The present state of Armenian cultural treasures in Turkey
Motion for a recommendation
| Doc. 11511
| 25 January 2008
- Signatories:
- Mr Raffi HOVANNISIAN,
Armenia ; Mr Pedro AGRAMUNT,
Spain, EPP/CD ; Mr Ioannis BANIAS,
Greece ; Mr Walter BARTOŠ,
Czech Republic ; Ms Marie-Louise BEMELMANS-VIDEC,
Netherlands, EPP/CD ; Mr József BERÉNYI,
Slovak Republic ; Ms Anne BRASSEUR,
Luxembourg ; Mr Igor CHERNYSHENKO,
Russian Federation ; Ms Åse Gunhild Woie DUESUND,
Norway ; Ms Josette DURRIEU,
France, SOC ; Mr Mátyás EÖRSI,
Hungary, ALDE ; Mr José FREIRE ANTUNES,
Portugal ; Mr György FRUNDA,
Romania, EPP/CD ; Mr Andreas GROSS,
Switzerland, SOC ; Baroness Gloria HOOPER,
United Kingdom ; Mr Joachim HÖRSTER,
Germany, EPP/CD ; Ms Sinikka HURSKAINEN,
Finland, SOC ; Mr Erik JURGENS,
Netherlands ; Ms Cecilia KEAVENEY,
Ireland, ALDE ; Mr Markku LAUKKANEN,
Finland, ALDE ; Ms Sabine LEUTHEUSSER-SCHNARRENBERGER,
Germany, ALDE ; Mr Terry LEYDEN,
Ireland, ALDE ; Ms Maria Manuela de MELO,
Portugal, SOC ; Mr Stefano MORSELLI,
Italy ; Ms Christine MUTTONEN,
Austria ; Mr Philippe NACHBAR,
France, EPP/CD ; Ms Antigoni PAPADOPOULOS,
Cyprus
- Thesaurus
This motion has not been discussed in the Assembly and commits only those who have signed it.
The Armenian genocide perpetrated by the Ottoman Empire resulted
not only in the death and total dispossession of more than 2 million
people, but also in the decimation of the Armenian patrimony, its
way of life, and its fundamental contributions to western culture
and world civilisation.
Since 1915, thousands of historic Armenian churches, monasteries
and other religious, spiritual and secular treasures belonging to
European cultural heritage have been either completely destroyed
or damaged to the extent of becoming immediately subject to the
threat of disappearance.
Despite being a party to the European Cultural Convention
and the Convention for the Protection of the Architectural Heritage
of Europe, Turkey fails to fulfil the obligations and commitments
it has assumed within the framework of these conventions, in particular
respect of the preservation of Armenian cultural monuments which
constitute an integral part of the common European cultural heritage.
The Assembly therefore recommends the Committee of Ministers:
i to call on the Government of Turkey,
as a member state of the Council of Europe and a party to the aforementioned
conventions, to respect and realise fully the international obligations
which it has undertaken and in particular those provisions which
relate to the protection of cultural heritage;
ii to urge the Government of Turkey accordingly to conduct
in good faith a comprehensive, integrated inventory of the Armenian
cultural heritage located under its jurisdiction, and based thereon
to develop a strategy for priority restoration of all ancient and
mediaeval Armenian capital cities, churches, fortresses, cemeteries
and other treasures; and
iii together with the Secretariat, to take appropriate measures
immediately towards the organisation of a Council of Europe expert
mission to Turkey with the purpose of assessing the current state
of the Armenian cultural heritage there, and to develop a long-term
programme for the preservation of our common European heritage.
In the designation and implementation of the programme, the Council’s
rich experience in this domain, which includes its reconstruction,
restoration and rehabilitation projects in South-Eastern Europe,
should be taken into account.