ALEPPO, Syria—The 123rd anniversary of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) was celebrated in Aleppo last week. The event, which brought together hundreds of Aleppo-Armenians during one of the bloodiest weeks in the city, stood as a symbol of the community’s resilience, organizers said.
Among the dignitaries who attended the event were religious leaders, representatives of Syrian-Armenian organizations, and members of Armenia’s Consul in Aleppo.
The Hamazkayin Zvartnots Choir performed patriotic songs and a group of youth recited poems by Aleppo-Armenian writers, with musical accompaniment by graduates of the Hamazkayin Aleppo Parsegh Ganachian Music School.
The keynote speaker, Nerses Sarkisian, provided an overview of the ARF’s history and discussed the role that the Syrian-Armenian community continues to play as an integral part of Syrian society. He spoke in favor of democracy and dialogue, and against harmful external interventions and attempts to tear the country apart.
In Armenian history, said Prelate Shahan Sarkisian, the community’s recent experience will be referred to as “the red, bloody path of Syrian Armenians.” He noted that the ARF had stood for unity, dedication, and inspired optimism during the Syrian crisis.
Forget Aleppo Maleppo, celebrate it in your homeland. Political parities are only effective in the country they serve. Let social, educational, benevolent, etc organizations work outside the borders. What good can a political party do in a foreign country? …accept of course to create further divisions within the diaspora community.
I don’t know who this Hratch is, but he does not seem to know his history. The type of political party the ARF represents is not your traditional Republican, Democrat or Libertarian that work solely to elect their own officials and create their own bureaucracy. The purpose of a party like the ARF is to organize communities, and eventually, forge a nation. To “create further divisions within the diaspora,” is a figment of Hratch’s somewhat limited imagination, and a long-obsolete excuse.