DETAINEES DURING THE RENOVATION CEREMONY
Support A1+!The renovation of Surb Khach has aroused deep resonance in Armenia. The opening ceremony was accompanied by the posters of Ataturk and the Turkish emblem. To note, Mother See St. Echmiadzin didn’t accept Turkey’s invitation to participate in the ceremony.
“The stance of Mother See of St. Echmiadzin is determined by the fact Surb Khach will henceforth be a cultural center and not a church. The renovation ceremony has nothing to do with the church, and Echmiadzin cannot merely participate in the ceremony on that level. Besides, we don’t admit the fact that Turkey has turned the acting church into a museum. This is inadmissible for us,” priest Ter-Vahram Meliqyan, head of informative service of Mother See of St. Echmiadzin, says.
Surb Khach was constructed in the 10th century, and was a sacred place by 1915. Vahram Meliqyan claims that the renovation cannot be deemed as an enhancement of Turkish-Armenian relations.
Hakob Chaqryan, addressed the presentees saying, “When the Turkish Parliament was considering the budget of Foreign Ministry in December, FM Abdullah Gyul said that their foremost task during the coming ten years will be the combat against Armenian preaching as the recognition of the genocide hinders Turkey from establishing relations with a third country.”
Regardless of the criticism, Mr. Chaqryan attached great importance to the fact that the renovation of the church is the first step of the Turkish history implemented by the state budget. ¦
Turkey's expectations from the renovations were not justified, Mr. Chaqryan maintains. The arrest of the representatives of Trade Unions, holding a protest action on the opposite bank, testifies to this fact.
