A 1,600-year-old century Armenian cemetery in Mush has been ruined by treasure hunters and state policy, reports, quoting the Dicle News Agency.

According to the source, there were 299 Armenian churches, 94 monasteries, 53 pilgrimage sites and 135 schools with 5,669 students in Mush before 1915.

Hayrettin Aslan, head of an Armenian union in Mush, calls attention to the fact that the Turkish state policy deliberately pursues the aim of erasing the Armenian trace from the region, thus erasing the historic memory of the city, as well.

Noting that the cemetery has a history of 1,600 years, Aslan noted that the history of a whole nation faces the danger of obliteration.

He said the treasure hunters also cause great damage to the cemetery. He noted that “Armenians and Kurds peacefully lived in the city before the Armenian massacres.”

“If we want to live in an atmosphere of peace, love and respect, we have to take care of the Armenian history,” he added.

He noted that there are other Armenian monuments in the region, which also face the threat of demolition and added: “Armenians had even built infrastructures in the mountainous regions of Mush before 1915. Now the Armenian churches, monasteries and schools are on the verge of disappearance, and the government and the political-social organizations should be sensitive towards the issue. A history of millennia is jeopardized.”