The founder of the National Park-Museum of Sculpture in Gyumri, Artur Gevorgyan, is filing a case that would punish and demand compensation from Azerbaijan.
Azerbaijan continues to destroy the Armenian cultural heritage in its occupied territories, which is a repetition of the policies adopted by Turkey.
The founder and director of the National Park-Museum of Sculpture in Gyumri, Artur Gevorgyan, told Aravot Daily that the organization has been involved in the maintenance of Soviet cultural heritage, statues, and monuments since 2014. “Unlike the Azerbaijani side, we are approaching this issue as civilized people who are not against the presence of any culture or era.” He said that the monuments were included in the policies of the September war, and Azerbaijan had the goal of raising its flag in every village, and destroying Armenian cultural heritage and presence, including gravestones, statues, and monuments.
“They destroyed statues, such as the statue of Commander Vazgen Sargsyan. Then, the infamous stamp of disinfecting the territory of Artsakh was published. Then, Aliyev went and took three statues with him, conducted ceremonies, and returned to Baku. How is that any different from the working styles of Nazi Germany and the Third Reich? Moreover, Azerbaijan announced in mid-November that several vandals destroyed statues and they were subject to criminal liability. Since the Internet is a field for truth-seeking and analysis, and videos of people destroying statues were shared online, the Azerbaijani authorities tried to ban the spread of such material by subjecting those three people to criminal liability because they know that they will be held accountable one day. They tried to prevent the spread of such material online.”
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Gevorgyan noted that the Armenian cemetery in Avetaranots was destroyed, and it has now become a parking lot for heavy vehicles. “This state and its leader do not have any respect towards Armenian identity, presence, or culture. I do not know what humane civilization would call this.”
Artur Gevorgyan emphasized that the museum, NGO, and like-minded colleagues and organizations are preparing to raise these issues on all platforms. They are also preparing to start campaigns in Armenian and Russian. According to him, issues of consistent destruction of Armenian cultural heritage from 1905 will be discussed, including the cultural heritage of Nakhichevan, the Armenian churches in Baku, and the khachkars in Jugha, which were destroyed in 2006.
Artur Gevorgyan believes that it is not possible to establish diplomatic relations with Azerbaijan after all of this, and these issues need to be resolved in international courts and the ECHR. Gevorgyan expressed hope that there will be a Cultural Ombudsman institution by the spring, which will attempt to consistently lead these processes more efficiently and smoothly.
Gohar Hakobyan
“Aravot” daily
