News

Desecration of a Khachkar in Brussels

BRUSSELS, Belgium — On April 26, the Armenian community of Brussels in Belgium woke up in amazement after discovering that the monument dedicated to the victims of the Armenian Genocide had been spray-painted with crescent moon drawings and a sentence insulting the Armenian deputy of Turkey Garo Paylan.

Paylan asked the Grand Assembly of Turkey on April 23 to recognize the Armenian Genocide, much to the chagrin of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The khachkar (cross-stone) was inscribed: “F–k Paylan.” This khachkar was inaugurated in 1997.

According to the European Armenian Federation for Justice and Democracy (EAFJD) and Committee for the Defense of the Armenian Cause (CDCA Belgium), this desecration is the work of the “Gray Wolves” movement.

The mayor of Brussels, Christos Doulkeridis, who dispatched a team to clean up the monument, said: “I will never be able to tolerate this kind of behavior. The police have opened a case and a repair will be carried out immediately.”

Source: The Armenian Mirror Spectator

Vigen Avetisyan

Recent Posts

From Lake Van to Yerevan: The Bronze Helmet of Urartu, the First Armenia

The crested bronze helmet on the left of this comparison was not made by a…

5 days ago

A Tower Crowned by a Lion-Rider: Reading a Bronze Age Cult Vessel Through the Lens of the Armenian Highlands

A small, weathered piece of fired clay — barely 31 centimeters tall — sits today…

1 week ago

A Hand Reaching Through Three Millennia: The Bronze Pendant from Yeghvard

Pendant (Amulet) in the Shape of a Human Hand | 7th–6th centuries BC | Yeghvard…

2 weeks ago

Duduk (Tsiranapogh): The Ancient Voice of Armenia from the Bronze Age to UNESCO Heritage

Introduction The duduk (Armenian: դուդուկ)—traditionally known as tsiranapogh (ծիրանափող, “apricot-wood pipe”)—is one of the most…

3 weeks ago

The Earliest Known Mention of Yerevan in Armenian Epigraphy: The 874 Inscription of Sevanavank

Perched on the rocky peninsula of Lake Sevan, the medieval monastery of Sevanavank preserves one…

4 weeks ago

The Land of Kajants: Language, Kings, and Gods

Reconsidering the Language and Sacred Heritage of Urartu in Armenian Historical Thought For more than…

1 month ago