Destruction of Armenian heritage raised at PACE

PanARMENIAN.Net - Member of the Armenian delegation to PACE, opposition lawmaker from the “I Have the Honor” bloc Hayk Mamijanyan delivered remarks at a PACE session in Strasbourg on Wednesday, June 26, weighing in on the systematic destruction of the Armenian historical and cultural heritage by Azerbaijan.

According to him, the destruction of the “rich and ancient Armenian historical and cultural heritage is not only a cultural tragedy, but also a gross violation of international law and human rights.”

“Armenian cultural identity has deep roots in the history of the South Caucasus. However, this heritage is increasingly under threat, particularly in the context of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict,” Mamijanyan said.

Caucasus Heritage Watch, which monitors cultural heritage in conflict zones, has provided comprehensive reports on the matter, the MP said, citing the destruction and damage to important Armenian monasteries and churches at the hands of the Azerbaijani authorities.

“The Azerbaijani authorities will not stop here. They did not stop until they carried out complete ethnic cleansing in Nagorno-Karabakh, where no Armenians live now. I am convinced that sooner or later the right to self-determination of the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh will be realized exactly as it was agreed and announced 5 times by the heads of the co-chairing countries of the OSCE Minsk Group. The Azerbaijani authorities are simply horrified by this and rightly so – they should be afraid. They transform this fear into aggression, directing it against people, monasteries and other cultural values,” Mamijanyan said.

“Preserving cultural heritage is a collective responsibility. By protecting Armenian heritage, we protect cultural diversity, support historical integrity and international law. Let us unite in our commitment to protect and preserve the cultural identity of all nations, ensuring that history, no matter how fragile, is never forgotten.”

Concerns about the preservation of cultural sites in Nagorno-Karabakh are made all the more urgent by the Azerbaijani government’s history of systemically destroying indigenous Armenian heritage—acts of both warfare and historical revisionism. The Azerbaijani government has secretly destroyed a striking number of cultural and religious artifacts in the late 20th century. Within Nakhichevan alone, a historically Armenian enclave in Azerbaijan, Azerbaijani forces destroyed at least 89 medieval churches, 5,840 khachkars (Armenian cross stones) and 22,000 historical tombstones between 1997 and 2006.