“No force can separate us from our cultural heritage”

Today, in two different parts of Armenia a liturgy is served, one is served by the Turkish government to juggle the pearl of the Armenian architecture Aghtamar Surb Khach (Holy Cross) Church, and the second is taking place here in Tsitsernakaberd. This is a protest and a liturgy in the same time," Hayk Demoyan Director of NAS Genocide Institute-Museum said about the rally which still is going on at the Memorial of Armenian Genocide realized in 1915, by the Ottoman Turkey.

At this moment a rally is held near the memorial where also a liturgy was served. The participants of the rally express their complaint against the Turkish authorities, for not installing a cross on the Holy Cross Church dome as well as for using the church as a means of propaganda.

"Shame, shame," were shouting the participants and putting flowers around the eternal fire eternalizing the memory of the innocent victims.

"It is not randomly that I said in different parts of Armenia, we do not divide our homeland into parts, it is the problem of the foreigners, who do not understand why we are protesting and what we demand. The problem of the foreigner is big, because he does not imagine that he has international obligations which say that Turkey must respect the cultural values of Christians which are on his territory and give it to the people and the community, which it belongs to. Nevertheless, today Turkey is turning the cultural heritage into a propaganda tool," Demoyan said.

According to him, it will never be acceptable for the Armenian people, and this protest action is an address to both the Turkish public and the Turkish authorities and the international community at the same time.

"No force can separate us from our cultural heritage," Demoyan said, then added that thus the Armenian people present their demands to the international community.