13:29, 3 June 2022
YEREVAN, JUNE 3, ARMENPRESS. The US Department of State published the 2021 Report on International Religious Freedom on June 2.
In the Azerbaijan section of the report, the State Department recalls the resolution adopted by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) relating to the humanitarian consequences of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, where PACE expressed its concerns about the future of the many Armenian churches, monasteries, including the Dadivank monastery, cross-stones and other forms of cultural heritage that came under the control of Azerbaijan.
The State Department report says that the Azerbaijani government has repeatedly denied access to the Armenian pilgrims to the Dadivank monastery. Azerbaijanis continued to be unable to visit many mosques and religious sites due to mine contamination from the fighting, it added.
The report recalls the PACE resolution which expressed "concern about a developing narrative in Azerbaijan promoting a ‘Caucasian Albanian’ heritage to replace what is seen as an ‘Armenian’ cultural heritage.”
“There were numerous reports during the year of vandalism and destruction of Armenian cultural and religious sites, as well as deliberate actions by the government to sever and distort the connection of religious sites to their Armenian heritage”, the State Department said in the report.
