MoFA Azerbaijan marks April 18 as Int’l Monuments and Historic Sites Day

BAKU, APR 18: Today is International Monuments and Historic Sites Day in Azerbaijan. In this regard, Azerbaijan reiterates its serious concern over the destruction of cultural heritage in the liberated territories by Armenia.

During the occupation of our territories, almost all historical, cultural and religious monuments were completely destroyed. To date, the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Azerbaijan has identified the destruction of more than 400 monuments in the liberated areas. The total number of monuments in these areas is up to 3,000.

Cultural and religious property belonging to Azerbaijan was looted, insulted, altered and illegally transported to Armenia. 22 museums and museum branches with more than 100,000 cultural artifacts were destroyed in the liberated areas.

Cultural samples and ancient manuscripts of the 13th century Khudavang Monastery located in the Kalbajar region, as well as valuable cultural samples found during illegal archeological excavations near the Shahbulag fortress in the Aghdam region, were smuggled to Armenia. At the same time, illegal excavations were carried out in the Azykh cave in the village of Azykh, Khojavend region.

All these actions are a gross violation of international humanitarian law, including the regulatory documents of UNESCO, such as the 1954 Hague Convention and its two protocols, as well as the 1970 Convention.

Unfortunately, our appeals to relevant international organizations to investigate war crimes, including the deliberate destruction, misappropriation, alteration and illegal expulsion of our cultural heritage, have not been taken into account during the 30 years of occupation. We welcome the interest currently shown in this regard.

The cultural heritage located in the territory of the Republic of Azerbaijan reflects the cultural diversity of the Azerbaijani people, which is valued and protected by Azerbaijan, regardless of its origin, secular and religious nature.

Ensuring that an independent mission fully assesses the unprecedented damage done to Azerbaijan's cultural heritage is a priority for the Government of Azerbaijan, and Azerbaijan is working closely with UNESCO in this regard.

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COURTESY mfa.gov.az

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