Azerbaijan's National Museum of History helps establish Virtual Karabakh Museum
By Sara Rajabova
The National Museum of History of Azerbaijan will participate in the establishment of Virtual Museum of Karabakh History, the museum said.
Virtual Museum of Karabakh History was the winner of the third grant competition of the Youth Fund under the President of Azerbaijan
The main exhibits about Karabakh are stored in the National Museum of History of Azerbaijan.
Karabakh national clothes, carpets, archaeological exhibits, and the most precious items of many other material culture monuments are preserved in this museum.
The National Museum of History of Azerbaijan, a part of Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences (ANAS), will play an active part in the activities of Azerbaijan's first virtual museum as its partner.
The Karabakh region of Azerbaijan is one of the ancient settlements of the country, with rich cultural and historical monuments.
But as a result of the Armenian occupation, the region's history and culture are either destroyed or exposed to falsification by Armenian vandalism.
The destruction of Azerbaijani cultural monuments in the occupied territories continues to this day. The invaders are carrying out large-scale archeological excavations, destroying burial mounds.
13 architectural and archeological monuments of global importance, 292 monuments of state importance, 330 monuments of local importance, 23 parks, and 15 decorative art samples remain in the Azerbaijani territories occupied by Armenia- Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding regions.
Moreover, 22 museums with 40,000 exhibits, 927 libraries, 808 clubs, four theaters, two concert halls, eight culture and recreation parks, four photo galleries, 85 music schools, etc. remain under occupation.
Azerbaijani Deputy Prime Minister Ali Hasanov earlier said that the damage inflicted on Azerbaijan by the Armenian aggression is estimated at $300 billion. The figure excludes items of inestimable heritage, and it is impossible to determine the immense moral value of the ancient and irreplaceable cultural monuments of Azerbaijani nation that have been destroyed.
The preservation of historical and cultural monuments in the Armenia-occupied territories of Azerbaijan as a reminder of the nation's centuries-old history is a matter of international importance, because Azerbaijani people's cultural heritage is an integral part of the world culture.
The occupation of Azerbaijani lands and making changes there is unacceptable according to contemporary international law. According to international law, all the resources in Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding regions remain Azerbaijan's assets.
Armenia occupied over 20 percent of Azerbaijan's internationally recognized territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven adjacent regions, after laying territorial claims against its South Caucasus neighbor that caused a brutal war in the early 1990s. Long-standing efforts by US, Russian and French mediators have been largely fruitless so far.
The UN Security Council has passed four resolutions on Armenian withdrawal from the Azerbaijani territory, but they have not been enforced to this day.