Armenian children
address letter
to Turkish
Premier
September 15, 2010 20:04
A group of Armenian young people addressed a letter to Turkish Premier Recep Erdogan. The Armenian youth were now allowed to pray and light candles in Surb Khach (Holy Cross) church on Akhtamar Island. The letter reads as follows
:
“Your Excellency,
“We are a group of young people from Armenia and Europe who study the history of Asia Minor. In August this year we went on a tour to Eastern Anatolia. We have witnessed numerous Armenian monasteries and monuments, which, to our chagrin, were destroyed. The only monument in the region that remains holistic is the Holy Cross church in the Akhtamar island of Lake Van, which is truly a masterpiece of Armenian art and architecture of X century.
“Arriving at Akhtamar, we experienced the rude and crude attitude of the Turkish policemen. Just in front of the eyes of many tourists from different corners of the world, the police pulled us out from the church like being scared of our sonorous prayer. We had even been deprived of lighting a candle as we usually do in the Armenian Apostolic Church. That has happened only few weeks before September 19, when Your Government is set to allow serving an Armenian liturgy as a showoff to the whole world.
“Dear Prime-Minister,
“The newspapers write, that You are a religious person, advocating for spiritual values. We have even read that once you have been deprived of Your liberty just for reciting a religious verse.
“We fail to understand how the police of a country, governed by such a man, can impede Christian children to pray, why those policemen get nervous and use force onto youngsters. The sole "crime" of ours was to sing spiritual songs and praying in the church.
“We want to ask You why the Government, that does care about religious values, does not allow installing a cross on the dome of that church, and thus questions its sincerity to allow the liturgy on September 19? Is our prayer or the dome cross a threat to Your country? How can this happen in the XXI century in a country, which is a member to the Council of Europe and wishes to access the European Union?
“We have eyewitnessed these ununderstandable rules and violence in Your country. The behavior of Your police is not appropriate to the modern world. It is no longer the time when the world was ruled with harsh force. In the modern world there are laws that protect the rights and dignity of people and us – children, including our right to song religious songs and bend the knees in any corner of the world.”
NEWS.am reminds readers that a team that won the “Armenian Knight” TV competition made a pilgrimage to western Armenia several days ago. Turkish policemen prohibited them from praying and burning incense at Surb Khach church. They were not even allowed to dance in front of the church with an Armenian flag in their hands.
Last year the winners of the “Armenian Knight” competition went to western Armenia as well. In one of the churches in Ani Turkish policemen did not allow them to perform a grapes blessing rite.
News from Armenia - NEWS.am
A group of Armenian young people addressed a letter to Turkish Premier Recep Erdogan. The Armenian youth were now allowed to pray and light candles in Surb Khach (Holy Cross) church on Akhtamar Island. The letter reads as follows
:“Your Excellency,
“We are a group of young people from Armenia and Europe who study the history of Asia Minor. In August this year we went on a tour to Eastern Anatolia. We have witnessed numerous Armenian monasteries and monuments, which, to our chagrin, were destroyed. The only monument in the region that remains holistic is the Holy Cross church in the Akhtamar island of Lake Van, which is truly a masterpiece of Armenian art and architecture of X century.
“Arriving at Akhtamar, we experienced the rude and crude attitude of the Turkish policemen. Just in front of the eyes of many tourists from different corners of the world, the police pulled us out from the church like being scared of our sonorous prayer. We had even been deprived of lighting a candle as we usually do in the Armenian Apostolic Church. That has happened only few weeks before September 19, when Your Government is set to allow serving an Armenian liturgy as a showoff to the whole world.
“Dear Prime-Minister,
“The newspapers write, that You are a religious person, advocating for spiritual values. We have even read that once you have been deprived of Your liberty just for reciting a religious verse.
“We fail to understand how the police of a country, governed by such a man, can impede Christian children to pray, why those policemen get nervous and use force onto youngsters. The sole "crime" of ours was to sing spiritual songs and praying in the church.
“We want to ask You why the Government, that does care about religious values, does not allow installing a cross on the dome of that church, and thus questions its sincerity to allow the liturgy on September 19? Is our prayer or the dome cross a threat to Your country? How can this happen in the XXI century in a country, which is a member to the Council of Europe and wishes to access the European Union?
“We have eyewitnessed these ununderstandable rules and violence in Your country. The behavior of Your police is not appropriate to the modern world. It is no longer the time when the world was ruled with harsh force. In the modern world there are laws that protect the rights and dignity of people and us – children, including our right to song religious songs and bend the knees in any corner of the world.”
NEWS.am reminds readers that a team that won the “Armenian Knight” TV competition made a pilgrimage to western Armenia several days ago. Turkish policemen prohibited them from praying and burning incense at Surb Khach church. They were not even allowed to dance in front of the church with an Armenian flag in their hands.
Last year the winners of the “Armenian Knight” competition went to western Armenia as well. In one of the churches in Ani Turkish policemen did not allow them to perform a grapes blessing rite.
News from Armenia - NEWS.am
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