Armenian News Network / Groong April 23, 2006 By Bedross Der Matossian JERUSALEM, ISRAEL On Saturday, April 22, hundreds of Armenian worshippers from Jerusalem, the United States, Canada and Australia were prevented by the Israeli Police from entering the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem. They were there to attend the annual Holy Fire Ceremony. On Saturday morning, the Armenian procession participating in the Holy Fire Ceremony began at the Cathedral of St. James in the Armenian Quarter of the Old City. It was led by the Armenian Patriarch of Istanbul, His Beatitude Archbishop Mesrob II Mutafian, and the Grand Sacristan of the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem, His Eminence Archbishop Nourhan Manougian. Following them were numerous Armenian priests, scouts and pilgrims. On the same day, 3,000 Israeli police were deployed in and around the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, located in the Christian Quarter of Jerusalem's Old City. They were present for security reasons, as well as to preserve order during the rituals. These procedures were partly due to rising tensions among members of the Greek Orthodox Community, as a result of recent Greek Patriarchal elections. While some Armenian worshippers were able to enter the Church of the Holy Sepulcher for the Holy Fire Ceremony, about 500 Armenian pilgrims were prevented from entering. Upon showing Israeli police the special entry permits that were issued by the police themselves, the Armenian pilgrims were still denied entrance to the church on the pretext that there was not enough space in the church. Eyewitness accounts from inside the church, however, indicated that only one third of the Armenian section within the church was filled with approximately 200 Armenian worshippers. This action by the police led to a rise in tensions between the Armenian worshippers and the Israeli police. An ensuing scuffle between the two sides resulted in the arrest of several Armenians, including community leader Serop Sahagian. In another incident, two Orthodox Jews disrupted a procession of Armenian Scouts, which precipitated a scuffle between them and resulted in the arrest of two Armenian scouts. Moreover, both Armenian scouts were beaten and taken to the Police station. Mr. Sahagian stated, `I was handcuffed with my son and friend and was taken to the Police station, where we were questioned for three hours.' During the questioning, about 800 members of the Armenian community gathered in front of the Israeli police station demanding the release of the five Armenians inside. Meanwhile, the priestly procession that was returning back to the Armenian Cathedral of St. James, led by Patriarch Mesrob and Archbishop Manougian, stopped in front of the Israeli Police station and demanded the release of the Armenians being held inside. After long deliberations, the Israeli Police agreed to release the Armenian detainees in order to ease rising tensions in front of the police station. In an interview with the Haaretz newspaper on the evening of April 22, Archbishop Nourhan Manougian said that the police only allowed about half of the 700 Armenian pilgrims to enter the Holy Sepulcher Church for the Holy Fire Ceremony, despite the fact that all had entry permits as required by the police. Haaretz quoted him saying, `Israel has always declared that it allows free access to the Holy Places, but in fact the police acted like a despot to the pilgrims. There were some who had come especially for the ceremony from the United States, Canada and Australia, and were not allowed in.' Additionally, community leader Serop Sahagian expressed his frustration regarding the situation saying, `This is totally ridiculous. The entry permits that were issued by the Israeli Police in conjunction with the Armenian Patriarchate were not accepted by the same authority that issued them. Worse was the total apathy of the Israeli Police towards the efforts of the Armenian clergy to solve the problem. Why were Armenian pilgrims, who traveled thousands of miles to attend this ceremony, not allowed to participate? We know for a fact that there was enough space in the Armenian section of the church.' Sahagian continued, `For the past 15 years we have become extremely frustrated with the manner in which the Israeli Police have treated us. They have placed obstacles in front of our community and have interfered with our right to freely worship in this holy city. At the same time, tens of thousands of Jewish worshippers have free access to their holy places without any obstacles.' Haaretz reported the same day that Archbishop Manougian, Grand Sacristan of the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem, met with the police commander of the Jerusalem district, Major General Ilan Franko. He asked the Major General to treat the pilgrims in a civil manner. Manougian was totally frustrated, however, with the reaction of the commander. Manougian was quoted as saying, `He [Franco] spoke to me as if I were a student of his, and hinted the entire time that if we did not abide by the agreements...' Haaretz also reported that those who were arrested were intoxicated and were behaving wildly. Community leader Sahagian emphatically refuted this claim saying, `None of the detainees were intoxicated. The police are simply trying to justify and excuse their inappropriate actions.'
HyeTert
Yorumlar kapatıldı.