Photos: Another Case of Cultural Genocide by Baku in Stepanakert

In occupied Artsakh, Azerbaijan continues to destroy monuments. This policy is carried out at the state level, aiming to completely eradicate the Armenian trace in occupied Artsakh. This was reported by Hayk's Cultural Ombudsman, Hovik Avanesyan, who raised the alarm about another instance of cultural genocide by Azerbaijan in the Republic of Artsakh.

He noted that on December 24, 2023, an Azerbaijani YouTube channel published a video from the capital of Artsakh, Stepanakert. A preliminary examination and analysis of the video revealed that yet another victim of Azerbaijan's cultural genocide is the statue of benefactor and national figure Alek Manukyan.

“Article 8 of the International Criminal Court considers the destruction of cultural heritage in occupied territories as an international war crime: ‘It is prohibited to deliberately direct attacks against structures dedicated to religion, education, art, science, or charitable purposes, historic monuments, hospitals, and places where the sick and wounded are collected, provided they are not military objectives.’ According to Article 4 of the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict, any acts of vandalism, theft, pillaging, appropriation, hostility, and retribution against cultural heritage are prohibited,” Avanesyan wrote.