Armenia outraged by Azerbaijan’s plans to remove Armenian inscriptions on temples in Karabakh

When commenting on the news about the creation of a working group in Azerbaijan to remove Armenian inscriptions on Albanian temples, the Armenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) and human rights defenders have said that the plans to change the identity of religious, historical, and cultural monuments in Nagorno-Karabakh violate the requirement of the International Court of Justice (ICJ). The Armenian MFA and human rights defenders called on the international community, including UNESCO, to prevent acts of vandalism.

The “Caucasian Knot” has reported that after the cessation of combat actions in Nagorno-Karabakh, the parties to the conflict began to exchange accusations of seeking to destroy the traces of the presence of the Armenian or Azerbaijani people in the territory.

To eliminate Armenian inscriptions on Albanian temples, “a working group of experts who know Albanian history and architecture has been created,” the “Report” agency quotes Azerbaijani Minister of Culture Anar Kerimov as saying.

“In order to prevent vandalism, the immediate intervention and participation of the international community, in particular UNESCO, is needed to ensure the preservation of the Armenian monuments of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh), which are part of the world cultural heritage,” the Armenian MFA declared.

According to the official information, after the autumn war of 2020, about 2000 cultural heritage sites remained, including 13 monasteries, 122 churches, 52 fortresses, and 12 museums, stay under the control of Azerbaijan.

The plans to erase Armenian inscriptions in temples in territories that have come under the control of Azerbaijan have worried the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF).