Wednesday, February 9 2022 09:59

ArmInfo.The Foreign Ministry of the Republic of Artsakh has issued a statement in  connection with the intention of Azerbaijan to appropriate the Armenian cultural heritage:

The statement reads:

"We strongly condemn the decision of the Azerbaijani authorities to  establish a special commission tasked with, according to subsequent  statements by officials, destroying the traces of the Armenian  identity of cultural and religious monuments located in the  territories of Artsakh occupied by Azerbaijan. This serves as another  convincing evidence of the fact that the Armenian cultural heritage  that has come under the control of the Azerbaijani authorities is in  real danger of being completely destroyed or torn off from their  historical roots.

"We have repeatedly stated that the falsification of history and the  cultural genocide by Azerbaijan are an integral part of the broader  anti-Armenian policy systematically pursued by Baku for several  decades. If at the initial stage of the Azerbaijani-Karabagh  conflict, manipulations with history and culture served as a  justification for the deportation of the Armenian population from the  former Azerbaijan SSR, now they are aimed at legitimizing the results  of the illegal use of military force by Azerbaijan against Artsakh.

"The elimination of any traces of the Armenian presence both in the  occupied territories of Artsakh and in Azerbaijan through the  falsification of history, destruction of Armenian cultural monuments  and renaming of autochthonous toponyms is, in fact, a continuation of  Azerbaijan's aggression by other methods.

"There is a strong belief among the international community and in  expert circles that the destruction of cultural monuments is an  attack on the dignity of peoples, their values and ideals in order to  undermine the nation's ability to withstand historical trials and  develop. By declaring war on Armenian history and culture, Azerbaijan  is trying to achieve exactly this goal.

"The destruction of the Armenian cultural heritage is not only an  attempt to deprive the people of Artsakh of their rights, including  the right to culture, but also a challenge to the international  community and a threat to peace and security. Over the past decades,  the international community represented by the UN, in response to the  increasing number of cases of deliberate destruction of cultural  monuments during conflicts across the world, has developed a position  according to which the destruction of cultural sites is a war crime  and amounts to acts of terrorism.

"The creation in Azerbaijan of a special commission tasked with  changing the appearance of Armenian cultural and religious monuments  and with their subsequent appropriation is a gross violation of the  order of the International Court of Justice on provisional measures,  which require official Baku to prevent and punish acts of vandalism  and desecration of the Armenian cultural heritage, including, but not  limited to, churches and other places of worship, monuments,  landmarks, cemeteries and artefacts. The order of the International  Court of Justice is binding on Azerbaijan. The refusal to implement  it demonstrates Baku's intention to undermine, albeit at a local  level, the system of international relations that ensures  international peace and security.

"We once again call on the world community and specialized  international organizations to urgently take all necessary measures  to make Azerbaijan comply with its international obligations to  preserve and respect the cultural heritage of the Armenian people and  to fully implement the order of the International Court of Justice on  provisional measures."