Azerbaijan Implements Systematic Policy of Ethnic Cleansing in Artsakh, Says Foreign Ministry

The Foreign Ministry of Artsakh has issued a statement condemning Azerbaijan's policy aimed at the destruction and appropriation of Armenian cultural and religious heritage.

"We strongly condemn the May 2 statement made by the head of the State Committee for Work with Religious Organizations of Azerbaijan, claiming that Armenian monks should leave Dadivank because it supposedly belongs to Caucasian Albania and will sooner or later be administered by the Albanian-Judaic religious community. This statement by the head of an Azerbaijani state body grossly violates the International Court of Justice's ruling from December 7, 2021, and once again proves that the Azerbaijani authorities are systematically implementing a planned policy of ethnic cleansing in Artsakh and destroying and appropriating Armenian historical, cultural, and religious heritage.

In this context, we find it necessary to remind that since November 2020, Dadivank has been under the control of Russian peacekeepers, who are tasked with ensuring the uninterrupted and safe access of citizens to the sanctuary. Moreover, UNESCO, as a leading global specialized organization, has repeatedly emphasized that cultural heritage should not be weaponized for political purposes, urging all member states to respect this principle worldwide.

As a result of the 2020 war and the occupation of Artsakh territories, approximately 1,500 Armenian cultural and religious monuments have come under Azerbaijani control, including monasteries, churches, khachkars, archaeological sites, forts, castles, shrines, and more. During the 44 days of aggression, Azerbaijani Armed Forces deliberately targeted, destroyed, or desecrated numerous monuments and sanctuaries, while immediately after the war, the highest leadership of Azerbaijan initiated a policy of 'Albanization' of Armenian historical and religious heritage, attempting to erase all traces of a millennium of Armenian presence in Artsakh and promoting false historical theses to justify the destruction and alteration of Armenian monuments.

In particular, during a visit to the village of Zakhkuri in the Hadrut region in 2021, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev pointed out the Armenian inscriptions on the St. Astvatsatsin Church (12th century) in Zaghkuri, claiming they were fake and stating that the church is Albanian, personally ordering the removal of those inscriptions. Subsequently, a working group of 'experts in Albanian history and architecture' was even established in Azerbaijan with the aim of erasing the 'false traces left by Armenians' from these so-called 'Albanian churches.'

Some vivid examples of Azerbaijani vandalism include the bombing of the Ghazanchetsots Cathedral in Shushi during the war, followed by its alteration under the guise of renovation, the destruction of the St. John the Baptist Church (Green Church), and the complete destruction of the Armenian Holy Virgin Mary Church in Mekhakavan, among others. All these instances of vandalism, as well as Azerbaijan’s persistent policy of denying UNESCO's mission to assess the condition of cultural objects and monuments in the occupied territories of Artsakh, indicate that Armenian historical and cultural monuments in the occupied areas of Artsakh are endangered; they are either altered or destroyed as a result of Azerbaijan's state policy of hatred towards Armenians.

Thus, Azerbaijan is conducting a policy of not only ethnic cleansing but also cultural genocide against Artsakh, trying by all means to drive the people of Artsakh out of their historical homeland. Once again, we call upon the entire international community, all relevant international organizations, and first and foremost UNESCO, to take urgent and effective measures to ensure the entry of international missions and relevant experts into the occupied territories of Artsakh to assess the condition of Armenian historical and cultural objects and monuments that have come under Azerbaijani control and to secure them under international protection," the statement reads.