Iraqi Armenians

[Doberman]

This thread is indirectly related to the Armenian Genocide because an Iraqi Armenian community exists directly because of the Armenian Genocide, people forced to flee for their lives. This is about the currect situation of Iraqi armenians today caused by the US attacks on Iraq. Unfortunately, these Armenians are not under the security of an Armenian state, and need the help of all Armenians around the world. We must all help eachother out so that one day we are all able to gather in our country, and our country will oversee our security. We are not secure on foreign soil. The ground is a lot firmer on ones own soil.

In any manner, here is a link if you want to help out Iraqi Armenians suffering from the current war in Iraq:

http://iraqiarmenianrelieffund.com/

[Tongue]

I read somewhere a while back that many Iraqi Armenians immigrated to Armenia after the war started, I'll try to find the link.

[Gavur]

Turkey's Bagdat Ambassador Survives Attack

1.03.2006 Tuesday - ISTANBUL 00:29


By Cihan News Agency
Published: Monday, January 02, 2006
zaman.com


The Turkish foreign ministry announced on Monday that Turkish ambassador to Iraq Unal Cevikoz had escaped unharmed from an armed attack in Bagdat (Baghdad) despite a Reuters' report which said he had been slightly injured.

The vehicle of the Turkish ambassador to Baghdad was targeted in a gun attack on Monday in the quarter of Gazaliya, Cihan news agency’s Baghdad correspondent reported.

It was not initially clear whether ambassador Cevikoz had escaped from the attack unharmed or not.

[Tongue]

Fund Helps Resettle Iraqi Armenians

YEREVAN, JANUARY 13, ARMENPRESS: The ethnic Armenian community in Iraq is one of the smallest and though it is not involved in the country's political life and is doing its best to survive the country's postwar hardships, they are not safeguarded against religious extremists. Many choose to emigrate. A special Fund was set up in Los Angeles, USA, to raise money to help Iraqi Armenians repatriate to Armenia.

Last year the Fund helped resettle four Armenian families from Iraq in Armenia. Gayane Muradian, chairman of the Armenian branch of the Fund, said this year they will resettle another 7-8 Armenian families from Iraq, overall some 30-32 people.

The Fund commits to give every Iraqi Armenian that will settle in Armenia $1000 , to cover their transportation expenses. But there are other problems. They are hard to integrate with local environment and besides, many do not speak Armenian and those who do speak a dialect of Western Armenian, which local Armenians cannot understand. Armenians began arriving in Iraq several centuries ago from Iran, first settling in the south of the country and gradually moving to the capital, Baghdad. The biggest wave came at the start of the 20th century when ethnic Armenians fled Turkey after a massacre by Turkish soldiers in the final years of the Ottoman Empire.

[Hovik]

Armenian Hostage Released In Iraq

ARMENIAN HOSTAGE RELEASED IN IRAQ

AZG Armenian Daily #007
18/01/2006

Citing a French news agency, Haraj newspaper of Paris reports that
Cypriot-Armenian Karo Tchiretchian held hostage since 31 December
was released. The Foreign Affairs Ministry of Cyprus informed that
he will return home in near future. Citizen of Lebanon and Cyprus,
Karo Tchiretchian was kidnapped from Mansur district in Baghdad
where he worked for a company supplying food for American and Iraqi
troops. To release the hostage terrorists demanded ransom from his
employer. The exact amount of ransom is withheld.

[Hovik]

Iraqi Armenians: The Iraqi News Network Reports On The Armenians

IRAQI ARMENIANS: THE IRAQI NEWS NETWORK REPORTS ON THE ARMENIANS

Azad Hye, Uniited Arab Emirates
Jan 30 2006

Azad-Hye, Dubai, 30 January 2006: Iraq is not a safe country and
civilian life is threatened there by various groups carrying heavy
weaponry. Churches in Iraq have been the target of bombings in the
past. In August and October 2004 attacks on churches left more than
10 fatalities with scores of injured people in Baghdad and Mosul. In
one of the most recent attacks, on the 29th January 2006, car bombs
exploded outside the Vatican embassy and near two churches in Baghdad
(with no human casualties), whilst three people were killed in blasts
targeting two other churches in the northern city of Kirkuk.

On the 7th January 2006, the Iraqi News Network (INN) posted an
extensive coverage on the Iraqi Armenians, titled "Iraqi Armenians
celebrate Christmas", in which an attempt was made to portray the
present day situation of the Armenian Community in Baghdad.

INN quoted Archbishop Avak Asadourian, Head of the Armenian Apostolic
Church in Iraq saying: "We, the Christians of Mesopotamia, celebrate
the joyous birth of Christ, but we are overwhelmed with sorrow and
grief as so many Iraqis of different religious and ethnic backgrounds
are loosing their lives".

The pastor of the Armenian Apostolic Church Reverend Nareg Ishkanian
said that Christmas celebrations this year had only ritual character.

INN described the Armenians of Iraq as being an isolated group of
people, who usually avoid intermingling with others, due to the desire
of preserving their identity. Father Narek Ishkanian ascribes this
trait to the fact that "continuous persecutions and emigrations have
endowed the Armenians with the experience, immunity and capability
of dealing with the hosting populations and co-existing with them".

Father Narek argues that there were Armenians living in old Babylon,
during the era of Nebuchadnezzar, some four thousand years ago. At a
later stage, the Armenians of Babylon migrated to present-day Armenia
in what is described as their first immigration. Father Narek referred
to what sometimes is said "Armenians are not Iraqis" insisting that
this saying is wrong and is not backed by historical evidence, as many
books on history witness the presence of the Armenians in Mesopotamia.

On the other hand, Iraqi historian and researcher Behnam Abu As-Souf
says that the origin of the Armenians is from Urartu (around Lake Van),
just on the northern borders of Mesopotamia. He adds that Armenians
were the contemporaries of the Assyrians as back as the seventh
century B.C., but they did not live in Babylon except as captured
prisoners or slaves during the numerous wars with the Assyrians.

INN classifies the Armenians into two categories based on the time
of their advent to Iraq:

1- The Armenians of Baghdad who came to the city through Basra,
during the time of the Safavid Shah Abbas. They settled in Baghdad
during the 17th century and helped in developing the Iranian cities
as they were excellent artists, craftsmen and traders.

2- The second group of Armenians is consisted of those who escaped
the atrocities committed against them in the beginning of the past
century. They settled down in Baghdad, Mosul and Basra.

Resuming the narrative INN confirms that "the Armenians have suffered
many massacres during their history, from the 19th century to the
20th century, all of them took place in Turkey, but the most famous
one is the Genocide of 1915, during which one and half million people
were slaughtered and deported. This is why Turkey faces the dilemma
of recognizing the Genocide, as it is still officially refusing to
recognize it, least the admittance will lead the way to the payment
of compensations or to the return of land belonging to Armenians.

After this briefing on the Armenian Cause, INN gives some details about
the Armenian language, its alphabet and literature. It mentions what
the Armenians believe that Saint Mesrob Mashdots witnessed God's divine
hand writing the characters of the Armenian alphabet on a piece of
board, which soon was generalized in all Armenian schools and marked
the beginning of the golden era of the old Armenian literature.

The Armenian language is an Indo-European one. We can easily recognize
the Armenian individuals' names as they are different than the rest
of the population.

During the ousted Iraqi regime the Armenians were given the opportunity
to be taught two subjects in Armenian language in their own schools,
besides having the right to be taught the Christian religion in
Armenian language in certain public schools, which originally belonged
to the Armenians, but were naturalized in 1974, as a consequence of
a decree issued by the then ruling Al Baath authorities.

INN mentions that Armenians used to have 13 churches in Iraq, two
of them were demolished due to their old structure. The most famous
of these churches is the Church of Saint Mary the Virgin in Maidan
suburb in Baghdad (dated 1639), which is a place for pilgrimage for
all Iraqis, irrespective of their religion. Visitors to the shrine
believe that Virgin Mary will grant them offspring.

One of the newest Armenian churches was the target of an August 2004
attack on churches in Baghdad. It was looted completely. At this
moment a new Armenian school is being constructed in Baghdad.

After the fall of Saddam in 2003 a lot of political parties came
into existence in Iraq, some representing religious or ethnic groups,
such as the Assyrians, Yezidis, etc. The Armenians did not form any
new political party and they did not have representatives during the
transitional period, after the invasion of Iraq, up to this moment.

Father Narek Ishkanian did not give any explanation for this behavior,
but he commented by saying: "staying away from politics is better
for us the Armenians. It is sufficient for us to have our cultural,
social and athletic organizations and unions".

Archbishop Asadourian believes that forming a new party needs time
to turn it out into an effective one. He admits that Armenians are
considering the establishment of a new party, but he prefers that
they take part in public life by proving to be useful to all Iraqis
without discrimination.

"We did not have our own candidate during the recent parliamentary
elections, due to the fact that our votes are not enough to support
such a candidate", Archbishop Avak Asadourian said and added that
the Armenians have reservations on the draft constitution, since
(in article 2 of chapter 1) it did not mention them by name. "We are
satisfied that there is a Constitution after all, but it should be
amended and after the formation of the permanent government we will
work to add items in the Constitution, including mentioning of the
Armenian nation", he added.

Vaghinag Ohanian, a community member, said that the situation of the
Armenians in Iraq does not differ than the overall situation of the
Iraqis. "Financial and security factors are behind the immigration of
large number of young persons outside the country, but the churches
and social clubs oppose this trend", he says.

The number of the Armenians in Iraq is estimated 20-22 thousand,
based in the cities of Baghdad, Basra, Mosul, Kirkuk and in the
northern town of Zakho (in the District of Dehouk). Some 200 families
have emigrated during the last 2-3 years from the southern city of
Basra and to Baghdad or outside Iraq. It is worth mentioning that the
number of Armenians immigrating outside Iraq is not as high compared
to other Christian minorities in Iraq.

Generally speaking, the number of the Christians in Iraq amounts to
800.000 (3% of Iraq's 26 million population).

Source in Arabic:

http://www.aliraqnews.com/modules/news/article.php?storyid=5279

[Joseph]

Pope greatly concerned about the fate of Christians in Iraq

The Associated Press
Thursday, June 21, 2007
VATICAN CITY: Pope Benedict XVI said Thursday he was greatly concerned about the fate of Christians in Iraq, returning to a theme he discussed with U.S. President George W. Bush earlier this month.

The pope also denounced the slaying of a Catholic priest in Iraq as a "barbaric killing," and lamented the overall escalating violence in the Middle East for the second time in a week.

"Particularly in Iraq, the homeland of so many of the Assyrian faithful, Christian families and communities are feeling increasing pressure from insecurity, aggression and a sense of abandonment," Benedict said during an audience with the patriarch of the Assyrian Church of the East.

Christians make up just 3 percent of Iraq's 26 million people. The major Christian groups include Chaldean-Assyrians and Armenians, with small numbers of Roman Catholics.

"Many of them see no other possibility than to leave the country and to seek a new future abroad," the pontiff said. "These difficulties are a source of great concern to me, and I wish to express my solidarity with the pastors and the faithful of the Christian communities who remain there, often at the price of heroic sacrifices."

In a separate audience, the pontiff expressed sadness over the June 3 killing of a Catholic priest and three aides in Iraq, saying the church was spiritually close to their relatives and "supports them in this hour of authentic martyrdom in the name of Christ."

During their talks at the Vatican on June 9, the pope and Bush discussed the worsening problems of Iraqi Christians. Bush said the pope "was concerned that the society that was evolving would not tolerate the Christian religion. ... He's worrisome about the Christians inside Iraq being mistreated by the Muslim majority."

Speaking of the Middle East on Thursday, Benedict expressed "pain and concern over the delicate situation" in the region, and said the Holy Land, Iraq and Lebanon were very much present in the church's prayers and action.

"The long-sought and long-awaited peace unfortunately is still largely offended," by violence, the pontiff said. Violence "often degenerates into war, whether or not declared, and ends up becoming a pressing international problem, as is today," he said.

"I knock on the heart of those who have specific responsibilities to ask that they adhere to the important duty of guaranteeing peace to everybody indistinctly, setting it free from the fatal disease of religious, cultural, historic or geographic discrimination."

In a pilgrimage Sunday in the footsteps of St. Francis of Assisi, Benedict launched one of his strongest appeals for an end to the "horrors" of fighting and terrorism in Iraq and the Middle East, and decried "the illusion" that force could resolve conflicts.

[Joseph]

Many Armenians leave Baghdad for northern Iraq -- or Armenia

* Relief Fund helps families move to Armenia

by Armen Hakobyan

YEREVAN -- The number of Armenians in Baghdad in recent years has
dropped to 15 thousand from 20 thousand, according to Dr. Vehooni
Minasian, vice-chair of the Armenian Diocesan Council of Iraq. The
ongoing fighting, the periodic acts of terrorism, and kidnappings for
ransom have had their toll on all who make Iraq their home.
Iraqi-Armenians have been no exception.

The presence of Armenian peacekeepers in Iraq may have added to the
vulnerability of Iraqi-Armenians. The sixth contingent of
peacekeepers, comprising 46 soldiers, left for Iraq on July 18,
replacing the fifth contingent that was there since February 2.
Meanwhile, citing the Beirut Armenian daily Aztag, panarmenian.net
reports that a car bomb exploded in front of the Armenian Embassy in
Baghdad on July 16. According to the same source, the car belonged to
the Iraqi police. The embassy has not been operating since the
beginning of the war, and the staff are not in Iraq.

Dr. Minasian responded to the Armenian Reporter's written questions this
week.

"Everywhere community life is practically paralyzed. There are four
churches in Baghdad, one each in Basra, Kirkuk, Zakho, and the
Armenian village of Avzrug, and two in Mosul, one of which is newly
built and was subjected to a terrorist attack in 2004. While it is
hard to attend church in some areas, nonetheless our community last
year laid the foundation for a new church in [the northern city of]
Duhok."

The Mother See at Holy Etchmiadzin is in constant contact with the
diocese, Dr. Minassian reports. Many Armenian communities responded
generously to an appeal by the Catholicos to help the Iraqi-Armenian
community. "We understand that our compatriots who have taken refuge
in Armenia did not having difficulties relocating there. In the United
States, in Los Angeles, alumni of Iraqi-Armenian schools have been
sending money to the community and have been supporting the schools
here."

Dr. Minasian confirms reports that many Armenian families are moving
to the north of Iraq, where life is safer. Erbil and the former
Armenian village of Havrezk have received the bulk of the Armenian
refugees, about 100 families in each location, he says. The diocese
has established committees to address the spiritual, cultural, and
educational needs of the new communities. Erbil will have a new
Armenian center soon, he adds.

The north of Iraq may be relatively peaceful now, but hundreds of
Turkish soldiers crossed the border on June 6, allegedly in hot
pursuit of Kurdish guerrillas. They are said to have returned to
Turkey the same day. Turkish generals are said to be eager to have
troops cross the border and stay there. Dr. Minasian is concerned
especially for Armenians living in the villages of Avzrug and Havrezk,
which are 10-25 km (6-15 mi) from the border.

* Refugees in Armenia

According to various sources, there are between 300 and 500
Iraqi-Armenians in Armenia today.

Since 2004, a group of Iraqi-Armenians in Los Angeles have
established the Iraqi Armenian Relief Fund to assist Iraqi-Armenians
resettle in Armenia. Gayane Muradian, the fund's representative in
Yerevan, says, "To help Iraqi-Armenians adversely affected by the war,
some patriots, namely Sarkis Tertsakian, who is the president of the
fund, Raffi Garabedian, Khachig Janoyan, Krikor Diramerian, and
others, formed the fund."

Many Armenians gave generously to the fund, Ms. Muradian says. The
Catholicos, the president of Armenia, and the government have welcomed
the fund's activities and have been helpful, especially through the
Migration Agency, she added.

A waiting list of Iraqi-Armenian families has been established. So
far about 70 families are on the list. On November 1, 2005, four
families, and on September 28, 2006, three families made the move. The
seven families comprised 31 individuals. The fund chose families most
adversely affected by the war.

The families reached Aleppo on their own. The Armenian consulate
there helped them with visa formalities at no charge. Then the fund
flew them to Armenia. A plane ticket costs $160.

But that was just the beginning. For the first four families, the
fund rented four apartments in the Arabkir district of Yerevan. They
made sure the families were located close to each other, at least
initially, as they acclimatized. They disbursed $1,000 to each family
for the first year, in monthly installments. They helped them look for
work so they could make it on their own in the second year and
thereafter. The allocation has been raised to $1,200 because of the
weakness of the dollar.

The contingent that arrived in 2005 has already been granted
Armenian citizenship. The Migration Agency has registered them as
refugees, Ms. Muradian says, and the Armenian Red Cross helps them
with much-needed pharmaceuticals as well as food.

The Iraqi Armenian Relief Fund has also arranged for the relocated
Iraqi-Armenians, who are native speakers of Western Armenian, to
attend free classes in Eastern Armenian, which is spoken in Armenia.

Another ten families are expected very soon. And the president of
the fund, Mr. Tertsakian, will come from the United States to greet
them personally.

connect:

https://www.IraqiArmenianReliefFund.com

[Helen]

An Iraqi Armenian was killed in Baghdad in suicide bombing

Jan Jalal Karapetian, a 19-year-old university student, was killed, when a suicide bomber exploded his car in Al-Ghadir district in Baghdad among people who were celebrating the victory of the Iraqi national soccer team. The Iraqi team defeated the South Korean team and reached the final match to compete with the Saudi Arabian team for the Asian nations' cup. Karapetian was standing in front of his house when the explosion happened.
In the final match the Iraqi team won the cup and the Iraqi government was forced to declare curfew to avoid terrorist acts during public celebrations of this victory which is the first in the history of the Iraqi soccer.
It is worth mentioning that since the US-UK invasion of Iraq in 2003, 28 Iraqi Armenians were killed in military operations and terrorist acts in the country. 23 others were kidnapped, 20 of them returned to their families after paying ransoms, fate of other two people are still unknown, the body of the third kidnapped was returned to his family.

[Joseph]

Jan Jalal Karapetian, a 19-year-old university student, was killed, when a suicide bomber exploded his car in Al-Ghadir district in Baghdad among people who were celebrating the victory of the Iraqi national soccer team. The Iraqi team defeated the South Korean team and reached the final match to compete with the Saudi Arabian team for the Asian nations' cup. Karapetian was standing in front of his house when the explosion happened.
In the final match the Iraqi team won the cup and the Iraqi government was forced to declare curfew to avoid terrorist acts during public celebrations of this victory which is the first in the history of the Iraqi soccer.
It is worth mentioning that since the US-UK invasion of Iraq in 2003, 28 Iraqi Armenians were killed in military operations and terrorist acts in the country. 23 others were kidnapped, 20 of them returned to their families after paying ransoms, fate of other two people are still unknown, the body of the third kidnapped was returned to his family.

The remaining Armenians are relocating to both Armenia and the Kurdish controlled are of Northern Iraq.