PanARMENIAN.Net

PACE rapporteur on cultural heritage welcomes opening of Agdamar Church
27.03.2007 13:24 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Eddie O’Hara (United Kingdom), rapporteur on the
cultural heritage in the South Caucasus for the Parliamentary Assembly
of the Council of Europe (PACE), has welcomed the announcement of the
opening on 29 March the Holy Cross Armenian Church on Agdamar island
(Lake Van, Turkey) following extensive restoration funded by the
Turkish Ministry of Culture. `The involvement of the Turkish
Government, the Armenian Church authorities, experts from Turkish and
international universities and local contractors is an outstanding
example of how cooperation can help to save the rich cultural heritage
of this region,’ Mr. O’Hara said. E. O’Hara is due to make a study
visit to Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia to find ways of taking
cultural heritage out of the conflicts and to identify common
strategies for its protection. `The Agdamar Church restoration shows
precisely what we should hope to achieve throughout the region. We
hope the Armenian authorities will be able to participate in the
opening,’ the PACE rapporteur said, the Informational Center of the
Council of Europe reported.