Armenian bloggers protest destruction of Armenian churches in Georgia

PanARMENIAN.Net - Armenian bloggers gathered at the Georgian Embassy in Yerevan today to demand that demolition of the Armenian cultural heritage be stopped and those guilty be punished.



The protesters were carrying posters of Norashen church and banners reading "Save Armenian churches in Georgia", "Republic of Georgia not Europe still Asiatic" and a small coffin with an inscription "The newborn Georgian democracy. This newborn democracy is dead already" on it.



What is happening to Armenian churches in Georgia is nothing but genocide of our cultural heritage, according to historian Samvel Karapetyan. A crime has been committed and those guilty should be punished by the international court, he said yesterday.



Over 650 Armenian churches are situated in the territory of Georgia, most of them already appropriated or destructed by the Georgian side.



On November 16, Georgian monk Tariel Sikinchelashvili instructed workers to raze to the ground the graves of Mikhail and Lidia Tamamshevs.



This barbarian act outraged Armenians, who demanded to let the graves in their place. However, Father Tariel responded with harsh statements.



Upon arrival of representatives of the Armenian Apostolic Church and parliament member Van Bayburt, the Georgian monk said he just wanted to replace the gravestones to "clean under them."