Iconic Artsakh monument demolition unconfirmed

PanARMENIAN.Net - Reports claiming that the We Are Our Mountains monument in Stepanakert is being demolished have not been confirmed, according to a joint statement by the Office of the Ombudsman for the Cultural Heritage of Artsakh and the Artsakh Cultural and Tourism Development Agency.

The statement stresses that any information concerning cultural heritage should be published only after thorough verification of facts and on the basis of reliable evidence, including satellite imagery, photographs and other trustworthy sources.

According to the statement, a photograph has circulated widely on social media in recent hours, accompanied by claims that Azerbaijani occupation forces are demolishing one of Artsakh’s principal symbols, the We Are Our Mountains monument, using construction equipment in the temporarily occupied city of Stepanakert.

“At this stage, the information has not been confirmed. The authenticity of the image, the time and place of its creation, and whether the depicted event corresponds to reality are currently under review,” the statement says.

The Office of the Ombudsman for the Cultural Heritage of Artsakh and the Artsakh Cultural and Tourism Development Agency called on the public, media outlets, civil society organizations and social media users to refrain from spreading unverified information and to wait for officially confirmed updates.

The organizations warned that publications of this nature, especially those concerning key symbols of national identity and cultural heritage, may have a serious psychological impact on forcibly displaced Artsakh Armenians and Armenian society as a whole, increasing anxiety, grief and uncertainty.

They also emphasized that the dissemination of unverified information may create risks for cultural heritage sites themselves. According to the statement, unconfirmed reports can draw unnecessary attention to monuments or cultural assets and, in some cases, increase the risk of vandalism, damage or destruction.

The statement further notes that sensitive topics of this kind are increasingly being used to generate artificial increases in views, shares and public engagement, which contradicts the principles of responsible information practices, professional ethics and the public interest.

The organizations said the information is currently being carefully examined and verified. The public will be informed through an official statement once the review is completed or if new confirmed information becomes available.

They urged everyone to demonstrate information responsibility, avoid publishing or sharing unverified materials until the facts are officially established, and rely exclusively on information released by official and credible sources.

The statement added that the image in question is not being republished because of the potential negative psychological impact it could have on the public, particularly on forcibly displaced Artsakh Armenians.

The We Are Our Mountains monument, also known as Grandma and Grandpa (Mamik and Papik), is one of the most recognizable symbols of Armenian identity, historical memory and cultural heritage. Created in 1967 by sculptor Sargis Baghdasaryan and architect Yuri Hakobyan, the approximately nine-meter-high monument, carved from red tuff stone, stands atop a hill and symbolizes the inseparable bond between the land of Artsakh and its people.