YEREVAN, - Armenia should demand, by way of the courts, the return of its church property it had lost after 1915, political scientist Ara Papyan said during a press conference on Tuesday.

According to Papyan, the respective talks can be conducted independently from the activities toward the recognition of the Armenian Genocide. 

“It is necessary to prepare documents related to churches and to commence talks on the return of property,” he added.

If talks do not yield a result, as per the political scientist, claims can be submitted to the courts. If the judicial process is rejected by all Turkish judicial instances, the case will be sent to the European Court of Human Rights. 

According to Papyan, such processes were carried out in the past by Greece, with respect to the monasteries in Northern Cyprus, and Israel, concerning synagogues in Eastern Europe.

The analyst recalled that the Armenian monasteries and church property were inventoried in 1913, and the aforesaid claims can be based on this fact.      

“But this is not enough. You need well-trained professionals who are able to substantiate Armenia’s rights to these churches, since Georgia likewise has claims to some of them,” Ara Papyan concluded.       

Photo by Arsen Sargsyan/NEWS.am