BEIRUT SUNNI GROUP URGES LEBANON NOT TO OBSERVE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

April 21, 2015

A boy pushes a cart past graffiti in the Armenian dominant Burj
Hammoud’s area on the northern outskirts of Beirut

BEIRUT, The Daily Star: A coalition of Sunni organizations in Beirut
Tuesday condemned a decision by Education Minister Elias Bou Saab
to close private and public schools on April 24 in observance of the
Armenian genocide, saying it might torpedo Turkish efforts to release
Lebanese hostages held by ISIS and Nusra Front.

“Beiruti Associations and Organizations rejects Education Minister
Elias Bou Saab’s decision to shut down public and private schools
on the occasion of the so-called Armenian genocide, given that
the anniversary is a subject of historical dispute and the lack of
national Lebanese consensus regarding the circumstances [of the events
of 1915],” a statement said.

Cabinet Tuesday approved Bou Saab’s decision to close down schools
on April 24 to mark the 100th anniversary of the Armenian genocide.

The statement urged Bou Saab to restrict his decision to private
schools that wish to commemorate the event and exclude “Muslim and
public schools which have a variety of students.”

Bou Saab, the statement added, “has no right to impose a decision
that concerns one sect on the rest of the sects.”

“Furthermore, this decision would harm the distinctive relations
between Lebanon and Turkey and could topple Turkish efforts to help
secure the release of Lebanese servicemen.”

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress