ARMENIAN CULTURE MINISTER ASSURES THAT NOT ARMENIAN MONUMENTS IN THE TERRITORY OF ARMENIA ARE IN VERY GOOD CONDITION
ARMENPRESS
jan 21, 2009
YEREVAN, JANUARY 21, ARMENPRESS: The monuments of not Armenian origin
situated in the Armenian territory are in a very good condition and
are taken care of, Culture Minister Hasmik Poghosyan told Armenpress,
informing that there are 350 Muslim monuments in the republic of which
15 are monumental, the rest are tomb-stones, including Mongol, Persian
and Turkmen. In the territory of Armenia there are also Christian
monuments not belonging to Armenians. The minister assured that the
issues of their care and perseverance is always under the limelight.
H. Poghosyan expressed concern over the destruction of Armenian
monuments in Azerbaijani territory and noted that the country impedes
the visits of monitoring groups of international organizations having
an issue to hide the fact of destruction of Armenian monuments in
Old Jugha.
Referring to the initiative of the Council of Europe to send a
group which will study the situation of monuments in Armenia and
Azerbaijan, the minister said that the approach of the Armenian
side is unequivocal: they may study all the monuments but they
must particularly pay attention to the issues with which Armenia
is concerned with, those historic-cultural values which are being
destroyed in the territory of other countries.
"The Council of Europe did not specify by which principle the monuments
will be viewed. If again they will not refer to the disputable issues,
sending of the monitoring group will not give anything to Armenia. I
think the Armenian side forwards this question in a right way as
we have concrete issues: in the Azerbaijani territory on concrete
monuments concrete actions are carried out," the minister said.
She assured that Armenia provided to the Council of Europe lists of
all the monuments in the territory of the country and the studies in
which conditions they are.
The Azerbaijani soldiers in December 2005 destroyed the Armenian
cemetery in Old Jugha and built a shooting place there. After that
Armenia voiced the fact in international establishments and called on
studying and condemning it. Azerbaijan, though, impeded several times
the entrance of PACE and UNESCO fact finding missions to Nakhijevan.