November 26, 2008 - 13:21 AMT
Georgia perpetrates genocide of Armenian cultural heritage
What is happening to Armenian churches in Georgia is nothing but genocide of our cultural heritage, an Armenian historian said.

"Bare condemnation of the acts of vandalism will produce no effect. A crime has been committed and those guilty should be punished by the international court," Samvel Karapetyan told a news conference today. "The Armenian National Council in France has already taken measures to prevent violence. It brought a suit on demolition of Armenian monuments in Djulfa to the European Court of Human Rights. Hearings will be launched soon," he added.

Over 650 Armenian churches are situated in the territory of Georgia, most of them being appropriated or destructed by the Georgian side.

"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Culture should take action to put an end to the Georgian policy. By punishing those guilty of this crime we will make our vandal neighbors respect us and our cultural heritage," the historian said.