Right now, at the Pontifical Gregorian University of the Holy See in the Vatican, an international conference titled “Christianity in Azerbaijan: History and Modernity” is taking place. Until today, no organization of Armenian Studies was aware of this conference. Dozens of experts and researchers from various countries (Turkey, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, South Korea, Russia, Poland, Italy, Georgia, Germany, France, Canada, the United States, and Lithuania) have been assembled and mobilized around a conference, the aim of which is erasing the history, culture, and presence of Armenians in the territory of Azerbaijan. As a result, monuments that are clearly Armenian—bearing hundreds of Armenian inscriptions—are being presented as Caucasian Albanian. This includes Amaras, Gandzasar, Dadivank, and others.
We are also perplexed by the participation of some well-known scholars in the field, who are fully aware that no Armenian researchers are taking part in this conference and that not a single word is being said about Armenians.
We express our protest and concern to Armenian cultural preservation organizations and communities, to the international academic community, and to our own authorities, for allowing our memory, history, and culture to be so obscured and ignored.
Team of the “Monument Watch” Project
