By Harut Sassounian
Publisher, The California Courier
It is amazing the lengths to which the Turkish government went to include Istanbul Armenian clergy and laymen in its propaganda campaign.
On November 5, 2019, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s Communications Office organized an exhibit in New York City featuring photos of the Armenian Holy Cross Cathedral located in Western Armenia, today’s eastern Turkey, near Van, on Aghtamar Island.
The opening of the exhibit was not only attended by Alper Aktas, Turkey’s Consul General in New York, but surprisingly, by several Armenian leaders as well as other Christian clergymen from Istanbul. Among the attendees were Istanbul Armenian Patriarchate’s Locum Tenens Bishop Sahak Mashalian; Shirvan Murzoyan, an Armenian priest from Istanbul; Yessayi Demir, Chairman of St. Kevork Church in Samatia, Istanbul; Mesut Ozdemir, Chairman of Dsnount Sourp Asdvadsadsni Church; Yetvart Ayvazian, Chairman of Sourp Krikor Lousavorich Church in Kouzgounjouk, Istanbul; Tamar Karasou, Director of the Turkish Branch of Sourp Krots Association; Aram Kouran from “Louys” biweekly; Chairman of the Board of Sourp Prgich Armenian Hospital in Istanbul, Bedros Shirinoglu and his wife; Turkish Minority Community Foundation Representative Moris Levi; Syriac Ancient Church Foundation President Sait Susin; American Greek Orthodox Church Archbishop Elpidophoros Lambriniadis; and members of the Turkish and Armenian communities. I am pleased that none of the clergy from the Armenian Church in the United States (Prelacy and Diocese) attended the opening of the exhibit in New York.
While it is understandable that given the tense relations between the United States and Turkey, the Turkish government would want to carry out a propaganda campaign in the US to improve its stained image, much less acceptable is the participation of the Armenian laymen and clergy as well as Syriac and Greek leaders. One can excuse the attendance of the Istanbul leaders given the fact that they are hostages in the hands of the oppressive Turkish regime. In the case of Bishop Mashalian, however, he may have come willingly, as he is one of the two candidates for the December election for the position of the Armenian Patriarch of Turkey. The Bishop knows well that any disobedience to the wishes of the Turkish government will cost him the seat of the Patriarchate.
Despite the strong desire of Erdogan’s government to carry out propaganda in the US, it failed to capitalize on this opportunity. Turkey spent a fortune to fly the 88 photographs of the Holy Cross Church to New York, pay for the rental of an exhibit hall in Manhattan, fly and accommodate over a dozen guests from Istanbul to New York City, and pay the expenses of making a film on the Holy Cross Cathedral, "The Hidden Monuments of Anatolia Coming to Light: Akdamar," shown at the exhibit. Yet, the highly-paid US lobbying firms hired by Turkey either were not asked or failed to disseminate the exhibit propaganda to the American media. Secondly, the Turkish government did not think of delaying the opening of the exhibit by one week so Pres. Erdogan, who will be in the US this week, could attend the official ribbon cutting ceremony. In September, Pres. Erdogan was present in New York at a similar opening of the exhibit of the photos of Ara Guler, a Turkish Armenian, which was also sponsored by the Turkish President’s Office.
Here are the reasons why I consider the Holy Cross Church photo exhibit a manifestation of Turkish propaganda:
1) The Turkish government has designated Holy Cross as a museum, not a church, allowing Armenian liturgy to be performed only once a year by special permission. Much more important than organizing an exhibition in New York would have been the designation of the Holy Cross edifice as a church, not a museum. What are the Armenian and other clergymen doing celebrating the exhibit of a museum? If they had any guts, they would have refused...
