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.