Damascus Candlelight March Commemorating Genocide Against Armenians

DAMADCUS, (ST)_In memory of the centennial of the Ottoman extermination crime of the Armenians, and under the slogan “I remember I call”, thousands of Armenians in Syria yesterday evening took part in march candles started from Al Zablatini area to Marsrkis Church in Bab Sharqi in Damascus with the participation of Scout teams.

The marchers raised candles and slogans that emphasize adherence to the Armenian rights.

The candlelight procession came within the activities held by the central authority for reviving the centennial anniversary of the Armenian Genocide in Syria, and the candles were placed next to the foundation stone for the memorial of Armenian Genocide martyrs in the arena bearing their name in Damascus.

A statement read on behalf of the Pan-Armenian activists, on the occasion of the centenary called on the Armenian generations to preserve the national heritage through patriotism, learning and awareness, service, and the struggle for the restoration of all legitimate rights from the Turkish rapist.

The statement called on the UN member states and international organizations to respect the memory of the victims of the Armenian Genocide and on Turkey to recognize and condemn the genocide carried out by the Ottoman Empire.

Bishop of the Armenian Orthodox church of Damascus Aermash Nalbandian noted in a statement to SANA that the participation of thousands of people in the march is but a national stand against terrorism, murder and crime, stressing that Erdogan reiterates through his support for terrorist organizations in Syria after hundred years of what happened at the hands of the Ottoman ancestors.

For his part, the Armenian ambassador in Damascus Dr. Arshak Poladian considered that the centenary opened a new phase of the struggle to achieve justice, and the restoration of rights.

For his part, Rev. Gabriel David of the Syriac Orthodox Patriarchate said that Erdogan regime repeats the same massacres in his aggression against Syria, pointing out that groups that carried out the Armenian Genocide received support from Erdogan grandparents, are the same which are committing massacres against the Syrian people.

Participants in the march called for restoring the lands usurped by the Ottoman government, expressing gratitude for peoples who supported the Armenians and provided humanitarian aids and embraced the survivors of the Armenian genocide.

The Armenian Genocide crimes took place between 1915 through 1923 and included acts of killing, slaughter and genocide against the Armenian people.

Tomader Fateh