Three political parties in Armenia (the Social Democrat Henchag Party, ARF Dashnaktsutyun, and Ramkavar Liberal Party) have recently condemned an agreement reached by Beirut and Istanbul authorities to twin their cities:
…the three parties released a joint statement, on Wednesday, which specifically reads:
“The three Armenian parties severely condemn Beirut City Council’s this initiative, according to which Istanbul—capital of the Ottoman Empire, which carried out disasters in the region, and especially in Lebanon, and which caused them devastations, continuously for 400 years—shall become the sister [city] of Beirut, which has a Martyrs’ Square. What happened to the respect toward man, as an absolute value, to the respect toward his memory?”
I love how they list, for each city, why this agreement is wrong. Istanbul was the capital of an empire, lead the region to disaster and devastation whereas Beirut has a square.
Probably wondering why you haven’t heard anything about this twinning in the news. Well the answer is simple. The twinning event took place in 2007. Not sure why the issue was raised now. Probably someone was going through Wikipedia and realized that Beirut is twinned with both Istanbul and Yerevan, and apparently that can’t be a good thing.
In order to keep you well informed, I have highlighted additional Beirut twinning incompatibilities that political parties in these countries might raise 5-10 years down the line:
- Athens – Nicosia – Istanbul
- Isfahan – Los Angeles
- Damascus – Jeddah
- Baghdad – Kuwait City
Beirut has a Martyrs’ Square