Armenian Cemeteries in Hadrut Being Destroyed, Used as Construction Material: Artsakh Ombudsman

The occupied Hadrut is undeniable evidence of Azerbaijan's policy of hatred and ethnic cleansing against the Armenian people. This was stated by the Ombudsman of Artsakh Gegham Stepanyan on his Facebook page.

“For over a year now, Azerbaijan has been keeping the entire Hadrut region of the Republic of Artsakh under occupation, which is one of the most significant settlements with a permanent Armenian population. It is documented in numerous historical sources that before the annexation of Artsakh to Soviet Azerbaijan, Hadrut was exclusively inhabited by Armenians. During the Soviet period, the settlements comprising the Hadrut region in Artsakh had a population of 15,000, over 90 percent of whom were Armenians, according to the 1979 census.

As a result of the Azerbaijani-Turkish aggression unleashed against the peaceful population of Artsakh on September 27, 2020, the Armenian population of the city of Hadrut and the surrounding region has been completely subjected to ethnic cleansing. The peaceful residents of Hadrut, along with civil infrastructure and humanitarian buildings, have been deliberately and indiscriminately targeted by the Azerbaijani armed forces since the very first days of aggression. A total of 32 civilians have been killed in the Hadrut region as a result of Azerbaijani artillery strikes, torture, and ill-treatment, including 73-year-old Benik Hakobjan and 25-year-old Yuri Adamyan, who were demonstratively executed after being captured in the town square of Hadrut.

Today, as a result of the ongoing occupation, the 14,000 residents of the region have been displaced from their homes, losing their movable and immovable property, employment, and all possessions. The 48 Armenian villages of the Hadrut region have been ethnically 'cleansed' of Armenian presence, while homes and properties belonging to Armenians have been subjected to vandalism and looting by Azerbaijanis.

Before the Azerbaijani occupation, the region had 6 kindergartens and 26 schools, where 2,030 students received education, who have also been deprived of this right due to displacement.

The Armenian cultural values created by the Armenian population have come under the threat of destruction and extinction due to the ethnic cleansing of Hadrut's Armenian population. More than 500 significant historical and cultural monuments—including churches, monasteries, khachkars (cross-stones), and sacred sites—are under immediate threat of destruction. The Azerbaijani authorities, at the highest level, are desecrating the spiritual and cultural values created by the indigenous Armenian population, as evidenced by a widely circulated video on social media in which the President of Azerbaijan instructs the removal of Armenian inscriptions from the church in the village of Tzakhur.

Research by Armenian and international organizations engaged in the preservation of cultural values shows that Armenian cemeteries in all settlements of Hadrut are being dismantled and destroyed, with gravestones being used as construction materials for roads. The ethnic cleansing of the Armenian population has disrupted community life and traditions throughout the region, with the dispersal of displaced residents putting the unique Hadrut dialect of the Armenian language at risk.

Unfortunately, reports and numerous alarms regarding the large-scale violations of the rights of the Armenian population in Hadrut and other occupied territories of Artsakh have still not received adequate attention and assessment from international organizations, individual states, and human rights organizations more than a year after the occupation. The international community has a direct obligation and responsibility to ensure the protection of the rights of the population in Armenian settlements under ongoing occupation and their return to their ancestral homes.