Berdzor: Memorial of the Artsakh War, Churches of the Ascension and Agavnovo Not Evacuated

Following Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's statement during a press conference on June 27, 2022, regarding the change of route of the Goris-Stepanakert road running near the village of Agavn, the city of Berdzor and the neighboring villages of Agavn and Nerkhin Sus were set to fall under the control of Azerbaijani armed forces, leading to the evacuation of residents.

In early August, the authorities of Artsakh began evacuating cultural monuments from these areas. According to a statement from the Artsakh Cultural Heritage Monitoring Platform, as of August 25, a total of 47 cultural monuments had been evacuated, including khachkars, memorial stones, half-columns, and commemorative springs.

Unfortunately, due to the tight timeline, it was technically impossible to evacuate the St. Ascension and St. Martyrs' Churches, as well as the memorial dedicated to the Artsakh Liberation War in Berdzor. However, some elements from the St. Ascension Church in Berdzor were partially evacuated, including the eagle sculpture on the eastern facade, the holy altar, the baptismal basin, and the crosses of the main church and rotunda.

The evacuation of these monuments is being actively discussed in Azerbaijani media, with accusations of “looting” the St. Ascension Church. As the enemy threatens to eliminate, transform, erase, and desecrate what they consider “occupational,” we have repeatedly witnessed displays of Azerbaijan's particularly barbaric policy toward new monuments. Notable examples include the chapel and surrounding khachkars in the village of Mataghis, a khachkar dedicated to the First Artsakh War in the town of Korotan, a monument with a cross-like structure in the village of Shukhuyeberli in the Jebrayil region, a khachkar in the village of Parakank in Hadrut, and other churches in Mekhakavan (Jebrayil), among others.

Regrettably, evacuating these monuments is the only way to safeguard them from desecration and destruction.