Kurds, Armenians in Syria seeking for exit

ARBIL / YEREVAN

Kurds in Syria are aiming to topple current regime, while Armenians living in Syria are discussing whether to exit the country in the event of such a scenario.

Ibrahim Murat, secretary general of Syrian Kurdish Youth, said their main target was to make Syrian President Bashar al-Assad step down. “We have to stand against the Syrian regime which has taken so many lives in recent days,” Murat told the Anatolia news agency.

He said his organization expected the rights of all Kurds and Arabs in a post-Assad Syria to be guaranteed. A Syrian Kurd, Dr. Rıdvan Badini, also said people were forced to take arms to protect themselves. Meanwhile, the 80,000-strong Armenian community residing in various parts Syria has serious concerns for the future, as many believe a possible post-Assad period would affect them negatively. Ruben Safrastyan, an academics at RA National Academy of Sciences, does not rule out a possibility of “violence against Christians, and especially against Armenians” should chaos rule in the country, ArmeniaNow.com reported yesterday. Armenia has stated its readiness to accept Syrian Armenians, but the head of RA Migration Agency Gagik Yeganyan does not anticipate a big flow of emigrants from Syria.