Official statement regarding attacks in Kessab
We, Women in Black, Armenia, called to fight against militarism and war, to strive for international long-lasting peace, raise our voice on the recent events happening in Syria.
According to different sources, in the early morning of March 21, 2014 Al Qaeda linked Islamic jihadis entered Syrian territory from the Turkish border and attacked Christian town named Kessab.
Taking into account the brutal terrorist attacks, we strongly condemn such actions by rebel groups upon peaceful civilians of Kessab consisting of many Armenians as well as other minorities. We are also extremely concerned with the number of displaced Kessab residents who now reside temporarily in nearby Latakia.
Besides, there is another issue that raises a huge concern. The information that Turkish soldiers were involved in the intervention to Kessab generated a huge wave of hatred and anger among Armenian population. Number of biased and untrusted information widely disseminated in mass media, made the situation even worse and tense[1].
Considering the above, Women in Black, Armenia group urges to:
- Make appropriate, professional, in-depth journalistic investigation and give unbiased media coverage on Kessab’s case
- Stop the circulation of untrusted and false information in mass media, especially through social media
- Take appropriate measures to stop the increasing hate speech and intolerant atmosphere as a result of untrusted data spread.
There have been immense efforts put in place for reconciliation and peace building between Armenian and Turkish civilians. Consequently, we do not have a right to fail to respect what we were fighting for over so many years.
We urge the respecting governments to maintain peace in Syria and stop terroristic attacks on civilian populations. It is time to respect international human rights law, international humanitarian law and all legal obligations resulting from their norms and provisions. We do not need any more victims and claim that the perpetrators of international crimes are brought to justice and punished accordingly.
The violence, terrorist attacks and breaches of international human rights law and international humanitarian law should be stopped immediately; all states and actors are obliged to manifest political will in this regard.
Women in Black of Armenia
April 2, 2014
[1] The hostility among two nations dates back to 1915 Armenian Genocide which is not yet officially recognized by Turkey.
