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MIDDLE EAST TERROR: MEMORY OF ARMENIAN GENOCIDE VICTIMS TARGETED BY ISIS MILITANTS
ANALYSIS | 24.09.14 | 11:19
http://armenianow.com/commentary/analysis/57070/armenia_church_syria_isis_aram_catholicos
Photolure
By NAIRA HAYRUMYAN
ArmeniaNow correspondent
On September 21, when people in Armenia marked the 23rd anniversary
of their independence, one day after the completion of a large
Armenia-Diaspora forum in Yerevan that discussed the events in the
run-up to the commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the Armenian
Genocide, in Deir ez-Zor, Syria, Islamic State (ISIS) militants mined
and blew up the Armenian Holy Martyrs Church.
The church commemorated the victims of the Ottoman-era Armenian
Genocide in a part of Syria where countless Armenians were sent to
die in death marches. The blowing-up of the church was perceived in
the Armenian world and beyond as a sign that Turkey and the forces
supporting it are going to respond to the just claims of Armenians
that gather momentum ahead of the centennial of the 1915 Genocide.
At the Armenia-Diaspora forum in Yerevan Catholicos of the Great
House of Cilicia Aram I said that the Church is going to apply to the
Constitutional Court of Turkey with a suit for the recovery of the
huge property of the Armenian Church, in particular, the residence
of the Catholicos of Cilicia in Sis. This property was confiscated by
Turkey as a result of the extermination and expulsion of Armenians at
the beginning of last century, and now, 100 years after those events,
the Armenian Church intends to recover what it lost then.
Literally on the same day Islamists blew up the church in Deir ez-Zor.
According to many Armenian political analysts, Turkey is behind the
attack as it tries to demonstrate that it will respond to the claims
of Armenians with terror.
On his Facebook account Aram condemned the explosion of the Armenian
Church in Syria. According to the Catholicos, it was a specifically
planned crime aimed against the Church that was dedicated to the
memory of the victims of the Armenian Genocide as well as against the
museum affiliated with the church. "We view this atrocity, committed
in the run-up to the Armenian Genocide centennial and on the 23rd
anniversary of Armenia's independence, as an act of barbarism. Many of
those standing behind this plot know that Deir ez-Zor, which symbolizes
our martyrs' memory and our nation's struggle for justice, will never
be destroyed as a sacred place in our nation's collective memory,"
reads Aram I's post.
The act was also strongly condemned by the Armenian Foreign Ministry,
as well as by American congressmen. Earlier, U.S. ambassador-designate
to Armenia Richard Mills said during a Senate Foreign Relation
Committee confirmation hearing that "the United States and the world
will stand in solidarity with the Armenian people next year to mark the
centenary of one of the 20th century's worst atrocities." At the same
time, U.S. ambassador-designate to Turkey John Bass, who was confirmed
in this post later, said that respect for the rights of ethnic and
religious communities in Turkey, including the restoration of the right
of ownership of religious property, was a major priority for him as a
representative of the United States. He answered questions from Senator
Mark Kirk that were connected with the policies of the United States
with regard to the Armenian Genocide and the return by Turkey of the
confiscated property of the Armenian, Greek and Assyrian churches.
Bass acknowledged that the Turkish government "in the period from
1936 to 2011 confiscated thousands of units of property belonging
to Christian and Jewish religious institutions". He listed several
specific steps that he said he was ready to take to help ensure
their return.
Meanwhile, President Serzh Sargsyan is in the United States to
participate in the UN General Assembly session. In his speech, the
Armenian leader is likely to address Turkey's responsibility and call
upon the international community to support the Armenian demands.
ANALYSIS | 24.09.14 | 11:19
http://armenianow.com/commentary/analysis/57070/armenia_church_syria_isis_aram_catholicos
Photolure
By NAIRA HAYRUMYAN
ArmeniaNow correspondent
On September 21, when people in Armenia marked the 23rd anniversary
of their independence, one day after the completion of a large
Armenia-Diaspora forum in Yerevan that discussed the events in the
run-up to the commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the Armenian
Genocide, in Deir ez-Zor, Syria, Islamic State (ISIS) militants mined
and blew up the Armenian Holy Martyrs Church.
The church commemorated the victims of the Ottoman-era Armenian
Genocide in a part of Syria where countless Armenians were sent to
die in death marches. The blowing-up of the church was perceived in
the Armenian world and beyond as a sign that Turkey and the forces
supporting it are going to respond to the just claims of Armenians
that gather momentum ahead of the centennial of the 1915 Genocide.
At the Armenia-Diaspora forum in Yerevan Catholicos of the Great
House of Cilicia Aram I said that the Church is going to apply to the
Constitutional Court of Turkey with a suit for the recovery of the
huge property of the Armenian Church, in particular, the residence
of the Catholicos of Cilicia in Sis. This property was confiscated by
Turkey as a result of the extermination and expulsion of Armenians at
the beginning of last century, and now, 100 years after those events,
the Armenian Church intends to recover what it lost then.
Literally on the same day Islamists blew up the church in Deir ez-Zor.
According to many Armenian political analysts, Turkey is behind the
attack as it tries to demonstrate that it will respond to the claims
of Armenians with terror.
On his Facebook account Aram condemned the explosion of the Armenian
Church in Syria. According to the Catholicos, it was a specifically
planned crime aimed against the Church that was dedicated to the
memory of the victims of the Armenian Genocide as well as against the
museum affiliated with the church. "We view this atrocity, committed
in the run-up to the Armenian Genocide centennial and on the 23rd
anniversary of Armenia's independence, as an act of barbarism. Many of
those standing behind this plot know that Deir ez-Zor, which symbolizes
our martyrs' memory and our nation's struggle for justice, will never
be destroyed as a sacred place in our nation's collective memory,"
reads Aram I's post.
The act was also strongly condemned by the Armenian Foreign Ministry,
as well as by American congressmen. Earlier, U.S. ambassador-designate
to Armenia Richard Mills said during a Senate Foreign Relation
Committee confirmation hearing that "the United States and the world
will stand in solidarity with the Armenian people next year to mark the
centenary of one of the 20th century's worst atrocities." At the same
time, U.S. ambassador-designate to Turkey John Bass, who was confirmed
in this post later, said that respect for the rights of ethnic and
religious communities in Turkey, including the restoration of the right
of ownership of religious property, was a major priority for him as a
representative of the United States. He answered questions from Senator
Mark Kirk that were connected with the policies of the United States
with regard to the Armenian Genocide and the return by Turkey of the
confiscated property of the Armenian, Greek and Assyrian churches.
Bass acknowledged that the Turkish government "in the period from
1936 to 2011 confiscated thousands of units of property belonging
to Christian and Jewish religious institutions". He listed several
specific steps that he said he was ready to take to help ensure
their return.
Meanwhile, President Serzh Sargsyan is in the United States to
participate in the UN General Assembly session. In his speech, the
Armenian leader is likely to address Turkey's responsibility and call
upon the international community to support the Armenian demands.