The Presidency of the Forum of Armenian Unions of Europe has initiated an initiative group for the protection of the Armenian Apostolic Church and Christianity in Armenia. We present our statement, approved by the members of the group. With deep concern, we are witnessing a number of developments taking place in Armenia, which are a direct challenge to the Armenian Apostolic Church and its spiritual leader, Catholicos of All Armenians Garegin II.
In recent months, the actions of the RA government have created an atmosphere of hostility and pressure towards the Church. High-ranking clergymen, two archbishops and one bishop, priests, as well as respected philanthropists and journalists were arrested on false charges. We are witnessing illegal actions directed against religious freedom and the Constitution in Armenia.
The encroachments against the spiritual and historical heart of the Mother Church of Holy Etchmiadzin, the first Christian nation in the world, are very disturbing.
Considering the seriousness of these developments, we appeal to those individuals whose moral authority and public position can contribute to the mission of the Church, its spiritual leadership and the protection of the main values of Christianity in Armenia and throughout the world, to condemn the illegal steps taken by the RA authorities.
The following persons joined the initiative.
1. The Most Reverend and Most Reverend, The Most Reverend Lord Kerry Clifton - Former Archbishop of Canterbury, (Great Britain)
2. Jan Czarnogurski - former prime minister of Slovakia, co-chairman of the PANAP club in Vienna, (Slovakia)
3. The Honorable Lord Marquess of Reading, (Great Britain)
4. Konstantin Zatulin - deputy of the State Duma of the Russian Federation, first deputy chairman of the CIS Committee of the State Duma, (Russia) 5. Luis Moreno Ocampo - Argentina's first Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) (UN)
6. His Grace Bishop Dr. Professor Patrick Sukhdeon, Professor at the University of Pretoria and Executive Director of the Oxford Center for Religion and Public Life, (UK)
7. Jan Fiegel - the first EU Commissioner for Innovation and Research, President of the European Forum for Religious Freedom (FOREF), (Slovakia)
8. Jonathan Steele - member of the PANAP club in Vienna, British journalist and publicist, former chief foreign correspondent of The Guardian, (Great Britain)
9. John Eibner, General Director of the International Christian Solidarity Organization, employee of the Institute of Historical Studies, University of London, (Great Britain)
10. Luboš Blaha - Member of Parliament of the European Union, (Slovakia)
11. Frantisek Miklosko - former Speaker of the Slovak Parliament, current member of the Parliament, Knight of the Highest Order of the National Assembly, (Slovakia)
12. Wolfgang Hummel - Member of the Senate of Berlin, Member of the Department of Financial Affairs of the Federal Ministry of Economy, (Germany)
13. Helga Zepp-LaRouche-Schiller Institute founder and head, (Germany)
14. Cyril Svoboda - President of the Diplomatic Academy of the Czech Republic in Prague (Czech Republic)
15. Ian Campbell - famous Czech economist, analyst and public speaker, (Czech Republic)
16. Robert Amsterdam - international lawyer specializing in political protection and human rights, (USA)
17. Francois Fillon - former Prime Minister of France, (France)
18. Romano Prodi - former Prime Minister of Italy, former President of the EU, (Italy)
19. Gustav Gustenau - Brigadier General, Secretary General of the European Institute for Combating Terrorism and Conflict Prevention, Vienna, (Austria).
