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YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 27, ARMENPRESS. Azerbaijan’s appropriation of the Armenian cultural and religious heritage has been carried out using a “methodological manual” of propaganda consisting of several false theses, according to the article issued by the ''Geghard" Scientific Analytical Foundation.
The article reads: "According to Azerbaijanis, if there is any Armenian or Armenian-script inscription, it was added in the modern era. Depending on the political situation of the time, these “additions” were allegedly made in the 19th century, or in Artsakh during what they refer to as the "years of occupation." This tactic has been used, for example, in the case of Amberd. According to an Azerbaijani researcher, the Armenian inscriptions on the walls of the Vahramashen Church were added in the early 20th century.
Based on the false claims of “scientists” from Azerbaijan’s Academy of Sciences, Armenians allegedly began committing “material and spiritual crimes against Albanian churches” starting in 1836, when the “Albanian Church became a diocese was subjected to Etchmiadzin Church.”
The false thesis of “adding Armenian inscriptions” is repeatedly applied to the Dadivank monastic complex, which came under Azerbaijani control in late November 2020.
Recently, an Azerbaijani media outlet published a brief article titled The Major Azerbaijani Monastery Khudavang Subjected to Armenian Forgeries. According to the publication, between 1993 and 2020, “Armenians attempted to falsify the monastery’s history by presenting it as Armenian. For instance, the symbols of the complex were supposedly replaced, different crosses were installed, ancient Armenian inscriptions were added to the walls, and old Udi-Albanian graves were destroyed.”
Armenian Inscriptions and Carvings on the Walls of Dadivank
In 2021, representatives of Azerbaijan’s Udi community conducted religious services at Dadivank. For this purpose, Baku uses the head of the Albanian-Udi religious community, Robert Mobili, who actively promotes Azerbaijani theses.
Additionally, in 2024, an article was published in the official newspaper of the Vatican, presenting Dadivank and Gandzasar as Albanian heritage without any factual basis.
Azerbaijan employs numerous methods to falsify history and manipulate information, including concealing accurate data, altering records and sources, denying historical facts, and spreading misleading interpretations.
Denialism and the invention of non-existent facts are two of the main pillars of Azerbaijan’s anti-Armenian propaganda. Using the example of Dadivank, the invented fact is that Armenians supposedly added Armenian inscriptions to the monastery to present it as Armenian.''
Photo by Nerses Matinyan