Friday, July 13 2018 13:04

ArmInfo.On the official website  of the United Nations (UN), a memorandum on the state of historical  and cultural monuments in Artsakh and Azerbaijan was published by the  Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Artsakh  (Nagorno-Karabakh Republic). Earlier, the memorandum of the Ministry  of Foreign Affairs of Artsakh was circulated as an official document  to the UN, as well as to the OSCE and the Council of Europe.

The document emphasizes that all architectural monuments in the  territory of the Republic of Artsakh are the property and heritage of  Artsakh, are included in the State Register of Immovable Historical  and Cultural Monuments of the Republic of Artsakh and are protected  by the state.

Being a responsible member of the international community and  attaching great importance to the preservation of historical and  cultural monuments, the Republic of Artsakh, on a voluntary basis,  assumed the obligations arising from the European Cultural  Convention, the European Convention for the Protection of the  Archaeological Heritage and the European Convention for the  Protection of the Architectural Heritage of Europe. The relevant  instruments of ratification were sent to the Secretary General of the  Council of Europe on 22 December 2014 and 30 June 2015. In accordance  with the undertaken obligations, the Government of the Republic of  Artsakh annually allocates funds for the preservation of historical  monuments, regardless of their origin.

The document contains facts that refute false accusations of  Azerbaijan on the destruction of Muslim monuments on the territory of  Artsakh. The memorandum notes that, in addition to false accusations,  Azerbaijan does not present any evidence and tries to ascribe its  approaches and actions to the Armenian side.  In this context, it is  stressed that during the Soviet period and during the war, Azerbaijan  destroyed 167 Armenian churches, 8 monastic complexes and 123  cemeteries located in the territory of Artsakh.

Today, Azerbaijan continues its purposeful policy of destroying  Armenian monuments on the territories under their control. Moreover,  in peacetime, Azerbaijani authorities completely or partially  destroyed all Armenian historical and cultural monuments in  Nakhchivan, where in the late 20th century there were 218 Armenian  Christian monasteries, churches, chapels, more than 4,500 khachkars  ("crosses and stones") and only 6 mosques.

The document expresses disappointment with the attempts of the  Azerbaijani authorities to regard the construction of churches in  Artsakh as a violation of international humanitarian law, as well as  the desire to use it to impart a religious character to the  Azerbaijani-Karabakh conflict.

In this context, it is stressed that in international humanitarian  law there is not one provision that would limit the exercise of the  right to freedom of religion, including the construction of churches.  Armenians began to build churches more than 1700 years ago, long  before the appearance of Azerbaijan. According to the position of  Artsakh, the Azerbaijani-Karabakh conflict is not religious, but it  is a clash of two value systems that Artsakh expresses in the pursuit  of freedom and democracy, and on the part of Azerbaijan - in an  attempt to deprive the people of Arts of their own inalienable right  to determine their own destiny.

The memorandum also contains numerous visual materials testifying to  the purposeful destruction and desecration of Armenian monuments by  Azerbaijan.

The memorandum of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of  Artsakh is available on the UN website at the following link:  http://www.un.org/en/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=A%2F72%2F876&referer=%2Fen