The RA Ministry of Diaspora organized the presentation of notable academic, educator, writer Hagop Cholakian’s book Three Days in Kessab and Raffi Kortoshian’s book Historic Monuments in Kessab.

Highly appreciating the memoir Three Days in Kessab by prominent academic, deportee of the Armenian-populated Kessab village Hagop Cholakian who moved to Armenia in the wake of the events that took place in Kessab on 21-23 March 2014, RA Minster of Diaspora Hranush Hakobyan mentioned: “This book presents the author’s eyewitness account of the total emptying of Armenians in Kessab in March 2014 and the events leading up to the incidents. The informative, historical and ethnographic data is provided with the author’s thoughts and experiences.”

The author is known among professional circles for his series of historical, ethnographic, dialectic and folkloric studies devoted to the Armenians of Kessab and Antioch.

“It’s sad that the events of Kessab became the cause for writing this memoir, but we hope Hagop Cholakian’s next book will be about the renaissance of Kessab,” the RA Minister of Diaspora highlighted.

Touching upon Raffi Kortoshian’s book Historic Monuments in Kessab, the RA Minister of Diaspora attached importance to the author’s active participation in the scientific expeditions carried out with the purpose of studying historic monuments in Kessab and the comprehensive study of the written sources and in enshrining them as a message to the future generations to be the owners of their cultural traditions.

“This book will serve as an important resource for the people of Kessab interested in the history, field experts and especially those interested in the history and culture of Armenian communities and readers at large,” the minister mentioned.

Expressing gratitude to the RA Ministry of Diaspora for its appreciation of the books, Hagop Cholakian and Raffi Kortoshian mentioned that being an eyewitness of the events of Kessab was as difficult as writing about and taking photos of those events. The authors also mentioned that the two books seem to be a whole.

The authors were praised by RA Deputy Minister of Diaspora Serzh Srapionyan; Prelate of the Armenian Diocese of the Armenian Holy Apostolic Church of Uruguay, Archbishop Hagop Glndjian; Director of the Language Institute at the National Academy of Sciences of Armenia Victor Katvalyan; Director of the History Institute at the National Academy of Sciences Ashot Melkonyan; Professor of the Faculty of History at Yerevan State University Haykaz Hovhannisyan; Head of the YSU Chair of History of Armenian Literature Samvel Muradyan and Deputy Dean of the YSU Faculty of Oriental Studies Ruben Melkonyan.

The participants of the event also watched a film about the history of the Armenian-populated Kessab and the deportations.