Cilicia Catholicosate Files Another Lawsuit in Turkish Court

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ISTANBUL (PanARMENIAN.Net) — The Great House of Cilicia which had in April 2015 filed a lawsuit in Turkey’s Constitutional Court over regaining ownership of its historic headquarters in Sis, has submitted another application demanding the examination of the lawsuit.

Submitted some two weeks ago by the Catholicosate’s lawyer Cem Sofuoglu, the application urges the Turkish court to review the matter at the earliest possible convenience, as the lawsuit that was submitted 10 months ago, hasn’t been examined yet, Ermenihaber.am reports citing Haberturk.com.

According to Sofuoglu, the lawsuit only seeks to recover the property, “with no intention to discuss the events of the past.”

“We are not going to bargain with Turkey over the issue,” the Catholicos of the Holy See of Cilicia, His Holiness Aram I said, in turn. “We just want to return the property that belonged to us for over 800 years. If Turkey wants to move closer to the Armenian people, this is the most appropriate moment.”

The historic headquarters includes the Catholicosate, the monastery and cathedral of St. Sophia, a major Armenian Christian holy site located in Sis (currently Kozan), in south-central Turkey.

This site was confiscated by the Turkish Government following the Genocide of 1915 in which an estimated 1.5 million Armenians were killed or deported by the Ottoman Empire.

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Filing the lawsuit at the Turkish court, the Catholicos has thus set a precedent for the descendants of the martyrs to reclaim their family belongings.

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