Armenian clerics injured in Tbilisi’s Surb Etchmiadzin Church attackJuly 21, 2014 - 13:02 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - A pre-planned attack, motivated by ethnic and religious hatred, was perpetrated on the representatives of the Armenian Church of Surb Etchmiadzin in Tbilisi, the Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Orthodox Church in Georgia said. According to the Democracy and Freedom Watch, on July 19, at around 4 pm, a provocation was organized on the church-adjacent territory. A woman was trying to drive her car out of the area adjacent to the church, but was unsuccessful and started to express dissatisfaction towards the cleric at the Armenian Church claiming his car was blocking the way for her own to car in the parking area. At that moment, two aggressively disposed men approached and helped to get the car out. The cleric entered the administrative building of Armenian Church. Then there were young deacons in the yard, who heard that the men were verbally insulting Armenians. They protested. A man left the car, took a baton and a stone and again insulted and attempted to hit the representatives of the Armenian Diocese. Hearing a noise from outside, other clerics came out into the yard in order to defuse the situation, when the man hit one of clerics on his back. A short fight followed. Two hours after the incident, the man returned with a group of about 50 men. Some of them were armed with cold weapons. They approached the church and got into a scuffle with the clerics and employees of the diocese, while verbally insulting Armenians. People attending a Christening ceremony inside the church came out into the yard and the men attacked them too. “Women and children, shocked by what they had seen, hid in the church,” the statement reads. As a result of the attack, clerics and employees of the Armenian Diocese got physical injuries. One of the men tore a cross off one priest and walked away with it. The Armenian Church called on law enforcement bodies to thoroughly investigate the Saturday incident as a crime committed on ethnic and religious grounds. The Armenian Church called on the media to avoid promoting anti-Armenian attitudes in society, urging Georgia’s Orthodox Church to publicly condemn any actions based on ethnic and religious hatred. “For many centuries, we have been concerned with the internal stability of Georgia and interethnic and interreligious relations, and we call on the Georgian government to take all necessary measures in order to avoid ethnic and religious separation of Georgian society.” Top stories Six total incidents have burned 19 old-growth trees. Friday night 8 trees were torched along the beautiful main entrance. The EU does not intend to conduct military exercises with Armenia, Lead Spokesperson for EU Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Peter Stano says. Hikmet Hajiyev has said that there is no place for USAID operation in Azerbaijan any longer. A telephone conversation between Putin and Pashinyan before the CSTO summit is not planned, Peskov says. Partner news | Azerbaijan must respect human rights, Scholz tells Aliyev German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has called for greater respect for human rights in Azerbaijan. Armenia: Defense Ministry warns against involving army in political processes The Ministry’s statement came after a video surfaced online, showing soldiers joining the protests in Tavush. Ucom equips four bus stops in Ijevan with free Wi-Fi Ucom now provides free Wi-Fi coverage in smart bus stops in four communities of Ijevan. Armenia, Russia discuss life extension of Metsamor nuclear plant Issues regarding the extension of life of the 2nd power unit of the Armenian Nuclear Power Plant were discussed in Yerevan. |