Monday, May 24 2021 14:40

ArmInfo. Deputy Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sports of the Republic of Armenia Ara Khzmalyan received Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe  (PACE) Rapporteur on Migration, Refugees and Internally Displaced  Persons Paul Gavan and PACE Migration Committee Secretary Mark  Neville.   As the press service of the RA MoESCS reports, stressing that the  Armenian people are going through one of the most difficult stages of  their history, Khzmalyan thanked the PACE for its support in the  post-war period. In particular, the deputy minister pointed out the  importance of the last resolution on Armenia and Artsakh adopted by  the PACE, which, in addition to violations of human rights,  separately raised the issue of protecting Armenian historical and  cultural monuments in the territories that came under the control of  Azerbaijan.

At the same time, Khzmalyan informed the PACE delegates that as a  result of the war unleashed on September 27, 2020 by the Azerbaijani  Armed Forces against Artsakh, more than 2,000 Armenian historical and  cultural monuments, as well as 10 museums (8 state and 2 private)  with about 20,000 exhibits came under Azerbaijani control. At the  same time, cultural monuments were shelled throughout the entire  period of hostilities.

The Armenian official expressed concern about the threat to the  Armenian historical and cultural heritage in the territories that  came under the control of Azerbaijan, given the long-term  anti-Armenian policy pursued by this country - the purposeful  destruction of the Armenian heritage.

The Deputy Minister stated that Azerbaijan creates artificial  obstacles for conducting monitoring visits to assess the current  state of the Armenian historical and cultural heritage in the  occupied territories, including the proposals of authoritative  international organizations.

"The most significant case was the rejection of the UNESCO monitoring  mission. The problem is aggravated by the fact that Azerbaijan is not  a member of the International Council on Monuments (ICOMOS), which  makes cooperation in the professional sector impossible," he said,  adding that the destruction of the Armenian historical and cultural  heritage poses a threat to the common European cultural heritage.

Khzmalyan noted that the Armenian side counts on the active support  of the European partners in preserving the Armenian historical and  cultural heritage and stated that the videos and photographs posted  on the Internet prove that the state policy of destruction of the  Armenian identity continues in Azerbaijan. According to him, this is  evidenced by the so-called restoration work carried out over the dome  of the St. Ghazanchetsots church in Shushi and attempts to present  the Dadivank monastery as non-Armenian.

The European delegates noted that a report on the consequences of the  war is being prepared, which will be presented to parliamentarians of  all 47 PACE member states at its September session. Paul Gavan will  visit Azerbaijan to prepare a report. He expressed concern that he  did not have the opportunity to visit Artsakh.