YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 24, ARMENPRESS. The furious struggle against the state symbols of the Artsakh Republic is another manifestation of the xenophobic behavior of the Azerbaijani authorities and armed forces towards the Armenians, ARMENPRESS reports Human Rights Defender of Artsakh Gegham Stepanyan wrote on his Facebook page.

The Artsakh Human Rights Defender reminded the case of cleaning the symbols of Artsakh statehood with knives from the bus transporting minors on the Goris-Kapan road, the demands to remove the Artsakh flag from various settlements and buildings are vivid examples of Azeri intolerance towards Armenians living in Artsakh.

‘’We must keep in mind that the symbols of Artsakh statehood are an integral part of our cultural values, so intolerance towards them is another proof that Azerbaijan is carrying out a systemic fight against Armenian cultural values in Artsakh.

The symbols of statehood are the symbols of the right of the people of Artsakh to live in their homeland, to preserve their identity, to self-determination, against which any encroachment is directed against the dignity of our people, the general system of rights’’, Gegham Stepanyan wrote.