ARMENIAN HISTORIAN: AKDAMAR CHURCH RE-OPENING A "PEACE-OFFERING" FROM TURKEY

Hurriyet, Turkey
April 9 2007

Armenian historian Ara Sarafian has commented on the mentality guiding
Armenian nationalists, noting that radicalism in the Armenian community
worked the same way it did in the Turkish community, and that many
Armenians had not grasped the significance of the re-opening of the
Akdamar Island Armenian Church on March 29.

Sarafian called the church’s re-opening, which took place after a
long and expensive restoration process carried out by the Turkish
government "an important peace offering." According to Sarafian,
the restoration of the Akdamar Church represents a clear response to
the many accusations of "cultural genocide" lodged by the Armenian
community outside of Turkey. He also noted that the step taken in
opening up the church had caused surprise in this community.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress