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Category: 2022

Office of RA third President issues statement in response to intentions of Aliyev regime

Jalatian Sonya
ARM INFO
Feb 21 2022
Marianna Mkrtchyan

ArmInfo. The office of third president of Armenia, Serzh Sargsyan, issued an official statement in response to the intentions of the Aliyev regime to initiate a criminal case against him and put him on the wanted list.

“The accusation of Serzh Sargsyan by the Aliyev regime is already ridiculous in itself, and the charges are cynical, since Aliyev, who mastered the genocidal policy over the years and whose hatred of Armenians became state policy in Azerbaijan during his entire reign, has no the moral right to speak about Serzh Sargsyan,  not to mention pressing charges. Over the years, Aliyev has faced the skillful diplomacy of Serzh Sargsyan, who adequately represents Armenia. He also witnessed the high rating of the third president of the Republic of Armenia, which did not decrease in the international community after his resignation.

The third President of the Republic of Armenia, Serzh Sargsyan, even after leaving his post, continued and will continue to represent the national, state interests of Armenia abroad thanks to his extensive connections and experience,” the office of the third President of the Republic of Armenia said in a statement.  At the same time, the office of the third President of the Republic of Armenia noted that both from 1988 and henceforth, Sargsyan will seek to realize the right of the Armenian people, who have lived in Artsakh for thousands of years, to live freely, independently and safely on the sacred Armenian land. 

“It is noteworthy that inside the country the second and third presidents of Armenia Robert Kocharyan and Serzh Sargsyan are being persecuted by the capitulating authorities, and outside the country this is done by the Azerbaijani ruling clan, which has become a de facto ally of the surrendered authorities.  Neither the regime inside Armenia, nor those who persecute it outside Armenia, will be able to prevent Serzh Sargsyan from fulfilling his mission. We are sure that in addition to the historical trial, the time will come to punish those who committed crimes against the Armenian people,” the office of the third president of the Republic of Armenia said in a statement. 

As ArmInfo previously reported, today the head of the special investigation department of the military prosecutor’s office of Azerbaijan, senior adviser to justice Emil Tagiyev said that Robert Kocharyan and Serzh Sargsyan were put on the wanted list on charges of allegedly “inciting ethnic hatred in 1988.”

In Armenia, participants in second Artsakh war hold protest against friendship with Turks

Maral Chavushian
ARM INFO
Feb 21 2022
Marianna Mkrtchyan

ArmInfo. A group of participants in the second Artsakh war blocked the road leading to the Zvartnots airport, the protesters against the arrival of the Azerbaijani delegation to Yerevan and against friendship with the Turks.

“We are against the arrival of the Turks in our country, we are against friendship with them. As of today, our servicemen, even in a sick state, are on duty to prevent the advance of the Turks, and here they decided to open the roads. We are against friendship with them, the blood of our brothers is not yet dry. All who stand for friendship with them are traitors,” the protesters chanted.

The protesters also demand to close the Yerevan-Istanbul flight.  There was a scuffle between the protestors and the police officers.  Police officers pushed the protesters aside and unblocked the street.

It should be noted that an Azerbaijani delegation arrived in Yerevan today to take part in the work of the Euronest Parliamentary Assembly. Members of the Milli Majlis as well as members of the Azerbaijani delegation to the Euronest PA Tair Mirkishili and Soltan Mammadov arrived in Yerevan.

Azerbaijani MPs arrive in Yerevan

Vanyan Gary
ARM INFO
Feb 21 2022
Naira Badalian

ArmInfo. Azerbaijani MPs have  arrived in Armenia to participate in a meeting of the Euronest  Parliamentary Assembly, Maria Karapetyan of the Civil Contract  parliamentary faction, who heads the Armenian delegation to Euronest,  told reporters.  

According to earlier reports, two Azerbaijani MPs accompanied by an  attendant were to arrive in Armenia’s capital to participate in the  meetings of the Bureau and Committees of the Euronest Parliamentary  Assembly. MEPs and MPs from the Eastern Partnership member-states  will participate as well.     

Armenian MPs have not yet had any contacts with their Azerbaijani  counterparts. Ms Karapetyan reported that Armenian and Azerbaijani  MPs can have contacts in the formats of the meetings they attend on  various occasions. 

“When we go to the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly in Vienna we can see  representatives of different national delegations. The same is here.  It is an event of importance for our country, as we are hosting the 

Assembly in rotation,” she said. 

She called for showing restraint in speech and in addressing  sensitive topics. Formal contacts with the Azerbaijani MPs is her  duty as a member of Armenia’s ruling party, Ms Karapetyan said.  The  Azerbaijani MPs are not planned to talks to journalists.

Turkey: Human Rights Defender on Trial

Karakhanian Suren 
Human Rights Watch
[Co-chair of Country’s Oldest Rights Group Faces Terrorism Prosecution]
Feb. 21, 2022
(Istanbul) – The prosecution of a human rights defender demonstrates
the Erdoğan government’s policy of bringing baseless criminal charges
against people involved in legitimate and peaceful civil society
activities, Human Rights Watch said today.
Öztürk Türkdoğan, co-chair of the Human Rights Association, Turkey’s
oldest human rights group, is scheduled to stand trial in Ankara on
February 22, 2022, on charges of “membership in a terrorist
organization.” If convicted, he could face a sentence of 5 to 10 years
in prison. Türkdoğan is also being prosecuted in two other trials on
charges of “insulting” the interior minister and “insulting the
Turkish nation, Republic of Turkey, state institutions and bodies,”
each with a possible penalty of up to two years in prison. All
indictments against him were prepared in December 2021.
“The prosecution of Öztürk Türkdoğan, the long-term co-chair of the
Human Rights Association, is an attempt to criminalize legitimate
human rights work and the right to free speech,” said Hugh Williamson,
Europe and Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “The fact that
Ankara prosecutors prepared three indictments against Türkdoğan in a
single month for speeches and statements that do not advocate violence
and were made over several years, points to a political order from
above behind these criminal proceedings.”
On March 19, 2021, police briefly detained Türkdoğan from his home,
searching his house and confiscating his laptop and phone. He was
later released with a travel ban imposed on him.
The evidence in the indictment charging Türkdoğan with “membership in
a terrorist organization,” the most serious charge he faces, consists
of Türkdoğan’s speeches, statements, and conversations in his capacity
as the co-chair of the Human Rights Association. The indictment cites
nine broadcasts in which the ANF Kurdish media outlet included clips
of Türkdoğan making public statements on various dates between March
2015 to January 2020.
The statements include calls to end the prolonged solitary confinement
of Abdullah Öcalan, the jailed leader of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party
(PKK), and other prisoners, and relate to hunger strikes by prisoners
supporting the lifting of solitary confinement. Other evidence cited
in the indictment includes seven phone calls on various dates in 2019,
four with media outlets or journalists.
The indictment also cites three photographs found on Türkdoğan’s
laptop showing banners prepared by the Human Rights Association. Two
protest solitary confinement in prisons and the treatment of sick
prisoners and a third calls for the recognition of Saddam Hussein’s
Anfal campaign in Iraqi Kurdistan in the 1980s as a genocide against
Kurds. The indictment also asserts that Türkdoğan transferred money
“to persons subject to legal processes in connection with terrorist
organization membership,” an allegation he denies.
The two other indictments were prepared by different Ankara
prosecutors. One concerns a statement made on April 24, 2017, by the
Human Rights Association on its website calling for an end to Turkey’s
denial of the Armenian genocide. The prosecutor alleges the statement
exceeds the limits of freedom of expression and amounts to the offense
of “insulting the Turkish nation, the state of the Republic of Turkey,
state institutions and bodies” under Article 301 of the Turkish Penal
Code.
The third indictment accuses Türkdoğan of “insulting” Interior
Minister Süleyman Soylu, under article 125 of the Turkish Penal Code
on the basis of a February 18, 2021 statement on the Human Rights
Association website responding to the minister’s harsh criticism of
the association in a parliamentary speech.
“The Turkish authorities should ensure that all charges against Öztürk
Türkdoğan are dropped immediately,” Williamson said. “The government
should stop harassing human rights defenders and ensure that they can
carry out their legitimate activities without fear of reprisals,
arrest, and abusive criminal proceedings.”

Azerbaijani press: U.S. city mayor inks document on Khojaly genocide anniversary

Aram Torosian
19 February 2022 10:35 (UTC+04:00)
846

By Sabina Mammadli

Florida Hallandale Beach City Mayor Joy Cooper has signed a proclamation on the 30th anniversary of the Khojaly Genocide, Trend has reported.

The mayor presented the proclamation to members of the Azerbaijani Diaspora community in Florida.

The conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan in the South Caucasus began in 1988 when Armenia asserted territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Following the conflict, Armenian military forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Karabakh region and seven adjacent districts. During the conflict, Armenian military forces perpetrated genocide against civilians throughout the night of February 25 to 26, 1992, murdering 613 people, including 106 women, 63 children, and 70 elderly.

The proclamation noted that in 1993, the UN Security Council adopted Resolutions 822, 853, 874 and 884, which demanded the immediate and unconditional withdrawal of the Armenian armed forces from the occupied territories of Azerbaijan.

The proclamation stressed that the UN General Assembly, the European Parliament, PACE, the OSCE, the US State Department and the White House have always supported Azerbaijan’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Every year on February 26, Azerbaijan commemorates the Khojaly genocide victims at the initiative of late national leader Heydar Aliyev.

it should be noted that this heinous act was preceded by a slew of others. Armenians set fire to around 20 buildings in the Baghanis-Ayrim village of Gazakh region, killing eight Azerbaijanis. A family of five, including a 39-day-old newborn, were all burnt alive.

Between June and December 1991, Armenian troops murdered 12 and wounded 15 Azerbaijanis in Khojavand region’s Garadaghli and Asgaran region’s Meshali villages.

Armenian military detachments bombed buses on the Shusha-Jamilli, Aghdam-Khojavand, and Aghdam-Garadaghli routes in August and September of the same year, killing 17 Azerbaijanis and injuring over 90 others.

In October and November 1991, Armenians burned, destroyed, and plundered over 30 settlements in the mountainous area of Karabakh, including Tugh, Imarat-Garvand, Sirkhavand, Meshali, Jamilli, Umudlu, Garadaghli, Karkijahan, and other significant villages.

Azerbaijani press: "Justice for Khojaly!" billboards installed in Kyiv [PHOTO]

Boshkezenian Garik
21 February 2022 13:39 (UTC+04:00)
664

By Sabina Mammadli

As part of the “Justice for Khojaly!” international awareness campaign, billboards dedicated to the 30th  anniversary of the tragedy have been placed in the center of the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, Azertag has reported.

The purpose of the billboards, which was initiated by the Rada of Azerbaijanis of Ukraine (UAR), is to inform local residents and foreigners about the Khojaly genocide. Billboards are located in the busiest central areas of Kyiv – Victory Avenue, Glibochitska, Sichovich Striltsa, Lesi Ukrainki streets, Kyiv-Borispol highway.

The billboards depict the “Mother’s Cry” statue, which represents the Khojaly genocide, as well as the slogan “Justice for Khojaly!”

The billboards will remain in Ukraine until late February.

Armenia committed genocide against the 7,000-person population of Azerbaijan’s Khojaly town on February 26, 1992.

A total of 613 peaceful Azerbaijanis were killed, including 63 children, 106 women, and 70 elderly people. At the same time, 487 civilians were seriously injured and 1,275 people were taken hostage. The fate of 150 hostages, including 68 women and 26 children, is still unknown. During the genocide, 56 people were killed with special cruelty, people’s heads were peeled off, various limbs were cut off, their eyes were removed, and pregnant women’s bellies were pierced with bayonets. As a result, eight families were completely destroyed, 25 children lost both parents and 130 children lost one parent.

Relevant documents adopted by the parliaments of Mexico, Pakistan, the Czech Republic, Peru, Colombia, Panama, Honduras, Sudan, Guatemala and Djibouti recognized the Khojaly massacre as an act of genocide. The parliaments of Romania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Jordan, Slovenia, Scotland, and Paraguay, as well as the executive and legislative bodies of 22 U.S. states have strongly condemned the Khojaly tragedy as a massacre. The Organization of Islamic Cooperation recognized Armenia as an aggressor and the Khojaly tragedy as genocide.

Every year on February 26, the victims of the Khojaly genocide are remembered at the initiative of national leader Heydar Aliyev.

This heinous act was preceded by a slew of others. Armenians set fire to around 20 buildings in the Baghanis-Ayrim village of Gazakh region, killing eight Azerbaijanis. A family of five, including a 39-day-old newborn, were all burnt alive.

Between June and December 1991, Armenian troops murdered 12 and wounded 15 Azerbaijanis in Khojavand region’s Garadaghli and Asgaran region’s Meshali villages.

Armenian military detachments bombed buses on the Shusha-Jamilli, Aghdam-Khojavand, and Aghdam-Garadaghli routes in August and September of the same year, killing 17 Azerbaijanis and injuring over 90 others.

In October and November 1991, Armenians burned, destroyed, and plundered over 30 settlements in the mountainous area of Karabakh, including Tugh, Imarat-Garvand, Sirkhavand, Meshali, Jamilli, Umudlu, Garadaghli, Karkijahan, and other significant villages.

Azerbaijani press: Azerbaijan puts Armenian ex-presidents on int’l wanted list [VIDEO]

Emil Lazarian
21 February 2022 17:53 (UTC+04:00)
756

By Vugar Khalilov

Azerbaijan’s Military Prosecutor’s Office has put former Armenian presidents Robert Kocharyan and Serzh Sargsyan on an international wanted list, Trend has reported.

Both men are prosecuted under the relevant articles of the Azerbaijani Criminal CodeKocharyan and Sargsyan are being prosecuted under relevant articles of the Azerbaijani Criminal Code, the Military Prosecutor’s Office stated.

“These persons were put on the wanted list under the relevant articles of the Criminal Code for making illegal decisions to proclaim the so-called ‘Nagorno-Karabakh Republic’ and other crimes,” the prosecutor’s office said.

It was recalled that both Kocharyan and Sargsyan were active members of the anti-Azerbaijan separatist movement beginning in 1988 when the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan entered its open phase.

“Since February 1988, in order to incite national enmity, hatred between the Azerbaijani and Armenian peoples, these persons arranged and held meetings in organizations and institutions of Khankandi city [in Azerbaijan’s Karabakh] with the participation of workers who were Armenians by nationality,” the prosecutor’s office noted.

“They  [ex-presidents] declared that Karabakh belongs to Armenians and only Armenians should live there, called for the dismissal of Azerbaijanis from their jobs, forcible eviction from Karabakh, and burning of their houses,” he added.

It should be noted that in an interview with Thomas de Waal in the 2000s, Serzh Sargsyan said: “Before Khojaly, the Azerbaijanis thought that they were joking with us, they thought that the Armenians were people who could not raise their hand against the civilian population. We needed to put a stop to all that. And that’s what happened.”

Armenia committed genocide against the 7,000-person population of Azerbaijan’s Khojaly town on February 26, 1992.

As a result of the Khojaly genocide, 613 peaceful Azerbaijanis were killed, including 63 children, 106 women, and 70 elderly people. Simultaneously, 487 civilians were seriously injured, and 1,275 people were kidnapped. The fate of 150 hostages remains unknown, including 68 women and 26 children.

During the genocide, 56 people were killed with extreme cruelty, with their heads peeled off, various limbs severed, eyes removed, and pregnant women’s bellies pierced with bayonets. As a result, eight families were utterly destroyed, 25 children lost both parents, and 130 children were orphaned.

Relevant documents adopted by the parliaments of Mexico, Pakistan, the Czech Republic, Peru, Colombia, Panama, Honduras, Sudan, Guatemala and Djibouti recognized the Khojaly massacre as an act of genocide. The parliaments of Romania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Jordan, Slovenia, Scotland, and Paraguay, as well as the executive and legislative bodies of 22 U.S. states have strongly condemned the Khojaly tragedy as a massacre. The Organization of Islamic Cooperation recognized Armenia as an aggressor and the Khojaly tragedy as genocide.

Every year on February 26, the victims of the Khojaly genocide are remembered at the initiative of national leader Heydar Aliyev.

This heinous act was preceded by a slew of others. Armenians set fire to around 20 buildings in the Baghanis-Ayrim village of Gazakh region, killing eight Azerbaijanis. A family of five, including a 39-day-old newborn, were all burnt alive.

Between June and December 1991, Armenian troops murdered 12 and wounded 15 Azerbaijanis in Khojavand region’s Garadaghli and Asgaran region’s Meshali villages.

Armenian military detachments bombed buses on the Shusha-Jamilli, Aghdam-Khojavand, and Aghdam-Garadaghli routes in August and September of the same year, killing 17 Azerbaijanis and injuring over 90 others.

In October and November 1991, Armenians burned, destroyed, and plundered over 30 settlements in the mountainous area of Karabakh, including Tugh, Imarat-Garvand, Sirkhavand, Meshali, Jamilli, Umudlu, Garadaghli, Karkijahan, and other significant villages.

Turkish press: Turkish, Russian troops share effective ties in Syria: Kremlin

Ophelia Vardapetian
 ISTANBUL FEB 21, 2022 – 12:04 PM GMT+3

Turkish and Russian troops patrol on the M4 highway, which runs east-west through Idlib province, Syria, March 15, 2020. (AP Photo)

Turkish and Russian military officials have good relations when it comes to Syria, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov said Monday.

Speaking during a conference focused on the Middle East, Bogdanov evaluated Turkey-Russia ties.

Noting that relations between the two countries have developed effectively on the Syria issue, Bogdanov said: “Our dialogue and joint work continues. This is happening not only at the political level, but also at the military level.”

Bogdanov also noted that Russia’s commanders at their Hemeimeem airbase in Syria’s coastal province of Latakia have “effective and advanced contacts” with Turkish military officials.

Turkey has been the main backer of moderate opposition groups, while Russia has been the main backer of the Bashar Assad regime. Despite supporting opposing sides in the Syrian civil war, Turkey and Russia have cooperated on many diplomatic initiatives for peace and stability seeking to find a political solution in the war-torn country, particularly through the Astana meetings.

Russia joined Syria’s now 10-year conflict in September 2015, when the military regime appeared close to collapse. Moscow has since helped in tipping the balance of power in favor of Assad, whose forces now control much of the country. Hundreds of Russian troops are deployed across Syria and the country also has a military airbase along Syria’s Mediterranean coast. During the past few years, Russian warplanes targeted the areas under the control of the Syrian opposition, initially launching attacks from Hemeimeem in the west of the country.

Russian and Turkish troops have also cooperated in Idlib, the final holdout of opposition forces. A fragile truce was brokered between Moscow and Ankara in March 2020 in response to months of fighting by the Russia-backed regime. Almost a million people have fled the Assad regime’s offensive yet the regime still frequently carries out attacks on civilians, hindering most from returning to their homes and forcing them to stay in makeshift camps.

Despite backing opposing sides in both the Syrian and Libyan conflicts, Turkey and Russia have forged close cooperation in the defense, energy and tourism sectors.

NATO member Turkey has bought Russian S-400 air defenses – leading to U.S. sanctions on Turkish defense industries – and has been in talks with Russia over possibly buying a second batch.

Ankara and Moscow were also rivals in Nagorno-Karabakh during fighting between Azerbaijan and Armenian forces last year. Russia eventually brokered a cease-fire between Turkey-backed Azerbaijan and Armenia, and it is working with Ankara to monitor it.

Turkish press: Baykar ensures Turkey’s self-reliance in drone tech as orders swell

Garo Vardanian
 ISTANBUL FEB 21, 2022 – 3:14 PM GMT+3 
EDITED BY AYŞE BETÜL BAL

Ukrainian Army-owned Bayraktar TB2 UCAV on display during the military parade on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of Ukraine’s Independence, Kyiv, Ukraine, Aug. 24, 2021. (Shutterstock Photo)

Turkey has completely left behind its external dependency on unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) technologies and now produces platforms that are among the best in the world, the chief technology officer (CTO) of the drone magnate Baykar said in a recent interview.

Selçuk Bayraktar, in an interview with Qatar-based Al Jazeera television, commented on Turkey’s domestic technology, the country’s development story of UAVs and its role in the new generation of UAVs.

Bayraktar, who stated that they took the first step with a small project to produce aircraft that can fly automatically, said that they first started the construction of UAVs in a small workshop.

He recalled that the first aircraft they produced were small planes that could stay in the air for one hour and fly a distance of just 15 kilometers (9.3 miles).

Stating that they started the now world-renowned Bayraktar TB2 unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV) project in 2010, Bayraktar said that this particular drone joined the Turkish Armed Forces’ (TSK) inventory in 2014 as a result of the work of the Undersecretariat of Defense Industry, which has now become the Presidency of Defense Industries (SSB).

“The TB2s were successful in the fight against terrorism (within Turkey) and counterterrorism operations outside of Turkey,” Bayraktar said.

The combat drones were used against the PKK terrorist threat within and outside Turkish borders, as well as against Daesh terrorists in Syria.

Another UCAV project by the Baykar company, Akıncı, Turkey’s most advanced drone to date, started in 2016, Bayraktar went on to say. This model is much larger than the world-renowned Bayraktar TB2s.

Akıncı UCAVs have very high power, allowing them to fulfill strategic missions, carry cruise missiles and engage in aerial combat while being operated via satellite, the company’s CTO said.

Commenting further on how the country started its journey to produce UCAVs with domestic resources, Bayraktar said the country used to buy UAVs from Israel, “but planes from abroad could not take off and land automatically, and Israeli pilots used to lift and land the drones with a manual control device.”

Bayraktar said that starting with smaller-volume UAVs, Turkey developed the software within the country that allowed automatic landing and takeoff of planes.

Stating that the TB2 is the most famous UAV model in the world and have been sold to 16 countries, Bayraktar said, “TB2s can stay in the air for 27 hours, have a range of hundreds of kilometers, can carry 130 kilograms (287 pounds) and are equipped with highly sensitive intelligent military equipment.”

Referring to the other features of Turkish UAVs, Bayraktar stated that they are difficult to detect via radar and that they have achieved great success against tanks and defense systems, for example in Syria’s Idlib and Azerbaijan’s Karabakh region.

In massive retaliatory strikes and artillery shelling in Idlib during a regime attack in February 2020 that killed 33 Turkish soldiers and injured tens of others in the area, Turkey used its domestic UAVs to strike everything from tanks to howitzers and Russian-made air defense systems.

At least 2,200 Syrian regime troops, a drone, eight helicopters, 103 tanks, tens of howitzers and three air defense systems were neutralized, according to the Defense Ministry statements at the time.

Domestic drones provided surveillance and Close Air Support (CAS), and destroyed the regime targets with locally produced smart ammunition either being delivered by the drones or from afar with their guidance due to Syrian air space’s being close to Turkish F-16s.

Later, the Bayraktar TB2s were used by Azerbaijan’s army in their fight to retake occupied Nagorno-Karabakh from Armenian forces, again leaving no room for heavy military gear, including tanks, howitzers and Russian air defense systems to escape.

The drones were hailed as giving Baku the upper hand in liberating its lands.

Bayraktar further said on “the secret of the transformation of Turkey’s defense industry in the last 20 years” that it is the “dedication to work and willingness to get rid of foreign dependency.”

Underlining that the country was dependent on foreign suppliers for 85% of supplies for the defense industry in the past, Bayraktar stated that Turkey has now become self-sufficient.

All business designs and main components were developed in the country, Bayraktar emphasized, reiterating that Turkey no longer has foreign dependency on securing materials or main components for defense industry products.

Bayraktar pointed out that the world drone industry was previously dominated by the United States, China and Israel, but Turkey is in the top three now.

“Europe does not have platforms comparable to Turkey, currently Turkish UCAVs are being exported to European countries,” he also said.

Export contracts were signed with 16 countries for Bayraktar TB2 UCAVs, while it has already been incorporated into the arsenals of Azerbaijan, Ukraine and Qatar.

Among the European Union member countries that are interested in Turkish combat drones, Poland has already signed a contract for the purchase of Bayraktar TB2s, becoming the first NATO member country to acquire the Turkish drones. First shipments will arrive in 2022.

Latvia later hinted that it could be the second EU and NATO member state to purchase the Turkish UCAVs that have scored high-profile successes in the field.

Turkish press: Lebanon’s Turkmens: 500 years of preserving language and culture

Jhanna Virabian
Wassim Seif El-Din and Turgut Alp Boyraz   |19.02.2022


BEIRUT, Lebanon

Despite descending from their ancestral homes in Central Asia and Anatolia more than 500 years ago, Turkmens in Lebanon still preserve their mother tongue, customs, and traditions.

Turkmens believe they came to Lebanon in 1516 during the reign of Sultan Selim I (1512-1520), with the aim of securing the Hejaz trade route while others fled drought in their original homelands.

Turkmens of Lebanon are distributed across the country’s regions. However, they are mainly concentrated in Akkar province north of the country, particularly in the villages of Kouachra and Aydamun.

Large numbers of Turkmens can also be found in the eastern province of Bekaa.

They are also spread in smaller numbers in the cities of Sidon, Al-Qalamoun, Tripoli and the capital Beirut.

Diverse journeys

However, not all Turkmens in Lebanon share the same origin or pattern of migration to the Arab country.

Those in Tripoli are mainly Turks of the island of Crete which the Ottoman Empire lost control of in 1897, forcing the majority of its inhabitants to migrate to the Turkish cities of Mersin and Izmir while others migrated to Tripoli in Lebanon as well as the Syrian capital, Damascus.

For Turkmens in Beirut, they are mainly from the Turkish city of Mardin who left the city for better economic opportunities in Beirut.

The Mardin Turks speak Arabic alongside Turkish, assets that have facilitated their rapid integration into Lebanese society.

While there are no official statistics on the population of Turkmens in Lebanon, they are estimated to be in tens of thousands.

Customs intact

Despite their presence in Lebanon spanning more than five centuries, Turkmens have largely preserved their customs, language, and traditions.

“We came to Lebanon during the reign of Sultan Selim I, in 1516, when we made Akkar and the Syrian coast as our home,” said Khaled Al-Asaad, 63, from Kouachra.

“We have been here for 500 years or more, and we still preserve our Turkmen language, customs, and traditions that we inherited from our ancestors,” he added, recalling his time as a child when residents in the village only spoke Turkish.

But Al-Asaad is worried about the future of the Turkmen language in the country. “The Turkmens today, especially the new generation, do not speak Turkish, because of the system in schools, and the mixing with Arabs.”

He welcomed efforts by the Turkish Cultural Center to “send teachers to teach the Turkish language to residents of Turkmen villages in Akkar.”

Despite his fears that Turkmens are losing their language, Al-Asaad pointed out that their customs and traditions are still different from the Arabs, especially on special occasions, such as weddings.

He pointed out that the Turkmens in the town of Darwis, in the eastern province of Baalbek, came to Lebanon 300 years ago from the Syrian province of Homs.

“The Ottomans did not establish borders between people at that time, because they did not differentiate between one person and another.”

Turkiye’s role

Al-Asaad said he was the one who alerted Turkiye to the presence of Turkmens when he was a soldier in the Lebanese army in the demining unit.

“The first relations between Turkmens and Turkiye began in 1989 when I went to the embassy to meet the Turkish ambassador at the time at the request of the officer in charge,” Al-Asaad recalled.

He said Turkmens in Lebanon stand in solidarity with all their Turkic brothers.

“During Turkiye’s assistance to Azerbaijan in its war to liberate its land from the Armenian occupation, we called from our hearts for the victory of the Azerbaijani brothers,” Al-Asaad said.

“And as a result of that, we started looking for whether there is an Azerbaijani embassy in Beirut to go and congratulate them for their victory. The embassy warmly welcomed us.”

Jibril Al-Asaad, 60, said when his Arab friends watch the Ertugrul TV series, they praise Turkmens in Lebanon for the bravery of their ancestors.

“The Ertugrul series showed the true image of the Turkmens to all the world,” he said.

* Writing by Ibrahim Mukhtar in Ankara