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ISIS DYNAMITES CHURCH MEMORIALIZING VICTIMS OF ARMENIAN GENOCIDE
CNS News
Sept 23 2014
September 23, 2014 - 4:48 PM
By Lauretta Brown
CNSNews.com) - An Armenian Apostolic church constructed in memory of
the victims of the 20th century Armenian genocide was "rigged and
dynamited" on Sunday by forces loyal to the Islamic State of Iraq
and al Sham (ISIS), according to reports from Syria's government
news agency.
The Armenian Holy Martyrs Church in Der Zor, located in the Syrian
desert 280 miles northeast of Damascus, was constructed in memory of
the victims of the 1916 Armenian genocide and consecrated in 1991.
The site was chosen because Der Zor is believed to have housed death
camps in which an estimated 150,000 to 400,000 Armenians were killed
by the Ottoman Turks 100 years ago. The destroyed church included a
museum housing the remains of some of the genocide victims.
News of the destruction of the church was met with outrage by
ecclesiastical and political officials.
"We strictly condemn the explosion by terrorists of Der Dzor's
Holy Martyrs Armenian Church that is dedicated to the memory of the
Armenian Genocide victims and contains remains of many martyrs of
the Genocide," Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandyan said in
a statement released by the Armenian Foreign Ministry.
"This horrible barbarity committed against the sacred place shows once
again the savage nature of the so-called Islamic State terror group.
The international community must immediately stop and eradicate this
plague posing a threat to civilized humanity," he added.
"This crime committed on the threshold of the 100th anniversary of
the Armenian Genocide and on the 23rd anniversary of the Independence
of the Republic of Armenia, we consider to be a barbarian act,"
said Aram I, Catholicos of the Holy See of Cilicia of the Armenian
Apostolic Church, who released a statement Monday upon learning about
the church's destruction.
Aram I had proclaimed the church as a national pilgrimage site in 2002.
"Let the hands behind this terrorist act know that Deir ez-Zor, this
sacred place of the victims of the Armenian Genocide, commemorating
the memory of our martyrs and symbolizing the fight of our people for
justice, cannot be demolished from the memory of our people," he said.
Edward Sharmazanov, deputy speaker of the Armenian Parliament, called
the destruction of Holy Martyrs Armenian Church "cultural genocide"
during a Monday meeting with Czech Republic Senate Vice-President
Miluse Horska in Prague.
Sharmazanov reportedly emphasized that the church's destruction by
ISIS was a continuation of the destruction of other Armenian monuments
in Turkey and Nakhichevan, an autonomous region in Azerbaijan.
The UK Ambassador to Armenia, Katherine Leach, also condemned the
destruction of the church, calling it a "great tragedy."
A century after the Armenian genoicide, some Armenians suspect Turkish
involvement in the ISIS attack, especially in light of the recent
release of 49 Turkish diplomats by ISIS.
"If Turkey is not behind the terrorism, having exploded this unique
church, which is of great importance to the Armenians, it will
immediately issue a condemning statement," Vigen Sargsyan, head of
staff of the president of the Republic of Armenia, reportedly wrote
on his Facebook page.
However, according to Armenian Public Radio,"while authorities in
Armenia have severely condemned the attack on the Saint Martyrs Church,
Turkey... has yet to comment on the attack."
Armenian Public Radio spoke to Andranik Ispiryan, an expert in
Turkish studies, who speculated that "through cooperation with the
Islamic State, Turkey is trying to overthrow [Syrian President Bashar]
Assad's regime and bring Sunni Muslims to power, to neutralize the
Kurdish element in Syria, destroy the large Armenian community formed
in Syria after the Armenian Genocide and erase its cultural heritage."
The Armenian Genocide has long been a contentious issue for Turkey and
Armenia. Turkey refuses to admit it occured even though Argentina,
Germany, Russia and many other countries have acknowledged it, with
the notable exclusion of the United States.
Legislation was introduced in the U.S. Senate to recognize the
Armenian Genocide most recently by Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ),
who sponsored a resolution in April that passed the Senate Foreign
Relations Committee, but was ultimately shelved.
"The Armenian Genocide was conceived and carried out by the Ottoman
Empire from 1915 to 1923, resulting in the deportation of nearly
2,000,000 Armenians, of whom 1,500,000 men, women, and children
were killed and 500,000 survivors were expelled from their homes,
and the elimination of the over 2,500-year presence of Armenians
in their historic homeland," the resolution stated. (See Armenian
Genocide resolution.pdf)
"The Government of the Republic of Turkey has continued its
international campaign of Armenian Genocide denial, maintained
a blockade of Armenia, and continues to pressure the small but
growing Turkish civil society movement for acknowledging the Armenian
Genocide," it continued.
The resolution was introduced "to remember and observe the anniversary
of the Armenian Genocide on April 24, 2014," and so that "the President
should work toward an equitable, constructive, stable, and durable
Armenian-Turkish relationship that includes the full acknowledgment
by the Government of the Republic of Turkey of the facts about the
Armenian Genocide."
http://cnsnews.com/news/article/lauretta-brown/isis-dynamites-church-memorializing-victims-armenian-genocide
CNS News
Sept 23 2014
September 23, 2014 - 4:48 PM
By Lauretta Brown
CNSNews.com) - An Armenian Apostolic church constructed in memory of
the victims of the 20th century Armenian genocide was "rigged and
dynamited" on Sunday by forces loyal to the Islamic State of Iraq
and al Sham (ISIS), according to reports from Syria's government
news agency.
The Armenian Holy Martyrs Church in Der Zor, located in the Syrian
desert 280 miles northeast of Damascus, was constructed in memory of
the victims of the 1916 Armenian genocide and consecrated in 1991.
The site was chosen because Der Zor is believed to have housed death
camps in which an estimated 150,000 to 400,000 Armenians were killed
by the Ottoman Turks 100 years ago. The destroyed church included a
museum housing the remains of some of the genocide victims.
News of the destruction of the church was met with outrage by
ecclesiastical and political officials.
"We strictly condemn the explosion by terrorists of Der Dzor's
Holy Martyrs Armenian Church that is dedicated to the memory of the
Armenian Genocide victims and contains remains of many martyrs of
the Genocide," Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandyan said in
a statement released by the Armenian Foreign Ministry.
"This horrible barbarity committed against the sacred place shows once
again the savage nature of the so-called Islamic State terror group.
The international community must immediately stop and eradicate this
plague posing a threat to civilized humanity," he added.
"This crime committed on the threshold of the 100th anniversary of
the Armenian Genocide and on the 23rd anniversary of the Independence
of the Republic of Armenia, we consider to be a barbarian act,"
said Aram I, Catholicos of the Holy See of Cilicia of the Armenian
Apostolic Church, who released a statement Monday upon learning about
the church's destruction.
Aram I had proclaimed the church as a national pilgrimage site in 2002.
"Let the hands behind this terrorist act know that Deir ez-Zor, this
sacred place of the victims of the Armenian Genocide, commemorating
the memory of our martyrs and symbolizing the fight of our people for
justice, cannot be demolished from the memory of our people," he said.
Edward Sharmazanov, deputy speaker of the Armenian Parliament, called
the destruction of Holy Martyrs Armenian Church "cultural genocide"
during a Monday meeting with Czech Republic Senate Vice-President
Miluse Horska in Prague.
Sharmazanov reportedly emphasized that the church's destruction by
ISIS was a continuation of the destruction of other Armenian monuments
in Turkey and Nakhichevan, an autonomous region in Azerbaijan.
The UK Ambassador to Armenia, Katherine Leach, also condemned the
destruction of the church, calling it a "great tragedy."
A century after the Armenian genoicide, some Armenians suspect Turkish
involvement in the ISIS attack, especially in light of the recent
release of 49 Turkish diplomats by ISIS.
"If Turkey is not behind the terrorism, having exploded this unique
church, which is of great importance to the Armenians, it will
immediately issue a condemning statement," Vigen Sargsyan, head of
staff of the president of the Republic of Armenia, reportedly wrote
on his Facebook page.
However, according to Armenian Public Radio,"while authorities in
Armenia have severely condemned the attack on the Saint Martyrs Church,
Turkey... has yet to comment on the attack."
Armenian Public Radio spoke to Andranik Ispiryan, an expert in
Turkish studies, who speculated that "through cooperation with the
Islamic State, Turkey is trying to overthrow [Syrian President Bashar]
Assad's regime and bring Sunni Muslims to power, to neutralize the
Kurdish element in Syria, destroy the large Armenian community formed
in Syria after the Armenian Genocide and erase its cultural heritage."
The Armenian Genocide has long been a contentious issue for Turkey and
Armenia. Turkey refuses to admit it occured even though Argentina,
Germany, Russia and many other countries have acknowledged it, with
the notable exclusion of the United States.
Legislation was introduced in the U.S. Senate to recognize the
Armenian Genocide most recently by Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ),
who sponsored a resolution in April that passed the Senate Foreign
Relations Committee, but was ultimately shelved.
"The Armenian Genocide was conceived and carried out by the Ottoman
Empire from 1915 to 1923, resulting in the deportation of nearly
2,000,000 Armenians, of whom 1,500,000 men, women, and children
were killed and 500,000 survivors were expelled from their homes,
and the elimination of the over 2,500-year presence of Armenians
in their historic homeland," the resolution stated. (See Armenian
Genocide resolution.pdf)
"The Government of the Republic of Turkey has continued its
international campaign of Armenian Genocide denial, maintained
a blockade of Armenia, and continues to pressure the small but
growing Turkish civil society movement for acknowledging the Armenian
Genocide," it continued.
The resolution was introduced "to remember and observe the anniversary
of the Armenian Genocide on April 24, 2014," and so that "the President
should work toward an equitable, constructive, stable, and durable
Armenian-Turkish relationship that includes the full acknowledgment
by the Government of the Republic of Turkey of the facts about the
Armenian Genocide."
http://cnsnews.com/news/article/lauretta-brown/isis-dynamites-church-memorializing-victims-armenian-genocide