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CALLS TO BOYCOTT AKHTAMAR MASS GAIN MOMENTUM
Armenian Weekly
Fri, Aug 13 2010
"Once again, instead of taking a serious step, the Turks are staging
an imitation show."
YEREVAN-Calls to boycott the scheduled mass at the Holy Cross Church
in Akhtamar gained momentum and crossed party lines in Armenia this
month, including a denouncement by the ruling Republican Party.
Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) political affairs director
Giro Manoyan urged Armenians to boycott the mass, which is scheduled
for Sept. 19 and is to be officiated by Archbishop Aram Ateshyan,
who currently leads the Armenian Patriarchate of Istanbul, reported
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.
"I think it would be wrong to go there on a day set by Turkey and
especially in these conditions of blockade and so on," Manoyan told
RFE/RL. "I don't want to blame believers willing to go there but they
must know that they somewhat contribute to the Turkish provocation."
Manoyan expressed regret for the decision by His Holiness Karekin II,
the Catholicos of All Armenians, to send two senior clerics to the
Sourp Khatch (Holy Cross) Church for the mass. "I'm not sure that's
the right step," Manoyan told RFE/RL.
But a spokesman for Karekin II rejected calls for the boycott. "We
believe that if we are given an opportunity to cherish a shrine that
had functioned for centuries but is devoid of prayer today for some
reasons, we must use even that single day in order to assert our
rights and ownership to the shrine with our participation," Father
Vahram Melikian told RFE/RL.
Meanwhile, President Serge Sarkisian's Republican Party this week
spoke out against Armenian participation in the mass. The party
spokesman, Eduard Sharmazanov, denounced the Turkish government's
decision to reopen it for a one-day religious ceremony on Sept. 19
as a publicity stunt and "provocation" aimed at misleading the
international community.
"Once again, instead of taking a serious step, the Turks are staging
an imitation show," Sharmazanov told RFE/RL's Armenian service. "I
don't think you can achieve tolerance and solidarity of civilizations
in that way."
The mass will take place three years after the completion of a $1.5
million renovation of the church, funded by the Turkish government.
Ankara has promoted the upcoming ceremony as proof of its commitment
to tolerance and a gesture of goodwill towards Armenians. Still,
it has resisted calls to return the church, perched on the legendary
Akhtamar Island in Lake Van, to the Armenian Church.
From: A. Papazian
Armenian Weekly
Fri, Aug 13 2010
"Once again, instead of taking a serious step, the Turks are staging
an imitation show."
YEREVAN-Calls to boycott the scheduled mass at the Holy Cross Church
in Akhtamar gained momentum and crossed party lines in Armenia this
month, including a denouncement by the ruling Republican Party.
Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) political affairs director
Giro Manoyan urged Armenians to boycott the mass, which is scheduled
for Sept. 19 and is to be officiated by Archbishop Aram Ateshyan,
who currently leads the Armenian Patriarchate of Istanbul, reported
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.
"I think it would be wrong to go there on a day set by Turkey and
especially in these conditions of blockade and so on," Manoyan told
RFE/RL. "I don't want to blame believers willing to go there but they
must know that they somewhat contribute to the Turkish provocation."
Manoyan expressed regret for the decision by His Holiness Karekin II,
the Catholicos of All Armenians, to send two senior clerics to the
Sourp Khatch (Holy Cross) Church for the mass. "I'm not sure that's
the right step," Manoyan told RFE/RL.
But a spokesman for Karekin II rejected calls for the boycott. "We
believe that if we are given an opportunity to cherish a shrine that
had functioned for centuries but is devoid of prayer today for some
reasons, we must use even that single day in order to assert our
rights and ownership to the shrine with our participation," Father
Vahram Melikian told RFE/RL.
Meanwhile, President Serge Sarkisian's Republican Party this week
spoke out against Armenian participation in the mass. The party
spokesman, Eduard Sharmazanov, denounced the Turkish government's
decision to reopen it for a one-day religious ceremony on Sept. 19
as a publicity stunt and "provocation" aimed at misleading the
international community.
"Once again, instead of taking a serious step, the Turks are staging
an imitation show," Sharmazanov told RFE/RL's Armenian service. "I
don't think you can achieve tolerance and solidarity of civilizations
in that way."
The mass will take place three years after the completion of a $1.5
million renovation of the church, funded by the Turkish government.
Ankara has promoted the upcoming ceremony as proof of its commitment
to tolerance and a gesture of goodwill towards Armenians. Still,
it has resisted calls to return the church, perched on the legendary
Akhtamar Island in Lake Van, to the Armenian Church.
From: A. Papazian