Tweet
TURKISH-ARMENIAN DIALOGUE A MUST, SAYS ARCHBISHOP
Hurriyet
July 22 2011
Turkey
It is absolutely essential that dialogue be established between Turks
and Armenians to achieve understanding, a top Armenian-American
spiritual leader has said, adding that Turkey's foreign minister
solicited his views on increasing such discussion.
"Turkish and Armenian people are members of the same family,"
Archbishop Khajag Barsamyan, the primate of the Diocese of the Armenian
Church of America (Eastern), told the Hurriyet Daily News during a
brief visit to Istanbul last week. "We ought to view history with
courage and [learn] to apologize if we have been in the wrong. We
need to be able to draw lessons from history's negative and positive
aspects in the name of humanity."
A planned international gathering to celebrate the opening of the Surp
Giragos Armenian church in the southeastern province of Diyarbakır
will present a chance to establish such dialogue, Barsamyan said.
During the World Political Forum in mid-March, Foreign Minister Ahmet
Davutoglu spoke favorably regarding the opening of the Turkish-Armenian
border, Barsamyan said, adding that he was ready for any steps taken
in the direction of establishing dialogue.
Barsamyan said Davutoglu had asked him for suggestions about how to
establish dialogue with the diaspora.
"I highlighted the significance of opening the sealed Turkish-Armenian
border and instituting trade [ties] with Armenian business people from
the diaspora," he said, adding that he had also spoken to President
Abdullah Gul about the same issues back when Gul was foreign minister.
"Mr. Gul requested advice from me about how to put Turkish-Armenian
relations in order. I told him that Armenians have deep-running
sorrows, and that these sorrows must be listened to without denial,
or going on the defensive," Barsamyan said.
"Davutoglu said Turkish and Armenian people lived together for
centuries. [He added that] vexing events have occurred in history and
touched upon the significance of putting an end to these and looking
forward. He said the diaspora Armenians are the people of this land,"
Barsamyan said.
"I reminded him that the Armenian President Serge Sarkisyan took great
risks in signing the [2009 Turkish-Armenian normalization] protocols
despite all the reaction both from within [Armenia,] as well as from
the diaspora, and I asked him why the protocols were not realized. Mr.
Davutoglu said there was need for a process, and that steps taken
[in this direction] must produce solutions, not new problems," the
archbishop said.
The Turkish-Armenian border has remained sealed since 1993 when
Turkey unilaterally closed the border due to the Nagorno-Karabakh
War that broke out between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Even though new
protocols were signed in 2009 to re-establish relations between the
two countries, the process has come to a grinding halt.
Opening of Armenian church a chance for dialogue
Barsamyan is arranging for more than 200 people from various Armenian
associations in the United States to participate in a ceremony marking
the reopening of the Surp Giragos Armenian Church in the southeastern
province of Diyarbakır on Oct. 22.
The reopening is an important step for dialogue, Barsamyan said,
adding that it was important that many people were going to be coming
to Turkey.
'1915 must be put to scrutiny'
Touching upon the sensitive issue of the World War I-era killings of
Ottoman Armenians, Barsamyan said: "The problems need to be put to
debate and scrutiny. Clerics, historians, politicians and everyone
[else] can claim their own roles; this is a must for the future.
Unfavorable voices will surely arise from both societies. It is
necessary to work in good sense. Open minded people who think straight
are needed for this. I am ready as a cleric to take over the role
that falls to me."
The 20th century was a bitter one not just for Armenians, but for
all the peoples of the world, the archbishop said, adding that he
had roots in the eastern province of Malatya.
"We lost a big portion of my family during the bitter events. My
grandmother was saved by a Turkish family; there was never any hatred
in my family toward Turks. My grandmother continued seeing the family
that saved her until she passed away. I also got to meet them,"
he said.
Recent efforts to renovate Armenian cultural assets in Turkey
represent a favorable development, according to Barsamyan, who also
drew attention to the historical Surp Hac Armenian Church that was
reopened for the Divine Liturgy on Akdamar Island in the eastern
province of Van last year.
"It is extremely important that the traces of each culture in Anatolia,
and not just those of Armenian culture, be maintained, for they all
represent the common legacy of humankind," Barsamyan said.
Hurriyet
July 22 2011
Turkey
It is absolutely essential that dialogue be established between Turks
and Armenians to achieve understanding, a top Armenian-American
spiritual leader has said, adding that Turkey's foreign minister
solicited his views on increasing such discussion.
"Turkish and Armenian people are members of the same family,"
Archbishop Khajag Barsamyan, the primate of the Diocese of the Armenian
Church of America (Eastern), told the Hurriyet Daily News during a
brief visit to Istanbul last week. "We ought to view history with
courage and [learn] to apologize if we have been in the wrong. We
need to be able to draw lessons from history's negative and positive
aspects in the name of humanity."
A planned international gathering to celebrate the opening of the Surp
Giragos Armenian church in the southeastern province of Diyarbakır
will present a chance to establish such dialogue, Barsamyan said.
During the World Political Forum in mid-March, Foreign Minister Ahmet
Davutoglu spoke favorably regarding the opening of the Turkish-Armenian
border, Barsamyan said, adding that he was ready for any steps taken
in the direction of establishing dialogue.
Barsamyan said Davutoglu had asked him for suggestions about how to
establish dialogue with the diaspora.
"I highlighted the significance of opening the sealed Turkish-Armenian
border and instituting trade [ties] with Armenian business people from
the diaspora," he said, adding that he had also spoken to President
Abdullah Gul about the same issues back when Gul was foreign minister.
"Mr. Gul requested advice from me about how to put Turkish-Armenian
relations in order. I told him that Armenians have deep-running
sorrows, and that these sorrows must be listened to without denial,
or going on the defensive," Barsamyan said.
"Davutoglu said Turkish and Armenian people lived together for
centuries. [He added that] vexing events have occurred in history and
touched upon the significance of putting an end to these and looking
forward. He said the diaspora Armenians are the people of this land,"
Barsamyan said.
"I reminded him that the Armenian President Serge Sarkisyan took great
risks in signing the [2009 Turkish-Armenian normalization] protocols
despite all the reaction both from within [Armenia,] as well as from
the diaspora, and I asked him why the protocols were not realized. Mr.
Davutoglu said there was need for a process, and that steps taken
[in this direction] must produce solutions, not new problems," the
archbishop said.
The Turkish-Armenian border has remained sealed since 1993 when
Turkey unilaterally closed the border due to the Nagorno-Karabakh
War that broke out between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Even though new
protocols were signed in 2009 to re-establish relations between the
two countries, the process has come to a grinding halt.
Opening of Armenian church a chance for dialogue
Barsamyan is arranging for more than 200 people from various Armenian
associations in the United States to participate in a ceremony marking
the reopening of the Surp Giragos Armenian Church in the southeastern
province of Diyarbakır on Oct. 22.
The reopening is an important step for dialogue, Barsamyan said,
adding that it was important that many people were going to be coming
to Turkey.
'1915 must be put to scrutiny'
Touching upon the sensitive issue of the World War I-era killings of
Ottoman Armenians, Barsamyan said: "The problems need to be put to
debate and scrutiny. Clerics, historians, politicians and everyone
[else] can claim their own roles; this is a must for the future.
Unfavorable voices will surely arise from both societies. It is
necessary to work in good sense. Open minded people who think straight
are needed for this. I am ready as a cleric to take over the role
that falls to me."
The 20th century was a bitter one not just for Armenians, but for
all the peoples of the world, the archbishop said, adding that he
had roots in the eastern province of Malatya.
"We lost a big portion of my family during the bitter events. My
grandmother was saved by a Turkish family; there was never any hatred
in my family toward Turks. My grandmother continued seeing the family
that saved her until she passed away. I also got to meet them,"
he said.
Recent efforts to renovate Armenian cultural assets in Turkey
represent a favorable development, according to Barsamyan, who also
drew attention to the historical Surp Hac Armenian Church that was
reopened for the Divine Liturgy on Akdamar Island in the eastern
province of Van last year.
"It is extremely important that the traces of each culture in Anatolia,
and not just those of Armenian culture, be maintained, for they all
represent the common legacy of humankind," Barsamyan said.