2 minute read
YEREVAN, MARCH 29, ARMENPRESS. By nationalizing churches Turkish authorities try to prevent people from returning to their Christian identity. Expert in Turkish studies Ruben Melkonyan mentioned about this in an interview with “Armenpress” commenting on the decision of the Turkish authorities to nationalize churches and lands in Diyarbakir. “Further centralization of power takes place in Turkey and dictatorial features come to surface. And it is natural that it will have an impact on ethnic minorities and their rights. One of those rights is freedom of religion, enshrined in the Treaty ofLausanne. The mentioned decision taken by Turkey violates the freedom granted by the Treaty ofLausanne”, Ruben Melkonyan said.
He noted that there are a few operational churches in Western Armenia and one of them is St. Giragos Church. According to him, St. Giragos Church awakened activation in that region.
“It was the reason for people of Armenian descent to try to re-find their identity and return to their roots. By nationalizing churches Turkish authorities take control of this process”, Melkonyan said, stating that this was another illegal step by Turkey which will lead to specific developments, especially under the light that this issue gradually enters the agenda of civil society and independent lawyers.
While clashes and curfews continue in Diyarbakir, the cabinet took an urgent expropriation decision. St. Giragos Church, the largest Armenian church in Middle East, is among the places in Sur province of Diyarbakir that are expropriated by the decision of the cabinet. The church was restored and opened to worship in 2011. By the same decision, Assyrian, Chaldean and Protestant churches are also expropriated.