Speech in USEK Holy Spirit University of Kaslik by H.E.Mr. Ashot Kocharian, Ambassador of Armenia in Lebanon

14 May, 2013

Speech in USEK Holy Spirit University of Kaslik
by H.E.Mr. Ashot Kocharian, Ambassador of Armenia in Lebanon

Distinguished guests, dear students,

I would like to first thank and congratulate organizers of this special event dedicated to Armenian culture, heritage and history.
I would like to first of all commend efforts and enthusiasm of Armenian students who in collaboration with the Center of Studies and Reseach of the Haikazian University and Embassy of Armenia initiaited this wondeful event.
One year ago the ancient Armenian land welcomed an exceptional and beautiful holiday. The capital of Armenia, the proudly reborn and almost 2800 years old Yerevan was elected by UNESCO as the World Book Capital 2012.
For our ancient nation It was a real token of appreciation for the contribution to the world culture.
Throughout its history, the Armenian nation has always had reverent love for our marvelous native language, for letters and writings, even in times when it seemed impossible even to think about it. Many times our magnificent land was ravaged by brutal and barbaric raiders, who were trying to burn and destroy books and publications, culture of our nation on its everlasting road toward the enlightenment. But Armenians with their creative power created new scrolls and flourished with the inherent belief that the time for the appreciation and comprehension would inevitably come.

We have demonstrated again that we are a nation of spirit and we know to enrich not only the Armenian but also the world and all-human spiritual and cultural heritage.

Armenians have very rich history and culture. Armenia was the first country in the world to adopt Christianity as a state religion seventeen centuries ago, the Armenian alphabet was invented 16 centuries ago, and the art of theatre in Armenia has a history of twenty centuries. The capital of Armenia-Yerevan was founded 28 centuries ago. Armenia was situated at the crossroads of civilization and was many times invaded, devastated and deprived of independence. The Armenian language is an independent branch of the Indo-Europe language family spoken by the Armenian people in the Republic of Armenia, Nagorno Karabagh Republic and in the Armenian communities of the Armenian Diaspora in more than 100 countries. It has its own script, its own alphabet invented in 405 by Mesrop Mashtoc and is of interest to linguists for its distinctive phonological developments within Indo-European family.
Armenian has a long literary history, with a fifth-century Bible translation as its oldest surviving text.. There are two standardized modern literary forms, Eastern Armenian and Western Armenian which are mutually intelligible.
Our entire history has been a struggle for preservation of our existence, language, religion and distinctive character. Armenian people faced grave sufferings, which culminated with the Armenian Genocide of 1915 perpetrated against innocent Armenian people in Ottoman Empire which resulted in 1.5 million victims and brought into existence the Armenian Diasporas in many countries. Armenian is not reach with natural resources. Our human capital is well-known for entrepreneurial spirit, diligence and people’s high level of education. We are proud of our ancestors. We are proud of our Diaspora. We are proud of the Armenian vibrant community in Lebanon which is the solid foundation and source for strengthening and deepening of existing friendly relations between Armenia and Lebanon. Actually all Armenian organizations, churches, structures, schools, cultural centers in Lebanon have their publications- newspapers, periodicals, journals. That’s the best manifestation of preservation of language, culture, values.
Our profound gratitude to Lebanese authorities for their special brotherly attitude and hospitality towards our compatriots. We have been enjoing our brotherly relations and friendship throughout centuries. We share universal values in the areas of democracy, human rights, peaceful resolution of conflicts. Recent exchange of high-level viits on the level of Presidents and Speakers of Parliaments opened new perspectives and expanded our traditionally friendly relations.
Again and again, many thanks to organizers of the Armenian culture festival . I wish them all the success in their future activities.
May 14, 2013

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