THE ARMENIAN CATHOLICOSATE OF CILICIA WILL NOT BE PRESENT AT THE OPENING OF

HOLY CROSS CHUCRH IN WESTERN ARMENIA (NOW TURKEY)

 

A statement published by the Office of Information of the Catholicosate of Cilicia informed the public that the Catholicosate will not attend the inauguration of the Holy Cross Armenian Church.

 

In an attempt to convince the European Union and UNESCO that Turkey safeguards the cultural heritage of its occupied lands, the government restored the Holy Cross Armenian Church building, but instead of keeping it as a church, transformed it into a museum. 

 

The Catholicosate condemns this act as an attempt to obscure its consistent policy of denying the Armenian Genocide and the rights of its survivors.

 

The Catholicosate calls upon all nations that advocate human rights to demand accountability from Turkey. The Catholicosate demands that the world community oblige Turkey to acknowledge that both in Western Armenia and Cilicia, occupied by Turkey, more than two thousand Armenian churches and monasteries have either been destroyed or converted into mosques or stables.

 

Through this current statement, the Catholicosate affirms its commitment to justice and human rights and its pursuit to have Turkey recognize the Armenian genocide and its obligation to restore of the rights of its survivors. 

 

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