Syrian Parliament Hosts Hearings on Armenian Genocide Centennial

Syrian and Armenian government and religious officials at a press conference after their meetings in Damascus.

DAMASCUS, Syria—The National Reconciliation Committee and Committee of Public Freedoms and Human Rights at the Syrian People’s Assembly met Armenia’s Ambassador to Syria Arshak Poladian and Primate of the Armenian Church of Damascus, Bishop Armash Nalbandian and the accompanying delegation, Sana agency reports.

Talks during the meeting focused on the current preparations for the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide perpetrated by the Ottoman Turks.

The members of the committees reiterated their commitment to strengthen the historical and cultural relations between the people of Syria and Armenia, pointing out that Syria embraced Armenians who became a part of the Syrian society after the genocide.

They described the attacks of terrorist organizations in the north of Syria, which were committed with support from the Turkish government, as a continuation of the Ottomans’ savagery which led to the Armenian Genocide, calling on the international community and international organizations to assume their responsibility in condemning the destruction and systematic sabotage that Syrian heritage is being exposed to at the hands of terrorists.

Head of the National Reconciliation Committee at the People’s Assembly Omar Osi said that the ethnic cleansing which Armenians were exposed to at the hands of the Ottoman Empire is now being repeated by Erdogan’s government through the huge support it provides to the terrorist organizations which target Syrians.

For his part, Ambassador Poladian said that the Armenian government and people hold Syria in high regard for how it treated Armenians after they were displaced from their land at the hands of the Ottomans.

In turn, Primate Nalbandian affirmed the importance of dialogue, joint work, unifying stances, and condemning all crimes and genocides that Syrian, Armenian, and others peoples are exposed to, pointing out that what Armenians saw in Syria was love, humanism, and true Islam, as opposed to what terrorists and extremists try to pass off as Islam.

albandian had announced on January 6th 2014 the launching of activities to mark the 100th anniversary of the genocide committed by Ottoman Turkey in 1915.