Karo Paylan appealed to the Minister of Internal Affairs of Turkey regarding the election of the Patriarch of Constantinople

Karo Paylan, an Armenian member of the Turkish Parliament, a member of the pro-Kurdish opposition “People’s Democratic Party” (PDP-HDP), asked Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu about the situation in the Istanbul Patriarchate.

According to Ermenihaber, in his questioning to Soylu, Paylan described in detail the situation in the patriarchate, stressing that when the Armenian community wants to elect a new patriarch, the state’s interference in this election is nothing but a violation of the rights of the Armenian community.

“Does the state participate in the election of the patriarch of the Armenian community on what grounds?” The current patriarch, Mesrop Mutafyan, with this disease, can survive for many years with the help of medicine. In that case, when you declare that there will be no election until the patriarch dies, do you mean that the patriarchate will be ruled by your appointed ruler for many years?

In addition, after the referendum held on April 16, President Erdoğan demanded that the election of the patriarch be organized as soon as possible. Did anything change after that and why did he try to obstruct the election process?

During his visit to Greece, President Erdogan criticized that mufti elections are not held in Western Thrace. In that case, how would you evaluate the obstruction of the election of an Armenian patriarch in Turkey for many years, disregarding church traditions, appointing someone as a ruler by the state and imposing those decisions on the Armenian community?

On February 5, the Istanbul Governorate sent a letter to the Patriarchate, by which the election of Archbishop Garegin Bekchyan as the deputy of the Patriarchate and the decisions he made during that time was considered invalid, and Aram Ateshyan was recognized as the head of the Patriarchate. The letter emphasizes that patriarchal elections cannot be held while Patriarch Mesrop Mutafyan is alive.

On February 9, the religious meeting convened in the Armenian Patriarchate of Istanbul decided to meet the demands of the state and restore Aram Ateshyan to the position of the patriarch’s vicar.