ISTANBUL ARMENIANS DEMAND ELECTION FOR NEW PATRIARCH
- 'Ateshyan doesn't represent our interests', group says
Some members of the Armenian community in Istanbul have taken steps demanding that the Turkish government allow them to go ahead with a vote to elect a new Patriarch.
Yesterday, a group calling itself “We Want to Elect our own Patriarch Initiative” held a press conference, widely covered by the Turkish press, in Istanbul. Group members argued that the community's right to elect its own leader had been taken away when the government intervened in the election of Aram Ateshyan as ‘Vicar General”.
At yesterday's press conference, Taraf daily columnist and Initiative member Markar Esayan, said their rights had been violated.
Other reports say that the Initiative has already filed two lawsuits against the Turkish government seeking permission to go ahead with an election for a new Patriarch. Supporters of a new election argue that the post of patriarchal “vicar general” does not exist within the Armenian Apostolic Church.
Initiative spokesman Garo Palyan says the Turkish government created the post of “substitute patriarch” just to get someone favorable in office.
“Ateshyan imitates the Turkish government's official discourse wherever he goes and says we have no problems with the Turkish state,” he said. “We want someone who is not afraid to speak his mind and who could represent our community in a way that is true to reality.”
The initiative previously organized a petition campaign that gathered 6,000 signatures from Armenians in Istanbul demanding that the election be allowed to take place.
“Our right to elect our own patriarch has been taken away because the ‘patriarchal vicar general' position was created against the traditions of the Armenian Church. In a democratic and secular state, we cannot accept such interference in the patriarchal election, which is the right of the Armenian community based on historical traditions,” read a statement issued by the Initiative.
