Your trusted source

Azerbaijan systematically destroys the cultural heritage of occupied Artsakh at the state level, Cultural Ombudsman of Hayk Hovik Avanesov warns.

"We document numerous instances of Azerbaijani vandalism in our daily reports. Another video recently surfaced on the Internet, vividly depicting Azerbaijani vandals using construction equipment to demolish the cemetery of the Hin (Old) Shen settlement in the Shushi region of the Republic of Artsakh," he said in a social media post on Thursday.

"After the large-scale war unleashed by the Turkish-Azerbaijani terrorist tandem on September 27, 2020, and lasting until 2023, Artsakh witnessed forcible displacement. During this period, the historical cemeteries of Shushi, numerous cemeteries in the settlements of Hadrut and Martuni regions, as well as the cemetery of Sghnak village in the Askeran region, and the fraternal cemetery of Haterk village in the Martakert region, became targets of Azerbaijan's state-level policy of cultural genocide.

"Once again, all of this underscores the imminent threat of destruction and usurpation facing the cultural heritage of Artsakh. According to Article 4 of the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in Armed Conflict, any act of vandalism, theft, robbery, misappropriation, hostility, or reprisal against cultural heritage is strictly prohibited. Furthermore, the first Hague Protocol of 1954 explicitly forbids the destruction of cultural or spiritual values in occupied territories," Avanesov noted.