Displacement of Syrian Armenians a result of Turkish policy, Aleppo Armenian says

The recent reports suggesting there are only 3,000 Armenians remaining in Syria do not correspond to reality, says Aleppo Armenian Vazgen Mesropyan, Vice-President of the Social-Democratic Hunchagian Party of Armenia. According to him, even under today’s conditions Syrian Armenians are not willing to leave the country.

“We – Aleppo Armenians are against migration. We don’t want to move, we don’t want to follow Turkey’s policy. The displacements are the result of Turkish policy. We don’t want a second dislocation. All our property, our estates and archives are there,” Mesropyan told a press conference today.

The main archives of Syrian Armenians were kept in the Forty Martyrs Church destroyed by the Islamic State a few months ago. There is no exact data, but part of the archives documents are believed to have been preserved.

“The terrorists had digged tunnels to reach the church and blast it. Part of the archive materials has been saved. There are rumors that they will be brought to Armenia, but that’s not 100 percent certain,” he said.

Besides the archives, Armenians in Syria are trying to preserve their national identity. Children continue to attend Armenian schools even under shelling.