Initial File of St. Thaddeus Church Accepted by UNESCO

Cultural Heritage News Agency

Below it says "The Thaddeus Church, locally known as Qara Kelisa or the Black Church is considered one of the oldest churches in the world, whose construction began 1700 years ago. Historians believe that the Church is the tomb of Thaddeus who is said to have been one of Christ’s disciples who traveled to Armenia, then part of the Persian Empire, for preaching the teachings of Christ." It is my hope that Turkey follows the Islamic Republic of Iran by example. Respect for other's culture is not a question of a clash of civilizations between Christianity and Islam, but it is a victim of nationalism in Turkey. I thank the Islamic Republic of Iran for its efforts and for keeping the sanctity of the church.

Tehran, 8 April 2007 (CHN Foreign Desk) -- The dossier of the Church of Saint Thaddeus, locally known as Qara Kelisa in the Iranian northwestern province of West Azarbaijan, which was prepared by experts of Iran’s Cultural Heritage and Tourism Organization (ICHTO) in an attempt to inscribe this ancient monument in UNESCO’s list of World Heritage Sites in 2008 has been accepted by experts of UNESCO in the initial phase.

Qara Kelisa had previously been put up by Iran for UNESCO world registration in 2007, however due to lack of substantial documents including those pertaining to the value of the building and maps of its precincts, the Organization turned down the application

Announcing this news, Mohammad Hassan Khademzadeh, head of research centers of Iran’s Cultural Heritage and Tourism Organization in all Iranian provinces told CHN that the representatives of the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) will pay a visit to this historic church to study its situation in two weeks and then a team of UNESCO’s experts will come to Iran within a few months in order to see the condition of Qara Kelisa and the other historical churches in the province such as St. Stepanous Cathedral in Khoy and Zoorzoor Church in Chaldoran as annexes to St. Thaddeus Cathedral for being registered in list of UNESCO’s world heritage sites.

Khademzadeh believes that Iran has made a lot of effort to prepare all required conditions for St. Thaddeus world registrations and expressed hope that if nothing extraordinary happens, this ancient church to be registered as the 9th Iranian historical site in list of UNESCO’s World Heritage sites.

The Thaddeus Church, locally known as Qara Kelisa or the Black Church is considered one of the oldest churches in the world, whose construction began 1700 years ago. Historians believe that the Church is the tomb of Thaddeus who is said to have been one of Christ’s disciples who traveled to Armenia, then part of the Persian Empire, for preaching the teachings of Christ.

Today the church is known as Qara Kelisa and belongs to the Armenian community of Iran. It has an international reputation and hosts annual meetings of world Armenians each year in July-August. Enjoying special features such as antiquity, its unique architectural style, as well as its religious importance among the world Armenians and the rituals which are held annually in this church has made Qara Kelisa worthy for being inscribed in list of UNESCO’s World Heritage Sites.

Soudabeh Sadigh
foreigndesk@chn.ir

Note: Above are excerpts from the article. The full article appears here. Clarifications and comments by me are contained in {}. Deletions are marked by [...]. The bold emphasis is mine.

TURKEY UNDERMINES ITS OWN PROPAGANDA BY DESECRATING ARMENIAN CHURCH

04/04/2007
AZG Armenian Daily #061
Source: The California Courier
By Harut Sassounian

The Turkish government finally carried out last week its much touted but ultimately failed public relations effort for the reopening of the Holy Cross Church on Akhtamar Island . It was a textbook case of how not to carry out a propaganda campaign.

By orchestrating such a high profile show, Ankara intended to impress the international community by trying to make the point that while Armenians are accusing the Turks of having committed genocide against them, the Turkish government was so magnanimous and gracious as to spend $1.5 million of its own money to renovate an ancient Armenian Church.

Due to sheer incompetence and no small degree of malice, Ankara botched just about every aspect of this ceremony. Here is a short list of the many missteps of the Turkish authorities which undermined their own objectives and interests:

1) Changed the date of the opening ceremonies 3 or 4 times, thus making it obvious to the world that Turkey was trying to find the most politically opportunistic time to score the maximum possible propaganda effect.

2) The Turkish Consul General in Los Angeles sent a large number of invitations to Armenians less than two weeks before the "Akdamar" (sic) ceremony. This mailing list was recently acquired from a "moderate" Armenian and the invitations were sent out in cheap brown envelopes, similar to the paper bags used by grocery stores.

3) Leaked to the Turkish media a fake list of the names of Diaspora Armenians who were supposedly attending the reopening ceremony, while in reality, not a single one of them was at Akhtamar.

4) Labeling the Armenians that were invited by Ankara to Akhtamar as "moderates," served to undermine their credibility and standing in the Armenian community.

5) Forced the Armenian Patriarch of Constantinople to attend the ceremony without allowing him to say even a prayer.

6) Invited Armenian Church leaders to the reopening of a sacred Armenian Church, and then told them that it would be a museum and not a church, and that there would be no religious ceremony, no cross on the Church’s dome and no affiliation with the Armenian Patriarchate. No wonder not a single Armenian Church leader showed up at the ceremony either from Armenia or the Diaspora, except for the Patriarch.

7) Invited high ranking Armenian government officials and then not allowed them to cross the border, thus forcing them to drive 15 hours to get to Lake Van via Georgia, rather than the 4 hours needed directly from Armenia.

8) Invited to the ceremony Israeli and American diplomats whose governments have refused to acknowledge the Armenian Genocide

9) Rejected the offer from a world famous Armenian-American pianist Shahan Arzruni, formerly of Istanbul, to perform at the opening ceremony on Akhtamar Island . Instead, they arranged for a Turkish pianist who played Turkish, Jewish and Armenian music.

10) Hoisted huge Turkish flags all over Akhtamar Island , including a large one on the church wall itself along with a massive banner of Ataturk.

11) When a couple of pious Armenian visitors lit candles inside the church, Turkish security agents quickly put out all the candles and confiscated them.

12) When Atilla Koc, the Minister of Culture of Turkey, was asked if mass could be held at the renovated Church once a year, he responded by saying that he is waiting for a decision from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, thus making it perfectly clear that the whole ceremony was a big political charade.

If Turkey wanted to impress international public opinion and win over Armenians everywhere, it should have done the exact opposite of what it actually did. As an Armenian Church leader recently told this writer, if the Turks truly desired to befriend the Armenians, they should have placed crosses all over the Holy Cross Church, instead of Turkish flags and posters of Ataturk. Rather than impressing Armenians, Turkey actually ended up insulting them by desecrating their historic Armenian Church!

Cengiz Candar, in his commentary published in the Turkish Daily News, had very harsh words for the Turkish authorities. He described their actions at Akhtamar as a "disgrace" and even "cultural genocide."

One can always count on Turkish officials to undermine their own state interests. That is why they are often referred to as "the gang that cannot shoot straight!"

By Harut Sassounian Publisher, The California Courier

Note: Above are excerpts from the article. The full article appears here. Clarifications and comments by me are contained in {}. Deletions are marked by [...]. The bold emphasis is mine.

“SARGIS TKHRUNI” TO PICKET

04 April, 2007
A1+

"The event is really disgraceful for the whole Armenians. We let the Turks to humiliate us via cutting the fillet in the presence of Ataturk’s picture. And now we announce world-wide “how kind the Turks are, we must invite them to Armenia as a sign of gratitude, hang the picture of Andranik and make the Turks cut ribbons under his picture"

“Sargis Tkhruni” Youth Student Union is indignant at the announcement of Gagik Gyurjinyan, Deputy Minister of the RA Culture. The point is that after negotiating with his Turkish counterpart, Gagik Gyurjinyan announced that Armenia is ready to renovate a Turkish historical monument in Armenia and to invite a Turkish delegation to the opening ceremony in return of rehabilitating Armenian cultural treasure Akhtamar in Turkey.

“Mr. Gyurjinyan doesn’t fully realize the matter or pretends not to realize. The event is really disgraceful for the whole Armenians. We let the Turks to humiliate us via cutting the fillet in the presence of Ataturk’s picture. And now we announce world-wide “how kind the Turks are, we must invite them to Armenia as a sign of gratitude, hang the picture of Andranik and make the Turks cut ribbons under his picture. Let’s initiate a struggle to raise Turkey’s reputation on the international level and serve Turkey’s interests. The Turks may feel pity for us and “leave alone,” the announcement reads.

Taking into consideration the current scene, “Sargis Tkhruni” still urges Hasmik Poghosyan, Minister of RA Culture, to apologise to all Armenians for sending a delegation to Turkey and humiliating Armenians. Otherwise, “we shall stick to our principles and hold a picket opposite RA Ministry of Culture.”

Note: Above are excerpts from the article. The full article appears here. Clarifications and comments by me are contained in {}. Deletions are marked by [...]. The bold emphasis is mine.

Let's hope Akhtamar is a new beginning

Tuesday, April 3, 2007
TDN

92 years later, a Turkish government had taken a step to rekindle the memory of the greatest disaster Anatolia suffered in its recent past. It was a matter of courage to take such a risk when elections neared and nationalism is exuding all around

CENGİZ AKTAR
In the 1970s, when I used to work as a tourist guide for summer jobs, one of the most interesting monuments I came to know in the east of Turkey was the Church of Akhtamar. One would take a jerry-built raft off a pier, itself jerry-built, to cross to the islet where this magnificent church, used as shooting target by local roughnecks, stood in isolation. This unique monument which was an ancient patriarchate and one of the most sacred places of the Armenian world reopened as a museum last week with a ceremony. In this way, the temple that belongs to world's cultural heritage was saved from further destruction. The second important point is that, 92 years later, a Turkish government had taken a step to rekindle the memory of the greatest disaster Anatolia suffered in its recent past. The undisguisable truth that Armenians lived in those lands, and the massacres of Armenians erased from the public memory was inevitably brought to the agenda with this inauguration. It was a matter of courage to take such a risk when elections neared and nationalism is exuding all around.

Some members of the Diaspora were saddened:

The renovation had no influence outside regarding hot issues such as tolerance and interreligious dialogue, as assumed before and claimed afterwards. Haughty headlines such as “Akdamar lesson” hit the national news headlines, while foreign press sufficed by admitting the encouraging side of the deed done. However, it did not fail, on the occasion, to qualify the 1915 massacres as genocide. Incidentally, the shortest cut to find echo in the outside world remains the opening of the border with Armenia. Therefore, it is more significant and important to appraise the initiative as intended more for home use. In fact, if one day the Armenian problem and the Armenian-Turkish relations were to reach a satisfactory course, this will originate, not from the Europe or the United States but from Turkey and Armenia. As a matter of fact, some members of the Diaspora were saddened by the fact that the church was renovated! If the rediscovery of the cultural memory as well as bringing the Armenian fact to the agenda are the positive side of the matter, there has been sheer clumsiness before and during the ceremony that cast shadow on the foregoing positive aspects. Firstly, the issue of naming the church. It is quite common in Anatolia to derive new city names by kicking off with the similarity of sounds, which may be comprehensible though meaningless. The most striking examples may be the following: Bodrum is derived from the Latin word Petronium but the town has nothing to do with a “basement”. Denizli, which has never had a sea front was invented from Diopolis Rhoas evolving through Donguzlu, Donuzlu, Tonguzluk, Dengizli and eventually to Denizli. Balıkesir which has neither any renowned fish nor slave was also derived from the Greek appellation of Palaio Kastro. Makrohori, which meant the farther away village once, later turned to be the Greco-Turkish hybrid word Makri-köy and was finally made Bakırköy. But there was never any copperfield. The same logic applies in the case of “Akhtamar” which is converted to “Akdamar” meaning white vein and the “Ani” ruins in the province of Kars, now called “Anı”, meaning memory. However, these names were changed after 1980. In the 70s, local folks did not utter words like “akdamar” or “anı”. This obsession to convert everything to Turkish is a sign of anguish.

Two thousand Akhtamars:

Likewise, other examples of clumsiness were the omission of cross even though the international restauration rules require faithfulness to the original; no religious ceremony was performed though Armenian clerics were invited from all over the world; the word “Armenian” was not pronounced even once in the official speeches and no translation service was provided for the Armenian delegation.... And the most hilarious, as always, was the protests of some local trade-unionists who instead of minding their own business came there to “save the country”. All in all, the government felt anxious, uneasy. It used various metaphors, neologisms and furtive expressions to name the “Armenian”. It used multitudes of nationalist symbols to counterbalance the event. But at the end of the day it nonetheless made as if it broke a taboo. Although security forces could not be persuaded to reopen the border for once, the Armenian delegation entered Turkey through Georgia and arrived at an Armenian monument, Akhtamar, in eastern Turkey and attended the ceremony together with the Armenians of Turkey. Of more than 2,500 religious buildings existing on the Ottoman territory in 1913, according to the data of Armenian Patriarchate of Istanbul, 2,000 are still standing today, though in ruins. While not all of them can be renovated like Akhtamar, most of them can be reclaimed through archeological and cultural works to be carried out jointly with Armenia. As a result, joint historical studies that could not be performed so far can somehow be initiated. Are we for it?


Note: Above are excerpts from the article. The full article appears here. Clarifications and comments by me are contained in {}. Deletions are marked by [...]. The bold emphasis is mine.

Future of Akdamar wrapped in the word 'maybe'

Saturday, March 31, 2007
Turkish Daily News
VERCİHAN ZİFLİOĞLU - VAN

A small demonstration by nationalists in Van preceded the ceremony. Everyone acted as if it had not occurred. Some Turkish officials appeared distressed when dignitaries from Armenia, which Turkey does not have diplomatic relations with, entered the church wearing small Armenian flags. There were a few strange looks when some of the Armenian guests crossed themselves at the end of the ceremony, placed dozens of candles from Armenia in various parts of the church and lit incense. And when the regional governor offered his remarks, his lack of a word of welcome to the Armenian Minister of Culture Gagik Gürciyan and Turkey's Armenian Mesrop Mutafyan, was lost on no one. And the fact that none from the Armenian delegation were asked to speak at the ceremony was bit of silence that rang in everyone's ears.

The opening of the historic Armenian Holy Cross Church on the island of Akdamar, near Van in southeast Turkey, is intended as an exercise in good will, an effort to show Turkey bears no ill will toward Armenians despite many political problems, says Culture and Tourism Minister Atilla Koç.

Koç's comments to the Turkish Daily News came in a wide-ranging interview aboard his charter plane as he and his entourage returned from the ceremony, Thursday, which brought Turks and Armenians together in a rare and unusual forum.

As was much discussed in the press this week, the restoration and opening of the “Surp Khaç” church left many questions unresolved. Will it be allowed to eventually have its restored cross again placed on its roof? Might it actually function as a church one day, even if only for one service a year? Might the celebration have benefited had such a prominent Turkish-Armenian as world-renowned composer Sirvart Karamanukyan been invited to stage his opera “Ah Tamar” at the event?

Perhaps so, said Koç, conceding the project remains a work-in-progress and the event might have been improved upon, and perhaps a way can be found to actually let the church operate as a church.

“I have many Armenian and Greek friends from my school days and I am close to the culture,” Koç said. “We have no problems with the Armenians of Turkey, our problem is with the Armenians of the diaspora.”

Koç's frequent use of the word “maybe,” reflected the treacherous politics that surround the restoration of the historic church at a time when the U.S. Congress and others are pressuring Turkey to accept as “genocide” the deaths and deportations of much of the ethnic Armenian community of Ottoman Anatolia. That the opening followed by just two months the assassination of Armenian-Turkish journalist Hrant Dink, a murder now with many questions unresolved, only added to the undercurrent of tension.

A small demonstration by nationalists in Van preceded the ceremony. Everyone acted as if it had not occurred. Some Turkish officials appeared distressed when dignitaries from Armenia, which Turkey does not have diplomatic relations with, entered the church wearing small Armenian flags. There were a few strange looks when some of the Armenian guests crossed themselves at the end of the ceremony, placed dozens of candles from Armenia in various parts of the church and lit incense. And when the regional governor offered his remarks, his lack of a word of welcome to the Armenian Minister of Culture Gagik Gürciyan and Turkey's Armenian Mesrop Mutafyan, was lost on no one. And the fact that none from the Armenian delegation were asked to speak at the ceremony was bit of silence that rang in everyone's ears.

But if there were a few awkward moments, Koç made it clear that he is doing the best he can to highlight Turkey's diverse heritage and traditions and to keep the sacred distinct from politics.

“We will stand by our cultural wealth, regardless of which religion it belongs to,” he said.

He noted that Turkey is spending and has spent sizeable resources on the restoration, while equivalent restorations of Mosques and other Muslim sites in Greece remain stalled. He noted that Turkey has successfully worked to preserve the so-called Ani ruins, a historical Armenian site near Kars, despite dynamite used in the stone quarry across the border in Armenia which threatened their stability.

Koç in particular defended his ministry which is currently conducting work on 806 ancient theaters and archeological sites which include many ruins from Armenian and Greek cultures.

“All religions and religious sites are important to me,” Koç said.

Note: Above are excerpts from the article. The full article appears here. Clarifications and comments by me are contained in {}. Deletions are marked by [...]. The bold emphasis is mine.

The so-called ‘Akdamar museum’

Friday, March 30, 2007
Turkish Daily news
Cengiz Çandar

Cengiz Çandar in this article inspires hope for Turkey only if he is listened to. I wish more were like him. the Turkish government is so transparent in its political maneuverings to deny an obvious genocide that my its actions it is affirming the genocide. The only recourse it has therefore to fight the resolutions is unabashed threats to those countries that dare to recognize the genocide.

This is the day of the opening of a "church-museum," which the Minister of Cultural Affairs turned into a mess. Whatever the intention was, it looks like a "cultural genocide." Today is indeed the day of the opening of the Ahtamar Church, which has been just restored, to "tourism," and which is expected to attract many tourists to Eastern Anatolia.

However the Ministry has renamed the 1000-year-old Armenian capital "Ani" as "Anı" (which means "memory" in Turkish), and also removed the cross and the bells from the Ahtamar Church, which it renamed as "Akdamar" (which means "white vein" in Turkish.) This obsession with renaming, the cultural and religious intolerance shown towards the cross and the church bell, might well be perceived in the world as a "cultural genocide"; nobody should be surprised if that turns out to be the case.

The obsession with renaming:

The name Akhtamar comes from a myth about the lake Van. It is about the story of a young man, who was looking forward to reunite with his lover, Tamar, who was on the island along with the church in question. The man yelled "Ah, Tamar" while he was drowning. Why in the world we change that name into "Akdamar"?

What kind of a lack of imagination is that? We have renamed many historical areas within Turkey with completely made-up names like "Güzelyurt" (Beautiful Home), "Yeşilyurt" (Green Home), "Yeşilköy" (Green Village), "Gündoğan" (Rising Day). And now, "Ani" turned into "Anı", and "Akhtamar" into "Akdamar."

You restore a historical church and find absurd reasons for not putting a cross and a bell onto it? Who will believe that you are secular, or that you "respect all faiths," or that you represent "the alliance of civilizations against the clash of civilizations."

What you do is simply "cultural genocide." How come you have the right for that? And why?

Here is an excerpt from a news story published in the weekly Agos on March 23, and which tells about the letter sent by a group of intellectuals from the Istanbul Armenian community to Minister of Culture, Atilla Koç:

“…Emphasizing that the church on the island is named “Ahtamar Sourp Haç Church” and that it gets its name from the Sourp Haç festival celebrated on the second Sunday of every September, the intellectuals say: ‘This is an important day and an important festival for Armenians. This is also the reason for the existence of that church. Therefore, we think it would be appropriate to have the name of the church, just like the name of the island, to be changed to fit its religious and historical significance… If required, the ownership of the property can be given to the community and the operation right to the relative state body. However, if this site will also be [serving as] a church, then it needs to be blessed and open to prayers'.”

Turkish Armenian Patriarch Mesrop II says: “Is it possible to have a church without a cross at the top? Furthermore, religious services will not be conducted at its opening. If I will not have a role there as a [man of] religion, there will not be a point in my going there.”

Appear righteous and benefit politically:

What do you think “our set” are trying to do? If you ask me, they would like “to appear righteous and benefit politically.” And naturally they make a mess out of it. The initial plans were for the opening of Ahtamar to take place on Apr. 24. A real cunning idea... As it is known to be the “Armenian genocide remembrance day in the world,” a trump for propaganda would have been used on that day.

Then the date became Apr. 11. According to the ancient Armenian calendar, Apr. 11 coincides with Apr. 24. They probably knew this also. They were still pursuing another cunning idea. At the end, it was decided that the opening of Ahtamar, now “Akdamar,” would take place on Mar. 29, as a restoration opening of a museum-church, without a cross or a bell.

What a disgrace. The cross a symbol for the Christian world that represents Jesus Christ's suffering for all humanity. Even if Muslims do not believe in the cross, and even if there are negative connotations of the cross throughout history for Muslims, would it not be necessary to “show respect toward everyone's faiths” in a secular country in 2007? Would such an attitude not glorify a Muslim Culture Minister and his government?

On one hand, they constantly pronounce Fatih Sultan Mehmet's name, yet on the other, they cannot even come near what he has done 550 years ago or his tolerance. They have learned nothing from him.

Hrant Dink foretold it:

A reminder, just in case you have forgotten, that Hrant Dink was treacherously murdered with a shot in the back on Jan. 19. During the time of his murder, the last Agos newspaper he prepared, Agos's 564th issue has just hit the newsstands. The headline of the newspaper was on Ahtamar and so was the editorial, which Hrant wrote and signed as “Agos.”

Here's what Hrant Dink wrote in his editorial:

“The opening of the restored Surp Haç Armenian Church of Ahtamar Island has turned into a comedy. It could only be possible to put a right job on a wrong course so successfully. The impossible-to-hide hidden motive could not be more revealing. A real comedy… A real tragedy… The government hasn't still been able to formulate a correct approach to the “Armenian question.” Its real aim is not to solve the problem, but to gain points like a wrestler in a contest. How and when it will make the right move and defeat its opponent. That's the only concern. This is not earnestness. The state calls on Armenian historians to discuss history, but does not shy from trying its own intellectuals who have an unorthodox rhetoric on the Armenian genocide. It restores an Armenian church in the Southeast, but only thinks, “How can I use this for political gains in the world, how can I sell it?”

They shot Hrant on the day this article was published. It lost its charm in entity. There has been no charm ever since that day. Bad smells come from the Hrant Dink murder investigation.

And today, they replace the cross with the icing on the cake, when they open the Ahtamar Sourp Haç Church as “Akdamar.” Then the “alleged genocide” and “alliance of civilizations” rhetoric will follow.

Note: Above are excerpts from the article. The full article appears here. Clarifications and comments by me are contained in {}. Deletions are marked by [...]. The bold emphasis is mine.

U.S. CONGRESSWOMAN: TURKEY MISLEADS THE WORLD

30 March, 2007
A1+

WASHINGTON, DC - Congresswoman Diane Watson, a leading member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, today warned her colleagues not to be misled by the Turkish government's token efforts to use the renovation of a single Armenian Church to obscure its longstanding policy of destroying Armenian cultural heritage and denying the Armenian Genocide, reported the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA)

"We thank Congresswoman Watson for her work in alerting her colleagues to the true motivations behind this token - and all too transparent - effort by the Turkish government to draw attention away from its anti-Armenian policies," said ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian. "It is clearly not an act of tolerance for Turkish leaders to turn an ancient and sacred church, with profound religious meaning for Armenians worldwide, into a secular museum, upon which a cross is forbidden and within which prayer is prohibited."

In a Dear Colleague letter circulated today, the day of the official opening of the newly renovated Holy Cross Church on Akhtamar Island, in Lake Van, as a museum, she noted that, "the Turkish government is holding an event to tout the rehabilitation of an Armenian Church. Unfortunately, this event obscures the reality that hundreds of Christian Armenian Churches in Turkey, some dating as far back as the 4th century, have been neglected and even egregiously abused." She urged her colleagues to visit a website documenting this destruction: http://www.teachgenocide.com/background/hist_sites.htm

Congresswoman Watson explained that, "Armenia, which was the first nation to adopt Christianity as a state religion in 301 A.D., has a remarkably rich history of ancient churches and Christian artifacts. Sadly, the Turkish government - which still, against all evidence, denies the Armenian Genocide - continues to actively pursue the eradication of Armenian ancient monuments. It is a desperate and malicious campaign, which began in 1915, to erase the Armenian people's physical and cultural existence in their historic homeland."

Note: Above are excerpts from the article. The full article appears here. Clarifications and comments by me are contained in {}. Deletions are marked by [...]. The bold emphasis is mine.

TURKEY OPENS RESTORED ARMENIAN CHURCH

3/29/07
EurasiaNet
By Nicholas Birch

Despite the positive words, controversy seemed to hover over the restoration/reopening event. It showed itself indirectly in the ceremony’s patriotic undercurrent: speeches, for example, were preceded by a rendering of the Turkish national anthem. And as they approached Akdamar Island on boats, visitors - many of whom were foreign journalists invited by the Turkish government - saw a huge Turkish flag draped along one of the island spurs long before the church silhouette came into view.

Abandoned since the slaughter of Anatolia’s Armenians more than 90 years ago, Turkey’s best-known Armenian Church was reopened March 29 after undergoing a high-profile restoration. Ankara hopes the highly publicized gesture will improve tense relations with Europe, the United States and neighboring Armenia.

The restored church reopened as a museum. The midday ceremony on Akdamar, a craggy island on eastern Anatolia’s vast Lake Van, came two months after Turkey’s most outspoken Armenian, journalist Hrant Dink, was shot dead in Istanbul [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive]. The event also occurred amid continuing European Union pressure on Turkey to improve its civil rights climate, [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive] and as the US Congress prepares to consider a resolution to recognize the mass killings of Armenians in 1915 as genocide. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive].

Heading a 20-strong delegation that arrived in Turkey via Georgia due to the closure of the Turkish-Armenian border, Armenia’s Deputy Minister of Culture Gagik Gyurjyan sounded a conciliatory note. "This is an important step for our two countries", he told reporters on the island.

Patriarch Mesrob II, the spiritual head of Turkey’s dwindling Armenian community, was the guest of honor at the high-security event, which included a concert and a brief fireworks display. "It is a joy to see the church restored to its original grandeur", he told approximately 200 dignitaries seated in front of the 1,100-year old, octagonal structure. At a time of high tension in Turkey, he congratulated the government for "courageously completing the project." The restoration cost Turkey $1.9 million. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive].


Despite the positive words, controversy seemed to hover over the restoration/reopening event. It showed itself indirectly in the ceremony’s patriotic undercurrent: speeches, for example, were preceded by a rendering of the Turkish national anthem. And as they approached Akdamar Island on boats, visitors - many of whom were foreign journalists invited by the Turkish government - saw a huge Turkish flag draped along one of the island spurs long before the church silhouette came into view.

Speaking against a backdrop of flags and a portrait of the founder of the modern Turkish state, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, Turkey’s Culture Minister Atilla Koc called for the protection of "the cultural diversity and assets of the different cultures and civilizations in our lands" without mentioning Armenia or Armenians by name.

Patriarch Mesrob was more outspoken, chiding Turkey for turning Akdamar into a museum. "We all know Aghtamar is a church", he said, using the Armenian pronunciation of the island. "An annual Divine Liturgy that could be celebrated in this church... would gather believers from the four corners of the world."

The secular nature of today’s ceremony prompted Catholicos Karekin II, the Yerevan-based Armenian supreme patriarch, to reject a Turkish invitation to attend the ceremony. For several weeks prior to the opening, Turks had been debating the lack of cross on the apex of the church’s octagonal dome. "There’s no need for a cross on a museum," today’s Turkish newspapers quoted Koc as saying. Critics, meanwhile, pointed to the church’s original name - the Holy Cross.

There are indications that the Turkish government has not made a final decision on whether to permit the installation of a cross atop the church. Turkey’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism has sought input from the Foreign Ministry on the cross issue, Today’s Zaman, a Turkish news website, reported March 29.

Religious leaders invited to the ceremony seemed inclined to let the omission go. "Buildings are built stone by stone, and friendships too" said George Marovitch, Papal Nuncio to Turkey. "But you cannot love what you do not know, and Akdamar is an important start."

With the investigations into the Dink murder still continuing, it is far less clear how the church’s restoration will influence opinion among Turkey’s 60,000 Armenians. "Only two things are keeping the Armenian community going -- this newspaper, and the hope that Hrant’s killers will be brought to justice," said Etyen Mahcupyan, who took over as editor of the weekly Agos after Dink’s death, said in a recent interview.

Sitting around a table in the Istanbul suburb of Yesilkoy a few days before the Akdamar ceremony, a group of a dozen Armenian Turks of all ages largely concurred. When they heard Dink had been murdered, they said, they feared it might be the start of a pogrom like the one in 1955 that ended Greek presence in Istanbul. "All the teachers at my school dropped what they were doing and ran home", said one young woman who - like everybody else - spoke on condition of anonymity. A middle-aged woman nodded in agreement - "I rang my kids and told them to get off the street," she said.

Always close followers of the Turkish media, Armenians everywhere watched with dismay the nationalist reaction to the huge crowd that turned out for Dink’s funeral. "Am I living in the same country that I was born in", Patriarch Mesrob II said in one of two uncharacteristically outspoken interviews with Agos recently.

Following the arrest of two young men who fired shots into the air as mourners congregated in a church to mark the 40th day of Dink’s death, Armenians have been upping security around their community buildings. For the Yesilkoy Armenians, Dink’s death and what followed signaled the end of "the illusion" that outside pressure was transforming Turkey for the better.

"We have two choices," said one 52-year old woman; "Keep our heads down and our mouths shut, or leave. I would leave tomorrow, but like everybody here I have relatives who left Turkey, and none of them are happy."

"The first generation in exile is a lost generation."

In Yerevan, the Armenian Foreign Ministry applauded the Church restoration, but indicated that the lack of a cross atop it diluted the impact of Turkey’s goodwill gesture.

Editor's Note: Nicolas Birch specializes in Turkey, Iran and the Middle East.

Posted March 29, 2007 © Eurasianet

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Transformation of Akhtamar Christian Church into museum shows Turkey's real intentions

29 March 2007
HULIQ

Renovation of the Holy Cross Church as a “monument” must not serve Turkey’s intentions for abolishing the fact that Armenians were the native population of Western Armenia -- Giro Manoyan

Turkey says it restores Armenian church, but does not allow worship and transforms the christian church into museum to attract tourism.

The inauguration of the Holy Cross Church on Akhtamar island as a “monument-museum” shows real intentions of the Turkish government, “Hay Dat” Office head Giro Manoyan stated to the PanARMENIAN.Net journalist.

“They turned the church into a museum, where it is forbidden to pray and deliver services. Such an example in Turkey already exists – the Saint-Sophia Cathedral, which has been turned into a museum. Being Ankara’s hostage the Armenian Patriarch of Istanbul asked the authorities to give him one day annually for praying in the church and this is an evidence for desecration of the temple,” Manoyan underlined.

Thus, Giro Manoyan thinks that official Ankara [...]{on} the one hand tried to show that he makes a positive step towards Armenian, and [...]{on} the other hand Armenians are forbidden to pray there. “Archbishop Mutafyan during inauguration underlined that the church has not functioned over 90 years but always has been and is a temple. We shouldn’t view the reconstruction of the church positively.

Turkey officially invited Armenian in the inauguration ceremony purely for propaganda purposes. It should have met the Armenian delegation on the border and not to make them reach Van via Georgia. The stance of Armenian Patriarch, as well as Catholicoses of Echmiadzin and Great House of Kilikia made Turkish Culture and Tourism Minister add that it was a church and not only a “historical monument”.

"I think following this propaganda move aimed at the world community we must take actions in order to prove that it is forbidden to pray there. Renovation of the Holy Cross Church as a “monument” must not serve Turkey’s intentions for abolishing the fact that Armenians were the native population of Western Armenia," Giro Manoyan stressed. - By Panarmenian.net


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Yerevan Downplays Armenian Church Renovation By Turks

Thursday 29, March 2007
Armenia Liberty

By Emil Danielyan

“Turkey’s announcements about the opening of this renovated church do not include the word ‘Armenian’ anywhere,” it added. “Names of kings and regions from medieval times are evoked, but no mention is made of its Armenian and Apostolic belonging. This is an evasion of the Turkish government’s responsibility not only to history and memory, but to its own Armenian minority.”

Armenia on Thursday welcomed the inauguration of a newly renovated ancient Armenian church in eastern Turkey, but said that alone will not help to improve Turkish-Armenian relations.

The Foreign Ministry in Yerevan pointed to the Turkish authorities’ apparent refusal to reinstate the 10th century Church of the Saint Cross as a place of worship and accused them of using the high-profile event to prevent U.S. recognition of the Armenian genocide.

The ceremony marking the $1.5 million restoration of the church, located on the island of Akhtamar on the vast Lake Van, took place earlier in the day in the presence of senior Turkish officials, leaders of Turkey’s Armenian community and a government delegation from Armenia. The delegation led by Deputy Culture Minister Gagik Gyurjian attended it at the invitation of Turkish Culture Minister Atilla Koc.

Speaking at the ceremony broadcast live by Turkish television, Koc portrayed the restoration as a gesture of goodwill towards the Armenians and proof of his government’s commitment to protecting the cultural heritage of Turkey’s ethnic minorities.

“This is a positive move and holds the potential of a reversal of the policy of negligence and destruction,” Vladimir Karapetian, the Armenian Foreign Ministry spokesman, said in a statement. He urged Ankara to take the “same kind approach” to dozens of other medieval churches that have fallen into disrepair or been vandalized since the 1915 mass killings and deportations of Armenians in Ottoman Turkey.

“Unfortunately, this opening was not transformed to a new opportunity in Armenia-Turkish relations, because the Turkish government has not found it expedient to do so,” the statement said.

“Turkey’s announcements about the opening of this renovated church do not include the word ‘Armenian’ anywhere,” it added. “Names of kings and regions from medieval times are evoked, but no mention is made of its Armenian and Apostolic belonging. This is an evasion of the Turkish government’s responsibility not only to history and memory, but to its own Armenian minority.”

Also causing controversy in Armenia was the sight of a huge Turkish flag and a picture of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, founder of the Turkish Republic, hanging at the entrance to the Akhtamar church. Yerkir-Media, an Armenian television station that retransmitted the ceremony, aired a live phone-in program afterwards. It featured phone calls by angry viewers that condemned the display of Turkish state symbols on an Armenian religious shrine as blasphemous.

Earlier this week, the head of the Armenian Apostolic Church, Catholicos Garegin II, rejected an official invitation to attend the event because the Turkish government has converted the restored church into a museum and ignored calls by the Turkish-Armenian community to place a cross on the church's dome.

In a speech before about 350 people attending the ceremony, the community’s spiritual leader, Patriarch Mesrop II, urged the government in Ankara to open up the church for worship at least once a year. "If our government approves [the request,] it will contribute to peace between two communities who have not been able to come together for years," Mesrop said.

Koc promised to consider the request. Reuters news agency reported that Turkish officials removed some of the candles placed inside the church by Armenians that arrived on the remote island for the occasion. It said some of them whispered prayers and wept with emotion.

Turkish officials have made no secret of their intention to use the event for countering the decades-long Armenian campaign for international recognition of the 1915-1918 massacres as genocide. The U.S. Congress is to debate a relevant resolution co-sponsored by over a hundred lawmakers soon.

“It is no coincidence that this opening is being held just as the U.S. Congress is considering a resolution on affirming the U.S. record on the Armenian Genocide,” said Karapetian.

Karapetian also criticized Ankara for failing to reopen the Turkish-Armenian for the Armenian officials heading to Akhtamar. The Armenian delegation took 16 hours to reach the site, less than 400 kilometers from Yerevan, via Georgia.

In a related development, the Turkish police detained on Thursday five trade-union representatives who staged a demonstration on a jetty on Lake Van to protest the church's restoration. According to an Associated Press report citing the government-run Anatolia news agency, the protesters carried Turkish flags, pictures of Ataturk, and a banner that read: “The Turkish people are noble. They would never commit genocide.”

Note: Above are excerpts from the article. The full article appears here. Clarifications and comments by me are contained in {}. Deletions are marked by [...]. The bold emphasis is mine.

Prayers, protests at church opening

March 29 2007
IOL
By Zerin Elci

Some Armenians, whispering prayers, placed candles in the church. A few wept with emotion. Officials removed some of the candles, underlining Turkish sensitivities about expressions of religious belief in officially secular buildings.

The Armenian delegation took 16 hours to reach the site, barely 200 km (120 miles) from Yerevan, because Turkey's border with Armenia is closed and they had to travel via Georgia.

Akdamar - Turks and Armenians celebrated the re-opening of a 10th century Armenian Christian church restored with Turkish state money on Thursday in a ceremony they hope will herald a thaw in long-frozen ties.

But some Armenians, including the country's top clergyman, spurned the event because the Church of the Holy Cross, on a tiny island in Lake Van in eastern Turkey, is not adorned with a cross and will function as a museum, not as a place of worship.

Armenians also fear the event may be just a public relations exercise aimed at softening international pressure on Turkey to own up to its role in massacres of their countrymen in 1915.

Turkey denies claims the massacres amounted to a genocide. Flanked by Turkish flags, Archbishop Mesrob Mutafyan, spiritual head of Turkey's tiny surviving Armenian community, thanked Ankara for the $1,4-million restoration, but asked that Armenians be allowed to pray once a year at the site.

"Praying at such a historic church, a centre of our faith, would have a positive effect on people's memory," he told about 350 people attending the ceremony. They included representatives of the Armenian government and the worldwide Armenian diaspora.

Turkish Culture Minister Attila Koc said Ankara would consider the request. He also said he hoped the church would boost tourism to the remote, mountainous region.

The church, commissioned by an Armenian king and completed in 921, is shaped as a cross, decorated with stone reliefs depicting Biblical scenes and topped by a conical roof. Snow-capped mountains tower above it and the blue lake waters.

Some Armenians, whispering prayers, placed candles in the church. A few wept with emotion. Officials removed some of the candles, underlining Turkish sensitivities about expressions of religious belief in officially secular buildings.

Armenia's Patriarch Garegin II boycotted the ceremony because of the decision to make the site a museum.

"Such actions by the Turkish authorities are directed against the Christian sentiments of the Armenian people and cannot be seen as a positive step on the path to reconciliation of the Armenian and Turkish peoples," the patriarchate said.

Muslim but secular Turkey, often criticised in the West for its treatment of its Christian minorities, hopes the re-opening of the church will improve its image, especially as the US Congress considers whether to approve a resolution that would recognise the mass killings of Armenians in 1915 as genocide.

Ankara denies Ottoman Turkish forces committed a systematic genocide and says large numbers of both Christian Armenians and Muslim Turks died in inter-ethnic fighting in that period.

The church on Akdamar island (Akhtamar to the Armenians) ceased to be a place of worship during World War One, when many of Turkey's ancient Armenian population suffered death or deportation in a tragedy commemorated on April 24 every year.

The Armenian delegation took 16 hours to reach the site, barely 200 km (120 miles) from Yerevan, because Turkey's border with Armenia is closed and they had to travel via Georgia.

"It would be very nice if the border were open. If the border stays shut, tourism from Armenia cannot really take off," Armenia's Deputy Culture Minister Gagik Gyurjyan said.

Some Armenians dismissed the church project as empty PR.

"(Turkey) is sending a message to the European Union: 'Aren't we civilised, trying to restore good ties with Armenia', while for domestic consumption they tell everyone: 'You do not need to worry, there will be no cross (on the church)," said Armenia's Social Democrat Hunchakian Party in Yerevan. - Reuters

Additional reporting by Hasmik Mkrtchyan in Yerevan

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ST. KHATCH LEFT WIHOUT CROSS

29 March, 2007
A1+

The Akhtamar St. Khatch church was built by the Armenian architect Manvel, under the sovereign {Armenian} Prince Gagik I in the 10th century. The monastery used to be the seat of the Catholicos in the years of 1113-1895.

Today, there took place the opening of the restored Surb Khatch (Holy Cross) which was eventually left without a cross. According to Turkish newspaper “Zaman”, the Turkish Foreign Ministry allowed putting the cross on the dome.

The Armenian delegation headed by Gagik Gyurjyan, vice minister of RA Culture and Youth was also present at the opening ceremony.

To remind, Mother See of Holy Echmiadzin has refused the invitation taking into account the fact that the church will turn into a museum and will no longer serve its main mission.

The church was built by Manvel architect under the sovereign of Prince Gagik I in the 10th century. The monastery used to be the seat of the Catholicos in the years of 1113-1895.

Note: Above are excerpts from the article. The full article appears here. Clarifications and comments by me are contained in {}. Deletions are marked by [...]. The bold emphasis is mine.

Turkish restoration of Armenian church leaves no room for apology

29 March 2007
The Independent
By Ian Herbert in Van, Anatolia, Turkey

the culture and tourism minister, Atilla Koc, Turkey's most senior government representative, made his address. "We protect the cultural diversity and assets of different cultures," he proclaimed during a speech in which the word "Armenia" was not used once.

Across a blue salt lake on an island surrounded by snow-capped mountains in eastern Turkey, Armenian Christians were invited yesterday to witness how the Turkish nation has restored one of their most holy sites.

From the bas-relief etched out of red tufa stone, to the frescoes on the high conical roof, most of the ancient treasures were back on view again at the 1,000-year-old Church of the Holy Cross, on the island of Akdamar in Lake Van, eastern Anatolia. Except for the cross; the same cross which was visible in early sketches of the church and photographed in 1908, just before Armenians were rounded up, never to return, in the city of Van at the beginning of what they describe as their genocide at the hands of the Ottomans.

The church's restoration had been sold to the world - and specifically to the US, whose House of Representatives is about to consider a resolution labelling the Armenian deaths genocide - as proof that Turkey want to put things right with the Armenians. But, despite the protests of the restoration project's Armenian architect, a cross was ruled out - as is any immediate prospect of this Christian church being consecrated so Armenians might, occasionally at least, pray here again. "The church is reopening as a museum and doesn't need a cross," Yusuf Halacoglu, the head of the Turkish Historical Society, insisted this week. "Around 22,000 Ottoman buildings have had crescents taken off when attacked. Other countries don't give as much attention to that."

The insensitivity set the tone for yesterday's ceremony which, despite the Turkish posters everywhere declaring Tarihe saygi, kulture saygi ("Respect the history, respect the culture"), was a painful and almost provocative statement of Turkey's national identity. The Armenian architect/bishop Manuel, who started building the church in AD 915, employed Armenian master carvers to create Christian reliefs of Adam and Eve, Noah's flood and David and Goliath. But Turkey has appropriated the holy site in a three-year, $2m (£1m) rebuild and was making no secret of the fact. The Turkish cresent and a giant Ataturk hung from the front of the church where, after a triumphal rendition of the Turkish national anthem, the culture and tourism minister, Atilla Koc, Turkey's most senior government representative, made his address. "We protect the cultural diversity and assets of different cultures," he proclaimed during a speech in which the word "Armenia" was not used once.

Perhaps it was just as well that only 29 people from Armenia had travelled here - by road, via Georgia, because the Turks would not open the borders to their cars or Van airport to their planes. But those who did make the journey bore witness to the most extraordinary man in the place.

Patriarch Mesrob Mutafyan believes his people were the victims of genocide - he calls it medzegherm(the great slaughter) - and he would like the Turkish government to say "a simple sorry to my people to ease the tensions". But he was prepared to take the Turks' Akdamar gesture at face value in the hope that Armenians and Turks can live together. "The government ... has courageously completed the restoration project," he said when he clambered to his feet. "It is quite a positive move in Turkish-Armenian relations and I offer my profound thanks." His only request was that the Turks allow the church to become the site of annual pilgrimage, concluding in a Christian ceremony, once a year.

It remains to be seen whether Turkey's modernising Prime Minister Recep Tayip Erdogan can let that pass. It is an election year and a rising tide of nationalism is being fuelled in large part by the EU's frostiness about Turkish accession. Antagonising those who consider further concessions to the Armenians an "insult to Turkishness" might be politically contentious. It might also explain why Mr Erdogan, a progressive who started the Akdamar project and has also launched a History Commission to investigate the events of 1915, thought it best not to attend yesterday's ceremony.

So desperate is Mr Erdogan's government to demonstrate its tolerance of Turkey's 70,000 Armenian minority that it took journalists around the country this week. The trip revealed more than the government might have intended: Armenian schools in Istanbul where only the Turkish version of history - ignoring 1915 - is taught; Armenian priests who need metal detectors at their churches because of the threat of extremists; and, at the newspaper offices of the murdered Turkish-Armenian writer Hrant Dink, a stream of abusive emails from nationalists. (Dink's last article communicated his exasperation at the Turks' initial selection of 24 April - the day when Armenians mark the anniversary of the round-up of intellectuals in 1915 - as the day of the Akdamar church reopening. That date was later changed.)

With the Armenian government unwilling to join Mr Erdogan's History Commission, Patriarch Mutafyan invokes the memory of Levon Ter-Petrossian, Armenia's former president, and his search for common ground. Mr Ter-Petrossian wanted a monument on the countries' border with the inscription, in Armenian and Turkish, of the words "I'm sorry". It was never built.

The Turkish Foreign Ministry said yesterday that a request by Patriarch Mutayfan that the cross be returned to Akdamar was being referred to the culture ministry. "I'm praying that one day it will be there," another Armenian church leader, George Kazoum, said before the ceremony.

For now, the Armenians can only take comfort from the crosses which no one can take from them. They were bathed in sunshine yesterday, away from all of the Turkish stage-managed razzmatazz, on gravestones in the Akdamar churchyard which have stood here through 1,000 years of snow, storms, earthquakes and human carnage.

Note: Above are excerpts from the article. The full article appears here. Clarifications and comments by me are contained in {}. Deletions are marked by [...]. The bold emphasis is mine.

Opening of Akhtamar Church - an attempt to prevent Armenian Genocide recognition

29.03.2007

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The renovation of the Holy Cross Church in Akhtamar island undoubtedly is a positive phenomenon, since the matter concerns one of the most famous Armenian medieval historical-cultural monuments, which was in poor condition after 1915, RA MFA Acting Press Officer Vladimir Karapetyan says in his statement.

Particularly the statement notes, “At the same it is worth mentioning that speaking about the opening of the church, the Turkish authorities and media do not mention her historical-cultural value. Turkey’s announcements about the opening of this renovated church do not include the word ‘Armenian’ anywhere, no mention is made of its Armenian and Apostolic belonging. This fact is being used for propaganda purposes, in order to prevent recognition of the Armenian Genocide by the international community.

The Turkish authorities are trying to avoid of the responsibility not only to history and memory, but to its own Armenian minority. Examining the issue from historical viewpoint, one cannot mention that the Holy Cross Church is one of a dozen other priceless examples of Armenian medieval architecture on Turkish territory, which have been abandoned at best, or more often, intentionally vandalized, simply because of their Armenian identity.

Armenia highly appreciates Turkey’s initiative on renovation of the church hoping that it will not become a single example. Renovation of the Holy Cross Church is important both for us and the Turkish society. The denial of such a broad layer of civilization, historical presence, culture of an entire nation today is impossible for a nation and a country, which tries to become a part of civilized system of values. Instead, constantly the political implication is being underlined of this issue, it is being presented as a “demonstration of good will” towards Armenia and the Armenian nation.”

! Reproduction in full or in part is prohibited without reference to «PanARMENIAN.Net».

Note: Above are excerpts from the article. The full article appears here. Clarifications and comments by me are contained in {}. Deletions are marked by [...]. The bold emphasis is mine.

Armenian delegation in Turkey to attend ceremony to mark restoration of Armenian church

March 29, 2007
IHT
Source: The Associated PressPublished

ANKARA, Turkey: The spiritual leader of Turkey's Armenian Orthodox community on Thursday called on Turkey to open up a newly restored ancient Armenian church for worship at least once a year, saying the move would help reconciliation between Turks and Armenians.

Patriarch Mesrob II was speaking at a ceremony marking the restoration of the Akdamar church, perched on a rocky island in Lake Van, a vast body of water in eastern Turkey. Turkish authorities restored the church as a gesture to its neighbor and its own ethnic Armenian minority, but opened it up as a museum — not a place of worship.

Mesrob expressed gratitude for the restoration of the sandstone church but added: "Our request from our government is for a religious and cultural service to be held at the church every year and for a festival to be organized."

"If our government approves, it will contribute to peace between two communities who have not been able to come together for years," Mesrob said.

Akdamar's restoration — at a cost of US$1.5 million (€1.1 million) — has been showcased as a step by Turkey to help overcome historical animosity between Turkey and Armenia, who are locked in a bitter dispute over mass killings of Armenians in Turkey around the time of World War I.

Turkey has no diplomatic ties with Armenia but still invited Armenian officials to the ceremony. Armenia's Deputy Culture Minister Gagik Gyurjyan, accompanied by a 20-member delegation, including officials, historians and other experts, traveled to Turkey for the ceremony.

One of the finest surviving monuments of Armenian culture 1,000 years ago, the church had deteriorated over the past century, neglected in the years following the mass killings of Armenians at the hands of Ottoman Turks. Rainwater seeped through the collapsed, conical dome. Its basalt floors were dug up by treasure-hunters, its facade riddled with bullet holes.

On Thursday, police detained five trade-union representatives who staged a demonstration on a jetty on Lake Van to protest the church's restoration. The protesters carried Turkish flags, pictures of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, modern Turkey's founder, and a banner that read: "The Turkish people are noble. They would never commit genocide," the government-run Anatolia news agency reported.

Akdamar, called the Church of Surp Khach, or Holy Cross, was inaugurated in A.D. 921. Written records say the church was near a harbor and a palace on the island on Lake Van, but only the church survived.

Armenia has welcomed the restoration, but said a better move toward improved ties would be the opening up of the border with Armenia and the establishment of diplomatic relations.

Turkey closed its border with Armenia in 1993 during a war between Armenia and Azerbaijan, a Muslim ally of Ankara. Landlocked Armenia's economy suffered as a result.

Turkey is lobbying hard against a proposed U.S. congressional resolution that would recognize the killings of Armenians in the last century as genocide.

Some of Turkey's 65,000 Armenian Orthodox Christians complain of harassment in Turkey, which has an overwhelmingly Muslim population.

Hrant Dink, an ethnic Armenian journalist murdered in Istanbul in January, was apparently targeted by nationalists for his commentaries on minority rights and free expression.
__

Associated Press writer Selcan Hacaoglu contributed to this report

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Turkey considers placing cross on Akhtamar Church

29.03.2007
Today's Zaman Ankara

While the Culture and Tourism Ministry intends for the 1,100-year-old church on Lake Van's Akhtamar Island to be opened to the public as a "museum," the Armenian community is pressing for the church to be available for religious services.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Levent Bilman yesterday confirmed earlier news reports that the Culture and Tourism Ministry has solicited the views of the Foreign Ministry on the appropriateness of installing a cross on the steeple of Akhtamar Church, which will be reopened today as a museum in a ceremony with the attendance of a delegation from Armenia as well as representatives of the Armenian diaspora from around the world.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Levent Bilman yesterday confirmed earlier news reports that the Culture and Tourism Ministry has solicited the views of the Foreign Ministry on the appropriateness of installing a cross on the steeple of Akhtamar Church, which will be reopened today as a museum in a ceremony with the attendance of a delegation from Armenia as well as representatives of the Armenian diaspora from around the world.

Earlier this month, Patriarch Mesrob II, the spiritual leader of the Armenian Orthodox community in Turkey, sent a written request to the Culture and Tourism Ministry asking that a cross, prepared by the Armenian Patriarchate itself, be placed on the steeple of Akhtamar Church. The sentiments in the letter from Patriarch Mesrob were echoed in a similar letter sent by a group of Armenian intellectuals and artists to the ministry.

The Culture and Tourism Ministry asked for the Foreign Ministry's input on the issue a few days ago, Bilman said in response to a question at a weekly press briefing. Nevertheless, he noted that the request was not particularly related to today's ceremony. "Our ministry is still studying the issue before offering our viewpoint. As you know, the restoration of historical buildings is a long-term process," Bilman said. "By its very nature, the issue will be evaluated in detail and then the Culture and Tourism Ministry will be notified of our opinion."

Akhtamar Church has undergone a restoration that was undertaken at the behest of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Culture and Tourism Minister Atilla Koç. While the Culture and Tourism Ministry intends for the 1,100-year-old church on Lake Van's Akhtamar Island to be opened to the public as a "museum," the Armenian community is pressing for the church to be available for religious services. On the subject of the placement of the metal cross atop the church, Patriarch Mesrob referenced past photographs of the historic church as the reason why the ministry should allow the cross to be placed there.

Earlier this week, the head of the Armenian Orthodox Church, Karekin II, refused to attend the reopening ceremony because the church will operate as a museum, not as a church. Also yesterday, both Mesrob and a delegation from Armenia -- with whom Turkey has no diplomatic relations -- traveled to the eastern Anatolian city of Van for today's ceremony. The Armenian delegation was led by Deputy Acting Minister of Culture Gagik Gyurjian. Meanwhile, Bilman also said that representatives of the Armenian diaspora from Australia, France, Germany, Lebanon, Slovakia and the United States would participate in the ceremony.

Note: Above are excerpts from the article. The full article appears here. Clarifications and comments by me are contained in {}. Deletions are marked by [...]. The bold emphasis is mine.

Ankara restores Armenian church {as a museum}

29 March 2007
BBC News

Below it says; "The Turkish people are noble. They would never commit genocide", well therein lies the irony, because noble people would be considerate and repentant and would dissociate themselves from those who committed the genocide as opposed to protecting their memory and calling them forefathers.

Turkey has renovated a 1,100-year-old church in the east of the country, in what is seen as a gesture to improve ties with neighbouring Armenia.

The ceremony on Akdamar {Akhtamar in Armenian} island on Lake Van was attended by senior Armenian officials, despite the two countries' lack of diplomatic ties.

The mass killings of Armenians by Ottoman Turks in 1915 left profound scars and bitterness.

About 70,000 Armenians live in Turkey today. The church will now be a museum.

Plea for worship

Patriarch Mesrob II, spiritual leader of Turkey's tiny Armenian Orthodox community, told several hundred people at the ceremony that the government should open up the restored church for worship at least once a year.

He said the move would help reconciliation between Turks and Armenians.

"If our government approves, it will contribute to peace between two communities who have not been able to come together for years," he said.

Turkish Culture Minister Attila Koc said Ankara would consider the request.

But the head of Armenia's Apostolic Church, Garegin II, declined Ankara's invitation to attend the ceremony because the church will no longer function as a place of worship.

So far Turkey has ignored calls to place a cross on the conical roof.

Future projects

The Church of Surp Khach - or Holy Cross - is one of the finest surviving monuments of Armenian culture in the region. Its location is called Akhtamar in Armenian.

It had long been left empty and neglected, its intricate wall carvings depicting biblical scenes crumbling.

The Turkish government spent $1.5m (£763,000) on its restoration, which took 18 months to complete.

The 20-strong Armenian delegation of architects, engineers and archaeologists attending the ceremony was headed by Deputy Culture Minister Gagik Gyurjyan.

Mr Gyurjyan said they were not in Turkey just to witness the renovation of the church, which was built between 915-921.

"We think we can discuss new projects regarding the future," he said, according to Turkey's Anatolia news agency.

"Our experts can co-operate in many areas including archaeology, architecture and industry."

Border closed

But relations between the two countries remain tense.

Turkey closed its border with Armenia in the 1990s to support Azerbaijan in its dispute with Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh. To get to Akdamar, Armenian officials had to travel via Istanbul or Georgia.

Armenians say 1.5 million of their people were killed in a genocide by Ottoman Turks during World War I, either through systematic massacres or through starvation.

More than a dozen countries, various international bodies and many Western historians agree that it was genocide.

Turkey says there was no genocide. It acknowledges that many Armenians died, but says the figure was below one million.

Police reportedly detained five trade unionists who staged a demonstration on a jetty on Lake Van to protest against the church's restoration.

The protesters carried Turkish flags, pictures of modern Turkey's founder, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, and a banner reading: "The Turkish people are noble. They would never commit genocide", Anatolia news agency said.

Note: Above are excerpts from the article. The full article appears here. Clarifications and comments by me are contained in {}. Deletions are marked by [...]. The bold emphasis is mine.

ANCC Condemns Aghtamar Church Restoration as Public Relations Stunt

March 23, 2007
Armenian National Committee of Canada
www.anccanada.org
Contact: Roupen Kouyoumjian
(613) 235-2622

Ottawa- The official opening of the restored Church of Sourp Khatch (Holy Cross) on the island of Aghtamar is another demonstration of the Turkish Government’s dishonesty and crass political opportunism.

The restoration of the church (built in 921 A.D.) should have been an opportunity for Turkey to express remorse for its 1915 crime of genocide against its Armenian population, and to initiate a genuine reconciliation with the Armenian people. Instead, the Turkish Government is involved in window- dressing and public relations stunts to divert attention from the international community’s increased pressure and rebuke for its denial of the Armenian Genocide, the illegal blockade of Armenia, the suppression of freedom of speech in Turkey, the increased intolerance towards its minorities, and racist educational system.

To add insult to injury, the Turkish Government conveniently forgot to mention, in its invitation, the church’s Armenian nature, and disregarded the request of Turkey’s Armenian community spiritual leader (Patriarch Mesrob Mutafyan) to add a cross on top of the church, and to make it a worship place. Instead, the Turkish Government decided to convert the church to a museum to grab tourist money. It is also changed the name of the church to Turkish-sounding Akdamar.

It is ironic that at a time when the Turkish Government is engaged in a massive campaign of public relation to improve its image, over 1,400 Armenian historical monuments and cultural sites (the church of Kayseri turned to a sports center, the Naregavank to animal shelter, the Gaziantep church to a restaurant, the church in Kemaliye to a carpet company, the Armenian Catholic Church of Mush to a garbage dump) have been destroyed by a deliberate policy to erase any record of 3,000 years of Armenian presence in the region.

“We call on the Turkish Government to stop such blatant propaganda campaigns, to seek serious and meaningful dialogue with the Armenians after accepting its responsibility for the Genocide, and to lift the illegal blockade of the Armenian Republic,” stated Aris Babikian, Executive Director of the Armenian National Committee of Canada.

“For Turkey to be part of the civilized world and a respected member of the international community, Ankara should return the Church to its rightful owners and follow in the footsteps of the post-war German governments which have unambiguously recognized the Holocaust,” added Babikian.

St. Tadevos temple in Iran introduced for including in UNESCO’s world heritage

24.03.2007
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Workers of Iranian Cultural Issues Service and Tourism Organization prepared a packet of documents for including St. Tadevos temple (also known as “Kara-Kilisa”-Black Church) in the UNESCO world heritage. They also prepared documents for 4 other churches-St. Stepanos, Soursur, Chupan and the Church of the Blessed Virgin. Soon the list will be passed to the corresponding bodies of the United Nations, Iranian “Parsekh” monthly reports.

According to Mohamed Hassan Hademzadeh, leading expert of the organization in case if the program is approved a group of workers from UNESCO International Council on Monuments and Historical Places will arrive in Iran to examine the situation in churches.

The Church of St. Tadevos is one of the most ancient churches in the world, its construction began more than 1700 years ago. Historians say that apostle Tadevos is buried just here. He used to attend some regions of Armenia and Persia to preach Christianity. The church is situated in Dar-e-Sham village, 16 km West from Djulfa and 3 km South from Arax River.

Soursur is situated in Barun village; it was built in 1314-15 thanks to efforts of archbishop Zakarius. Aiming at preservation of this historical monument during construction of Barun reservoir the government assigned a large territory on the mountainside for the church, which was situated 110 meters high. Currently there are 500 churches in Iran, 44 of that are included in the list of national monuments.

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Turkey restores Armenian church to show goodwill

March 23, 2007
The Associated Press

AKDAMAR ISLAND, Turkey: An ancient Armenian church, perched on a rocky island in a vast lake, has become a modern symbol of the divisions and fitful efforts at reconciliation between Turks and Armenians whose history of bloodshed drives their troubled relationship.

The Akdamar church, one of the most precious remnants of Armenian culture 1,000 years ago, deteriorated over the last century, a victim of neglect after Turks carried out mass killings of Armenians as the Ottoman Empire crumbled around the time of World War I. Rainwater seeped through the collapsed, conical dome, treasure-hunters dug up the basalt floor, and shepherds took potshots with rifles at the facade.

Next week, the church will showcase Turkey's tentative steps to improve ties with its ethnic Armenian minority, as well as neighboring Armenia. Turkey completed a US$1.5 million restoration of the sandstone building, and invited Armenian officials to a ceremony there on March 29 to mark what Turkey's prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has called a "positive" message.

An Armenian deputy culture minister and other prominent Armenians plan to go. Armenia's foreign minister welcomed the restoration, but said Turkey mistakenly believed the project would prove that it was dedicated to better ties with its neighbor.

"A positive sign and a move on the part of Turkey ... would be the opening of the border with Armenia and establishment of diplomatic relations," the news agency Armenpress quoted Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian as saying this week. He said the Armenian delegation could reach the church near the city of Van in eastern Turkey by land in a few hours if the border were open, but instead will have to fly to Istanbul, and then take another flight back toward the Armenian border.

Turkey closed its border with Armenia in 1993 during a war between Armenia and Azerbaijan, a Muslim ally of Ankara. The move hurt the economy of tiny, landlocked Armenia. Also, Turkey lobbied against a proposed resolution in the U.S. Congress that would recognize the killings of Armenians in the last century as genocide. Some of Turkey's 65,000 Armenian Orthdox Christians say they endure harassment in Turkey, whose population is overwhelmingly Muslim.

Hrant Dink, an ethnic Armenian journalist murdered in Istanbul in January, was apparently targeted by nationalists who detested his commentaries on minority rights and free expression.

Patriarch Mesrob II, the spiritual head of the Armenian Orthodox community in Turkey, has asked the government to mount a cross on top of the church, which used to have one, and to allow religious services to be held there on occasion.

The government has yet to respond, but placement of a cross could be sensitive for the Islamic-rooted government of Erdogan, who plans to attend the inauguration ceremony. The symbolism could upset some Muslims, and a parallel force, Turkey's secular establishment, led by the powerful military, might regard it as a concession to Armenia and the Armenian diaspora.

"It speaks well of the Turkish government that they paid for it and took the initiative to make it happen," said David Phillips, an advocate of Turkish-Armenian reconciliation who helped gather international restoration experts and architects for the church project. But he noted that Turkey views the site as a museum rather than a place of worship.

"It runs the risk of being viewed as an antiquity, instead of a living symbol of Armenian culture and spiritual life," said Phillips, executive director of The Elie Wiesel Foundation for Humanity, in New York City.

The European Union urged Turkey in 2004 to consider registering Akdamar in UNESCO's World Heritage List. The EU has also urged Turkey, a candidate for membership, to improve treatment of minorities.

Relief carvings on the outer walls of the Akdamar church depict Jesus Christ, barefoot and bearded, holding the book of Gospels; a sea creature devouring Jonah as he is tossed from a ship; Abraham grabbing his son Isaac's hair and holding a knife as he prepares to sacrifice him; David with a slingshot facing the giant warrior, Goliath; and Adam and Eve, holding the forbidden fruit.

"Akdamar is an extroverted church," said Zakarya Mildanoglu, an ethnic Armenian architect who helped restore it. "It doesn't hide its face."

Reliefs also show the church's builder, Armenian King Gagik I, in an ornate robe and crown, vines and grapes, eagles, bears, a peacock, cockerels, a man killing a lion, and a lion pouncing on a deer. Inside the church, deep blue frescoes show biblical scenes, though many have been destroyed and the walls have big, blank patches.

"Both the frescoes and relief sculpture appropriate Byzantine and Islamic visual traditions; the Abbasid caliphate was of course very strong by this time, and Byzantine art was understood as a visual language of prestige and power," Christina Maranci, an expert on medieval Armenian architecture at the University of Wisconsin in Milwaukee, wrote in an email. The church "presents a very interesting use of both," Maranci wrote.

Renovators replaced fallen roof stones to prevent more damage to the interior, restored the floor, strengthened walls and cleaned frescoes. The church still bears marks of ill treatment, with graffiti scratched next to some carvings.

Akdamar, called the Church of Surp Khach, or Holy Cross, was inaugurated in A.D. 921. Written records say the church was near a harbor and a palace on the island on Lake Van, but only the church survived.

Many local residents supported the renovation because it could generate tourism. Some Turks posted critical articles on the Internet. A leader of an extreme nationalist party said he welcomed the restoration as long as it is not interpreted as a political overture.

"We are not guilty of anything," said Mehmet Sandir, associate chairman of the Nationalist Movement Party. "Why should we be making gestures?"

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