NALBANDIAN REFERS TO AZERBAIJAN SAVAGERY IN UNESCO SPEECH
Tert.am
12:34 08.10.09
During the 35th session of the UNESCO General Conference held
in Paris, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia
Edward Nalbandian, in his speech yesterday, discussed the subject of
preserving cultural artifacts, noting the cooperation between Iran
and Armenia in preserving each nation’s cultural monuments.
"There is an excellent cooperation with the Islamic Republic of Iran
that takes proper care of the Armenian monuments situated in its
territory. The living proof of the aforementioned is the inclusion of
St. Thaddaeus Monastery in the World Heritage List by the suggestion
of Iran," said Nalbandian in his official speech to delegates.
However, Nalbandian went to say that such regional cooperation is
lacking, to say the least, with some of Armenia’s other neighbours:
Azerbaijan, in particular. In fact, rather than cooperation, there
is the demolition of precious cultural artificats. Nalbandian states:
"A painful proof of the monument demolition that has been in process
for years, is the annihilation of the centuries-old Jugha (Julfa)
Cemetery in Nakhichevan with its tens of thousands of delicately
carved, unique cross-stones [khatchkars] dating from the 9th to the
16th centuries…
"There was no war in the years between 1998 and 2005 when thousands of
these giant sculptures were knocked over, piled onto railroad cars and
carted away under the Azerbaijani government’s watchful eyes. In 2005,
this enormous cultural gem was bulldozed down, leveled and turned
into a military training ground in a government-sanctioned operation."
Continuing, Nalbandian noted that a 7th century Armenian church
in Nakhichevan was demolished in 1975 during a time of no war, for
no reason other than "to wipe out the memory of the Armenians who
constituted a majority there just decades earlier."
Nalbandian concluded his speech by saying that Armenia cherishes
protecting cultural values which are universal among a
"Armenia gives high priority to the protection of cultural values
which are not ‘mine’ or ‘yours’ but ‘ours’ — those cultural values
that are truly universal and shared, those that are worthy not just
of national attention but international.
"Armenia’s commitment to protection and promotion of human rights
and cultural diversity is very real. Both cultural diversity and the
protection of monuments are especially significant for nations which
have monuments beyond national borders, ¬ indeed in countries around
the world and particularly in our neighborhood."
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress