The Armenian Center for Political Rights, the Helsinki Committee of Armenia, the Forum for Religious Freedom – Europe, and Christian Solidarity International today issued a statement condemning remarks made by Secretary General of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), Feridun H. Sinirlioğlu of Turkey during a July 8 telephone call in which he appeared willing to lend the support of his office to the Armenian government’s campaign to remove Catholicos Karekin II, the Catholicos of All Armenians and head of the Armenian Apostolic Holy Church (AAHC).

Russian pranksters, impersonating Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, telephoned the Secretary General on July 8. During the conversation, Sinirlioğlu accused the Catholicos of politicizing the AAHC.

He then agreed to “look into” how the OSCE might support the person impersonating the Armenian Prime Minister in the matter of removing the Catholicos.

When asked by the Secretary General whether he can “change the Catholicos,” the impersonator said he was “looking to all possible ways.” The impersonator asked for the Secretary General’s support in the event of any public criticism, to which the Secretary General responded with “OK, I’ll do my best, I’ll try.” At no point did the Secretary General object that the forced removal of a religious leader by the state would violate the very freedoms the OSCE is committed to uphold.

“These pranksters have a track record of targeting politicians and officials to secure statements on sensitive public matters. We do not condone deception of this kind. Nevertheless, while we recognize that the exchange was engineered, the Secretary General’s own words reveal a posture that cannot be reconciled with the responsibilities of his office,” the statement reads.

Statement signatories call on Sinirlioğlu to publicly clarify and retract any suggestion that the OSCE would support the removal of the Catholicos or otherwise interfere in the internal governance of the AAHC.