Mobs Desecrate Historic Armenian Church in Turkey

Defilement Comes Amid Azerbaijan's Desecration of Medieval

Armenian Gravesite

New York, NY-Sources reported today from on the desecration of an Armenian religious site in the town of Kayseri, Turkey. The Armenian Patriarch of Constantinople, Mesrob II, has condemned the defiling of the historic St. Gregory The Illuminator church by Turkish mobs.

"Unidentified individuals brandished firearms and opened fire ten times on the entrance portal of the historic St. Gregory The Illuminator church.

Simultaneously, the unidentified assailants shouted Islamist and anti-Christian slogans," reported the Aztag daily of Beirut.

This marks the second assault on historic Armenian monuments during the past three months. In December 2005, footage was taken of Azeri troops destroying a 17th century Armenian grave site in the village of Djulfa.

Armenians across the globe will protest Azerbaijan's record of hatred against Armenians on February 28 by demonstrating in front of Azerbaijan's embassies and other relevant international institutions.

Turkey and Azerbaijan's shared history of genocide, ethnic cleansing and cultural destruction towards religious minorities represents one of the world's catastrophic examples of state-sponsored intolerance and bigotry.

Ottoman Turkey carried out the extermination of 1.5 million Armenians during World War I, in what is known as the first genocide of the 20th century.

Since then, Turkey and Azerbaijan have continued to destroy or willfully neglect hundreds of Armenian monuments and religious sites, which through treaty obligations they are required to protect.

Azerbaijani authorities massacred thousands of Armenians just before Soviet rule was established in the region. During the Soviet Union's demise, Baku resumed government-supported pogroms of Armenians, killing hundreds in the towns of Sumgait, Baku, Kirovabad, Shahumian, and elsewhere, while deporting or cleansing 500,000 Armenians throughout the entire country.