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EASTERN DIOCESE PRIMATE ARCHBISHOP KHAJAG BARSAMIAN
By Ara Khachatourian
Asbarez
Wednesday, October 26th, 2011
The above saying means doing business while on a visit to
somewhere--mixing business with pleasure.
Eastern Diocese Primate Archbishop Khajag Barsamian, along with another
Diocese-affiliated cleric, Archbishop Viken Ayvazian, led a pilgrimage
of parishioners to the grand re-opening of the St. Giragos Church in
Diyarbakir, which took place this past weekend.
According to Hurriyet Daily News, that's not the only delegation they
have led. According to the newspaper, the two church leaders headed
a delegation of 26 Armenian-American business people who reportedly
discussed investing in Turkey with Istanbul Mayor Kadir Topbas and
Turkish businessman Ahmet Calik, of Calik Holdings, one of Turkey's
largest corporations.
Given that such a series of business meetings could clearly not be
scheduled at the last minute, one can conclude that in planning this
pilgrimage to the historic St. Giragos church, doing business with
Turkish businessmen--effectively Turkey--was always on the agenda
for those on this religious journey.
In his reporting from Diyarbakir, Armenian Weekly editor Khatchig
Mouradian observed: "Renovated by the Surp Giragos Armenian Foundation,
with the support of the local Kurdish-controlled municipality,
the church, which had witnessed a century of destruction, neglect,
and denial, now stood as defiant as ever to the forces suppressing
freedom in Turkey. And as the faithful of different religions prayed
in unison, the political message wasn't lost on anyone."
One of the members of Arch. Barsamian's delegation, a senior Diocese
lay leader, Oscar Tatosian, reportedly told Hurriyet that the meeting
with Calik was very important in terms of dialogue. Hurriyet quoted the
Chicago and New York-based businessman as opining: "Our people should
come together and enjoy a cup of tea. The dialogue starts with arts,
culture, academic cooperation and trade.
The rest will follow." That sadly, is Ankara's narrative, one that
requires that Armenians set aside their quest for truth, justice,
and security, in the name of just doing business.
Hurriyet also characterizes Tatosian as saying that the Armenian
community abroad is wrongly considered a homogenous one by Turkish
people. According to Hurriyet he added that many wanted a good
relationship with the Turks. This has long been one of the most
offensive, and transparent, traps set by the Turkish government:
enticing Armenians to divide themselves into "good" Armenians
(acceptable to Ankara) and "bad" Armenians (who fail to fall in line
with Turkey's commands). This destructive, self-imposed and demeaning
distinction ignores common sense and insults all those, including a
vast majority of Diocese parishioners, who, no doubt, believe that
the desire for a "good relationship" with Turkey need not come at
the expense of our national history, rights, security, or dignity.
[Hurriyet, and its Turkish-Armenian correspondent Vercihan Ziflioglu,
are notorious for twisting quotes from their interview subjects. I
have experienced this first-hand. We invite Mr. Tatosian to dispute
the remarks, if clarification is warranted. Nevertheless, the mere
meeting with the business leader and Istanbul Mayor to discuss business
prospects is at the center of this commentary. A.K.]
Indeed, the grand re-opening of the St. Giragos was a poignant
political message and one of the many aspects of the war on stolen
Armenian properties by the present day Turkish government, which
continues the destructive policies of the Ottoman Empire.
At first glance, Archbishop Barsamian's efforts to congregate
parishioners and lead them on an historic pilgrimage is nothing
but commendable. However, what is dubious is his role in engaging
in a damaging "dialogue" with the business interests of private
individuals, and the state behind them, with a powerful and vested
interest in using their economic resources (much of it derived from
the Armenian Genocide) to partner with Armenians, however token,
to lock in the fruits of their crimes.
What is even more suspect is the Primate's
participation--leadership--of such an effort, given his role this past
summer in the "Return of Churches" effort in Congress. His new role
as a deal-maker it begs a larger question: What business do religious
leaders have in commerce, especially in Turkey? Has the Church expanded
its role of catering to the spiritual needs of the people and is now
suddenly facilitating its parishioners financial gains?
Furthermore, by agreeing to participate in this meeting, the two
church leaders and their delegation fell smack dab into the trap set
by Turkish government, whose foreign minister Ahmet Davutoglu has on
several occasions expressed his desire to meet with Diaspora leaders to
project a benevolent image of Turkey as part of its well-orchestrated
Genocide denial policy.
How easily are people willing to become pawns of the Turkish propaganda
machine? These Armenian-American businessmen may have personal
gain--and profit--from their behavior. But, the Primate of the Eastern
Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church of America engaging in such
blatant kowtowing is entirely unacceptable on a moral basis, and, as a
practical matter, falls far outside his clerical and spiritual mission.
It is no secret that the Diocese was one of the signatories of
a statement staunchly supporting the dangerous and ill-fated
Turkey-Armenia Protocols. It seems Archbishop Barsamian and his
friends did not get the memo that these accords, in the words of
President Sarkisian himself, are all but dead. (Armenia must withdraw
its signature from the documents, since they still pose grave dangers
to Armenia's national security.)
The fact that there are 26 businesspeople in the Archbishop's
delegation signals that someone wants to make a profit and the
Primate is the perfect cover for money grabbing individuals,
whose questionable morals and scruples allow them to trample upon
our national interests and aspirations. In the early 1990's Hrair
Hovnanian set an early standard in this regard when, motivated by
his greed, he pursued, along with then President Levon Ter-Petrosian,
a Turkish port development project in Trebizond that would have made
him millions of dollars richer.
As a leader of the Diocese of the Armenian Church, Archbishop
Barsamian must explain his questionable actions to the public, or his
shortsightedness and deep deficit of moral leadership will forever
diminish the gains made by the message of the St. Giragos re-opening
in Diyarbakir.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
By Ara Khachatourian
Asbarez
Wednesday, October 26th, 2011
The above saying means doing business while on a visit to
somewhere--mixing business with pleasure.
Eastern Diocese Primate Archbishop Khajag Barsamian, along with another
Diocese-affiliated cleric, Archbishop Viken Ayvazian, led a pilgrimage
of parishioners to the grand re-opening of the St. Giragos Church in
Diyarbakir, which took place this past weekend.
According to Hurriyet Daily News, that's not the only delegation they
have led. According to the newspaper, the two church leaders headed
a delegation of 26 Armenian-American business people who reportedly
discussed investing in Turkey with Istanbul Mayor Kadir Topbas and
Turkish businessman Ahmet Calik, of Calik Holdings, one of Turkey's
largest corporations.
Given that such a series of business meetings could clearly not be
scheduled at the last minute, one can conclude that in planning this
pilgrimage to the historic St. Giragos church, doing business with
Turkish businessmen--effectively Turkey--was always on the agenda
for those on this religious journey.
In his reporting from Diyarbakir, Armenian Weekly editor Khatchig
Mouradian observed: "Renovated by the Surp Giragos Armenian Foundation,
with the support of the local Kurdish-controlled municipality,
the church, which had witnessed a century of destruction, neglect,
and denial, now stood as defiant as ever to the forces suppressing
freedom in Turkey. And as the faithful of different religions prayed
in unison, the political message wasn't lost on anyone."
One of the members of Arch. Barsamian's delegation, a senior Diocese
lay leader, Oscar Tatosian, reportedly told Hurriyet that the meeting
with Calik was very important in terms of dialogue. Hurriyet quoted the
Chicago and New York-based businessman as opining: "Our people should
come together and enjoy a cup of tea. The dialogue starts with arts,
culture, academic cooperation and trade.
The rest will follow." That sadly, is Ankara's narrative, one that
requires that Armenians set aside their quest for truth, justice,
and security, in the name of just doing business.
Hurriyet also characterizes Tatosian as saying that the Armenian
community abroad is wrongly considered a homogenous one by Turkish
people. According to Hurriyet he added that many wanted a good
relationship with the Turks. This has long been one of the most
offensive, and transparent, traps set by the Turkish government:
enticing Armenians to divide themselves into "good" Armenians
(acceptable to Ankara) and "bad" Armenians (who fail to fall in line
with Turkey's commands). This destructive, self-imposed and demeaning
distinction ignores common sense and insults all those, including a
vast majority of Diocese parishioners, who, no doubt, believe that
the desire for a "good relationship" with Turkey need not come at
the expense of our national history, rights, security, or dignity.
[Hurriyet, and its Turkish-Armenian correspondent Vercihan Ziflioglu,
are notorious for twisting quotes from their interview subjects. I
have experienced this first-hand. We invite Mr. Tatosian to dispute
the remarks, if clarification is warranted. Nevertheless, the mere
meeting with the business leader and Istanbul Mayor to discuss business
prospects is at the center of this commentary. A.K.]
Indeed, the grand re-opening of the St. Giragos was a poignant
political message and one of the many aspects of the war on stolen
Armenian properties by the present day Turkish government, which
continues the destructive policies of the Ottoman Empire.
At first glance, Archbishop Barsamian's efforts to congregate
parishioners and lead them on an historic pilgrimage is nothing
but commendable. However, what is dubious is his role in engaging
in a damaging "dialogue" with the business interests of private
individuals, and the state behind them, with a powerful and vested
interest in using their economic resources (much of it derived from
the Armenian Genocide) to partner with Armenians, however token,
to lock in the fruits of their crimes.
What is even more suspect is the Primate's
participation--leadership--of such an effort, given his role this past
summer in the "Return of Churches" effort in Congress. His new role
as a deal-maker it begs a larger question: What business do religious
leaders have in commerce, especially in Turkey? Has the Church expanded
its role of catering to the spiritual needs of the people and is now
suddenly facilitating its parishioners financial gains?
Furthermore, by agreeing to participate in this meeting, the two
church leaders and their delegation fell smack dab into the trap set
by Turkish government, whose foreign minister Ahmet Davutoglu has on
several occasions expressed his desire to meet with Diaspora leaders to
project a benevolent image of Turkey as part of its well-orchestrated
Genocide denial policy.
How easily are people willing to become pawns of the Turkish propaganda
machine? These Armenian-American businessmen may have personal
gain--and profit--from their behavior. But, the Primate of the Eastern
Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church of America engaging in such
blatant kowtowing is entirely unacceptable on a moral basis, and, as a
practical matter, falls far outside his clerical and spiritual mission.
It is no secret that the Diocese was one of the signatories of
a statement staunchly supporting the dangerous and ill-fated
Turkey-Armenia Protocols. It seems Archbishop Barsamian and his
friends did not get the memo that these accords, in the words of
President Sarkisian himself, are all but dead. (Armenia must withdraw
its signature from the documents, since they still pose grave dangers
to Armenia's national security.)
The fact that there are 26 businesspeople in the Archbishop's
delegation signals that someone wants to make a profit and the
Primate is the perfect cover for money grabbing individuals,
whose questionable morals and scruples allow them to trample upon
our national interests and aspirations. In the early 1990's Hrair
Hovnanian set an early standard in this regard when, motivated by
his greed, he pursued, along with then President Levon Ter-Petrosian,
a Turkish port development project in Trebizond that would have made
him millions of dollars richer.
As a leader of the Diocese of the Armenian Church, Archbishop
Barsamian must explain his questionable actions to the public, or his
shortsightedness and deep deficit of moral leadership will forever
diminish the gains made by the message of the St. Giragos re-opening
in Diyarbakir.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress