Baku urges international community to condemn Armenia’s vandalism against Azerbaijani cultural heritage
By Vugar Khalilov
The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry has urged the international community to condemn Armenia’s acts of vandalism against Azerbaijani cultural heritage, Azernews reports, citing the ministry.
On October 17, the ministry issued a statement in response to recent social media footage of extremist Armenians' destroying Azerbaijani cemeteries.
“Video showing radical Armenians destroying graves belonging to Azerbaijanis is spread in social media. Filmed at a cemetery near Khankandi, the footage is yet another proof of vandalism & destruction of Azerbaijan’s heritage. Perpetrators of these hate crimes must be held accountable!” the ministry tweeted.
These video clips, in which acts of vandalism are performed against Azerbaijani graves with derogatory attitudes and gravestones are smashed by trucks, are yet another glaring indication of Armenia's long-standing strategy of destroying Azerbaijani heritage, the ministry stressed.
Armenia has inflicted unparalleled damage on Karabakh and neighboring territories, which it had controlled for over 30 years, in addition to deliberately destroying the historical, cultural, and religious legacy of Azerbaijanis, who had historically lived in its territory.
It also destroyed historical and religious monuments and vandalized graves in an attempt to completely eliminate Azerbaijani traces from these areas.
Proofs of Armenia's criminal activities, including instances of urbicide, ecocide, and culturicide, were gathered and presented to international organizations, the ministry stressed.
Armenians, who had illegally settled in Azerbaijani territories, inflicted severe damage on the infrastructure, monuments, and environment while leaving these areas following the 44-day war in 2020.
“So far, no efforts have been made by Armenia's competent institutions to prevent hate crimes and punish perpetrators. This is due to Armenia's state-backed policy of eliminating Azerbaijani legacy,” the ministry underlined.
It is profoundly sad that a UNESCO mission's visit to the region was prevented during Armenia's 30-year occupation period, and the fact-finding mission has yet to take place owing to Armenia's destructive stance, despite Azerbaijan's invitation to the mission after liberating its lands, it recalled.
The circulating video clips plainly demonstrate why Armenia is opposed to the international mission's arrival in the region. These acts of vandalism committed by extremist Armenians constitute a setback to the fragile post-conflict normalization process between the two countries, the statement stressed.
Azerbaijan has collected and documented the vandalism acts depicted in videos and images and carried out appropriate procedures to hold Armenia accountable for the massive destruction it inflicted in the liberated territories.
The international community must not remain silent in the face of Armenia's atrocities not just against Azerbaijan’s cultural legacy, but also against the heritage of humanity.
---
Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz