SYRIA-ARMENIANS There is no longer any Armenian living in Der Zor (Syria) occupied by Daesh

October 26, 2015 By administrator

The Armenian website “Arevelk” (arevelk.am) informs that the last 25 Armenian families living in Der Zor (Syria) left the city in the previous month. The site “Arevelk” holds the information by its source to Kamishli. According to the same sources, the Armenians of Der Zor took refuge in Aleppo, and Kamishli Lataquié. The houses and shops and workshops belonging to Armenians were kidnapped by members of Daesh. The Armenian Church “Surb Nahadagats” (Holy Martyrs) built in memory of the victims of the Armenian Genocide was destroyed a year ago is in ruins. The city of Der Zor is occupied for a year and a half Daesh.

Krikor Amirzaya

Members of Congress Express Outrage Over Der Zor Destruction

September 24, 2014 By administrator

Armenian community members commemorate the Armenian Genocide in the courtyard of the now-destroyed Armenian Genocide memorial church in Der Zor (Photo by Ashnag)

WASHINGTON—Members of Congress have begun a string of condemnation and expressions of outrage over the destruction of the Armenian Genocide memorial church in Der Zor over the weekend by Islamic State forces.

Representatives Frank Pallone (D-NJ), Jim Costa (D-Calif.), Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and Sandy Levin (D-Mich.) issued statements or took to social media to express their outrage over the barbaric act committed by rebels affiliated with the Islamic State, also known as Islamic State for Iraq and Syria—ISIS.

“This toxic act of intolerance, aimed at erasing a sacred site of remembrance of the Armenian Genocide on the eve of its centennial, has Turkey’s finger prints all over it,” said Armenian National Committee of America Executive Director Aram Hamparian. “Armenian Americans join with people of faith worldwide in voicing our outrage over the desecration and destruction of the Armenian Holy Martyr’s Church and the sacred Armenian Genocide Memorial at Deir Zor, Syria.”

“I am deeply saddened and outraged by the destruction of the Armenian Genocide Memorial Church in Deir ez-Zor. This church stood to commemorate and honor the hundreds of thousands of Armenians who died on the march to Deir ez-Zor. At the order of the Ottoman Turks, Armenian refugees were sent to die in Deir ez-Zor as part of the 20th century’s first genocide. The destruction of the church memorializing this terrible point in history must be met with a strong international response,” said Pallone in a statement issued Tuesday.

“The United States government and other international partners in the region must work to protect religious minorities and to ensure that Armenian Christians are not targeted for such appalling acts. As the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide approaches, we must remember that it is our duty to stand against the targeting of Armenians all around the world and to prevent any further targeted violence,” added Pallone.

“I strongly condemn the reported desecration of an Armenian Genocide memorial in Syria by the Islamic State,” said Costa in a Twitter post.

“The reported destruction by ISIL of the Armenian Genocide Memorial Church in Der Zor, Syria is yet another example of the sickening barbarity that has terrorized millions across Iraq and Syria. The fact that the church was dedicated to those lost in the genocide is both especially poignant, and a chilling foreshadowing of how ISIL would treat Syria’s Christians if it were to further expand their territorial gains. We need to support the international coalition that is currently engaging in strikes to help the people of Syria and Iraq rid themselves of this cancer,” said Schiff in a statement issued Tuesday.

“I strongly condemn the reported desecration of an Armenian Genocide memorial in Syria by ISIL,” Rep. Sandy Levin (D-Mich.) tweeted on Tuesday.

Fighters from the Islamic State desecrated an Armenian Genocide memorial complex in the eastern Syrian city of Deir ez-Zor, near the site where vast numbers of Armenian refugees were forced to march to their deaths in the early 20th century.

The Der Zor Memorial Church contains the remains of victims of the Armenian Genocide and is often compared to the Auschwitz death camp in Poland.

Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian condemned the destruction of the church and called on the international community to combat the Islamic State.

The Armenian Genocide Memorial Church served as a pilgrimage site for Armenians in Syria, and every year, on April 24, special commemoration ceremonies attended by thousands of people would be held at the site.

The complex housed, in addition to the church, a museum, monument and archive.

Turkish ISIS Destroys Armenian Genocide Memorial Church in Der Zor

September 22, 2014 By administrator

By Weekly Staff

DER ZOR, Syria (A.W.)—The Islamic State (also known as ISIS) destroyed the Armenian Genocide Memorial Church in Der Zor, news agencies in the Middle East reported.

The reports surfaced as Armenia was celebrating the 23^rd anniversary of its independence on Sept. 21.

Armenia’s Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian issued a statement condemning the destruction of the church, which housed the remains of victims of the Armenian Genocide, calling it a “horrible barbarity.”

Nalbandian called upon the international community to cut the Islamic State’s sources of supply, support, and financing, and eradicate what it referred to as a disease that “threatened civilized mankind.”

The church was built in 1989-1990, and consecrated a year later. A genocide memorial and a museum housing remains of the victims of the genocide was also built in the church compound.

Thousands of Armenians from Syria and neighboring countries gathered at the memorial every year on April 24 to commemorate the genocide.

Many refer to Der Zor as the Auschwitz of the Armenian Genocide.

Hundreds of thousands of Armenians perished in Der Zor and the surrounding desert during the genocide. In summer 1916 alone, more than 200,000 Armenians, mostly women and children, were brutally massacred by Ottoman Turkish gendarmes and bands from the region.