Aravot.am asked Armen Marukyan, Head of the Department for the History of the Armenian Cause and Armenian Genocide at the National Academy of Sciences, to comment on the letter of Vicar of the Armenian Patriarch Archbishop Aram Ateshyan addressed to the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, in which Archbishop Aram has mentioned that the Bundestag resolution on the Armenian Genocide causes “regret”. As mentioned by Mr. Marukyan, the Patriarchate of Constantinople has always been a tool in the hands of the Turkish authorities in the fight against the Armenian people and given the iffy status of our pontifical chair, there is no need commenting on it.
The historian also stated, “It is not the first time when the patriarchs of Constantinople or the vicars make similar statements. This statement is also made in defence of the security of Istanbul-Armenian community because the extremist forces always become active during the adoption of such resolutions, hence, we can approach to what is written in Ateshyan’s letter with understanding. I think that the text of the letter is sent from the Turkish government, in other words, this is a pre-prepared PR action, and there is no need to demonstrate any emotional or nervous behavior. I repeat, this is not the first time, this has always been and will be because the Istanbul Armenian community and the Patriarchate of Constantinople are in the state of a hostage. Given these circumstances, we must estimate the facts, the existence of the letters and treat accordingly.”
As mentioned by Armen Marukyan, “We should not play into the hands of Turks and go against the patriarch: what have you written and so on and so forth. This is a Turkish plan, which they are trying to cause tension between different segments of Armenians. We should not bite the bait to understand the reality of the conditions to write such letters. We must have a sober and balanced approach to it and continue our fight accordingly. It is obvious that there would be new action in the future. No need to focus on it too much and try to look for traitors here. Those who treat such issues emotionally, it means that they are unaware of the status of the Istanbul-based Armenians and the Patriarchate of Constantinople and are not aware of the current realities. In the context of these realities, I think that voicing such accusations is equivalent to play into the hands of Turkish propaganda machine.”
Gohar HAKOBYAN
