Azernews.Az

ANKARA – Demolition work has begun to tear down the controversial "Monument to Humanity" in the eastern province of Kars, a sculpture described as "freakish" by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in January, Hurriyet reported.

The area where the monument currently stands was cleared Sunday in accordance with environmental procedures. The massive statue will be cut from top to bottom into large pieces and carried away using a 200-ton piece of machinery that is being brought to Kars from Istanbul.

"If [sculptor Mehmet Aksoy] wants to have the parts [of his monument] back, we can give them back," Kars Mayor Nevzat Bozkuş previously said, daily Radikal reported April 7.

Work to demolish the monument continued despite heavy rain in the area, according to reports.

Avçin İnşaat, a Turkish construction firm, won the tender held March 7 for the 272,000-Turkish Lira job to tear down the statue, erected in the border region to symbolize Turkish-Armenian friendship.

During a visit to Kars earlier this year, the prime minister called the monument "freakish" and said it threatened to overshadow historical sites in the area such as the Seyyid Hasal El Harakani tomb and mosque. After Erdoğan called for the sculpture’s demolition, the municipal assembly in Kars passed a motion to tear down the monument, saying it had been illegally erected in a protected area.