HÜRRİYET
May 31, 1998, SUNDAY

Patriarchate: It is a political decision

The Turkish Armenian Patriarchate condemned the French National Assembly for its approval and adoption of the Draft Law of Armenian Massacre and stated: "We neither approve nor approriate the inadmissable stance of the French Assembly; on the contrary qualify the act as an undesired and destructive move."

During this years occasional ceremony of the Turkish Armenians Patriarchate (These ceremonies are held on every last Sunday of May annually at Mother Mary Armenian Church for the celebration of the foundation of the Patriarchate by Fatih Sultan Mehmet) Deputy Patriarch Archbishop Mesrob Mutafyan made a speech and stated that: "Neither the decision of the French National Assembly nor any other development could agitate our unity and solidarity in our country."

Mutafyan also stressed that the Patriarchate has been cautious in keeping away from the political matters, but that at the same time have been well aware of their national responsibilities as the real citizens of Republic of Turkey. Mutafyan who stated that the draft law which harassed the Turkish Armenians like every Turkish citizen, added that: "The French National Assembly has unfortunately preferred to take the historical dramatical events onto the political platforms once again and thereby benefited from these events with regards to their own policies rather than relinquishing their evaluation to the historians."