November 5, 2007 - 17:11 AMT
Turks tried to upset inauguration of khachkar in Cardiff
The unveiling ceremony of memorial to the Armenian Genocide victims took place in Cardiff, Wales, on November 3.

Wales-Armenia Solidarity told a PanARMENIAN.Net reporter that the stone is Welsh, the design is Armenian, the stonemason is Welsh and the inscription is by the hand of a Bishop of the Armenian Apostolic Church. The commemorative words are in Welsh, Armenian and English.

The memorial in the gardens of the Temple of Peace in Cardiff has been erected by the Wales-Armenian Society with the financial assistance of the Armenian community of Wales. It was consecrated in a service conducted by His Grace Bishop Nathan Hovhannisian, Primate of the Armenian Apostolic Church of Great Britain in the presence of Lard Dafydd Elis-Thomas - Presiding Officer of the National Assembly of Wales. Also in attendance was His Grace David Yeoman, the Assistant Bishop of Llandaff, and Dr Vahe Gabrielyan, Armenian Ambassador to the UK.

The consecration service was a tranquil, reflective, religious and cultural ceremony attended by over 300 members and friends of the Armenian communities of England and Wales. Attempts by protestors to disrupt the service were controlled by the South Wales Police.

On the same say some 100 Turkey from various regions of Great Britain organized a protest action against the monument inauguration. Some protesters pretending journalists tried to penetrate into the site but were stopped by the police.