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HULIQ.com, SC
Sept 11 2010
Turkey Allows Bono Interfaith Meeting, While Refusing Crosses
The Prime Minister of Turkey Recep Erdogan offered Bono to hold his
interfaith event in Istanbul while refusing crosses on churches and
operating number of sacred Christian places in the country as museums,
including the Hagia Sofia temple in Istanbul.
Well-known and famous Irish rock-band U2 frontrunner Bono was hosted
in Istanbul yesterday, as part of their worldwide tour. Turkish
Prime-Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan took the chance to offer the rock
idоl holding an interfaith event in Istanbul as an effort, once again,
to show-off the tolerance and European face of Turkey. The initial aim
is to bring the three religions together ` Islam, Christianity and
Judaism. If in the official rhetoric the ruling elite of Turkey is
always ready to mislead the public opinion, the real deeds are
somewhat showing the true reality. And the reality these days is the
whole story around the Armenian issue.
It may seem for an average European that religious freedom issues are
high in the agenda of Turkey, amid even the upcoming constitutional
referendum on September 12. Recently a Greek church in a Turkish
province has been opened up for a one-day-a-year liturgy. The same is
on the agenda with Armenians ` as the Akhtamar Church of the Holy
Cross (Surp Hach ` in Arm.) is scheduled to host a liturgy on
September 19.
Turkey repoens 10th century Armenian church as a museum, allows
worship only once a year.
The Holy Cross church ` a 1,100-year-old standing monument of Armenian
heritage in those lands sacred with Armenian blood during the Genocide
years, was re-opened as a museum in 2007 ` as a message to the
Armenians and the international community that Turkey had heartfelt
sentiments towards its Armenian minority, and is ready to continue
behind-the-scene talks on normalization with Yerevan. However, the
church was then opened as a museum since the incumbent government
refused to install a cross on the dome, and the Armenian Patriarchate
of Istanbul has not been able to consecrate it as a church up to now.
One more controversy comes into mind as the church still remains under
the authorities of Van province and not the Patriarchate ` as other
religious monuments.
Nowadays a new show-like developments happening in Turkey with regards
to the upcoming liturgy in the church. Last week the government
announced that they were not able to install the cross, despite
earlier assurances of the opposite. Immediately, the Holy See of
Echmiadzin suspended its earlier decision to send two high-level
churchmen to the event. Before the distressing news came from Turkey,
the attending/ignoring debate in Armenia and elsewhere in Armenian
Diaspora hit the ceiling with both pro and cons sentiments and
statements. One of the prominent Diaspora public figures said that the
event is scheduled "to exploit this event for propaganda purposes".
Despite all the criticism towards Erdogan, he continues to feed the
show. Even considering the obvious failure of the much-spoken and
widely advertised democratic initiative and the Kurdish opening, AKP
government doesn't want to acknowledge that half-steps are good only
for short-time show-offs, but evidently not sufficient for securing
long-term and sustainable achievements. For instance, the Kurdish
opening, that was largely supported by the international community now
turned out to another wave of repressions and mass arrests of Kurds in
Eastern provinces of Turkey.
Whatever it is ` but the Turkish "show must go on". The government
uses all the available chances to speak up and voice their readiness
of phony tolerance. No chance is to be missed. The only issue is that
international community, and Armenians worldwide, were very timely to
acknowledge these false and misleading half-steps. Now Armenians
returning their earlier purchased tickets to Turkey, as the RFE/RL
reported last week. The much-anticipated 5000-ish tourist-boom and a
much more follow-up in eastern provinces of modern Turkey is now
questioned. The trade union of Van voiced their readiness to help
improving the situation, but Armenians are rightfully firm on their
initial will of having the cross on top the church.
After all, the next morning of September 19, we will have an unchanged
Turkey that is accused by the international community ` Russian,
Europeans and Americans - for destroying the Armenian-Turkish
rapprochement and other openings that were the key-arguments of
Gul/Erdogan/Davudoglu triplet. Unfortunately, another chance is now
being missed.
Written by Hovhannes Nikoghosyan
Mr. Nikoghosyan is a research fellow at Yerevan-based Public Policy Institute.
From: A. Papazian
Sept 11 2010
Turkey Allows Bono Interfaith Meeting, While Refusing Crosses
The Prime Minister of Turkey Recep Erdogan offered Bono to hold his
interfaith event in Istanbul while refusing crosses on churches and
operating number of sacred Christian places in the country as museums,
including the Hagia Sofia temple in Istanbul.
Well-known and famous Irish rock-band U2 frontrunner Bono was hosted
in Istanbul yesterday, as part of their worldwide tour. Turkish
Prime-Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan took the chance to offer the rock
idоl holding an interfaith event in Istanbul as an effort, once again,
to show-off the tolerance and European face of Turkey. The initial aim
is to bring the three religions together ` Islam, Christianity and
Judaism. If in the official rhetoric the ruling elite of Turkey is
always ready to mislead the public opinion, the real deeds are
somewhat showing the true reality. And the reality these days is the
whole story around the Armenian issue.
It may seem for an average European that religious freedom issues are
high in the agenda of Turkey, amid even the upcoming constitutional
referendum on September 12. Recently a Greek church in a Turkish
province has been opened up for a one-day-a-year liturgy. The same is
on the agenda with Armenians ` as the Akhtamar Church of the Holy
Cross (Surp Hach ` in Arm.) is scheduled to host a liturgy on
September 19.
Turkey repoens 10th century Armenian church as a museum, allows
worship only once a year.
The Holy Cross church ` a 1,100-year-old standing monument of Armenian
heritage in those lands sacred with Armenian blood during the Genocide
years, was re-opened as a museum in 2007 ` as a message to the
Armenians and the international community that Turkey had heartfelt
sentiments towards its Armenian minority, and is ready to continue
behind-the-scene talks on normalization with Yerevan. However, the
church was then opened as a museum since the incumbent government
refused to install a cross on the dome, and the Armenian Patriarchate
of Istanbul has not been able to consecrate it as a church up to now.
One more controversy comes into mind as the church still remains under
the authorities of Van province and not the Patriarchate ` as other
religious monuments.
Nowadays a new show-like developments happening in Turkey with regards
to the upcoming liturgy in the church. Last week the government
announced that they were not able to install the cross, despite
earlier assurances of the opposite. Immediately, the Holy See of
Echmiadzin suspended its earlier decision to send two high-level
churchmen to the event. Before the distressing news came from Turkey,
the attending/ignoring debate in Armenia and elsewhere in Armenian
Diaspora hit the ceiling with both pro and cons sentiments and
statements. One of the prominent Diaspora public figures said that the
event is scheduled "to exploit this event for propaganda purposes".
Despite all the criticism towards Erdogan, he continues to feed the
show. Even considering the obvious failure of the much-spoken and
widely advertised democratic initiative and the Kurdish opening, AKP
government doesn't want to acknowledge that half-steps are good only
for short-time show-offs, but evidently not sufficient for securing
long-term and sustainable achievements. For instance, the Kurdish
opening, that was largely supported by the international community now
turned out to another wave of repressions and mass arrests of Kurds in
Eastern provinces of Turkey.
Whatever it is ` but the Turkish "show must go on". The government
uses all the available chances to speak up and voice their readiness
of phony tolerance. No chance is to be missed. The only issue is that
international community, and Armenians worldwide, were very timely to
acknowledge these false and misleading half-steps. Now Armenians
returning their earlier purchased tickets to Turkey, as the RFE/RL
reported last week. The much-anticipated 5000-ish tourist-boom and a
much more follow-up in eastern provinces of modern Turkey is now
questioned. The trade union of Van voiced their readiness to help
improving the situation, but Armenians are rightfully firm on their
initial will of having the cross on top the church.
After all, the next morning of September 19, we will have an unchanged
Turkey that is accused by the international community ` Russian,
Europeans and Americans - for destroying the Armenian-Turkish
rapprochement and other openings that were the key-arguments of
Gul/Erdogan/Davudoglu triplet. Unfortunately, another chance is now
being missed.
Written by Hovhannes Nikoghosyan
Mr. Nikoghosyan is a research fellow at Yerevan-based Public Policy Institute.
From: A. Papazian