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The demonstrative destruction of the monument to Artsakh war hero Ashot Ghulyan in Stepanakert by Azerbaijani authorities confirms Baku's systemic policy of destroying monuments of Artsakh's independence period, the Artsakh Monument Watch warns.

"In early February 2024, the footage posted on an Azerbaijani Telegram channel showed that Azerbaijanis had destroyed the monument to Ashot Ghulyan (Bekor). The author of the monument, made in 1996 as part of the annual symposium in Artsakh, is sculptor Yuri Samvelyan,” the watchdog said in a statement on Friday.

After the symposium, the monument was installed in the Children's Square in Stepanakert. Later in 1997-1998, it was moved to the Ashot Ghulyan square. After the hostilities in 2020, the park and the area around the monument were renovated.

“The demonstrative destruction of the monument and the publicizing of it testify to Azerbaijan's clear and systemic policy of destroying monuments of Artsakh's independence period," the Monument Watch said.