These days the entire Armenian nation is praying for Kessab Armenians and social networking sites are full of petitions to help the Armenians of this northwestern town in Syria. It seems everything is normal, but is our reaction appropriate?

There Are No Deaths

All reliable sources say that around 600 families fled to Latakia from Kessab, but there are no killed or injured. This information is confirmed by not only representatives of local (Syrian) Armenian organizations, but also the delegation of MPs from Armenia's National Assembly that left for a fact-finding mission in northwestern Syria and have since returned. 

Disseminated online are also videos that depict some armed men (presumably, Islamist extremists) shooting prisoners of war… But those sharing the video present it as if Al-Qaeda Islamists were shooting at Kessab Armenians. 

There can be different motives for the dissemination of such misinformation. But it's obvious that attacking Kessab were not Al-Qaeda militants (who are active in other regions of Syria) but the pro-Turkish moderate Islamist opposition. And shot in the video are not the peaceful population but prisoners of war who have nothing to do with Armenians. 

The execution of any person is never welcome, but others' tragedy should not be used to spread misinformation serving our own interests.

Genocide?

The misinformation developing around the incidents in Kessab is not limited to videos about the "brutally murdered" but extends to statements about genocide.

It's obvious when one city or another is the focus of military actions, the peaceful population of that city moves elsewhere with the hope of returning to their homes later… In other words, they become refugees. 

And though there's nothing good about 600 families becoming refugees, regardless, in no way can be it be called genocide.

An example of this is when the population of Aghdam, upon Armenian troops approaching, left their homes and escaped. But no one claimed this was genocide, since no Armenian raised a hand on an unarmed Azerbaijani. 

Finally, genocide is what happened nearly 100 years ago, when 1.5 million Armenians were murdered. And now, comparing 600 families temporarily becoming refugees to the murder of 1.5 million Armenians and the deportation of an equal number, to put it mildly, is unjust and fraught with even worse consequences. 

In this way, if we tell the whole world that Turkey subjected us to genocide 100 years ago and is doing the same now, and the world sees that there are none killed now, then non-historians will think the same thing happened in 1915 — that is, It's just "Armenian hysteria". 

For this reason, under no circumstance should that which happened in Kessab be called genocide, since the word becomes devalued this way, invalidating our claims about the Armenian Genocide.

P.S. Of course, we're not including in this issue the existence of anti-Armenian programs by Turkish authorities. But as for who benefits from the dissemination of misinformation around the incidents in Kessab and the depreciation of the word genocide, you can judge for yourselves.