EMBASSY OF TURKEY TO SLOVAKIA DEMANDS TO DISMANTLE KHACHKAR DEDICATED TO ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

Noyan Tapan News Agency, Armenia
Nov 17 2006

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 17, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. On the initiative
of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkey, the Embassy of Turkey
to Slovakia addressed to the Bratislava Mayor’s Office and district
heads of Petrzalka with a demand to dismantle the khachkar (cross
stone) dedicated to the Armenian Genocide which is placed on the
right riverside of Danube.

As the Noyan Tapan correspondent states from Bratislava, the
editorial staff of the "Plus One" daily addressed to the OSCE and
Armenian community chairman, Advisor to the RA Foreign Minister Ashot
Grigorian, asking to explain the meaning of that application of the
Turkish Embassy to Slovakia.

As Ashot Grigorian, the Chairman of the Armenian community of Slovakia
explained, the Embassy of Turkey demands to dismantle the khachkar
placed in honour of the Slovakia National Council’s adoption of
the 2004 resolution condemning the Armenian Genocide. The khachkar
was presented to Bratislava by the Nig-Aparan Compatriotic Union
of Armenia, in the person of its Chairman, RA Prosecutor General
Aghvan Hovsepian. The permission for placing the khachkar was given
by the Bratislava Mayor, and works of placing and improvement of its
surroundings were done by representatives of the local community,
on the initiative of the community chairman A.Grigorian.

"This noise made round the khachkar is a wonderful mean to again remind
citizens of Bratislava about the Armenian Genocide and the Slovakia
Parliament’s adoption of the resolution condemning it," A.Grigorian
said, adding that "not only press of Slovakia will touch upon this
sensational news, but also we, heads of the Armenian community and me,
also as the Foreign Minister’s Advisor, will demand explanation from
the Turkish Embassy with the help of press and will make an attempt
of debating to prove absurdity of their demands."