|
YEREVAN–Armenian students and activists
gathered at Yerevan’s Republic Square on November 24 and marched
toward the Georgian Embassy in protest of the Georgian
Government’s intentional neglect of the numerous ancient
Armenian Churches within its borders, as well as its restriction
against officially registering the Armenian Apostolic Church as
an active diocese in today’s Georgian State where several
hundred-thousand Armenians reside.
 The
demonstration against the Georgian Government’s policy was an
active and outspoken response to the recent collapse of a wall
of the ancient ‘Mughni Surp Gevorg’ Armenian Apostolic Church,
on Nov. 19, 2009 in Tbilisi, Georgia – illustrating the tragic
consequences of such policies of discrimination & religious
intolerance.
The damage and collapse caused by the lack of
maintenance and upkeep was to such a degree that nearby
buildings were also damaged within the Sololaki District of the
Georgian Capital (The Georgian Times). Surp Gevorg Church
remains closed due to its critically deteriorating condition,
and unfortunately, is not the only Armenian Church suffering
from such circumstances in Georgia.
The ancient Armenian ‘Surb Norashen Church’,
also located in Tbilisi, Georgia, dates back to 1467 A.D. and
was closed off from any religious activities in the 1930’s by
the then Communist Govt., and instead, was used as a book
depository much like many other religious sites at the time.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the
newly Independent State of Georgia purposely neglected returning
the Armenian church to the Armenian Apostolic Church Diocese in
Tbilisi – gating off the church, destroying ancient Armenian
tomb stones, and boarding up the church instead.
Chairman of the Armenian Center of
Cooperation in Georgia, Karen Elchyan, has categorized this
process as “Georgian-ization,” where the government has
intentionally isolated & boarded up Surp Norashen Church;
restricting public access, encircling it with concrete walls
displaying Georgian Crosses, and initiating a campaign to annex
Norashen to the neighboring Georgian Orthodox Church, claiming
it as one of its own.
 A
U.S. State Department’s Global Report in November 2005,
describing the state of religious freedom in the Georgian
Republic, declared:
“Many problems among traditional religious
groups stem from property disputes. The Roman Catholic and
Armenian Apostolic Churches have been unable to secure the
return of their churches and other facilities that were closed
during the Soviet period, many of which later were given to the
Georgian Orthodox Church by the [Georgian] State,” the report
states, noting that “the prominent Armenian church in Tbilisi,
Norashen, remains closed, as do four other smaller Armenian
churches in Tbilisi and one in [the region of] Akhaltsikhe.”
Among the 29 Armenian Churches functioning in
Tbilisi in the beginning of the 20th-Century, only 1 remains
active. Many analysts and members of the Armenian Community in
Georgia view this as an attempt to completely assimilate or
drive out what remains of this centuries old ethnic-Armenian
population.
What is needed now is decisive action within
the Armenian Diaspora today by petitioning their influential
community organizations, such as the Armenian National Committee
of America (ANCA), the Armenian Assembly of America (AAA),
youth organizations, student groups, who are active within the
Armenian-American Community, as well as other communities, so as
to lobby their respective governments for support.
Our worldwide Armenian network not only has
the access but also the resources and potential determination to
rally
their respective host countries toward pressuring the Georgian
Govt. to not only protect and rehabilitate centuries old
Armenian Churches, but to also register the Armenian Apostolic
Church, and other active religious groups, as legal religious
entities within today’s Georgian Republic.
The several hundred thousand strong Armenian
Community in Georgia deserves the same rights of religious and
ethnic tolerance as their brethren enjoy elsewhere, let’s not
take our rights and good fortune for granted.
Please help reverse the Georgian Government’s
campaign, by signing
this petition urging influential organizations within the
Armenian Diaspora to lobby their respective governments to
mobilize and take action in defense of our ethnic and religious
heritage.
|
