Azerbaijan Erases All Traces of Armenian Heritage in Occupied Artsakh, Creating a ‘New’ History and Reality: Monument Watch

On April 16, 2024, Azerbaijani İCTİMAİ TV aired an extensive report dedicated to the cultural heritage of "Karabakh and Eastern Zangezur". This was reported by Monument Watch. The report highlighted the monitoring of cultural heritage in areas claimed to be liberated from "Armenian occupation" by the Azerbaijani side, focusing particularly on mosques and Christian monuments.

While the ongoing claims regarding the Islamic cultural heritage of occupied Artsakh have been reiterated over the past four years, the focus on Christian heritage was a notable development. Fariz Huseynli, spokesperson for the State Service for the Protection, Development, and Restoration of Cultural Heritage of the Republic of Azerbaijan, stated that their monitoring revealed that two churches were used as military positions during the "Armenian occupation," twenty churches were demolished, and some were defaced with inscriptions in Armenian and Russian, while certain monuments underwent measures to re-establish them as Armenian.

Such general statements made by the official, lacking substantiating facts, come off as empty and propagandistic. Unfounded claims are made without naming the monuments, specifying their locations, or providing dates, photos, or videos. There is a lack of factual grounds and scientific reasoning regarding the monuments in question.

It would also be beneficial if the Azerbaijani side came to understand, at least for themselves, what type of monuments are being discussed, as the references include churches, Christian sites, and Albanian Christian monuments and churches. Therefore, what exactly has been destroyed and documented by them?

The video makes another assertion that the new mosques being built in Shushi, Hadrut, Karintak, and Mataghis are indicators of the national and religious affiliation of these lands. In areas with a predominantly Armenian population for centuries, now depopulated due to the 2020 war, where every trace of Armenian identity has been systematically erased over the past four years, such a statement only reinforces the claim that the Azerbaijani side is eliminating all traces of Armenian identity in occupied Artsakh, creating a "new" history and reality for the region.

And, of course, there is no mention of the daily destruction policy of Armenian Christian monuments from the period of Artsakh's independence.