkey, resulting in the forced
expulsion of local population from their homes. The extremist groups
have desecrated and vandalized Kessab's Armenian religious and cultural
heritage," underlined the Foreign Minister of Armenia.
Regarding Centennial of Armenian Genocide, Minister Nalbandian
mentioned, "In 2015 the Centennial of the Armenian Genocide is
commemorated in the whole world. Syrian town Deir el-Zor and its
surrounding desert was the final destination of death marches of
hundreds of thousands of victims of the Armenian Genocide. Every
year Saint Martyrs Armenian Church in Deir el-Zor, a sanctuary for
the remains of many victims, used to be one of the main places of
commemoration. However in the Centennial year it will not be possible
to pay tribute to the victims in Deir el-Zor, since in September 2014
terrorist groups destroyed the church and vandalized the holy site."
"Destruction of cultural masterpieces, usually followed after
ethnic cleansing, is an attempt to erase the memory of other people,
destroy millennia-old cultures and civilizations. Less than a week
ago we all saw the chilling video footage of how the ISIS militants
were smashing the 2.700 years old statues in the Mosul museum. This
crime against civilization is an appalling reminder of earlier
similar barbaric acts of destruction of Bamian Budda's statues,
Mausoleums of Timbuktu and thousands of Medieval Armenian cross
stones in Nakhijevan. Several thousands of these giant sculptures
were bulldozed under the Azerbaijani government's watchful eyes. With
regard to this vandalism the International Council on Monuments and
Sites (ICOMOS) stated: "this heritage that once enjoyed its worthy
place among the treasures of the world's heritage can no longer be
transmitted to future generations."
"In an era when the protection and promotion of human rights are
considered to be the underpinning concept for the civilized world,
intolerance towards the values of civilization belonging to others,
damaging or destroying cultural or religious heritage intentionally,
consistently, repeatedly, must be strongly condemned", highlighted
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia.
http://www.armradio.am/en/2015/03/03/armenian-fm-speaks-at-un-human-rights-council-refers-to-armenian-genocide-kessab/
14:07, 03 Mar 2015
Siranush Ghazanchyan
On March 2, Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian participated and
delivered speech at the discussions, titled "Supporting the Rights of
Christians, particularly in the Middle East" held in the frameworks
of 28th session of the UN Human Rights Council.
Foreign Ministers of Russia, Armenia and Lebanon - Sergey Lavrov,
Edward Nalbandian and Gebran Bassil respectively - delivered welcoming
speeches.
In his remarks, Edward Nalbandian mentioned, "The Middle East
is a cradle of various civilizations and creeds, including the
Christianity. Regrettably, today the survival of Christianity in
these lands is under a serious threat. The alarming headlines about
targeting the Christian minorities are disseminated with terrible
frequency. Beheading of 21 Egyptian Copts and brutal attacks against
Assyrians in Syria are only the recent episodes of horrors faced by
Christians in the Middle East. However, the persecution of Christianity
in this region is not just a modern phenomenon. Suffice to say,
that the percentage of Christians relative to the region's overall
population has gone from more than 20% at the beginning of the 20th
century to less than 5 % in the beginning of the 21st century.
The Middle East Christians may be regarded as one of the most
vulnerable groups close to disappearance, hence requiring immediate
actions for their protection and support."
"We should not be misled by the fact that the ongoing violence against
religious groups, particularly Christians in Syria and Iraq, is being
perpetrated in the very name of religion. What we are countering here
are crimes against civilization perpetrated by ISIS, Al Nusra and
other groups. Barbarism has declared a war against the civilized world.
These terrorist groups greatly profit from the flow of the foreign
fighters and financial assets and pose an eminent threat to the life
of entire religious and ethnic groups. Thus, combating those terrorist
groups should be a part of genocide prevention efforts.
Armenia has unequivocally condemned the atrocities committed by
these terrorist groups, including against Yazidi minorities in Iraq,
and on numerous occasions called on international community to take
firm actions against this new scourge. We have continuously emphasized
that any support to the terrorist groups should be immediately stopped,
including using of the territory of neighboring countries in initiating
their cross-border attacks. In this regard, Armenia strongly supports
full implementation of the UN SC appropriate resolutions.
On March 21st, 2014, Al-Qaeda affiliated terrorist groups attacked
the predominately Armenian populated town of Kessab situated on the
borderline territory of Syria with Turkey, resulting in the forced
expulsion of local population from their homes. The extremist groups
have desecrated and vandalized Kessab's Armenian religious and cultural
heritage," underlined the Foreign Minister of Armenia.
Regarding Centennial of Armenian Genocide, Minister Nalbandian
mentioned, "In 2015 the Centennial of the Armenian Genocide is
commemorated in the whole world. Syrian town Deir el-Zor and its
surrounding desert was the final destination of death marches of
hundreds of thousands of victims of the Armenian Genocide. Every
year Saint Martyrs Armenian Church in Deir el-Zor, a sanctuary for
the remains of many victims, used to be one of the main places of
commemoration. However in the Centennial year it will not be possible
to pay tribute to the victims in Deir el-Zor, since in September 2014
terrorist groups destroyed the church and vandalized the holy site."
"Destruction of cultural masterpieces, usually followed after
ethnic cleansing, is an attempt to erase the memory of other people,
destroy millennia-old cultures and civilizations. Less than a week
ago we all saw the chilling video footage of how the ISIS militants
were smashing the 2.700 years old statues in the Mosul museum. This
crime against civilization is an appalling reminder of earlier
similar barbaric acts of destruction of Bamian Budda's statues,
Mausoleums of Timbuktu and thousands of Medieval Armenian cross
stones in Nakhijevan. Several thousands of these giant sculptures
were bulldozed under the Azerbaijani government's watchful eyes. With
regard to this vandalism the International Council on Monuments and
Sites (ICOMOS) stated: "this heritage that once enjoyed its worthy
place among the treasures of the world's heritage can no longer be
transmitted to future generations."
"In an era when the protection and promotion of human rights are
considered to be the underpinning concept for the civilized world,
intolerance towards the values of civilization belonging to others,
damaging or destroying cultural or religious heritage intentionally,
consistently, repeatedly, must be strongly condemned", highlighted
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia.
http://www.armradio.am/en/2015/03/03/armenian-fm-speaks-at-un-human-rights-council-refers-to-armenian-genocide-kessab/