Azerbaijan destroys Armenian cultural heritage, deceives international community, says MFA official

YEREVAN, JUNE 1, ARMENPRESS. In an interview with ARMENPRESS, head of the International organizations department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia Vahram Kazhoyan says all Armenian cultural heritage values are destroyed in Nakhijevan.

-Azerbaijan insists as if Armenia prevents the formation of a UNESCO fact-finding mission. Are these allegations true?

-All allegations, which state that Armenia is against the monitoring missions of historic-cultural monuments, including the fact-finding mission within the UNESCO “Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict” Hague 1954 Convention are false.

Meanwhile, Azerbaijan, despite numerous urges, until now refuses to accept the UNESCO fact-finding mission, as well as the joint mission of ICOMOS and UNESCO to Nakhijevan for “Researching Jugha and presenting results to the international community” which was adopted in 2008 by the ICOMOS council.

From 1998-2006, the Azerbaijani forces have completely destroyed the cross-stones and tombstones of the Armenian cemetery of Jugha, which dated back to the 9-16 centuries, and were unique and of high cultural value. The site of the cemetery was transformed into a shooting range.

This barbaric act has been caught on tape. Baku is not only denying international organizations to visit Jugha , but also foreign diplomats stationed in Azerbaijan.

According to expert assessments, all Armenian cultural heritage values are destroyed in Nakhijevan.

Unlike Azerbaijan, all monuments in Nagorno Karabakh, regardless of origin, are under state protection, which can be witnessed by thousands of tourists.