Sarkis Zeitlian
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Sarkis Zeitlian (; 1930abducted on 28 March 1985) was a Lebanese Armenian journalist and political leader of the
Armenian Revolutionary Federation The Armenian Revolutionary Federation (, abbr. ARF (ՀՅԴ) or ARF-D), also known as Dashnaktsutyun (Armenians, Armenian: Դաշնակցություն, Literal translation, lit. "Federation"), is an Armenian nationalism, Armenian nationalist a ...
(ARF). He was abducted on 28 March 1985 in West
Beirut Beirut ( ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, just under half of Lebanon's population, which makes it the List of largest cities in the Levant region by populatio ...
,
Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...
and presumably murdered under unknown circumstances. At the time of his abduction, Zeitlian was director of the ARF's international media network. Zeitlian was a member of the Political Bureau of the
Armenian Revolutionary Federation The Armenian Revolutionary Federation (, abbr. ARF (ՀՅԴ) or ARF-D), also known as Dashnaktsutyun (Armenians, Armenian: Դաշնակցություն, Literal translation, lit. "Federation"), is an Armenian nationalism, Armenian nationalist a ...
; the highest ranking subdivision of the
Armenian Revolutionary Federation The Armenian Revolutionary Federation (, abbr. ARF (ՀՅԴ) or ARF-D), also known as Dashnaktsutyun (Armenians, Armenian: Դաշնակցություն, Literal translation, lit. "Federation"), is an Armenian nationalism, Armenian nationalist a ...
.


Life

Born in 1930, in Khdr Bek on the slopes of
Musa Dagh Musa Dagh (; ; ; meaning "Moses Mountain") is a mountain in the Hatay Province of Turkey. In 1915, it was the location of a successful Armenian resistance to the Armenian genocide, an event that inspired Franz Werfel to write the novel '' The ...
, Zeitlian was part of a family that had participated in the famous defense of Musa Dagh against the Turkish genocidal onslaught during
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
. His grandmother, Varter, had fought beside the Armenian freedom fighters; his father, Tovmas was one of the youth who acted as messengers, and later, joining the Armenian company of the
French Foreign Legion The French Foreign Legion (, also known simply as , "the Legion") is a corps of the French Army created to allow List of militaries that recruit foreigners, foreign nationals into French service. The Legion was founded in 1831 and today consis ...
, had shared in the victory at the Battle of Arara in 1918. Sarkis Zeitlian received his education first in Anjar, then in the Armenian monastic compound of
Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...
, and finally at the Nshan Palanjian Jemaran or Academy in Beirut where he received his degree from the Armenian Studies Department. At the Jemaran, Zeitlian studied under such noted leaders of the First Armenian Republic (1918–1920) as
Levon Shant Levon Shant (; born Levon Nahashbedian, then changed to Levon Seghposian; 6 April 1869 – 29 November 1951) was an Armenian playwright, novelist, poet and founder of the Hamazkayin Armenian Educational and Cultural Society. Biography He was ...
, Nigol Aghpalian,
Simon Vratsian Simon Vratsian (; 1882 – 21 May 1969) was an Armenian politician and activist of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation. He was one of the leaders of the First Republic of Armenia (1918–1920) and served as its last prime minister for 10 days ...
, and
Garo Sassouni Garo Sassouni (; 1889 – 1977) was an Armenian intellectual, author, journalist, revolutionary, educator, and public figure. Garo Sassouni was born in the village of Aharonk in the Khulb canton of historical Sasun province and was a relative of f ...
. In 1954, Zeitlian was sent to
Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...
,
Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...
, where he taught Armenian studies at
Kalousdian Armenian School Kalousdian Armenian School (, ) was established in 1854 by Garabed Agha Kaloustian (or Kalousdian). The school is the oldest standing institution of private education in Egypt and the oldest standing Armenian educational institution in Egypt. ...
and joined the editorial staff of the ARF organ ''
Housaper ''Housaper'' (, ) is an Armenian language And Arabic daily published in Cairo, Egypt. It was established on 30 March 1913, and until 1926, it was published three times a week, before becoming a daily published on weekdays. In 1923, it became an ...
''. In 1959, he was appointed editor of ''Housaper''. In 1957, Sarkis Zeitlian married his colleague at Kalousdian School, author Sona Simonian. In 1963, the Zeitlian family moved to Lebanon, where Sarkis became the Dean of Anjar's Harach School. During his tenure, a high school and boarding facilities were added to the institution and its Alumni Association was formed. Sarkis Zeitlian also held important positions in the ARF․ As chairman of the party's Anjar "Red Mountain" Committee, he supervised important community projects such as the reallocation of land and housing among townspeople. In 1965, Sarkis Zeitlian moved with his family from Anjar to Beirut and became the editor of the ARF organ '' Aztag''. He taught Armenian studies courses at the Nshan Palanjian Jemaran. From 1968 until his election to the ARF Bureau (the party's highest decision-making body) in 1972, Sarkis Zeitlian was first a member and then chairman of the ARF Central Committee of Lebanon. Sarkis Zeitlian became the editor of the ARF Bureau organ Aztag Shapatoriag-Troshag in 1969.


Lebanese civil war, disappearance and aftermath

During the
Lebanese Civil War The Lebanese Civil War ( ) was a multifaceted armed conflict that took place from 1975 to 1990. It resulted in an estimated 150,000 fatalities and led to the exodus of almost one million people from Lebanon. The religious diversity of the ...
, Sarkis Zeitlian played a decisive role. He helped develop and implement the "positive neutrality" policy of the ARF, and created and maintained a united Armenian front by forging an alliance of Lebanese Armenian political parties. In the dire circumstances of Lebanon, despite sustaining material losses and fully aware of the many dangers he faces as an ARF political and community leader and the editor of the ARF Bureau organ, Sarkis Zeitlian remained on the political forefront in Lebanon. In 1978, during one of the most dangerous and chaotic stages of the civil war, when secret service organizations of foreign countries were operating freely, and especially when journalists were being killed or abducted for exercising free speech, Sarkis Zeitlian became Editor-in-Chief of Aztag Shapatoriag-Troshag, the ARF Bureau organ, set the policy and ideological guidelines of the ARF media worldwide, and took on other party responsibilities. His input was decisive during the work to revise the ARF Program at the party's 21st and 22nd World Congresses. He stressed the importance of the fundamentally national-Armenian basis of the ARF ideology, despite the presence of a loud socialist internationalist faction within the party. Sarkis Zeitlian was abducted in Beirut on 28 March 1985. It appears that he was killed by his abductors. However, the details remain mired in controversy. Zeitlian's daughter,
Heghnar Zeitlian Watenpaugh Heghnar Zeitlian Watenpaugh is an American historian. A native of Lebanon, she specializes in Middle Eastern visual culture and wrote the books ''The Image of an Ottoman City'' (2004) and ''The Missing Pages'' (2019). Watenpaugh is a Professor o ...
, later became a historian specializing in Middle Eastern
visual culture Visual culture is the aspect of culture expressed in visual images. Many academic fields study this subject, including cultural studies, art history, critical theory, philosophy, media studies, Deaf Studies, and anthropology. The field of vi ...
. There have been tributes made to him. as well.


See also

*
List of kidnappings The following is a list of kidnappings summarizing the events of each case, including instances of celebrity abductions, claimed hoaxes, suspected kidnappings, extradition abductions, and mass kidnappings. By date * List of kidnappings befo ...
*
List of people who disappeared {{Short description, Lists of people of unknown locations and statusLists of people who disappeared include those whose current whereabouts are unknown, or whose deaths are unsubstantiated: Many people who disappear are eventually declared dead ' ...


References


External links

* ** {{DEFAULTSORT:Zeitlian, Sarkis 1930 births 1980s missing person cases Kidnapped Lebanese people Lebanese people of Armenian descent Missing person cases in Lebanon