David Hovhannisyan: After Aram I made the statement militants shelled Armenian church in Aleppo
Experts of Yerevan-based Caucasus Institute today summed up the commemorative events slated for the centenary of the Armenian Genocide. The centennial events were important in the sense that many people remembered their ancestors and were proud of their identity,” David Hovhannisyan, a professor at Yerevan State University, said to Aravot.am. “We all witnessed how we can make the world better if we are united,” he added. Mr Hovhannisyan says now it is important what demands we pose to Turkey and how we do it. At the same time, he says we need to be realistic and admit that the Republic of Armenia cannot take such risks now. The professor is concerned to hear some people [including prominent figures] saying that once our lands are returned to us, we shall drive away the people living there as Germany once did. MR Hovhannisyan also holds a different opinion on the lawsuit filed by theCatholicosate of the Great House of Cilicia. On Tuesday, the attorney representing the Catholicosate of the Great House of Cilicia officially filed a lawsuit in the Turkish Constitutional Court to regain ownership of the historic headquarters of the Church, which includes the Catholicosate, the monastery and cathedral of St. Sophia, a major Armenian Christian holy site located in the Sis (currently Kozan), in south-central Turkey. The religious site was confiscated by the Turkish Government following the Armenian Genocide of 1915. “After the statement of Catholicos Aram I, militants shelled Holy Forty Martyrs Church in Aleppo. We do not have a right to threaten Armenian communities with our statements,” said Mr Hovhannisyan.
