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Sassounian: Turkish Propaganda Campaign, Part II: Exploiting Akhtamar Church Once Again
Readers may recall that the Turkish government embarked on a worldwide publicity stunt in 2007 when it renovated and reopened as a museum the Armenian Holy Cross Church on Akhtamar Island in Lake Van.
At the time, Turkey had gone to great lengths to lure Armenians from around the world to the opening ceremonies. Turkish officials did not conceal that their real purpose was to exploit this event for propaganda purposes. Even before the “Holy Cross Museum” was inaugurated, a Turkish Parliamentary delegation had arrived in Washington with a bulky photo album. Mehmet Dulger, then-chairman of the parliament’s Foreign Affairs Commission, relayed the following message to Members of the U.S. Congress: “See, the Turks, whom you accuse of genocide, have renovated an Armenian Church with taxes collected from Turks. And those photos are the evidence.” The photo album was distributed worldwide to all organizations advocating “Armenian Genocide claims,” according to the Turkish newspaper Zaman. Furthermore, Turkey invited to the opening of the “Holy Cross Museum” the culture ministers of all countries that had adopted or were considering to adopt resolutions recognizing the Armenian Genocide.
In my column of March 22, 2007, I had asked that the Turkish government to designate Holy Cross, not as a museum, but a church with a cross on its dome, and place it under the jurisdiction of the Armenian Patriarchate in Turkey. If not, I had urged Armenians to boycott the opening ceremonies in order to avoid being used as tools for Turkey’s campaign of genocide denial. In the end, the Turkish propaganda effort failed, as only a handful of Armenians from overseas traveled to Lake Van to attend the event.
Now that Turkish officials have grudgingly allowed church services to be performed for one day only—on Sept. 19, 2010—and a cross to be placed on the dome of this 10th-century church, they have embarked on Part II of their publicity campaign: All Turkish Embassies and Consulates worldwide have been instructed to invite large numbers of Armenians to this one-time church service in order to accomplish three objectives: 1) earn millions of dollars in revenue from 5,000 tourists expected on Sept. 19 and another million visitors during the next year; 2) secure concessions from Armenians in return for Ankara’s “magnanimous gesture”; and 3) score propaganda points with Europeans and Americans by presenting the image of a tolerant Turkish society.
Hakan Tekin, Turkey’s energetic consul general in Los Angeles, told Today’s Zaman that California’s “one million Armenians” are looking forward to take part in the upcoming religious worship. To impress his bosses in Ankara, Tekin proudly announced that the “one-day church service” has caused “a stir” among the Armenian community in Los Angeles—no doubt the result of his hard work! He expressed the wish that Armenia would take “reciprocal steps” in return for Turkey’s “constructive policy.” Tekin also hoped that such a “normalization process” would have a significant impact on Turkey’s relations with the Armenian Diaspora, “especially with Armenians living in California who are hard-liners.”
In sparing no efforts to publicize the planned “one-day worship,” the Turkish government has undertaken the following preparations:
- Special solar panels are being installed on Akhtamar Island, so that tourists can visit the Holy Cross Church by day and night.
- Since hotels are supposedly fully booked, plans are being made to house tourists in school dormitories and private homes in Van.
- Large video screens are to be placed outside the church so the thousands of expected visitors can follow the services, as the building can only accommodate 50 worshipers.
- A 90-page guidebook will be published in the Armenian language.
- A 10-day Turkish-Armenian Cultural Festival is being planned in Van.
- The border may be opened for a few days, so that tourists can directly travel from Armenia to Van, rather than spend a dozen hours to get there via Georgia, according to the president of Van’s Chamber of Commerce.
I urge all Armenians to boycott this new propaganda ploy, unless Turkish officials take the following steps:
- Officially designate Holy Cross as a church, not a museum, opening it for year-round worship services, rather than for one day only.
- Place the church under the jurisdiction of the Armenian Patriarchate of Turkey, not the Ministry of Tourism.
- Allow Divine Liturgy to be celebrated regularly, after Holy Cross Church is properly consecrated in accordance with Armenian religious rites.
Archbishop Aram Ateshian, Locum Tenens of the Armenian Patriarchate in Istanbul, is the appropriate religious official to present these demands to the Turkish authorities, without whose participation they would be unable to carry out the Sept. 19 church services and propaganda campaign. It is doubtful, however, that such demands will be met by the Turkish government, given its traditional policy of callous disregard for the rights of the Armenian community in Turkey.
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About Harut Sassounian
Harut Sassounian is the publisher of The California Courier, a weekly newspaper based in Glendale, Calif. He is the president of the United Armenian Fund, a coalition of the seven largest Armenian-American organizations. He has been decorated by the president and prime minister of the Republic of Armenia, and the heads of the Armenian Apostolic and Catholic churches. He is also the recipient of the Ellis Island Medal of Honor.More Posts
36 Comments on Sassounian: Turkish Propaganda Campaign, Part II: Exploiting Akhtamar Church Once Again
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Copyright © 2013 | Hairenik Association, Inc.
Posted by
Seta
at
04:18
The City
You said, “I will go to another land, I will go to another sea.
Another city will be found, better than this.
Every effort of mine is condemned by fate;
and my heart is — like a corpse — buried.
How long in this wasteland will my mind remain.
Wherever I turn my eyes, wherever I may look
I see the black ruins of my life here,
where I spent so many years, and ruined and wasted.”
The city will follow you. You will roam the same
streets. And you will age in the same neighborhoods;
in these same houses you will grow gray.
Always you will arrive in this city. To another land — do not hope –
there is no ship for you, there is no road.
As you have ruined your life here
in this little corner, you have destroyed it in the whole world.
This indicates the genes are different and religion has a small role to modify ethnicity.
Ha! Nice try but their fascist forefathers burnt that cigar ages ago.
I would rather you quoted the new US poet laureate W.S. Merwin, and said “Your absence goes through me like needle through thread and colors each stitch of my life.”
I agree with Sassounian that the Patriarchate should insist that the church come under its administration, have a cross permanently placed on it and have regular worship services held. This would be a positive step for Armenians on the part of Turkey, propaganda though it may be. We should be wary, but not undermine ourselves with a knee-jerk boycott. If I could make it happen, I would instead bring every living Armenian on earth (and maybe even some Armenian remains in urns) to the island of Akhtamar on Sept.19, 2010 and rejoice in the sound of our voices singing Hayr Mer, Sourp Asdvadz, and Der Voghormia in unison.
Sometimes God sends a log to save a drowning man and he drowns anyway waiting for a boat to come by. Let’s work together to see how we can use this opportunity to advance our cause. We should be present for this event and issue press releases asserting the correct history of the island and of Holy Cross Church. We need to be more flexible in our diplomacy while being solid as Mt Ararat in our principles. It can never be a bad thing for an Armenian worship service to be held on Armenian soil.
This church was consecrated when it was first established. It now needs to be re-consecrated because it has been defamed. The bishops and priests involved in this service should make sure that this happens on Sept. 19.
You’re talented Armenian
But don’t tell me about English poets
When I read, I never read spirit in themes
Those are not poems
I call it rounded soulless phrases.
If you read Arabic poetry
The soul ignites you there
You cannot stop…!
Don’t forget Armenian poems …
Please read this and comment
I’m waiting your phrases
Even if it hurt my sense!
I’ll be grateful if you correct…
________________________
The Sultan and American Poet Laurent
I don’t know Billy Collins
I never… Him met
By mistake, I bought his book
The Nine Houses
From Barnes & Noble
And in it… I read his poem—
About a place called Istanbul
Where he had bath like Turkish Sultans
It seems he never knew
Who were those men…
Tyrant killers,
Castrated young men
To serve them till death
Never attempt to have sex
With their illegal young wives.
Killed millions
Other than Armenians
Till Anglo-Saxon race
Able to bend killers head down
Did Billy forgot ‘Remembrance date’!
And praised the tyrants
Who turned ’Ayah Sofia’
From Cathedral to Mosque
Then Museum; advertising others’ art
Attracting tourists from every place.
Tyrants hanged more than two-hundred
Of Billy’s Colleagues in Literacy—
Armenians, Arabs, Europeans…
Who suffered from Ottomans’ cruelty.
Billy enjoyed his bath in Istanbul
Once was a happiest city
Till turned a site for genocide
Like now, Darfur in African land.
Poets must be elaborate at cultures, humanity, history…
Before announcing them selves’ poets.
And win Laureate of United states.
What an awful hubris some poets act
I feel shocked …
Intending to lance my already scared Cavernous !
Your absence has gone through me
Like thread through a needle.
Everything I do is stitched with its color.
(W.S. Merwin, Separation)
Note corrected quotation above. I got it wrong earlier. Was doing it from memory.
I think it is beautiful; lyrical and mystical. Makes me think of the missing Armenian thread in Asia Minor.
Sadly, the longing to see and be able to see our own church is difficult to deny – but too, when we Armenians recognize how the Turk is ‘using’ our love of our churches to ‘bait’ us… to actually trick us, are still Turkish policies in action against Christian Armenians.
Using our church, with all its ‘bymones’ to suit the Turkish mentality, is sickening! Using
us to gain tourists to come to their ‘event’ is sickening. Now, they may even make some ‘concessions’ to sweeten this function – rest assured, it will not last… Turkish style.
Manooshag
While I agree with Harut’s position on the demands our people need to place on the Turkish government for the Holy Cross event, I would also encourage a parallel path to seize the opportunity.
I don’t understand why we always have to view event as “not good enough” or “not in line with our plan”. With this approach, we miss many opportunities to advance our cause. We can take less than perfect situations( which is certainly what Akhtamar is and most issues for that matter) and exploit them.
First on the demands….. our church must play a lead role in this. If the Patriachate can not for obvious reasons then the Holy See of Etchmiadzin must lead. If they cannot because of the geo-politics of Turkey and Armenia, then the wild card leader must be the Holy See of Cilicia. Internal politics aside, we need to stand together.
While this is in progress, our public relations machine(internationally) should be working overtime to connect the dots for the world public. For example, there should be
highly visible articles on:
2. As a 10th century gem of Armenian history, what happened to the
parishioners of this church?
3. For that matter, where are the parishioners of the other churches in ruin?
We must understand that if we don’t play, we can’t get any cake. The Turks get to
reap the PR benefit to the EU buddies and still remain in denial. We can always boycott, but I think a wiser path to to hold the mirror up to the Turks. Our passive resistance doesn’t work. Nobody cares if we don’t attend. Maybe the turks will miss the revenue.
Cross on the Cupola, it is a churchnot a museum under the Patriarchate and is not a “one time event”. That must be where we draw the line, but there is a lot more we can do to become the exploiter and not exploited.
2) The second step after disarment was killing the Armenian men in the Ottoman Military. The Religious leaders and Scholars were gathered up next and slaughtered.
3) My Grandparents were from Van Historical Armenia, the land of 1001 Churches that the Ottomans latter burned, turned into mosquest like St. Hagia Sophia or into goat stalls for Kurdish farmers.
4) Young Turkish students touring this church always walk out scratching there head and wondering “What happened to the Armenians?”
5) It is cyncism as it is once again Turkey’s government trying to dictate when we can worship and how we can worship, yet our people, land and culture resided in the area 3,000 years before the arrival of the Seljuk Mongolian Turks from Central Asia.
6) Akhtamar was restored and reopened originally as a Museum, with Turkish writing on it and NO MENTION of the Armenian people. It doesn’t even have a cross.
The only reason they don’t get get caught more often in this game is because we choose to complain and wallow; while we wait for the perfect storm.
Sons and daughters of Ararat… let’s wake up!!!! We must see this as an opportunity and not as only a ploy. It doesn’t mean that we trust the Turkish government. It means we know what we want and we are focused on that objective.
How can the Turks open Holy Cross and the question of where the Armenian went not be raised? How is it not possible to take advantage of this? The opportunitites are right there, yet we findf a way to only discuss our mistrust and frustration.
Let our beautiful shadagans echo on the shore of Lake Van and let’s work to counter the propaganda. We are no one’s dupe. We are there to honor our ancestors and to reclaim our beloved Soorp Khatch. Let the world hear this!!!!!!
With all do respect Paul, I think the approach you are advocating is what is wrong with our diasporan politics. When reading your thoughts, i am reminded of someone who eants to be on the team but only if the quarterback. How much of a return makes it wortrhwhile?
I believe our resources are capable of at least managing a draw on the propaganda side of the equation. From an economic perpsective, what about all the Armenians that travel to Isstanbul and the interior of Western Armenia and stay in hotel, eat at restaurants and pay guides? Is that wrong because there is an economic benefit to the Turks or do the fact that some of our people are connecting with their roots enough of a “dividend”.
I don’t thnik that we can be effective in this campaign until stop leading with anger
and at times hatredI.’m not saying this because I am big on reconciliation, but rather because if we want to win then we have to stop the distractions. One of the big distractions is the inability of many Armenians to see anything worthwhile in Turks. Please read the account of his trip to Turkey in April by Khatchig Mouradian. The world is changing. We need to get on that bus. Disregarding any venture greatly limits our options.It is quite possible to participate and NOT be naive, but to be rather shrewd. It upsets us to admit it, but we get flanked by the Turks politically. If we want to change that paridigm, then we need to stay united and look for the opening.
I would also add that that nothing but goodness will come from worshipping on the
land of my grandparents… Western Armenia. It is our faith that has enabled us to survive the centuries of oppression and suffering. i would say that , in addition to the public currency we would gain from this effort, the thought of thousands of Armenians praying to our Lord on Western Armenian soil is a significant”dividend”.
Thanks.
How about if a few thousand Vanetzi descendants from Armenia and the diaspora showed up for this event as the evicted faithful?
Let’s have more faith and confidence in each other and keep our eyes on what can be gained here. To not participate at Akhtamar is tantamount to willingly relinquishing possession. I know this is not what Harut or Paul are advocating and they are right to insist on certain conditions being met. We were forced out before. We should come back now as rightful owners, ready to reconsecrate this church (not museum!) and even, for diplomatic purposes, be willing to thank Turkey for “doing what is morally correct.” It’s all about spin at this point. Don’t we have enough smart movers and shakers in our community to use this to our advantage?
And bringing back some displaced Vanetzis? Amen to that! How about bringing representatives from our Oriental Orthodox sister churches as well. The world
And bringing back some displaced Vanetzis? Amen to that! How about bringing representatives from our Oriental Orthodox sister churches as well. The world should see Holy Cross Church in its proper context, not as some religious relic or a political stunt to show how Turkey cares for antiquities.
You ask what do we gain by participating? In my opinion we gain by making the statement to the world that Armenians are still here and that we claim Akhtamar under the Armenian umbrella and we “commend” Turkey for making a courageous and morally correct gesture.
I understand the concern that we not lay down to the rules the Turks establish and I tend to agree with you. I think we are all advocating to take an active approach to ensure that ARMENIAN interests are served.
My comments on diasporan politics was not intended to be directed to you personally. I obviously don’t know you well enough or is appropriate. What your thoughts brought to mind for me was a frustration I have that in the diaspora we have grown up with a “all things Turkish are bad” mentality(unless we want to hear some music). I am not criticizing the circumstances, but we need to find a way to get past that as we are entering a very exciting time for our nation.
Who would have predicted some of the things that have been happening in Turkey as it relates to Armenians, both good and bad. I feel like the curtain is finally coming up forous on the world stage and after years of “practicing” on ourselves, we are ready to make progress.
You sound like a sincere and thoughtful Armenian. I appreciate meeting people like you. Whether we agree 100% is far less important than hearing your thoughts and feeling your commitment to our common purpose.
Gayane
The tourism office of turkey could have been smart and played this up as a cultural tour of historical Armenia and early Christian relics. But no they want to play like the Armenians never existed.