ARMENIAN DIOCESE IN GEORGIA REQUESTS THAT ACTS OF VANDALISM AND OFFENSE TO THE DEAD BE PUT AN END TO
TBILISI, MARCH 21, NOYAN TAPAN. The conflict surrounding the Armenian
Church Norashen is gaining new momentum and the frontiers of trust,
it seems, are being left far behind. After the attention it attracted
in relation to the “fake tombstones with Georgian inscriptions”,
which are still not taken away from the church’s yard, Georgian
Church officials convincingly assured the Armenian Diocese that the
Georgian Patriarchate had best intentions for a positive resolve of
the Norashen question and that the actions of Father Tariel were
very much his own. However, according to the Armenian Diocese in
Georgia, just a few days later, Father Abgar, Deputy Head of the
Armenian Diocese in Georgia, witnessed the undertaking of new works
by the Georgian clergy and handymen in front of the Armenian Church
Norashen (digging of holes, planting of trees etc.). Despite the
earlier agreement, the appropriation efforts aimed at the Armenian
Church of Norashen continue secretly, probably with the intention to
put the Armenian Diocese in front of a fait accompli. The Georgian
priest Tariel (the same who had destroyed famous frescoes from the
Hovnatanyan school and Armenian khatshkars) stated: “The land is ours,
hence the church is ours and we do what we want and what I have been
told. Leave us in peace, you are getting on our nerves…” Against the
backdrop of the Norashen problem, the Armenian Diocese in Georgian
is worried about a growing anti-Armenism in Georgia (where according
to official figures from 1989 about 500.000 Armenians live), which
finds expresses in the form of anti-Armenian propaganda in Georgian
mass-media, such as in the Georgian Times of 24.02.2005: “Armenians
do anything to undercut the formation of Georgia as a state… and
this is why it is necessary to create a one-nation-state”, “if the
Armenians had the material means, they would destroy our language”,
“I don’t remember one single time, when Armenians did something good
for Georgia”, “a Georgianised Armenian can never become a Georgian,
he will always strive to power. The clearest example for this is
the Georgian President himself”. The Diocese is furthermore worried
about the continuous acts of vandalism that Armenian cemeteries are
subjected to in Georgia. The century old cemetery of Vera, in Tbilisi,
has been almost completely destroyed in the past 17 years. The graves
of well known politicians, generals, professors and poets, who were
not just Armenians but who played an important role in historical
Georgia are being annihilated. And the latest horrendous news, reaching
the Press Office, are from Dusheti (a provincial town in Georgia),
where yet another Armenian cemetery has become the victim of acts
of vandalism. The Armenian Diocese in Georgia requests that acts of
vandalism and offense to the dead be put an end to. It asks not to
impede the fruitful dialogue between the Georgian Patriarchate and the
Armenian Catholicosate, which is undercut by the unqualified actions
of Father Tariel, resulting in a negative impact on the century old,
brotherly relationship between the two churches. The Diocese hopes to
attract the attention of the international community to this situation.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress