–Armenia’s object to City Council’s decision
The City Council of Tripoli–Lebanon’s second largest city–has decided to name the city’s main square after the Ottoman Empire’s Sultan Abdul Hamid–prompting protests from the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) Central Committee and the Armenian community.
Tripoli’s Al-Tell Square features a clocktower constructed 130 years ago as gift to the city from the Ottoman Empire ruled by Sultan Hamid.
The ARF Central Committee of Tripoli released a statement and met with Tripoli’s mayor to explain the Armenia’s’ opposition to naming the square after a "The Bloody Sultan" who was responsible for massacring hundreds of thousands of Armenia’s.
The statement also pointed out that the City Council’s decision undermines the Lebanese Parliament’s May 17–2000 resolution recognizing and condemning the Armenian genocide.
Tripoli’s mayor–Rashid Jamali–said that he understood the sensitive nature of the issue and apologized for the decision. It remains unclear–however–whether the square will still be named after Sultan Hamid.