Azernews.Az

By Sara Rajabova

A stone from Azerbaijan's Karabakh region has been added to the international pyramid in Canada.

The opening ceremony of the International stone pyramid- monument symbolizing the friendship between peoples and composed of stones from various countries was held in the Canadian city of Carleton Place, AzerTag news agency reported.

Till 2014, the monument was made of rubble from 20 countries - South Africa, the U.S., Mexico, China, Japan, Russia, Germany, France, Great Britain, Australia, Poland, Scotland, Trinidad and Tobago, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Costa Rica, Belgium and Ireland.

This year, the ancient stone tools from Azerbaijan - valley of the river Guruchay in Karabakh was placed in the pyramid.

Mayor of Carleton Place Wendy LeBlanc thanked those countries including Azerbaijan that have contributed to the construction of the extraordinary monument.

Guruchay valley, which was one of the ancient places of residence in Azerbaijan, is situated in Fuzuli region.

The major part of this region was occupied by the Armenian armed forces during the Karabakh war in early 1990s. As a result, the ancient historical monuments of world importance are under occupation and their fate is unknown.

Azerbaijan and Armenia fought a lengthy war that ended after signing of a precarious ceasefire in 1994. Since then, Armenian armed forces have occupied over 20 percent of Azerbaijan's internationally recognized territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh, defying international calls and UN resolutions.

The first human dwellings like the well-known Azykh and Taghlar caves, the Garakopak and Uzarliktapa burial mounds, located in the occupied territories, are being used for military purposes. Most of them have been destroyed. Cemeteries, mausoleums, monuments, mosques, temples and monuments that once belonged to Caucasus Albania and other cultural heritage sites in the occupied regions of Shusha, Lachin, Kalbajar, Gubadli, Zangilan, and Fuzuli have been destroyed along with burial mounds in Khojaly, Aghdam, Aghdara, Fuzuli and Jabrayil.

After invading Azerbaijan's territories, Armenia has been pursuing the campaign of ruining cultural and historical monuments of Azerbaijani people. The Armenians are fabricating facts about the monuments of the ancient Caucasus Albania. A variety of ancient Albanian scripts, wall designs and crosses have been replaced by Armenian attributes. A number of mosques are used as store-houses. Buildings as well as unique exhibits of the museums located in the occupied Azerbaijani lands have been either destroyed or used as a basis for new museums, with Armenians claiming that they belong to them.

The destruction and damaging of the historical and cultural monuments by the Armenian invaders in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan stand in stark violation of the 1954 Hague convention on preservation of cultural values during armed conflicts, the 1992 European convention on preservation of archeological heritage, and the 1972 UNESCO convention on preservation of world cultural and natural heritage.