Armenia's parliamentary opposition holds hearings on the destruction of cultural monuments in Artsakh: government agencies boycott

YEREVAN, October 18. /ARKA/. The National Assembly of Armenia is holding hearings on Friday dedicated to the problem of the destruction of Armenian cultural and religious heritage in Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh).

Armenian government agencies refused to participate in parliamentary hearings.

Opening the meeting, opposition MP Taguhi Tovmasyan noted that invitations were sent to representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Justice, and the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sports. The first two agencies immediately refused to participate, while representatives of the Ministry of Education and Science initially agreed, but then, an hour before the meeting, announced that they would not come. The MP suggested that this was due to a political directive coming "from above."

However, representatives of the UN Yerevan office and embassies of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chair countries are present at the hearings.

MP from the opposition bloc "Armenia" Anna Grigoryan  noted that after last year's ethnic cleansing, the Azerbaijani authorities hsve been systematically destroying Armenian cultural and historical sites in the occupied territories.

Cases of vandalism and threats to the heritage of Artsakh

Following the signing of a statement on November 9, 2020, between the leaders of Armenia, Russia and Azerbaijan on the cessation of hostilities in Artsakh, the Armenian side has repeatedly expressed concern about the safety of churches and other cultural and historical monuments in the territories that came under the control of Azerbaijan. 

Yerevan hoped for the participation of Russia, as well as UNESCO, in preventing vandalism and destruction of Christian shrines. However, UNESCO's leadership has not yet been able to obtain permission from the Azerbaijani authorities to visit the occupied territories of Artsakh.

Just a few days after the signing of the statement on Artsakh, on November 14, photographs of the Cathedral of the Holy Christ the Savior (Surb Ghazanchetsots) in Sushi (the church was attacked twice by rocket and artillery strikes by the Azerbaijani Armed Forces on October 8, civilians and journalists were injured) appeared on social networks, the walls of which were covered with Islamist inscriptions.

In addition, there are numerous videos online of people in Azerbaijani uniforms demolishing and desecrating Armenian Churches, destroying Khachqars, monuments, and tombstones. Surb Astvatsamayr church in Mekhakavan was razed to the ground, and the Surb Hovannes Mkrtich Kanach Zham (Green Chapel) Church in Shushi was destroyed.

Acts of vandalism against other Armenian cChurches and cemeteries have also been recorded. -0-