SYRIA WITNESS: IN BATTLE FOR ALEPPO, ARMENIANS SEEK NEUTRAL GROUND
By David Arnold
Middle East Voices
Sept 23 2012
Abu Leila Halabi, by his own account citizen journalist inside Syria,
reports that in the battle for Aleppo, long-time Christian communities
are caught in the middle of a political conflict that threatens to
turn into a sectarian war. Among the Christian communities, Armenian
leaders steadfastly insist they remain neutral in spite of being
caught between the hammer of the revolution and the anvil of the
regime. Read his account further below.
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By Abu Leila Halabi, Aleppo, September 22, 2012
Random bombs fall on Aleppo’s Christian neighborhoods of al-Midan,
al-Suleimanieh and al-Azizieh, and the fighting comes closer to
the heart of the one of the oldest centers of Christianity in the
Middle East.
None of the warring parties are listening to each other. The problem
is that neither side can tolerate minorities coming to terms with
the other side. Syria’s Christians face a badly arranged marriage
and will have to endure it until the rifles are silenced and cooler
heads prevail.
Armenians articulate minority dilemma
Among all the communities in Syria’s largest city and the center of
the nation economic pulse is the Armenian community, perhaps the best
organized, internationally well-connected and among the most vocal
Christian minority communities in the region.
The Armenian community formed several aid committees to help its
members, and its leadership adopted a policy of “positive neutrality”
toward the Aleppo’s conflict. Nevertheless, the community leadership
has been intolerant of diversity of thought or opinion.
Since the start of the uprising, most Christian communities had
followers who sympathized with the revolutionary ideals of the rebels.
Some of them were actively engaged in combat and support operations.
Most Christian minorities have representation in the Syrian National
Council, but not the Armenians.
“Armenian leaders prefer to put all of their eggs in the ‘neutrality
basket.'” – Abu Leila Halabi
One reason Armenians have not supported the expatriate opposition may
be that Turkey, their historic foe, sponsors the movement. But this
can’t entirely explain why the Armenian community hasn’t tolerated
members opening independent lines of communication with other
opposition or “third way” factions. Armenian leaders prefer to put
all of their eggs in the “neutrality basket.”
The recent violent turn of events in Aleppo and recent developments
makes it harder for the Armenian community’s leaders to continue their
neutral position: a few dozens of Armenian young men have accepted the
offer of Assad regime guns and joined the ranks of its shabiha gangs.
Maybe with good intentions…
Armenians caught in the middle
The few who have joined the shabiha have not saved the lives or homes
of minorities, and especially Armenians; bombs and artillery shells
continue to fall. In one case, a bomb fell on a residential building
killing a young Armenian woman. In a separate incident, another bomb
fell on a residential building in the heavily middle-class Christian
al-Villat Street neighborhood, causing major property damage but
no deaths.
Many times, the cause is indiscriminate firing of rockets and bombs in
Christian communities by ill-trained Free Syrian Army soldiers aimed
at government security buildings. On the other hand, a better-trained
and equipped regime air force pilot in a MIG shelled the main water
pipe of the city near al-Midan, disrupting the water supply and
causing shortages in most of the city for several days.
Purported video of flooding following shelling of water main
Recently, four Armenians were killed when driving from the airport
into the city. Thirteen were wounded. The first reports blamed the
FSA for the incident. But later, eyewitnesses said that it was the
driver’s fault, because he failed to stop at a checkpoint. A few days
later, an FSA brigade denied responsibility and said Assad forces shot
them.On the other hand, better-trained and equipped regime air force
pilot in a MIG shelled the main water pipe of the city near al-Midan –
Abu Leila Halabi
Rebels on the edge of al-Midan
Last week, FSA brigades were at the edge of al-Midan, and tried to
break into the neighborhood. They made a sortie in the direction of
the St. Vartan, a Jesuit monastery where a large number of refugees
and relief workers are based.
The government replied with great force. Armenians and other nearby
Christians took refuge in other neighborhoods until the regime forces
smashed the rebels with tanks, heavy bombardment and air strikes.
Rebels seized large parts of the strategically located Hanano army
barracks for a short period of time. The barracks are only a kilometer
away from al-Suleimanieh, the another Christian neighborhood.
While battles rage, there still seems to be no substantive or
meaningful communication between the FSA and the Christian communities.
Why do the rebels want control of al-Midan?
A senior FSA liaison told me they have no clear-cut plan for the battle
of Aleppo. The question then is, what does the Free Syrian Army gain
from entering the Christian neighborhoods of Aleppo? Up until now,
they have been “welcomed” in the neighborhoods that supported mass
anti-government demonstrations. There were no street protests in
the Christian neighborhoods; and aggressive rebel moves on Christian
neighborhoods might bring negative publicity to the FSA. Of course,
that would only matter only if international supporters of the
opposition were interested in human rights and minorities.
Armenian leaders politely refused an offer by the government to arm
them, basically because they knew that this sort of help doesn’t
come for free. Armenian leaders understood that such moves are more
about control and that they would drag Armenians into one side of
the conflict, rather than offer them protection and security from
both sides.
The Syrian government has more than one way to skin a fish. Two
weeks ago, the government-run Syrian State News channel reported with
great fanfare that a group of jihadists in the Zamalka neighborhood
of Damascus executed Armenians for sectarian reasons.
Later that same day, the same new channel denied the account without
explanation. The sectarian panic that results from such disinformation
can only help the regime create and fuel hatred and recruit as many
people from minorities as it can to actively fight on its side.
On the other hand, the Free Syrian Army demands that Armenians condemn
those who fight on the regime’s side and insist they turn in those
who cooperate with shabiha gangs.
The challenge of staying neutral in a war
The “positive neutrality” policy adopted by the Armenian leadership
might be the wisest choice right now, but as Free Syrian Army soldiers
fight face-to-face with some Armenians and other Christians beyond
community control and serving in shabiha ranks, the talk of “positive
neutrality” makes little sense and could foment a sectarian backlash.
Some Armenian leaders claim that establishing contacts with the Free
Syrian Army is similar to being set up for a blind date. The fragmented
and often poorly coordinated groups of rebels are a very chaotic and
confusing negotiating party. They say that it would be difficult to
come to any agreement with many of the rebel forces and that risking
any such agreement would likely cause a hostile reaction from regime
forces, with whom Armenians have had decades of friendly relations,
and most likely, still have in one way or another.
“Some Armenian leaders claim that establishing contacts with the
Free Syrian Army is similar to being set up for a blind date.” –
Abu Leila Halabi
It’s not just that fighting units are not under any central command,
but Armenians doubt that commanders can effectively maintain discipline
among enthusiastic and fundamentalist volunteers and recently arrived
radical Islamist foreign fighters.
For the past two weeks Free Syrian Army officers and other opposition
groups have issued assurances they would not harm Christian minorities,
and called on them to join the revolutionary struggle of the Syrian
people.
Rebels threaten to take Christian neighborhoods
Free Syrian Army brigades have moved toward Aleppo’s Christian
neighborhoods, including the Armenian neighborhood of al-Midan.
However, very few people in the Christian and Armenian neighborhoods
of Aleppo have taken those announcements seriously.
In August, a group of 48 of Aleppo’s Sunni elite who call themselves
the “Front of Aleppo Islamic Scholars” (FAIS) called for the advance.
The announcement was signed by Ibrahim Abdullah al-Salqini, the
grandson of the former Mufti of Aleppo Ibrahim al-Salqini, who passed
away a year ago. The mufti’s funeral turned into an anti-government
demonstration that was launched from the Grand Mosque in the heart
of the Old City of Aleppo.
The announcement asked the leadership of the Christian community to
“condemn the Assad regime publicly for its crimes, to turn its back
on the Syrian army and security forces, not take arms from them,
and instead support the FSA.” The FSA declaration also demanded that
the Christian community turn over a list of those who have cooperated
with the security forces, or joined the shabiha.
Christian bishops insist on peace through dialogue
The condescending tone of the announcement compelled the Christian
bishops of Aleppo to jointly issue a counter-declaration, insisting on
the importance of equal citizenship, freedom of speech and diversity.
The bishops called for an “end to the violence and the building
of peace through dialogue.” Nevertheless, the bishops echoed a few
demands by the FSA, such as “condemning every kind of armament in or
around churches.”
Two days later the Supreme Council of the Syrian Revolution Command
acknowledged that there were “some … members of the Armenian
community, who are participating in fighting the rebels.” But a few
days later, the council’s Brigadier General Moustafa al-Sheikh called
the announcement a “media fabrication” and promised that the rebel
command had no ill intentions toward Syria’s Armenians, “not now,
and not in the future.”
The next day the commander of the Military Council of Aleppo, Colonel
Abdul Jabbar al-Agidi, condemned sectarianism and called minorities
an inseparable part of the Syrian people in an online interview
on YouTube.
In another note, when FSA brigades seized the Bustan al-Basha
neighborhood two weeks ago, the Armenian community decided not to
evacuate residents of its nursing home. Perhaps this was a gesture
of trust toward the opposition rebels. The rebels apparently got
the message, and were content to only put the three-star flag of the
revolution on the building.
David Arnold is a reporter and editor specializing in journalism for
radio and the Internet that explains and analyzes events that shape the
new political landscape of countries in the Middle East and Africa. He
works with VOA Middle East’s Washington D.C.-based reporting team on
investigations and enterprise reports on many issues affecting region.
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