Sargis Kirakosyan: “The Life of the Lebanese-Armenian Community is Quite Active”

YEREVAN, JULY 7, ARMENPRESS: ‘The life of the Lebanese-Armenian community is quite active. Within a day we may hold 3 and more cultural events - lectures, concerts, etc,’ Sargis Kirakosyan, Lebanese-Armenian writer and public figure, said at today’s press conference on the condition of the Lebanese-Armenian community.

Each colony, the speaker says, has its branches- a number of establishments, such as churches, colleges, various unions and traditional political parties. Sargis Kirakosyan also touched upon the issues of the community- cross-national marriages, emigration to the US or Europe. However, he said he does not consider those issues urgent. The speaker also mentioned that the volume of emigration increased in Lebanon 1975-1993; the reason was the war. Now, there are over 125,000 Armenians in the community. As to the number of cross-national marriages, the speaker said it is not big.

Toros Toranyan, Syrian-Armenian public figure and publisher, was present at the press conference as well. He mentioned that the Syrian-Armenian community is active, too. However, he said, they have a lot of things to do.

The two speakers touched upon the increasing role of Turkey in the Muslim World. “Before the events of Gaza, people in Syria were demanding Iskanderun and Alexandret. Afterwards one could see Turkish flags in the Islamic districts,’ they mentioned.