Turkish initiatives to restore Armenian churches game for superpowers

PanARMENIAN.Net - Turkey and Azerbaijan are alike, since both built their countries on historical Armenian lands, said Samvel Karapetyan, director of Research on Armenian Architecture NGO.



"Reconstruction of Armenian churches in Turkey is a game played for superpowers. While Turkish workers were reconstructing Holy Cross Church on Akhtamar island, a Turkish bulldozer razed to the ground an Armenian domical church 5 km away," he said.



Asked by a PanARMENIAN.Net reporter whether Turkish authorities will hamper reconstruction of St. Kirakos Church in Diarbekir by the Armenian community and whether they can be involved in the organization of the recent fire in the church, he said, "You can't imagine how irritated the Turkish authorities are about the presence of an Armenian church in Van or Mush. Armenians are prevented from building a hotel, not to speak of churches.



For his part, expert Artak Shakaryan emphasized that reconstruction of Armenian churches is nothing but a PR campaign. "An Armenian church was lately consecrated in Kesaria, where 3 Armenians live. Anyway, even such a game may help preserve Armenian architecture and culture in Turkey," he said.