Tatul Hakobyan, an independent reporter and political analyst with the Civilitas Foundation in Yerevan, reports that Turkish police on the island of Akhtamar prevented a group of visiting diaspora Armenians from lighting candles and singing the Lord’s Prayer within the Holy Cross Church on September 26. This comes just one week after the Turkish government “allowed” religious services to be held at the church. Mr. Hakobyan says that he was guiding the group to various sites in western Armenia – Ani, Bitlis, Bayazet, Moush and Kars. He says that local Turkish police at Akhtamar told the group that they had been given specific orders not to allow audible praying or the lighting of candles within the structure since the site is a museum.