1435 replies to this topic

[Johannes]

gites yerek mtasum eyi te yete Astvats chani iys nuyn patmutun@ Hayastani glxin payter menq inch eyinq enlu ??
iynpes che vro hnaravor che.. ughaki yete yerkir@ ur hima menq aprum yev qaghaqatsy enq USA voroshi iys shanvordiutyun@ vagh@ Hayastani glxin ani, menq USA/bnak Hayeres inch enq anelu inchpes enq nayelu ??

<a name="OLE_LINK1">Եղբայր, իմ մտքում էլ նոյն մտավախութիւնն արթնացել է:

Մտածում եմ՝ Հայաստանն այժմ իր բնական չափերի մէջ չէ, փոքրացել է. Ժողովուրդը նրա ջարդուել, գաղթել, հեռացել է իր պատմական հայրենիքից: Հետեւաբար՝ նա այժմ իր փոքրացած չափերով աշխարհակալական ծրագրերը չի խոչընդոտում: Կարող են անցկացնել խողովակ, ճանապարհ, շրջացնելով Հայաստանի Հանրապետութիւնը:

Հայաստանը նաւթ եւ գազ չունի. լեռնակղզի է

Բացի այդ, կարծես թէ հայկական պետութիւնը հնազանդ է....

Բայց մտավախութիւն ունեմ Արցախի մասին մի բան պարտադրեն:

[Johannes]

Երէկ Դամասկոսի մէջ Ալ-Կայիդայի անձնասպանական զոյգ պայթիւնը 55 մարդու մահուան եւ 400ի վիրաւորման պատճառ եղաւ:

Այսօր նոյնը, 1200 կիլոգրամ կշռող պայթուցիկ նիւթով, պիտի կատարուէր Հալեպի մէջ, սակայն պատկան մարմիններու կողմէ ձախողութեան մատնուեցաւ:

ALEPPO, (SANA)_A suicide bomber was killed when competent authorities intercepted a stolen booby-trapped minibus that he attempted to blow up in the densely-populated al-Shaar neighborhood in Aleppo on Friday.

SANA correspondent quoted a source in the governorate as saying that the competent authorities intercepted the terrorist after he hit two policemen, then he blew himself up with an explosive belt, killing himself only.

The source added that 4 tanks loaded with a big quantity of explosives were discovered in the minibus.

Terrorist Bombing Thwarted in Aleppo

Failed bomb attack in Aleppo

Edited by Johannes, 11 May 2012 - 11:08 AM.

[Johannes]

Washington & Al-Qaeda, United on Syria

John Glaser, February 13, 2012

More days after U.S. officials leaked intelligence that al-Qaeda's branch in Iraq has been infiltrating Syria to conduct terrorism, arm the opposition, and take advantage of the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad, al-Qaeda's #1 Ayman al-Zawahiri condemned the Assad regime and urged support for the opposition.

Simultaneously, a growing number of influential members of Congress have openly advocated aiding the rebel Free Syrian Army with weapons and training in order to facilitate the fall of Assad. The Pentagon and U.S. Central Command are currently reviewing possible U.S. military options against the Syrian regime. And now a bipartisan group of Senators has attempted to legislate such action, introducing a resolution on Friday to that end. Excerpt from that resolution:

"The Senate… urges the President to support an effective transition to democracy in Syria by identifying and providing substantial material and technical support, upon request, to Syrian organizations that are representative of the people of Syria, make demonstrable commitments to protect human rights and religious freedom, reject terrorism, cooperate with international counterterrorism and nonproliferation efforts, and abstain from destabilizing neighboring countries."

Oddly enough, this is not the first time in recent memory that the leadership in the U.S. has explicitly advocated merging U.S. policy with al-Qaeda's goals. From early on in the NATO mission to aid the Libyan rebels and oust Muammar Gadhafi, it was known that many of those so-called "freedom fighters" had ties to al-Qaeda. In fact, U.S. intelligence found that al-Qaeda fighters had swarmed to Libya and tried to "drum up extremist activities." After Gadhafi was killed, an al-Qaeda flag was raised in the center the rebel stronghold of Benghazi. Following that, al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) publicly called themselves the "main beneficiaries" of the instability caused by the NATO war, noting specifically their receipt of weapons.

Aside from all of the terror and abuse the newly empowered National Transitional Council has brought the people of Libya in the form of murder, theft, torture and thuggery, they and their varied militias have also been imposing a harsh brand of militant Islam on Libyans, as opposed to the democratic paradise Obama predicted.

I'm not suggesting a conspiracy theory, just plain stupidity. As I've explored elsewhere, while I'm no stranger to Imperial Grand Strategy, I think the system operates in a way such that backward policies are carried out even when many elites recognize they're against the "national interest." The real question is how nobody is calling them out on it. Joe Lieberman has just recently called the Syrian rebels "brave freedom fighters" almost synchronous with Ayman al-Zawahiri. How is this not headline news?


My link

Edited by Johannes, 14 May 2012 - 05:25 AM.

[MosJan]

May 24, 2012 - 15:13 AMTPanARMENIAN.Net - The Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia Aram I condemned the attack of the Armenian church in Syria’s Homs, Tehran-based Aliq Armenian news agency reported.

“We severely condemn attacks on religions centers and sacred sites,” the Catholicos said, further expressing hope for peaceful settlement in Syria.

“Armenian people will always be grateful to the people of Syria for welcoming Genocide survivors. Armenians will be glad to assist in establishment of peace and stability in Syria,” the statement said.

An Armenian church and school were attacked in the Syrian city of Homs on Saturday, May 19, by members of the Syrian opposition.

The representative of the local Armenian community Nazareth Elmadjian said the Isahakian School attacked by the opposition works under the auspices of Armenian Apostolic Church’s Syrian Prelacy.

The school is located in Hamidia district of Homs which is mainly populated by Arab Christians. The opposition forces seized the school and church, which will be used by them as a hospital and convalescence center.

The Syrian army is not attacking the district because of the large number of civilians in the area, reported the community.

[MosJan]

Johannes inchpes es ??

[Johannes]

Լաւ եմ Մովսէս, Շնորհակալ եմ:

Ահաբեկիչները Հոմսում բազմաթիւ հիւանդանոցներ այրեցին, եւ իբր հիւնադանոց են սարքելու հայկական եկեղեցին: Եթէ հիւանդանոցի կարիք ունէին, ինչո՞ւ հիւանդանոցները այրեցին: Իրականում ցեղային զտում են իրականացնում՝ Հոմսից քրիստոնեաներին վտարում են:

Մարդասիրական թուացող «Հիւանդանոց սարքել»ը իրականում նշանակում է թէ դեռ շատ են արիւն թափելու:

Edited by Johannes, 25 May 2012 - 10:11 AM.

[Johannes]

The Assassination of 6 Most Important Syrian Security Officials At Once
Suddenly and in the depth of a night a Youtube video clip came out by Al Qaeda terrorist organization, Syria Branch, which is a part of the Ottoman Erdogan's sponsored so called Free Syria Army, claiming a 'heroic act' by one of its members, not the one appearing in the video clip, but a 'Jihadist' killing the most important security officials in the 'Crisis Management Cell' in Syria.
The video clip was immediately reported by all NATO propaganda media agencies without checking its authenticity, as usual, and in a record speed, as if the future of planet Earth is based on this great event. The most important of those NATO 'Vuvuzelas' are Al Jazeera satellite channel, the mouthpiece of Qatar Foreign Ministry, and Al Arabiya, the mouthpiece of Al Jazeera channel! Then throughout all their social media network in a hysterical way, and as an example of how some of the world's news agencies that relayed this news based on the narrative of these two channels we read:
"..And Abu Muath, the official spokesperson of 'Kataeb Al Sahaba', in a tele-conversation with Al Arabiya said, that some of his operatives managed to kill top officers whom form the 'Crisis Management Cell in Syria'. And he stated that during a meeting of top officials in Conferences Palace in Damascus, the operatives managed to kill them and escaped the scene. He added that one of the field leaders will appear on news media to elaborate about the details of this operation at a later time.
The media spokesperson said: "I dare the Syrian regime to show just one of the crisis cell team members on media". And Khaled Al Habouss, head of the military council in Damascus city and countryside, ascertained the news in a recorded video aired on news channels.
News media also quoted one of those contributing to planning the operation as saying that 'Kataeb Al Sahaba' members managed to kill in a 'special' operation: Assif Shawkat, deputy chief of staff of Syrian Army and brother in law of Syrian president Bashar Al Assad - Muhammad Al Shaar, Minister of Interior - Daoud Rajha, minister of Defense - Hassan Tourkmani, Head of Crisis Management Cell and Deputy of Farouq Shara - Major General Hisham Bikhtiyar, Head of National Security and Muhammad Saeed Bkheitan, Assistant National Secretary of Al Baath Party.
As the source has relayed precisely the details of the operation, he refused to show it on media, for security reasons, as he stated. And added that top officers were transported to Al Shami Hospital in the Syrian Capital (Damascus)."
Before we move to the subject of this article, let's check the text of this news and how it might be believed by simple not informed Arabic or Western audience, but impossible to be digested by a Syrian without refuting it by simply reading the text itself:
- Nobody knows who are the members of the 'Crisis Management Cell in Syria' and foreign intelligence agencies could not get to this information, to simply be known by 'Kataeb Al Sahaba' members.
- Syria's top security officials wouldn't convene at the 'Conference Palace Hotel' in Damascus countryside. This is a ridiculing attempt or just making fun of the audiences and at the same time passing a message that Syria's officials and top officers' security can be breached by some groups of mercenaries.
- To have some individuals of 'Kataeb Al Sahaba' kill Syria's top officials and security officers then manage to escape... It's just like one of those fairy tales as Sindbad or Grendizer. .
- All Syrians know that there is nothing as such called 'field leaders' of the terrorists because they're simply not organized, rather they're bunch of criminals loose, and this implication that they're organized is just to cover the fact proved since beginning of crisis in Syria that there's no organized substitute to the Syrian government, therefore they're trying to create one out of nothing.
- Their media spokesperson said: "I dare the Syrian Regime to show just one of the cell members on media".. and the Syrian state TV showed not one but 2 members later on the same day, Minister of Interior and the Assistant to Deputy President, and next day a third official was interviewed by a newspaper!
- Why would the Minister of Defense be part of the 'Crisis Management Cell' as they claimed if the Deputy Chief of Staff of Syrian Army is a member of it, especially it's known to everybody that the Syrian Minister of Defense is specialized in missiles?!
- If the meeting and the attack on it occurred in the Conferences Palace Hotel, Damascus Airport Road in Damascus Countryside, why would the victims be transferred to the farther hospital at the other side of the capital, which is Al Shami Hospital? And not to Al Assad University Hospital which is more advanced and much closer to the proposed site, just a few minutes away? And why transporting 'dead' bodies to a private hospital at the first place and reserving two floors of the hospital, as the same NATO media stations mentioned in later reports?!
If all the above automatic refuting, which occurred in every Syrian who watched, is not enough, read further:
- It's a long time habit for Syrian security officers not to appear on any media whatever it is and whatever the reason is, and we can simply notice that, for example, all media use a single old photo of General Assif Shawkat, the same picture used by non-Syrian media for more than 10 years, if not much more. And this is a very old feature Syrian security officials are known to adopt.
- In the very recent days leading to the issuing of this rumor, the terrorists lost big in numbers, and the killing of their second in command Colonel Bassam Sanbaki was a very big hit that shook them profoundly, and this is known to Syrians through following up different unofficial media. And in the following article (in Arabic) we note how the terrorists guise the name of the Colonel Bassam Sanbaki as a soldier defected in an obituary, and they don't state his rank nor post in a pathetic attempt to reduce the shock as much as they can, and this is yet another proof that they're not an organized body as I explained above. But just a look at the content of this obituary article we can estimate their losses during this period: (http://syrianoor.net/revnews/3028)
- Syrians throughout their recent history managed to develop a very strong immunity towards psychological and media propaganda and warfare, and they have a vast experience in this field, while the latest crisis has benefited them substantially, therefore, whatever news relayed by media agencies known of its anti-Syrian stance doesn't produce any echo at the Syrian citizen, except to mock such news and such agencies, which we noticed through their initial reactions to this piece.
- The way the news of alleged assassinations was presented specifically by Al Jazeera & Al Arabiya anchors, and the overwhelming obvious joy they showed while reading this news and commenting on it, while they certainly wouldn't show such joy if the slain officers were israelis for instance, this way gave those Syrians still watching these two channels a feeling of disgust, with all the disgust meaning of the word, from these 'Vuvuzelas', and their pathetic attempt to market a killing of a Syrian officer, whomever he was and whatever post he held, in a joyful way and a cause to celebrate by any Syrian, this pathetic attempt failed wretchedly miserably, and the fact that we don't understand their such continuous attempts except like an attempt of a drowning person hanging to a floating straw.
The above leads us to the reason of spreading this rumor and at this particular time was among other reasons to:
1- Lift the devastated morality of the leftover terrorists on the ground inside the country, especially that they're realizing they're time is over while the nation is achieving one milestone after another in its political reform process, and just this week the successful parliament elections and the convening of the first parliament session was one of these milestones, while the rumor was meant to distort if not prevent this session from occurring.
2- To push the Syrian government to show its mentioned security officials on media to refute this rumor. And if we just look how many rumors spread by NATO propaganda and been refuted already till date, just refuting another rumor would not lessen the credibility of these news channels, as they've already consumed it completely, rather what was required is obtaining new pictures of these officers in order to use it in cheap ways as for direct targeting, or using it in signs raised by protesters in remote villages in a satire method, to direct insults to their persons, and to provoke them in one way or another.
3- Devastating the citizens morality through spreading fear and chaos rumors, and trying to prolong the crisis as much as possible to raise the roof of demands in the negotiated declaration of Syria's victory.
4- The continuous attempt of targeting the symbols of the nation, and here we see the special concentration on the brother in law of the president, which falls in line with all previous continuous pathetic attempts to target the Syrian flag, Syrian map, the Syrian Army, and Syrian security they named 'Shabeeha' since hte beginning of riots, then to target the person of the Syrian president and his family.
The reaction of the Syrian government to this rumor was like all previous reactions, systematic and brilliant, we see the refuting of it by the Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesperson for those foreigners interested, then showing 3 officials whom are politicians whom have usual presence over the media and not the security officers, to fail one of the main reasons of the rumor. Minister of Interior Muhammad Al Shaar and Asst. Deputy to the President Hassan Turkmani appeared on TV, then the Country's Assistant Leader of Baath Party, and those are three officials and not only one, as the terrorists' spokesperson laid to the government of showing just a single member of the 'cell'.
If all the above is found still unconvincing to some readers, then such readers would have nothing to convince them, just because they don't want to see the truth and prefer to be tools in hands of Syria's enemies to assist in executing what enemies of humanity failed to execute throughout time.
"They fool you, they keep fooling you, and they enjoy fooling you, not because they're smart, it's just because you're Foolable"
My link

[Johannes]

US prepares multi-front proxy war against Syria

Since the Washington Post’s May 16 report on an influx of arms to Syrian opposition forces, the Obama administration’s plans for a proxy war against Syria have become clearer still.

The Post wrote of “significantly more and better weapons” reaching oppositionists, “paid for by Persian Gulf nations [Saudi Arabia and Qatar] and coordinated in part by the United States,” based upon a perspective that “an expanding military confrontation is inevitable.”

Saudi Arabia and Qatar were sending weapons with approval from Washington, which has “expanded contacts with opposition forces to provide the gulf nations with assessments of rebel credibility and command-and-control infrastructure.”

An additional source of weaponry is the Muslim Brotherhood, which has “its own supply channel to the rebels, using resources from wealthy private individuals and money from Gulf states, including Saudi Arabia and Qatar, said Mulham al-Drobi, a member of the Brotherhood’s executive committee.”

The Post concluded by noting, “The Pentagon has prepared options for Syria extending all the way to air assaults to destroy the nation’s air defenses.”

In the Daily Telegraph of May 22, Michael Weiss, Communications Director of the Henry Jackson Society, writes that “Rebel sources in Hatay told me last night that not only is Turkey supplying light arms to select battalion commanders, it is also training Syrians in Istanbul.”

He continues, “Men from the unit I was embedded with were vetted and called up by Turkish intelligence in the last few days and large consignments of AK-47s are being delivered by the Turkish military to the Syrian-Turkish border… Material is being stockpiled in Damascus, in Idlib near the Turkish border and in Zabadani on the Lebanese border.”

Weiss notes the response to the Washington Post’s article by White House spokesman Jay Carney, which hardly amounted to a denial. “We continue to provide non-lethal support to the opposition,” he said. “And while I can only speak for the United States, we know that others are pursuing different types of support, and I’d refer you to them to characterise the nature of their actions.”

Weiss concludes, “Turkey wouldn’t take such a course of action without express American consent or encouragement. Nor do I think that US Senator Joseph Lieberman, who has called for surgical airstrikes and the creation of buffer zones in Syria, would indicate that the administration was inching toward a military response to the humanitarian crisis that Kofi Annan’s farcical ‘cease-fire’ has done nothing to quell unless he was fairly sure it was indeed doing so.”

A May 22 DEBKAfile exclusive report states, “The Syrian rebels have received their first ‘third generation’ anti-tank weapons, 9K115-2 Metis-M and Kornet E. They are supplied by Saudi and Qatari intelligence agencies following a secret message from President Barack Obama advising them to up the military stake in the effort to oust Assad.”

DEBKAfile, which is close to US neo-conservative sources, describes these shipments as “only one facet of the unfolding US plan for the Syrian crisis… Turkish intelligence has been given the green light to arm Syria rebels with IED roadside bombs tailored for the Syrian theater and intensively train the dissidents in their use at Turkish military facilities.” This is tantamount to Ankara’s first direct military intervention in Syria.

Turkey has for some time acted as an organising front for imperialist intervention into Syria, aimed at deposing the pro-Iranian regime of Bashar al-Assad. It is host to the SNC and its military arm, the Free Syrian Army—which mounts its offensives by passing through Turkey’s 910 kilometre border with Syria.

Lebanon and Jordan are also serving as bases to organise the insurgency. There have also been more recent contacts with Kurdish groups that have been reluctant to join forces with the Muslim Brotherhood and other Sunni sectarian elements, seen as beholden to their long-time enemy, Turkey.

As with Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey, Lebanon’s involvement as a proxy force is based on whipping up sectarian hostilities against Shia Iran and Assad’s Alawite-based regime—extending the domestic conflict with the Shia-based Hezbollah, which is funded by Tehran and Damascus.

Recent weeks have seen escalating sectarian clashes in Lebanon that have claimed several lives. Fighting reached into the capital, Beirut, following the killing arrest of an anti-Syrian cleric and his bodyguard at a checkpoint in the north of the country and the arrest of Sunni leader Shadi al-Mawlawi, who is now on bail, accused of membership in a terrorist group.

Tensions were heightened further by the kidnapping of 13 Lebanese Shia pilgrims by 40 Free Syrian Army (FSA) gunmen. This caused angry protests in Beirut that were only calmed by the intervention of Hezbollah head, Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah.

In a move again aimed at isolating Iran and Syria and defeating a Shia insurgency in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia is working for the creation of a Gulf union of the six members of the present Gulf Cooperation Council—Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and United Arab Emirates.

Plans for an initial preparatory union of Saudi Arabia and Bahrain provoked thousands of Bahrain’s majority Shia population to protest in a demonstration that stretched for three miles. Iran called the proposal “the American plan to annex Bahrain to Saudi Arabia”.

Bahrain relies totally on Saudi forces, which entered the state in March last year to crush domestic protests.

Prospects for a broader union were shelved after initial discussions in Riyadh this week chaired by King Abdullah. Prince Saud al-Faisal said a delay was needed in order to “bring all the members and not only two.”

The Arab League has thrown its weight behind the plan, warning Iran to halt its media campaign “and provocative statements from Iranian officials” against political and military union of the Gulf States.

“Any union steps between Bahrain and Saudi Arabia are a sovereign issue of the two states and other Gulf countries and no other country has the right to interfere in it,” said Arab League Secretary General Nabil Elaraby.

Syria is also being hit hard by international sanctions, which have cost its oil sector $4 billion, according to oil minister Sufian Allaw, and led to steep price rises and shortages for its citizens. Syria’s gas production covers only half of the country’s needs, and prices for a tank of cooking gas have more than quadrupled.

United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon yesterday again warned of an all-out civil war in Syria, should the present supposed peace plan fail.

That same day, Saudi King Abdullah wrote of his being “deeply concerned” about the sectarian violence in Lebanon. In a letter to President Michel Sulaiman, he warned, “Due to the gravity of the crisis and the possibility of it causing sectarian strife in Lebanon and putting it back in the shadow of the civil war, we are looking at your ... attempts to interfere to end the crisis... and keeping Lebanon away from foreign struggles especially with the Syrian crisis nearby.”

All such statements are a cynical pose. The UN is well aware that Washington is pursuing a deliberate policy of destabilisation in Syria in order to justify a war for regime change waged by its allies—above all in Riyadh, Ankara and Doha—with Washington’s military support. With the broader efforts now being made to forge a Sunni-based alliance of anti-Iranian states, this could yet ignite a full-scale regional war with devastating consequences.

Global Research Articles by Chris Marsden

[Yervant1]

BBC News uses 'Iraq photo to illustrate Syrian massacre'
17:13, 28 May, 2012

YEREVAN, MAY 28, ARMENPRESS: THE BBC is facing criticism after it
accidentally used a picture taken in Iraq in 2003 to illustrate the
senseless massacre of children in Syria, reports Armenpress citing The
Independent.

Photographer Marco di Lauro said he nearly `fell off his chair' when he saw
the image being used, and said he was `astonished' at the failure of the
corporation to check their sources.

The picture, which was actually taken on March 27, 2003, shows a young
Iraqi child jumping over dozens of white body bags containing skeletons
found in a desert south of Baghdad.

It was posted on the BBC news website today under the heading `Syria
massacre in Houla condemned as outrage grows'. The caption states the
photograph was provided by an activist and cannot be independently
verified, but says it is `believed to show the bodies of children in
Houla awaiting burial'. A BBC spokesman said the image has now been
taken down.

Mr di Lauro, a professional photographer, said: `I went home at 3am
and I opened the BBC page which had a front page story about what
happened in Syria and I almost felt of from my chair.

One of my pictures from Iraq was used by the BBC web site as a front
page illustration claiming that those were the bodies of yesterday's
massacre in Syria and that the picture was sent by an activist.
`Instead the picture was taken by me and it's on my web site, on the
feature section regarding a story I did In Iraq during the war called
Iraq, the aftermath of Saddam.

`What I am really astonished by is that a news organization like the BBC
doesn't check the sources and it's willing to publish any picture sent it
by anyone activist, citizen journalist or whatever. That's all.

He added he was less concerned about an apology or the use of image
without consent, adding: `What is amazing it's that a news organization has
a picture proving a massacre that happen yesterday in Syria and instead
it's a picture that was taken in 2003 of a totally different
massacre. `Someone is using someone else picture for propaganda on purpose.'

A spokesman for the BBC said: `We were aware of this image being widely
circulated on the internet in the early hours of this morning following the
most recent atrocities in Syria.

`We used it with a clear disclaimer saying it could not be independently
verified.

`Efforts were made overnight to track down the original source of the
image and when it was established the picture was inaccurate we removed it
immediately.'

[Yervant1]

ARMENIAN SOLDIER HAS BEEN KILLED IN SYRIA

ARMENPRESS
30 May, 2012
YEREVAN

YEREVAN, MAY 30, ARMENPRESS: The latest events in Syria again harmed
Armenian community of Syria. The Armenian community on Damascus
lost Armenian soldier. Armenpress was informed from representative
of Armenian community of Syria Nazareth Elmadzyan Levon Kuiumdzyan
born in 1992 was killed during the clashes in the territory of Bab
al Haua near Turkish-Syrian border.

Earlier there was information that Armenian Church and Armenian school
named "Isahakyan" in Syrian city Homs were robbed by the militants
and now are served for the rebels as hospital, hotel or resort.

[MosJan]

yerani te HAyer@ karoghanayin Hyastan gnal... Sirts tsavov em ausm... gitaktselov te inch hyurnkal dzevov en @endunvelu Mayr Haykerniqum... teinchpes en tetevatsnelu yekogneri grpaner@ yev avelatsnelu nrants tarapanqner@...



Ehhhhhh Tern Voghormya...

[Yervant1]

20 ARMENIAN FAMILIES MIGRATED FROM SYRIA

news.am
May 31, 2012 | 01:19

The situation in the Armenian community in Syria is getting more
alarming, but still 'everything is fine' in the community, member
of the Armenian Community in Syria Gabriel Genberji told Armenian
News-NEWS.am.

According to him, three weeks ago Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan
visited Syria in order to find out if there is an outflow of Armenians
from Syria. In order to clarify the issue Genberji listed the students
who do not attend school. It came out that 35 students were absent
as their families had moved to Lebanon, Armenia, France and the USA.

According to Genjerbi's calculations, around 20 Armenian families
have left Syria so far.

[MosJan]

chgitem vorqanov e da stuyg... i vercho shater@ karogh en ughaki toms gnel inchpes sovorakan turist yev HAyastan gnum

[Yervant1]

NO SECURITY THREATS POSED AGAINST SYRIA'S ARMENIAN COMMUNITY - ARF DASHNAKTSUTYUN

news.am
June 01, 2012 | 12:46

YEREVAN. - The current state of affairs in Syria is worrisome,
but, fortunately, there are no problems with the country's Armenian
community in terms of security, said Giro Manoyan, Director of the
International Secretariat of the ARF Bureau and Head of the Armenian
Cause Office, during a press conference on Friday.

He added that the Syrian-Armenian community's emigration has not been
too considerable.

In his words, the developments in Syria impact the countries of the
Middle East, too.

"In any case, there are numerous other matters, since the developments
unrolling in the country also leave their economic impact on the
Armenian community," Giro Manoyan noted.

[Yervant1]

HOMS ARMENIANS FORCED TO FLEE HOMES

tert.am
01.06.12

Following the Houla massacres that left over 100 people dead,
the Islamic forces in Homs are urging the local Armenians to leave
their homes.

They reportedly walk from house to house in Syria's Armenian populated
city, forcing the Christians to leave their abodes immediately.

Aid to the Church in Need is going to render a $60 monthly assistance
to each Armenian family in Homs. They are also hopeful to organize
the refugees' return to their houses.

The Christian Armenian community suffered losses as a result of a
May 19 attack against the Armenian church and school. Catholicos
Aram I of the Great House of Cilicia has condemned the violence. The
Isahakyan church and an Armenian school in the city's Christian-
populated district are now serving as a shelter and hospital for the
Syrian rebels.

So far, 50,000 Syrian Christians have fled to Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq
and Turkey. All the rest are said to have found a shelter in an
Aleppo-based Jesuit refugee assistance center.

[Johannes]

chgitem vorqanov e da stuyg... i vercho shater@ karogh en ughaki toms gnel inchpes sovorakan turist yev HAyastan gnum

Հայկական դպրոցներից բացակայող աշակերտների թիւը նկատի են ունեցել այս եզրակացմանն համար: Ասածիդ պէս՝ շատ մարդիկ ուսանող չունեն, ուրիշներ հայկական վարժարանում չեն, որ նրանց բացակայութիւնն զգալի լինի:

[Yervant1]

Institute for War and Peace Reporting IWPR, UK
Caucasus Reporting, Issue 646
June 17 2012


Syrian Armenians Move to Yerevan

Security fears in Syria make Armenia look a sensible place to take refuge.

By Arpi Harutyunyan, Haykuhi Barseghyan - Caucasus

Several hundred people have already arrived in Armenia to escape
rising violence in Syria, and they say thousands more could be on
their way.

`We never thought we'd be able to move from one country to another in
just a few months,' said Harutyun Ashakertyan, 58, who has moved to
Armenia with his wife and three children. `The situation changed so
sharply that it was the best decision. Our prime duty was to ensure
the family's safety.'

His wife Lisa Ashakertyan, 50, said most of the people she knew back
in Syria were planning to move to Armenia, as well.

Syria is home to around 80,000 Armenians, most descendants of the
survivors of mass killings in the Ottoman Empire from 1915 onwards.
Although they are well integrated in Syria, the violence of the last
year has forced many to consider leaving.

The influx is likely to increase as President Bashar al-Assad's forces
continue attacking towns around the country, and as his armed
opponents put up more resistance. Concentrated in in Aleppo, the
Armenian minority is seen as supportive of the Assad government.

Emigrating is difficult when there are few buyers for homes and businesses.

Madlen Sepetjyan, 59, is keen to leave Syria, but is unable to sell her house.

`A few months ago my house was robbed. Every last coin was taken, and
it's just lucky I wasn't at home or they would have killed me,' she
said. `They took all my savings and my gold, and I can't go to Armenia
until I sell my house. We wait for buyers all the time, but no one is
coming forward at this tense time.'

Sepetjyan worries how she will support herself in Armenia, since her
son has lived there for three years but has yet to find a long-term
job that pays decent money.

It is not clear how many of the arriving Syrian Armenians have found work.

According to member of parliament Artsvik Minasyan, they will need
help integrating, not least because they speak a different dialect of
Armenian.

`The problem is that there is no single strategy for arriving
Armenians who need help from the state - from assistance with
economic, social and financial issues, to organisational and
citizenship questions,' he said.

In response to an opposition question this February, Armenia's prime
minister Tigran Sargsyan said the government would be prepared to help
the Armenian community in Syria.

Tevos Nersisyan, of the diaspora ministry, said no resettlement plans
had been drawn up, and was still not anticipating a massive influx
from Syria.

`It's impossible to predict how many people will move to Armenia,' he
said. He confirmed that Syrian Armenians were constantly contact with
his ministry, however, over visas, financial matters and help getting
their property through customs.

Analysts say the new arrivals should not put too much strain on the
system, especially considering the number of people who have left
Armenia in search of work in recent years.

`So many people have left Armenia in recent years that a big influx
now wouldn't cause any economic problems. The reverse is true - the
arrival of compatriots will give us new stimulus,' Andranik Tevanyan,
director of the Politeconomia think tank, said.

Arpi Harutyuyan is a correspondent for Armnews television. Haykuhi
Barseghyan is a correspondent for the Ankakh weekly and www.Ankakh.am.

http://iwpr.net/repo...ns-move-yerevan

[Nané]

[MosJan]

BEIRUT/AMMAN (Reuters) - A suicide bomber killed three of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's top military officials on Wednesday, security sources said, the worst blow to Assad's high command in the country's 16-month-old rebellion.

The bomb killed Assad's powerful brother-in-law, the defense minister and a top general, bringing the battle to the heart of Assad's powerbase and sparking fighting across Damascus.

Residents, fearing fierce retaliation by Assad's forces, said army helicopters fired machineguns and in some cases rockets at several residential districts. Television footage showed rebels storming a security base in southern Damascus.

The bomber, said by a security source to be a bodyguard assigned to Assad's inner circle, struck a meeting in central Damascus attended by ministers and senior security officials as battles raged within sight of the nearby presidential palace.

Washington, which fears a spillover into neighboring states, said the situation seemed to be spinning out of control. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said "the battle for the capital, the decisive fight" was under way. The U.N. Security Council put off a scheduled vote on a Syria resolution.

State television said Defense Minister Daoud Rajha and Assad's brother-in-law Assef Shawkat, the deputy defense minister, had been killed in a "terrorist bombing" and pledged to wipe out the "criminal gangs" responsible.

It said General Hassan Turkmani, a former defense minister and senior military official, had died later of his wounds. Intelligence chief Hisham Bekhtyar and Interior Minister Mohammad Ibrahim al-Shaar were wounded but were "stable".

The men form the core of a military crisis unit led by Assad to take charge of crushing the revolt which grew out of a popular protests inspired by Arab Spring uprisings that unseated leaders in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya.

"I heard...a loud explosion but it was not a very big bang. I went down to take a look and I saw a lot of men in plain clothes with rifles," one resident near the scene told Reuters by telephone. She said windows on the third floor of the national security building were shattered.

Assad did not appear in public in the hours after the attack or make any statement, but security sources said he was not at the meeting where it took place.

The armed forces chief of staff, Fahad Jassim al-Freij, quickly took over as defense minister to avoid giving any impression of official paralysis.

"This cowardly terrorist act will not deter our men in the armed forces from continuing their sacred mission of pursuing the remnants of these armed terrorist criminal gangs," Freij said on state television. "They will cut off every hand that tries to hurt the security of the nation or its citizens."

The explosion appeared to be part of a coordinated assault on the fourth day of fighting in the capital that rebel fighters have called the "liberation of Damascus" after months of clashes which activists say have killed more than 17,000 people.

It began early on Wednesday with fighting around an army barracks in the district of Dummar, hundreds of meters from the presidential palace, and was followed by blasts close to the base of the elite 4th armored division in the southwest. The unit, led by Assad's brother Maher, has been instrumental in crushing protests around Syria.

"This is a situation that is rapidly spinning out of control," U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said, calling for maximum global pressure on Assad to step down.

Panetta said Assad's government would be held responsible if it failed to safeguard its chemical weapons, which Western and Israeli official have said have been moved from storage sites.

"DECISIVE BATTLE"

A video posted by activists who said it was filmed in the southern Qadam district showed at least two bodies lying in pools of blood and one rebel commander said at least 45 civilians had been killed in Damascus on Wednesday.

He did not give a figure for rebel or army casualties. The figure could not be confirmed. The Syrian government restricts access by international journalists.

Western leaders fear the conflict, which has been joined by al Qaeda-style Jihadists, could destabilize Syria's neighbors - Israel, Lebanon, Turkey, Iraq and Jordan.

Syrian Information Minister Omran Zoabi blamed Western and Sunni Arab governments for the crisis. "They are responsible for every drop of blood. And they will be accountable," he said.

"I stress to them that this is the decisive battle in all of Syria," Zoabi said on state television.

Rebels say they have brought reinforcements from outside the city to end four decades of rule by the Assad family by attacking the power base of the ruling elite for the first time.

Syrian forces hit rebel positions across the capital after the attack on the security meeting, with activists saying government troops and pro-government militia were flooding in.

State television broadcast footage it said was filmed on Wednesday showing men in blue army fatigues ducking for cover and firing - the first time official media has shown clashes in the heart of the capital.

REBEL CLAIMS

Two rebel groups claimed responsibility for the attack on the security meeting.

"This is the volcano we talked about, we have just started," said Qassim Saadedine, a spokesman for the Free Syrian Army, a group made up of army defectors and Sunni youths.

Liwa al-Islam, an Islamist rebel group the name of which means "The Brigade of Islam", said it had carried out the attack after weeks of planning and gave a different version of events.

"Our men managed to plant improvised explosives in the building for the meeting. We had been planning this for over a month," a spokesman for the group, who asked to be identified as Abu Ammar, said by telephone. State television said earlier that it was a suicide bombing.

"The terrorist explosion which targeted the national security building in Damascus occurred during a meeting of ministers and a number of heads of (security) agencies," it said.

Fighting also erupted overnight in the southern neighborhoods of Asali and Qadam, and in Hajar al-Aswad and Tadamon - poor, mainly Sunni Muslim districts housing Damascenes and Palestinian refugees.

Assad and the ruling elite belong to the minority Alawite sect, an offshoot of Shi'ite Islam that has held power in Syria since a 1963 coup.

The elite has endured more than a year of rebellion but recent high level defections signaled support beginning to fall away.

Two Syrian brigadier-generals were among 600 Syrians who fled from Syria to Turkey overnight, a Turkish official said on Wednesday, bringing the number of Syrian generals sheltering in Turkey to at least 20.

OPPOSITION CAUTIOUS

In Damascus, government troops used heavy machine guns and anti-aircraft guns against rebels moving deep in residential neighborhoods, armed mostly with small arms and rocket-propelled grenades.

Rebels directed their fire overnight at a headquarters for pro-Assad militia, known as shabbiha, drawn mainly from Alawite enclaves in nearby hills.

Rebel fighters have called the intensified guerrilla attacks in recent days, which have targeted shabbiha buses, unmarked intelligence patrols and armored vehicles in the capital, the battle "for the liberation of Damascus".

Still, opposition figures did not predict sudden victory.

"It is going to be difficult to sustain supply lines and the rebels may have to make a tactical withdrawal at one point, like they did in other cities," veteran opposition activist Fawaz Tello said from Istanbul.

"But what is clear is that Damascus has joined the revolt," Tello, a Damascene, told Reuters. "By hitting well known Sunni districts of the city, such as Midan, the regime is exposing the sectarian nature of the crackdown."

(Additional reporting by Mariam Karouny, Oliver Holmes and Erika Solomon in Beirut, Marcus George in Dubai and Jonathon Burch in Ankara; Writing by Philippa Fletcher; Editing by Peter Graff)

[MosJan]

Hovannes inchpes es ??