Blatant Lie by the Armenian Church about the condition of the Deir Zor monument

[bell-the-cat]

You can see from this YouTube video that the damage is FAR worse than the "minor damage" the Armenian Church's Diocese of Syria claims (not that unexpected though - Armenian Church statements concerning Syria seem to be full of "nothing to worry about"). The video doesn't show the condition of the museum in the crypt of the monument.

California Courier Online, November 22, 2012

Shelling Damages Armenian Genocide Memorial Church, Museum in Der Zor

DER ZOR, Syria - The Armenian Genocide Martyrs Memorial Church in Der Zor,
also known as the Holy Martyrs Armenian Church, has been damaged as a
result of nearby shelling, as revealed by video footage taken by locals and
shared on YouTube last week.
The Armenian Diocese of Syria reported that the Memorial was not directly
targeted by the shelling, but suffered the damages due to shelling nearby
in the town, some 450 kilometers northeast of Damascus.
Jirair Reisian, a spokesman for the Syrian diocese, told RFE/RL's Armenian
Service on Monday that early media reports claiming that the complex in
Deir ez-Zor immortalizing the memory of hundreds of thousands of Armenians
killed during the Ottoman-era death marches through a Syrian desert, had
collapsed under bomb shelling and explosions were inaccurate.
At the same time, he acknowledged some minor damage caused to the Holy
Martyrs Memorial Complex and a nearby chapel in the town some 450
kilometers to the northeast from capital Damascus during some recent
fighting.
`During the military operations some buildings near the Armenian monuments
indeed were damaged, but the Armenian church has never been a target,'
Reisian emphasized.
`Some stones came off the nearby buildings as a result of shootings and
explosions and broke some of the church glass,' he added.
After telephone talks with the Syrian Armenian Diocese, Catholicos Aram I
of Antelias stated the Der Zor Memorial will be repaired only after the
restoration of security there.
Der Zor has witnessed clashes between the rebels and the Syrian Army since
the beginning of the armed conflict in the country. The few Armenian
families living in the city left months ago.
Hundreds of thousands of Armenian deportees were massacred in Der Zor in
the summer of 1916. The memorial was consecrated in 1991.

[bell-the-cat]

Re: Blatant Lie by the Armenian Church about the condition of the Deir Zor monument

Update - the Memorial Church / Museum in Deir Zor is now almost completely destroyed, blown up by ISIS a few days ago.




Same image, stored locally:

[bell-the-cat]

Re: Blatant Lie by the Armenian Church about the condition of the Deir Zor monument

Middle East Terror: Memory of Armenian Genocide victims targeted by ISIS militants

http://www.armenianow.com/commentary/analysis/57070/armenia_church_syria_isis_aram_catholicos

By Naira Hayrumyan
ArmeniaNow correspondent


On September 21, when people in Armenia marked the 23rd anniversary of their independence, one day after the completion of a large Armenia-Diaspora forum in Yerevan that discussed the events in the run-up to the commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, in Deir ez-Zor, Syria, Islamic State (ISIS) militants mined and blew up the Armenian Holy Martyrs Church.

The church commemorated the victims of the Ottoman-era Armenian Genocide in a part of Syria where countless Armenians were sent to die in death marches. The blowing-up of the church was perceived in the Armenian world and beyond as a sign that Turkey and the forces supporting it are going to respond to the just claims of Armenians that gather momentum ahead of the centennial of the 1915 Genocide.

At the Armenia-Diaspora forum in Yerevan Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia Aram I said that the Church is going to apply to the Constitutional Court of Turkey with a suit for the recovery of the huge property of the Armenian Church, in particular, the residence of the Catholicos of Cilicia in Sis. This property was confiscated by Turkey as a result of the extermination and expulsion of Armenians at the beginning of last century, and now, 100 years after those events, the Armenian Church intends to recover what it lost then.

Literally on the same day Islamists blew up the church in Deir ez-Zor. According to many Armenian political analysts, Turkey is behind the attack as it tries to demonstrate that it will respond to the claims of Armenians with terror.

On his Facebook account Aram condemned the explosion of the Armenian Church in Syria. According to the Catholicos, it was a specifically planned crime aimed against the Church that was dedicated to the memory of the victims of the Armenian Genocide as well as against the museum affiliated with the church. “We view this atrocity, committed in the run-up to the Armenian Genocide centennial and on the 23rd anniversary of Armenia’s independence, as an act of barbarism. Many of those standing behind this plot know that Deir ez-Zor, which symbolizes our martyrs’ memory and our nation’s struggle for justice, will never be destroyed as a sacred place in our nation’s collective memory,” reads Aram I’s post.

The act was also strongly condemned by the Armenian Foreign Ministry, as well as by American congressmen. Earlier, U.S. ambassador-designate to Armenia Richard Mills said during a Senate Foreign Relation Committee confirmation hearing that “the United States and the world will stand in solidarity with the Armenian people next year to mark the centenary of one of the 20th century’s worst atrocities.” At the same time, U.S. ambassador-designate to Turkey John Bass, who was confirmed in this post later, said that respect for the rights of ethnic and religious communities in Turkey, including the restoration of the right of ownership of religious property, was a major priority for him as a representative of the United States. He answered questions from Senator Mark Kirk that were connected with the policies of the United States with regard to the Armenian Genocide and the return by Turkey of the confiscated property of the Armenian, Greek and Assyrian churches.

Bass acknowledged that the Turkish government “in the period from 1936 to 2011 confiscated thousands of units of property belonging to Christian and xxxish religious institutions”. He listed several specific steps that he said he was ready to take to help ensure their return.

Meanwhile, President Serzh Sargsyan is in the United States to participate in the UN General Assembly session. In his speech, the Armenian leader is likely to address Turkey’s responsibility and call upon the international community to support the Armenian demands.

[Chubs]

Re: Blatant Lie by the Armenian Church about the condition of the Deir Zor monument

This doesn't surprise me, including the fact that Turkey has been helping ISIS militants by allowing their wounded into Turkish hospitals, allowing them to move in and out of Turkey, etc. I think its time all the Armenians left in Syria should return to Armenia. Syria is a failed state as this point, and will continue to be one for a long time. Just like Libya. Its a lost cause. I just hope fellow Armenians still trapped there are able to escape.