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UPHOLDING JUSTICE: CATHOLICOS ARAM I SENDS LETTER TO ERDOGAN
http://www.armenianweekly.com/2011/09/08/upholding-justice-catholicos-aram-i-sends-letter-to-erdogan/
Thu, Sep 8 2011
Catholicos of Cilicia Aram I sent the following letter to Turkish
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan:
Vehapar DC 2005 Small 300x200 Upholding Justice: Catholicos Aram I
Sends Letter to Erdogan
Catholicos Aram I
Mr. Prime Minister,
By way of the press we were made aware of your government's decision
to return properties confiscated after 1936 from Turkey's religious
minorities. This decision is undoubtedly an effort to get ahead
of the recent developments in the European Court of Human Rights,
as well as the U.S. Congress's inquiries into and proceedings on
Turkey's oppression of its Christian minorities.
As the spiritual and lawful leader of the Armenian Catholicosate of
Cilicia, which was uprooted from its centuries-old Seat, and as a
representative of the similarly uprooted children of the Armenian
Church, who were exiled from Turkey and dispersed throughout the
world, we consider your government's Aug. 27, 2011 decision incomplete
and unjust.
The Holy See of Cilicia remains the lawful proprietor of numerous
churches, hospitals, nursing homes, orphanages, cemeteries, and
other properties that belong to the nation and the church, and which
were seized by the Turkish state in the days of the 1915 Armenian
Genocide. The Armenian people continue to be the lawful owners of the
houses, businesses, and estates-passed down from their ancestors-that
became a victim to the genocide that was planned and executed by the
Ottoman Turkish government.
Your government's resolution may satisfy the requirements of the
European Union. However, it may never be considered a decision based
on principles of justice.
Mr. Prime Minister, although taken in the name of justice, your
decision is biased and selective, and furthermore, it certainly denies
history and rejects democratic principles and values.
International institutions-for instance, the European Court of Human
Rights, parliament, and parliamentary bodies-protect and implement
democratic values and principles. Their conscience is the people.
As League of Nations representative and Nobel Peace Prize laureate
Fridtjof Nansen observed in his well-known 1928 book Armenia and the
Near East, the Armenian people have never lost hope, bravely working
and waiting. "They continue to wait," he wrote. And we would like
to add that the Armenian people will never cease to demand justice
from Turkey for the Armenian Genocide. The Armenian people will never
cease to demand the reinstatement of their human rights.
Mr. Prime Minister, your declaration that your government upholds
justice and human rights will be validated only when you recognize
the Armenian Genocide.
Catholicos Aram I
Holy See of Cilicia
Aug. 31, 2011
Antelias, Lebanon
A version of this letter was sent to the Turkish Embassy in Lebanon.
From: Baghdasarian
http://www.armenianweekly.com/2011/09/08/upholding-justice-catholicos-aram-i-sends-letter-to-erdogan/
Thu, Sep 8 2011
Catholicos of Cilicia Aram I sent the following letter to Turkish
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan:
Vehapar DC 2005 Small 300x200 Upholding Justice: Catholicos Aram I
Sends Letter to Erdogan
Catholicos Aram I
Mr. Prime Minister,
By way of the press we were made aware of your government's decision
to return properties confiscated after 1936 from Turkey's religious
minorities. This decision is undoubtedly an effort to get ahead
of the recent developments in the European Court of Human Rights,
as well as the U.S. Congress's inquiries into and proceedings on
Turkey's oppression of its Christian minorities.
As the spiritual and lawful leader of the Armenian Catholicosate of
Cilicia, which was uprooted from its centuries-old Seat, and as a
representative of the similarly uprooted children of the Armenian
Church, who were exiled from Turkey and dispersed throughout the
world, we consider your government's Aug. 27, 2011 decision incomplete
and unjust.
The Holy See of Cilicia remains the lawful proprietor of numerous
churches, hospitals, nursing homes, orphanages, cemeteries, and
other properties that belong to the nation and the church, and which
were seized by the Turkish state in the days of the 1915 Armenian
Genocide. The Armenian people continue to be the lawful owners of the
houses, businesses, and estates-passed down from their ancestors-that
became a victim to the genocide that was planned and executed by the
Ottoman Turkish government.
Your government's resolution may satisfy the requirements of the
European Union. However, it may never be considered a decision based
on principles of justice.
Mr. Prime Minister, although taken in the name of justice, your
decision is biased and selective, and furthermore, it certainly denies
history and rejects democratic principles and values.
International institutions-for instance, the European Court of Human
Rights, parliament, and parliamentary bodies-protect and implement
democratic values and principles. Their conscience is the people.
As League of Nations representative and Nobel Peace Prize laureate
Fridtjof Nansen observed in his well-known 1928 book Armenia and the
Near East, the Armenian people have never lost hope, bravely working
and waiting. "They continue to wait," he wrote. And we would like
to add that the Armenian people will never cease to demand justice
from Turkey for the Armenian Genocide. The Armenian people will never
cease to demand the reinstatement of their human rights.
Mr. Prime Minister, your declaration that your government upholds
justice and human rights will be validated only when you recognize
the Armenian Genocide.
Catholicos Aram I
Holy See of Cilicia
Aug. 31, 2011
Antelias, Lebanon
A version of this letter was sent to the Turkish Embassy in Lebanon.
From: Baghdasarian