Armenian children visiting Sourb Khach address open letter to Turkish PM Erdogan

A group of Armenian children who recently were subjected to improper treatment at the Sourb Khach Church on Akhtamar Island in Lake Van, Eastern Turkey, by Turkish policemen, have addressed an open letter to Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The group that includes Diana Amirkhanyan, Armine Alexanyan, Narek Alexanyan, Shota Ghazaryan,
Angela Khachaturyan, Tehmine Makoyan, Tovmas Avetisyan, Arsen Harutyunyan, Aren Petunts,
Arman Madatyan (Citizen of Belgium), were the winners of a youth TV program.

The letter reads as follows:

"Your Excellency,

"We are a group of young people from Armenia and Europe who study the history of Asia Minor. In August this year we went on a tour to Eastern Anatolia. We have witnessed numerous Armenian monasteries and monuments, which, to our chagrin, were destroyed. The only monument in the region that remains holistic is the Holy Cross church in the Akhtamar island of Lake Van, which is truly a masterpiece of Armenian art and architecture of 10th century.

"Arriving at Akhtamar, we experienced the rude and crude attitude of the Turkish policemen. Just in front of the eyes of many tourists from different corners of the world, the police pulled us out from the church like being scared of our sonorous prayer. We had even been deprived of lighting a candle as we usually do in the Armenian Apostolic Church. That has happened only few weeks before September 19, when Your Government is set to allow serving an Armenian liturgy as a showoff to the whole world.

"Dear Prime-Minister,

"The newspapers write, that you are a religious person, advocating for spiritual values. We have even read that once you have been deprived of your liberty just for reciting a religious verse.

"We fail to understand how the police of a country, governed by such a man, can impede Christian children to pray, why those policemen get nervous and use force onto youngsters. The sole "crime" of ours was to sing spiritual songs and praying in the church.

"We want to ask you why the Government, that does care about religious values, does not allow installing a cross on the dome of that church, and thus questions its sincerity to allow the liturgy on September 19? Is our prayer or the dome cross a threat to your country? How can this happen in the 21st century in a country, which is a member to the Council of Europe and wishes to access the European Union?

"We have eyewitnessed these ununderstandable rules and violence in your country. The behavior of your police is not appropriate to the modern world. It is no longer the time when the world was ruled with harsh force. In the modern world there are laws that protect the rights and dignity of people and us - children, including our right to sing religious songs and bend the knees in any corner of the world."