THE small Armenian community goes to the polls in a by-election on Sunday, October 9, to choose a new Representative for Parliament after Bedros Kalaydjian, who held the seat for two terms, died on September 1.

Two candidates have already come forward, both young doctors, who are already campaigning for the support of the 2,600-member community.

Dr. Vahak Atamyan is a graduate of the Melkonian Educational Institute and Chairman of the governing board of the Nareg Armenian elementary schools, and his main rival, Dr. Antranik Ashdjian, chairs the Armenian National Committee in Cyprus that lobbies for Armenian issues in Europe and on international fora.

In the eyes of the voters, however, the main issue is the struggle to save the Melkonian school that was shut in June, depriving the local community, as well as Armenians of Europe and the Middle East, of the only boarding high-school with a history of 80 years.

“We need to know if either of the candidates will come clear and declare their unconditional support for the struggle,” that is spearheaded by the local and worldwide alumni, a parent told the Cyprus Mail.

Community members argue that the survival and subsequent reopening of the Melkonian is vital for the future of the religious group, as defined by the Constitution of the Republic of Cyprus.

The Armenians, Maronites and Latins have a Representative each who can only vote in the parliamentary committees on education, culture and religion. They sit as observers in the plenary of the 56-seat House.

Other issues, such as the Armenian monastery and churches in the Turkish occupied north, the reconstruction of the 19th century cemetery near the Ledra Palace, as well as language and culture issues are seen as insignificant if the community loses the Melkonian forever.

“We are currently involved in a court battle to wrest control of the school and its property, while the New York-based AGBU is adamant on keeping the school shut and disposing of the assets, wiping out a vital part of our post-Genocide history and identity,” said an Alumni spokesman in Nicosia.

“The Armenian Patriarch in Constantinople has intervened and claims the 125,000 square metre property, the listed historic buildings and the protected forest are rightly his and not the AGBU’s to dispose of as they like. He is suing the AGBU in the District Court of Nicosia and in California,” the Alumni official added.