NGOs ask UNESCO not to be indifferent to fate of Azerbaijani heritage in Armenia

Representatives of non-governmental public organizations of Azerbaijan have appealed to UNESCO with a request to investigate the ‘cultural genocide’ committed by Armenia against the heritage of the Azerbaijani people on the territory of this country.

The letters were sent to Audrey Azoulay, director-general of UNESCO, Report informs.

“We, the representatives of NGOs, have repeatedly appealed to UNESCO to inform you about the cultural genocide committed by Armenia against the heritage of the Azerbaijani people. As a result of a deliberate policy pursued by Armenia, the centuries-old cultural heritage of our people in the territory of Armenia is facing the threat of complete extermination,” the Coordination Council of the Netherlands-Belgium Azerbaijanis, Association Dialogue France-Azerbaïdjan, L’Association culturelle D’Azerbaïdjan en France à Nantes, the BENELUX Azerbaijanis Congress and the Azerbaijan-Dutch Association Odlar Yurdu (Azerbaycan – Nederland "Odlar Yurdu" vereniging) and a number of other NGOs in their appeal said.

“The cultural genocide committed by Armenia was accompanied by a policy of ethnic cleansing against Azerbaijanis. As a result of the mass deportation of Azerbaijanis from their native lands in present-day Armenia, which began in the early 20th century, there were no Azerbaijanis left in Armenia. As a consequence of the last deportation in 1988 alone, more than 250,000 Azerbaijanis were expelled from their native lands and became refugees.

"Thus, by pursuing a policy of both ethnic and cultural genocide, Armenia has deliberately erased all traces of Azerbaijanis, the historical and ancient inhabitants of these territories, perpetrated plunder, destroyed, embezzled and changed the cultural heritage of the Azerbaijani people. At the same time, ancient place names in these areas were replaced with Armenian ones,” reads the appeal.

“We provided a number of precise facts in our earlier appeals to UNESCO. For example, along with other facts, we have emphasized that the Blue Mosque, the Gala Mosque, the Shah Abbas Mosque, the Tapabashi Mosque, the Zal Khan Mosque, the Sartib Khan Mosque, the Haji Novruzali Bey Mosque, the Damirbulagh Mosque, the Haji Jafar Bey Mosque, the Rajab Pasha Mosque, the Mohammad Sartib Khan Mosque, the Haji Inam Mosque and more than 300 other mosques located in Armenia were deliberately destroyed, appropriated or used for other purposes in the early 20th century.

Only the Damirbulagh Mosque functioned as intended until 1988, but it has now been completely demolished and replaced by a high-rise building. More than 500 Azerbaijani cemeteries in Armenia, such as Aghadada, Ashaghi Shorja, Gullubulagh and Saral have been destroyed. The tomb of great Azerbaijani poet Ashig Alasgar, whose tombstone was erected in his native village in the ancient Goycha district, was also destroyed. In general, Armenia has deliberately destroyed thousands of cultural heritage sites of the Azerbaijani people on its territory. This is a clear example of the Armenia’s intolerance of the Azerbaijani people, as well as an insult to all humanity. This is evidence of the fact that Armenia does not recognize any universal values.”