Monument Watch: Azerbaijan resettled 25 families to Artsakh village of Haterk

ArmInfo. The Azerbaijani side has resettled 25 families, totaling 91 people, to the occupied Artsakh village of Haterk.  As reported in the Monument Watch report, the resettlement was carried out as part of the "return of liberated territories" program. A video released by the Azerbaijani side claims that these settlers are the indigenous inhabitants of the village.

The report notes that census data from the Soviet era confirm the absence of Azerbaijanis in this settlement.  Similar conclusions can also be drawn from the census data conducted at the end of the 19th century. As of 2018, 1,544 people were reported to be living in Haterk. "The village of Haterk in Artsakh was one of the ancient settlements of the region. Armenian written and lithographic sources of the 12th-15th centuries repeatedly mention the principality of Haterk with the center of the same name," the Monument Watch report emphasizes.

Additionally, it is reported that after the forced displacement of the local population, cultural monuments were also under threat of destruction. The Azerbaijani side destroyed a monument dedicated to the fallen heroes of the Patriotic War and vandalized the mass cemetery in Haterk.  In this regard, the Monument Watch report emphasizes that Azerbaijan's policy violates several international conventions aimed at protecting historical monuments and cultural heritage, prohibiting their deliberate destruction and falsification. Specifically, Article 4 of the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict states that states are obligated to take all possible measures to preserve and prevent damage to cultural heritage.  It is also emphasized that Azerbaijan has been a party to this Convention since April 25, 1997, and, therefore, undertakes to protect the common cultural heritage of mankind.