ArmInfo.The Azerbaijanis destroyed the memorial of the participants in the self-defense of the village of Hakaku during the First Artsakh War, monumentwatch.org, which monitors the cultural heritage of Artsakh, writes.
"On January 15, 2024, some Armenian telegraph channels posted a video shot by Azerbaijani soldiers at the beginning of the year, in which the latter are near the memorial built in memory of the participants in the self-defense of the village of Hakaku during the First Artsakh War.
In the video, Azerbaijani soldiers with machine guns point at these broken plaques, accompanied by curses, moving them and breaking them. Some plaques have bullet marks. It is difficult to say from the video when exactly the complex was desecrated. According to Azerbaijani videorecordings, given that Azerbaijani troops are deployed in many areas in the Hadrut region of occupied Artsakh, they may have desecrated the memorial," the report says.
At the same time, the organization's statement recalls the 1954 Hague Convention, which also forms the basis of other international treaties. It is noted that its first article defines that cultural property "regardless of origin or owner, represents movable or immovable heritage of great importance for every people, such as monuments of architecture, art or history, regardless of their religious or secular character." "In accordance with Article 4 of the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property during Armed Conflict, any acts of vandalism, theft, robbery, appropriation, hostility and revenge in relation to cultural heritage are prohibited. According to the first protocol, the destruction of cultural or spiritual property in occupied territories is prohibited ," monumentwatch.org. summarizes.