On the morning of Apr. 16, the Armenian community of Tehran held a protest in defense of Syrian-Armenians in front of the UN House in Tehran to join all Armenians in raising its voice once again.

Among the protesters with signs and slogans were Primate of the Armenian Diocese of Tehran, Archbishop Sepuh Sarkisian, Primate of the Armenian Catholic Church, Archbishop Nshan Garakeheian, Deputy of the Armenians of Northern Iran in the Islamic Parliament of Iran, Dr. Karen Khanlarian, member of the ARF-D Bureau Viken Baghumian, representative of Alik Daily Gevik Mkrtchian, the Diocese’s legislative and executive bodies, as well as representatives of the national authorities and associations.

The protest began with a performance of the national anthem of the Islamic Republic of Iran, after which lawyer Talin Bandari read a brief report on the attack on Kessab and the events that developed after the attack in Persian, calling on condemnation of the attack.

In his speech, Primate of the Diocese, Archbishop Sepuh Sarkisian stressed the following: “99 years ago, Turkey perpetrated the same inhumane crime, killing more than 1.5 million Armenians, and it continues the genocide by denying it, but the Turks and their inheritors and all unjust people of the world should know that the Armenian people were born to live, and after 99 years, the Armenians coming from the desert of Der Zor continue their struggle united as one.

This meeting is nothing but evidence of the truth that we, as citizens of the Islamic Republic of Iran, are doing everything we can to restore justice. This meeting in front of the office of this international organization is a call to the United Nations to pursue justice and not be the mannequin of America and European countries. We expect to see the international community be alert and see the historic truths and make a decision because the history of nations can’t be based on falsehood.”

Dr. Karen Khanlarian mentioned: “With this we want to express our protest to the UN and international organizations in relation to the atrocities of these terrorist groups. We also want to express our people’s support to the Syrian-Armenian community and reaffirm that if any sector of our nation faces danger, all Armenians stand united as one, are demanding and support each other.”

All the speakers condemned the events taking place in Syria, especially the events that are against the Armenian community.

Political expert Isik Hunanesian read the requisition, and in the end, the participants of the event transmitted the requisition to the representation of the United Nations.

Armineh Eliazian, journalist for Tehran’s Alik Daily