“Artsakh Union”: Azerbaijan-organized visit of the diplomatic corps to occupied Artsakh is an instrument for denying the Armenian identity of the NKR

ArmInfo.  The “Artsakh” Union issued a statement in which it strongly condemned the visit organized on September 11-12 by the diplomatic corps accredited in Azerbaijan to occupied Artsakh. The Union noted that 150 representatives from 58 countries and 9 international organizations took part in the visit.

According to the Union’s press service, this is another episode in a years-long systematic campaign aimed at legitimizing the occupation and ethnic cleansing of Artsakh in the eyes of the international community by presenting them as “revival” and “development.” “The park presented to the diplomats in Stepanakert (the so-called ‘Victory Park’ - ed.) was built on the site of destroyed Armenian homes and monuments, which is clear evidence of the continuation of the genocidal and occupation policy. Azerbaijani presidential aide Hikmet Hajiyev presented the Armenian monastic complexes of Gandzasar and Dadivank to the diplomats as the heritage of ‘ancient Caucasian Albania,’ allegedly linking them to the name of ‘the Albanian prince Hasan Jalal,’ whereas the Hasan-Jalalyan dynasty was an Armenian princely dynasty, and both monasteries had for centuries served as functioning centers of the Armenian Apostolic Church - with their Armenian inscriptions and an uninterrupted Armenian ritual tradition,” the Union emphasized.

The organization noted that this is a clear manifestation of the policy of “Albanization” of Armenian heritage, whose true purpose is to historically deprive the Armenian people of Artsakh’s Christian heritage. During the same visit, the Union continued, Hajiyev made another false claim that the ancient Armenian manuscripts presented in Gandzasar, in fact their copies, were allegedly “forgeries,” and that both Gandzasar and Dadivank had allegedly been distorted “under the guise of restoration” during the “years of occupation.” “Such accusations come from the side that, according to numerous independent testimonies, is in fact responsible for the destruction or distortion of Armenian churches, khachkars, gravestones and other monuments of Artsakh.

In this context, President of the “Artsakh” Union Artak Beglaryan stated that Azerbaijan continues to use visits by diplomatic delegations as a mechanism to present the genocidal destruction and forcible erasure of identity carried out by Azerbaijan itself in Artsakh under the guise of “restoration.” “We demand that responsible representatives of the international community not become an instrument for legitimizing crimes and falsifying history, but demand an independent and transparent investigation and publicly speak out against the forcible displacement of the people of Artsakh, the destruction of its heritage and the violation of numerous rights,” Beglaryan noted.

The “Artsakh” Union further recalled that the ruling of the International Court of Justice dated November 17, 2023, which remains in force and is binding, requires Azerbaijan to ensure the safe, unimpeded and expeditious return of Artsakh Armenians forcibly displaced after September 19, 2023.

The “Artsakh” Union further demanded that UNESCO and other independent international professional missions be immediately provided with unhindered and permanent access to all Armenian historical, cultural and religious monuments of Artsakh for the purpose of independently documenting their current condition, in accordance with the ruling of the International Court of Justice dated November 17, 2023.

“We demand that the states represented in the diplomatic corps and international organizations refrain from participating in tours organized and accompanied by the Azerbaijani state until proper guarantees of independent verification, transparency and the participation of the Armenian side are ensured. We demand that diplomats and other figures who have already participated, as well as those who will participate in the future, provide public and clear assessments of the forcible displacement of the indigenous Armenian population of Artsakh, as well as the destruction and appropriation of its cultural and religious heritage, without becoming an instrument of Azerbaijani propaganda and international legitimization,”

- the “Artsakh” Union stated.

In turn, the Union demanded that the authorities of the Republic of Armenia, as the guarantor of the protection of the rights and interests of the Armenian people and the host state for the population forcibly displaced from Artsakh, officially and publicly respond to this visit and the policy of falsifying the history of the Armenian people, and consistently defend the rights of the people of Artsakh on all international platforms. “We once again remind representatives of the international community of the right of approximately 150,000 forcibly displaced residents of Artsakh to a safe and dignified return, as well as the need for the immediate release of Armenian prisoners of war held in Baku, which is the minimum prerequisite for ensuring stable and lasting peace in the region. The Artsakh issue can be closed only when our collective and individual rights are fully restored and reliably and sustainably guaranteed by the international community,” the organization concluded.

It should be recalled that on September 19, 2023, Azerbaijan, under the pretext of an “anti-terrorist operation,” launched large-scale aggression against Artsakh, which led to the complete de-Armenianization of the NKR. This was preceded by an almost 10-month blockade of the republic. As a result of the enemy aggression that began in autumn 2020 and culminated in the complete ethnic cleansing of Artsakh in September 2023, more than 150,000 Artsakh Armenians were deprived of their homeland and became refugees.