Author: Andres-Papazian

ARMENIANS IN ROMANIA CONDEMN TURKEY-BACKED ATTACK ON KASSAB

Syrian Arab News Agency SANA, Syria
April 3 2014

Apr 03, 2014

Bucharest, (SANA) The Armenian community in Romania expressed
condemnation of the Turkey-backed terrorist groups’ attack on the
Armenian-populated city of Kassab in Lattakia countryside.

In a statement, the community stressed the need to remind the
international community of the fact that the Armenians in Kassab,
located on Syria’s northern border with Turkey, are undergoing
slaughter and displacement for the third time since the beginning of
the 20th century.

Having gone through an invasion by Turkish armed formations in 1909
which they fled and found in Lattakia a refuge for them, the Armenians
were pushed during the 1915 Armenian Genocide to a march of death
into the desert of Deir Ezzor, the statement highlighted.

Today, the statement added, the Armenians, on the eve of the 100
anniversary of the Genocide, found themselves once again forced to
leave their refuge on the border and move inside the city of Lattakia.

Mercenary terrorist groups launched an assault on Kassab on March
20, which was backed with Turkish firepower, forcing hundreds of its
residents to be displaced a third time leaving behind their houses
and properties.

The government of Recep Tayyep Erdogan facilitated the gunmen’s entry
into Kassab and surrounding areas, which resulted in the demolition
and burning down of the residents’ houses and worship places.

The Armenian community members called for an international condemnation
of the acts of violence perpetrated by the terrorist groups against
the Syrian people in general and the Armenians in particular.

In a relevant context, Syria’s ambassador in Bucharest Walid Othman
discussed with the Bishop Datev Hagopian, the Primate of the Diocese
of the Armenian Church of Romania the acts of killing and destruction
committed in Syria with the direct support of Saudi Arabia, Qatar
and Turkey.

The meeting came out with an agreement to stage a national gathering of
the Syrian and Armenian communities in Romania next week in Bucharest
in a manifestation of support for Syria and rejection of the flagrant
interference of the Turkish government in the country and in Kassab
in particular.

H. Said

From: A. Papazian

ARMENIANS MOURN REBEL TAKEOVER OF KASAB IN SYRIA

The Daily Star, Lebanon
April 3 2014

April 03, 2014 12:22 AMBy Justin Salhani
The Daily Star

BEIRUT: Seated outside the clothes shop in Burj Hammoud where he
works, Syrian-Armenian Ararad Mahdesian gazes into the distance,
reminiscing about the place he still calls home.

“I had beautiful days in Kasab. I was born there and I am from there,”
the 25-year-old says solemnly, referring to a town in northwest
Syria that was overrun by rebels less than two weeks ago while he
wasn’t there.

Located on the border with Turkey, Kasab is a historical town
with an ethnic Armenian population that dates back to the medieval
Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia. Until the civil war, Kasab was a tourist
destination mostly inhabited by farmers.

Now, like so many places in Syria, it has all changed.

Mahdesian says his 65-year-old father was one of the last people to
leave Kasab, and that his relatives are now in Latakia with around
600 other families who all fled due to the rebel attack.

According to Mahdesian, who left a month ago for economic reasons,
about 20 people remain unaccounted for and are thought to still be
in town.

The effects of the town’s seizure has been heavily felt in Lebanon’s
bustling Burj Hammoud, a sprawling suburb northeast of Beirut that
was founded by survivors of the 1915 Armenian Genocide and is the
hub for the 200,000 or so members of the Lebanese-Armenian community.

On Tuesday afternoon, shops in Burj Hammoud shut for two hours in
solidarity with the besieged town.

“We closed for two hours, and we are united with them,” said Toros
Papazian, a security guard at Mesrobian School of Armenian Catholics
in Burj Hammoud. “Our hearts are with Syrian-Armenians.”

Kasab is now thought to be entirely vacant of the Armenian community
that has inhabited the area for centuries and endured prior tragedies
including the 1909 Adana Massacre and the genocide six years later.

There are no official figures on how many residents of Kasab have
taken refuge in Lebanon, but sources estimated that less than 100
have settled here, primarily in Burj Hammoud or Anjar, a town in the
Bekaa Valley with a large Lebanese-Armenian population.

“Of course it sent shockwaves through the Armenian diaspora,” said
Vahram Emiyan, the international news editor at Armenian language-daily
Aztag, based in Burj Hammoud. “This region is part of the historic
[Armenian Kingdom of] Cilicia, and Armenians have lived there since
the middle ages.”

Emiyan added, “The forced deportation brings back very terrible
memories from the Armenian genocide.”

“Kasab had a specific Armenian culture with their own dialect, their
own books, vocabulary and traditions,” said Father Vartan Kazanjian
of the Armenian Catholic Patriarchate in Beirut, who lived in Syria
for two brief stints in the ’90s. “For us, Kasab was the last town
left from the Armenian lands.”

“It used to be a secure area,” said Aram Seraydarian, a shop owner
in Burj Hammoud. “We are scared, not just for Armenians but for all
Christians in the East.”

Kazanjian visited the displaced Syrian-Armenian community in Latakia
last Saturday.

“It was very hard to see these people after they left their houses
and land behind,” he said.

Kazanjian said that more than 300 people were holed up in a church
in Latakia and were short on basic necessities. He added that the
situation was made more difficult to bear considering it fell just
a year shy of the 100-year commemoration of the genocide.

Kazanjian said one displaced gentleman he spoke to in Latakia broke
into tears mid-conversation.

“I told him not to worry and that hopefully he will be able to return
home soon,” Kazanjian said, to which the man replied, “I may not see
that day.”

Another man Kazanjian met had been displaced twice after fleeing
having previously fled from Raqqa to Kasab.

“It’s very hard to see these people suffering,” Kazanjian said.

While the Lebanese-Armenian community has shown sorrow for the plight
of their partners in the diaspora, critics have accused them of only
showing compassion when fellow Armenians are involved.

“I’m not saying Armenians are others; a human is a human and a person
is a person,” said Kazanjian. “I don’t want any person to be killed,
but we have a cultural and historical connection to Kasab.”

For Syrian-Armenians like Mahdesian, however, the situation is
clearly personal.

“For the last week I haven’t slept well,” he says somberly. “When I
close my eyes, I see my village and how I lost everything.

“I don’t care about clothes or shoes, but I care about the memories.

Everything is gone.”

From: A. Papazian

SHARING LIFE, LOVE TOGETHER THOUGH IN SEPARATE STATES

Richmond Times Dispatch (Virginia)
April 1, 2014 Tuesday
State Edition

by: A. Nancy Avakian

How could I believe him when he said he loved me?

John had been married to Margie for 54 years. I knew them both when
we all lived in Richmond. Although we attended the same church,
we traveled in different social circles. I eventually moved to a
different city to pursue my career in academic administration. When
Margie became ill, John was her caregiver until she passed away.

John and I met up again a few years ago at a regional church assembly.

I didn’t recognize him, but he asked if I wasn’t Nancy. We started
dating soon thereafter. The first time we walked across a busy
thoroughfare together, my hand slipped into his outstretched hand. We
were astonished at the ease and comfort we each felt in this small
gesture. I was surprised yet pleased that John, a retired developer and
restaurateur, was readily recognized in Richmond whenever we were out.

We have kept our separate residences in different states, but we
travel to each other’s homes on alternate months, usually Richmond in
the winter and Rochester, N.Y., in the summer. John bought us each
a cellphone so that we can always be in touch. He calls me daily,
sometimes more than once a day. We may even call each other to
comment on a television show we are watching simultaneously hundreds
of miles apart. We both speak Armenian, and find it’s fun to flirt
in that language.

I told John about a friend of mine who was getting married. Her
circumstances were similar to ours.She and her fiance each have adult
children and have homes in different states. Each saw two lawyers for
prenuptials and changes of wills, powers of attorney, health proxies,
etc. Neither John nor I wanted to go through these rigors. Having read
about an ecclesiastical blessing of an unwed couple who sported wedding
rings, I approached John with a similar suggestion for us. The priest
of the Richmond Armenian Church was delighted to perform a blessing
for us. He was leaving for a new parish that weekend so only John’s
children were able to attend. It was a brief ceremony somewhat similar
to a wedding ceremony, sans vows, but with great meaning.

Although John and I have always used terms of endearment for each
other, we have explored different names for the other, such as best
friend, life’s companion or soul mate. Since we feel committed to each
other, we sometimes refer to ourselves as a couple — husband and wife.

Both of us had been content with our lives before we started dating. I
had been divorced for several years and, before dating John,had never
wanted to become seriously involved with someone again. Whenever John
hesitated, I thought he was comparing me with Margie or remembering
days with her. Both of us know John will never forget Margie. She
was a part of his life, his past.

Whenever I have asked him how long we will be in this euphoric state
of “being in love,” his positive response has been: “for the rest of
our lives.” He has confessed he doesn’t mind if he doesn’t live long,
but he wants it to be a good life — and wants it to be with me.

He includes it in his daily prayers. More than once John has said,
“Live in the moment.” We are alive today — talking, smiling,
laughing, traveling, exploring, dancing, joking, holding hands,
kissing and loving.

One day, as he did a two-step dance, he leaned over to kiss me. I
realized I love and respect this wonderful man, and he loves me. He
is able to appreciate his past and live in the present. How could I
not love such a vibrant, handsome, kind and intelligent man?

More important, how could I ever doubt his love for me?

A. Nancy Avakian lives in Rochester, N.Y. She is retired, having
served in senior administrative positions at several institutions of
higher education, including Virginia Commonwealth University.

From: A. Papazian

ARMENIA DOES NOT PLAN TO EXPAND COOPERATION WITH NATO

Vestnik Kavkaza, Russia
April 2 2014

2 April 2014 – 12:04pm

Spokesman of the Armenian Foreign Ministry Tigran Balayan said today
that the country was planning to expand cooperation with the NATO,
ITAR-TASS reports.

Some foreign media reported plans of Armenia to intensify cooperation
with the Alliance yesterday.

From: A. Papazian

CHECHEN AL QAEDA COMMANDER, POPULAR SAUDI CLERIC, AND AN AHRAR AL SHAM LEADER SPOTTED ON FRONT LINES IN LATAKIA

Long War Journal
April 2 2014

By Bill RoggioMarch 27, 2014

A prominent Saudi cleric and a Chechen military commander in a unit
of the Al Nusrah Front for the People in the Levant, al Qaeda’s
official branch in Syria, celebrated together after recent heavy
fighting against Syrian government forces in a mountainous area in
the coastal province of Latakia. An emir of Ahrar al Sham is also
seen in the video.

Muslim al Shishani, a Chechen jihadist and Al Nusrah military
commander, is seen in a video with Dr. Abdallah Muhammad al Muhaysini,
an al Qaeda-linked Saudi cleric, after the Al Nusrah Front overran
a Syrian military position in the eastern province. The video was
posted on YouTube on March 26.

In the video, hundreds of jihadists are shown walking around the
captured outpost as fires, presumably caused by the the fighting,
are still burning. A tank and a pickup truck with a machine gun
mounted in the bed are seen in the background. Gunfire is heard,
but it sounds celebratory.

The camera follows the red-bearded Muslim as he praises the jihadists
for defeating Syrian forces. At 0:58, the video pauses as Muslim is
pictured with another Chechen commander, Abu Tarab al Shishani. The
video then pauses again at 1:02 as Muslim and Muhaysini embrace.

The video again pauses at 1:53 and Abu Tarab al Shishani is seen
embracing with the “Leader of Ahrar al Sham: Abu al Hassan”, one of
the leading groups in the Islamic Front. Senior al Qaeda leaders are
known to have served in the top leadership circles of Ahrar al Sham.

The Al Nusrah Front has allied with Ahrar al Sham and a Salafist
group known as Ansar al Sham, in an offensive to take control of
areas in Latakia. The jihadist groups have seized a coastal village,
“the Armenian Christian village of Kasab,” and a border crossing with
Turkey, according to Reuters.

Muhaysini, the Saudi cleric who moved to Syria in 2013 and has more
than 240,000 followers on Twitter, has publicly supported the position
of the Al Nusrah Front and the Islamic Front in their dispute with the
Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham. When he launched an initiative in
January to reconcile the groups by creating a sharia court to settle
disputes, Muhaysini cited al Qaeda emir Ayman al Zawahiri. In February,
after the ISIS rejected his plan, Muhaysini called on ISIS fighters
and leaders to defect and join the Al Nusrah Front and the Islamic
Front. [See LWJ reports, Popular Saudi cleric endorses Islamic Front,
calls for cooperation with al Qaeda; Saudi cleric’s reconciliation
initiative for jihadists draws wide support, then a rejection; and
Pro-al Qaeda Saudi cleric calls on ISIS members to defect.]

Muslim al Shishani has been waging jihad for three decades, according
to a video biography that was released in November 2013 and translated
by MEMRI.

Muslim “served in the air defense division of the Soviet army in
Moldova” before the collapse of the Soviet Union, MEMRI reported.

Afterwards he joined the jihad in Chechnya and fought alongside Ibn
Khattab, a Saudi who led al Qaeda’s International Islamic Brigade in
Chechnya before he was assassinated by Russian forces in 2002.

“He worked with many leading figures in the Chechen-Arab units,
including Abu Jafar and Ibn Khattab’s successor Abu al Walid, and was
eventually promoted to the position of field commander,” according to
MEMRI. He was captured by Russian forces in 2003 and released after
two-and-a-half years in detention. In 2008, he formed a fighting unit
in the Russian Republic of Dagestan. He had sworn allegiance to Doku
Umarov, the slain emir of the al Qaeda-linked Islamic Caucasus Emirate.

In 2012, Muslim left the Caucasus to wage jihad in Syria and led
a group known as Jund al Sham, or the Army of Syria. His group,
along with those under the command of Saifullah al Shishani and
another Chechen known as Abu Walid al Shishani, merged with the Al
Nusrah Front.

Chechen-led jihadist groups have been some of the fiercest units in
the Syrian civil war. Chechens and others from the Russian Caucasus
and even from the Ukraine hold prominent positions in jihadist units
fighting in Syria. Omar al Shishani commands fighters in the ISIS and
his fighters are routinely in the forefront of the fighting. Another
Chechen, Salahuddin al Shishani, serves as the emir of the Muhajireen
Army; his deputy is Abdul Karim Krymsky, a Crimean Tatar from the
Ukraine. Hundreds of fighters from the Caucasus and Russia are known to
fight in the ranks of the jihadist groups in Syria that are commanded
by Chechen leaders.

Two senior Chechen commanders, Saifullah al Shishani and Muhammad
al Shishani, have been killed so far this year while fighting Syrian
government forces in Aleppo.

From: A. Papazian

PASTOR SULEIMAN VISITS DISPLACED CITIZENS OF KASAB

Syrian Arab News Agency SANA, Syria
March 31 2014

Lattakia, (SANA) Head of the Armenian Evangelical Church Pastor
Hartyon Suleiman stressed that Syria’s victory will be achieved soon
thanks to its citizens and army which is bravely confronting the
armed terrorist groups.

Visiting a number of Kasab citizens temporarily resideing at the Syriac
Orthodox Church in Lattakia to inspect their situation after being
displaced by the armed terrorist groups, Suleiman affirmed the need for
confronting terrorism for displaced citizens to return to their houses.

For his part, Governor of Lattakia Ahmad Sheikh Abdul Kader said that
the governorate is keen to meet the basic needs of the citizens who
were displaced due the acts of the armed terrorist groups.

B. Mousa/ M. Ismael

From: A. Papazian

PERSONS WHO ENTERED LATTAKIA ARE NEITHER OPPOSITION MEMBERS NOR SYRIAN CITIZENS: MINISTER OF INFORMATION

14:00, 31 March, 2014

YEREVAN, MARCH 31, ARMENPRESS: Minister of Information Omran al-Zoubi
said the government of Turkish PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan has regularly
facilitated the entry of the armed terrorist groups into Kassab area
in Lattakia countryside.

Armenpress reports, citing SANA News Agency that in an interview with
the Syrian TV late Sunday, Minister al-Zoubi considered Erdogan’s acts
as a violation of international resolutions calling for convicting
all forms of terrorist acts.

He said Erdogan’s acts prove that Syrian leadership was right when it
said that Erdogan and his government are involved in international
terrorism, adding “the persons who entered Lattakia northern
countryside are neither opposition members nor Syrian citizens, they
are groups of armed and trained foreigners with certain purposes
and agendas.”

Minister al-Zoubi said the Syrian Army and Armed Forces have foiled
the attack of terrorists who are all of non-Syrian nationalities.

From: A. Papazian

KESSAB MAYOR: SYRIAN TROOPS ADVANCE, CAPTURE IMPORTANT HEIGHTS

16:32 31/03/2014 >> IN THE WORLD

MP from Republican Party of Armenia (RPA) Arman Sahakyan, who recently
traveled to Latakia along with other Armenian parliamentarians,
wrote on his Facebook page on Monday that he spoke on the phone with
Kessab mayor.

“I have just spoken on the phone with the mayor of Kessab who is
currently in Latakia. He said that the Syrian troops advanced,
capturing some important heights, and hoisted the Syrian flag there.

“He also expressed his gratitude for the wave of protest of the
Armenians worldwide in connection with the Kessab events and expressed
the hope that this joint struggle will produce positive results soon,”
the MP wrote.

From: A. Papazian

HIS HOLINESS ARAM I APPEALS TO ALL ARMENIANS TO HELP THE POPULATION OF KESSAB

14:49 31.03.2014

His Holiness Aram I appeals to All Armenians to help the population
of Kessab. After consulting with the emergency committees working
in the city of Latakia and the reports of the clergy travelling to
Kessab and all other Kessab-related bodies, Catholicos Aram I calls
upon Armenians everywhere to:

1. Move from expressions of solidarity to action by responding to
the needs of the population of Kessab currently sheltered in Latakia,

2. In order to operate quickly and in an organized way, channel all
aid through the Catholicosate of Cilicia.

The Catholicosate of Cilicia thanks all those from Armenia to the
Diaspora who have expressed their solidarity with the people of Kessab.

Donations can be sent to:

Bank: FRANSABANK SAL “Antelias Branch” Lebanon Name of Account:
CATHOLICOSSAT ARMEIEN DE CILICIE IBAN: LB87 0001 0002 4753 8500 0030
3501 SWIFT Code: FSAB LB BX

From: A. Papazian

UN DIPLOMATE ARMENIEN EN RUSSIE NIE TOUTE RECONNAISSANT DE LA > DE LA CRIMEE

RUSSIE

Le Consul general d’Armenie dans la deuxième plus grande ville russe
Saint-Petersbourg a refuse de reconnaître la >
de la Crimee a la Russie.

Plus tôt cette semaine, le site officiel de Pskov Oblast en Russie a
publie un rapport, qui suggèreait que lors de sa rencontre le 24 mars
entre le Consul general d’Armenie et le gouverneur de Pskov Andrey
Turchak a Saint-Petersbourg que Hrair Karapetian >.

Hrair Karapetian a refute l’information, en disant que sa rencontre
avec Turchak etait a propos des questions de la communaute, ainsi
que des questions liees au developpement des liens economiques entre
Pskov Oblast et l’Armenie.

Le diplomate armenien a souligne qu’il n’a pas fait ces declarations au
cours de la reunion, ce qui suggère que le journaliste qui a couvert
l’evenement >.

>
a declare le consul general d’Armenie a Saint-Petersbourg au service
armenien de RFE / RL (Azatutyun.am).

lundi 31 mars 2014, Stephane (c)armenews.com

From: A. Papazian