Armenian American celebrity Kim Kardashian boosts Syrian dictator Assad
By Ali Younes and Sadallah Mahmoud
While the mainstream American news media is no longer providing any in depth coverage of the raging civil war in Syria or the atrocities that has been committed by the Syrian regime or his extremist Al Qaida-linked opponents, two tweets by American –Armenian TV personality reminded millions around the world that war and war crimes are still the order of the day in Syria. The Syrian civil war is still raging between the regime and the opposition of all of its stripes and colors.
But when American reality show star Kim Kardashian tweeted about “Kessab” (also Kesab), a Syrian town located near the Turkish border and saying it is being threatened by the “Syrian rebels,” the media coverage suddenly spiked dramatically.
The Syrian rebels have only recently started targeting the regime’s strong hold coastal towns and cities which has not seen much fighting since the start of the civil war in 2011.
Kim Kardashian tweeted about Kessab, Syria, calling it “heart breaking.”
Click here to read here Tweets
“If you don’t know what’s going on in Kessab please Google it, it’s heart breaking! As an Armenian, I grew up hearing so many painful stories! – Please let’s not let history repeat itself!!!!!! Let’s get this trending.”
Indeed millions followed Kardashian’s request and newspapers from around the world wrote about her tweets and its defense of the Armenians in Syria. As an Armenian, Kardashian also made reference to the Armenian genocide that took place at the end of World War I by the Ottoman’s (Now modernday Turkey) which left millions of Armenians dead and forced hundreds of thousands to flee to the Arab world where many of them still live and have since become part of the social, economical and political fabric of the Arab society.
Kardashian’s comments are a boon for the Syrian regime and its supporters, not only in its media campaigns against the rebels but also against Turkey which has been accused by Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad’s regime of trying to replace with the rebels. Assad has also alleged that Turkey is arming the rebels, who are crossing its borders into Syria.
There is a strong Public Relations campaign by the pro-Assad media outlets alleging that Armenians are being “massacred” in Kessab by Turkey-backed “Al Qaeda” militants. Again, it is that Turkish angle that keeps drawing Armenians like KK back to Syria. Click here to read more.
The Syrian-opposition Government Interim Minister of Defense announced the opposition’s pledge to protect the Armenian Christian Community in Liberated Syria and issued this statement:
“The Defense Ministry of the Syrian Interim Government confirms that all the units of the Free Syrian Army that are participating in the liberation of the coast, especially in the area of Kessab and its countryside, are committed to the protection of civilians and their properties regardless of sect and ethnicity. They pledge their commitment to the protection of citizens of Armenian descent and to maintaining the integrity of their religious sites and protecting them from the criminal regime’s attacks and use of indiscriminate fire, which continue. The regime has deliberately bombed these areas and accused the rebels of it. The Free Syrian Army battalions in these areas are helping civilians relocate, if they wish to do so, by providing safe corridors and protection en route. – The Free Syrian Army has also assigned patrol units to work around the clock to protect the lives and property of all citizens of Armenian descent and any others who wish to stay in and around Kessab.
“All rumors of the Free Syrian Army harming our brethren from the Armenian community are pure slander fabricated by the regime and its allies. The Defense Ministry and the head of the General Command will ensure the proper implementation of all safety procedures and provide all the assistance required to achieve this.”
On the 26th of March, Assad met with Armenian parliamentary delegation while Syrian rebels reassured Christians in Kessab they are safe. Reports suggested that many Armenian families fled towards Latakia central. Click here to read more. This is what Armenian media had on Kessab after Turkey-backed rebels attack area. Click here to read more.
Its worth noting, however, that only in late January 2014, nearly 100 years since the genocide, Syrian’s President Bashara Al-Assad finally recognized the Armenian genocide. Click here to read more.
“In more recent modern times, it reminds us of the massacres perpetrated by the Ottomans against the Armenians when they killed a million and a half Armenians and half a million Orthodox Syrians in Syria and in Turkish territory.”
Assad’s recognition that Armenians were the subject of horrific massacres and genocide had more to do with his vendetta against Turkey than it has about taking a moral stand against the slaughtering of innocent civilians and peoples, something Assad is also accused of directing himself.
For more information, check out Kim Kardashian’s pro-Assad Tweets on the topic Kim Kardashian (KimKardashian) on Twitter
(Ali Younes is Editor of the Arab Daily News. Sadallah Mahmoud writes for the Arab Daily News from Washington D.C.)
Click here to check out the Comic Strip IkhrAss and its take on Kim Kardashian and Bashar al-Assad.
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Ali Younes is a Senior Political Analyst for The Arab Daily News online newspaper. He is a veteran news-editor, Journalist, and a Middle East analyst working for major American news network . He is based in Washington, D.C.
Reach Ali at [email protected]
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