Cyprus Mail, Cyprus
March 22 2009

First ceremony in nearly half a century at Armenian church

By Claudia Konyalian

A RELIGIOUS ceremony is taking place this morning at the Sourp Boghos
(Saint Paul) Chapel inside the Armenian Cemetery near Ledra Palace for
the first time in 46 years, as new restoration works near completion.

According to an announcement from the Prelature: `During the service,
remains exhumed previously will be laid to rest in accordance with the
rites of the Armenian Church,’ and there will be a memorial service
held annually at the chapel starting from next year.

Armenian Representative in Parliament, Vartkes Mahdessian said that
today’s service is a small, solemn ceremony taking place specifically
for the 41 graves that were exhumed incorrectly during the `mistake’
in 2005. Nine of the graves that were marked with tombstones will be
buried individually, and the remaining 32 in a common grave with a
plaque commemorating the deceased. An official ceremony marking the
cemetery’s restoration will take place upon completion of works in
May.

`What is happening on Sunday shows we are on the right track towards
the complete restoration of the cemetery, so that it will be a place
we can all be proud of, Armenians and Cypriots alike,’ Mahdessian
said.

Of great historical value, it was the first cemetery the Armenian
community had in Cyprus. Some 500 people have been buried there,
including Armenian Cypriots who lived here since the early 1800s,
alongside genocide survivors. The last burial took place there in
1931.

The destruction of the site was stopped in April 2005, when bulldozers
began digging it up, amid alleged plans by the Armenian Church
Committee to put all the remains together in a communal pit in a new
Armenian cemetery located on the outskirts of the capital, sparking
outrage among the community. Rumours were rife at the time that the
land was to be made available for redevelopment, including suggestions
that a car-park be built there. The unskilled workers doing the job
indiscriminately smashed tombstones, some of which dated back to the
Middle Ages, while scattering remains all over the site.

The Church Committee was accused of acting on the listed site without
appropriate permission from the local authorities and without
consulting the community. The Committee said they had consulted a
reputable lawyer, that they were acting to improve and restore the
cemetery, and that the mistakes were those of the contractor.

Upon the initiative of Dr. Vahakn Atamyan, former Armenian
Representative in Parliament, funding from the government for the
restoration and preservation of the site was secured to the tune of
some CYP£80,000 to £90,000. The remaining amount for the
restoration of the cemetery has been given by the Armenian Church and
the restoration has taken place under the stewardship of current
Representative, Mahdessian.

`I am very happy this restoration has taken place,’ Atamyan said. `I
feel proud and glad the site has been preserved as it serves as a
historical stamp of the Armenian community’s presence in Cyprus since
the early 1800s, long before the genocide.’ He also wished to thank
the Yeremian family, for their invaluable efforts in stopping the
destruction of the cemetery.

There are currently 2,000 Armenians living in Cyprus. Every year, on
April 24, Armenians worldwide commemorate the Armenian Genocide of
1915.

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