In 2026 On March 11, the user xanabat muhavizə registered on the TikTok social network published another video from the Khnapat village of the Askerani region of the Republic of Artsakh, temporarily occupied by Azerbaijan. This was written by Artsakh cultural heritage ombudsman, vice president of “Azkayin” historical and cultural NGO Hovik Avanesov.

“It is clear from the video that under the pretext of “construction works” the 12th century khachkar under the fir tree in the village was destroyed.

This fact is another evidence of the systematic policy by which Azerbaijan is consistently eliminating the Armenian cultural heritage of Artsakh. It is even more worrying that the Azerbaijani state propaganda machine is trying to present the monuments of Artsakh from the same period as “alhvanic” heritage on the one hand, and on the other hand, these same monuments are being deliberately destroyed. This controversial but well-aimed policy shows that the “attribution” and physical destruction of historical heritage are carried out in parallel, in a coordinated manner at the state level.

It is also noteworthy that not only the propaganda structures are involved in that process, but also the armed forces of Azerbaijan and other power units, which makes the destruction of cultural heritage a part of state policy. Dozens of such cases were recorded both in Artsakh and Nakhichevan, where the systematic removal of Armenian monuments was carried out in previous decades.

In 2026 On February 2, the “Geghard” scientific-analytical foundation alerted that the Church of the Virgin Mary of Vaghuhas village of Martakert region was targeted by Azerbaijani vandalism. According to the published information, the Azerbaijanis broke at least one of the khachkars installed in the church yard and tore out the icons of the church.

It is important to emphasize that the cultural values ​​located in the territory of Artsakh are not only Armenian, but also a heritage of universal significance. Their destruction is aimed not only at the falsification of history, but also at the elimination of complete cultural memory.

At the same time, it becomes obvious that the Turkish-Azerbaijani tandem’s way of destroying and usurping the Armenian cultural heritage is not limited only to Artsakh or Nakhichevan. A similar methodology is also used in various regions of the Middle East, where the policies implemented towards historical and religious monuments resemble the same handwriting. This proves that Turkey and Azerbaijan act not only as states that carry out cultural genocide, but also as exporters of this political methodology.

In this context, it is important to emphasize that such actions cannot be considered only as internal cultural policy of individual states. They relate to international legal norms and obligations related to the protection of universal cultural heritage, which are binding on all states. Therefore, the targeted destruction of historical and cultural values, particularly Armenian khachkars, goes beyond the scope of regional conflicts and enters the sphere of protection of international law and world cultural heritage.

Targeting khachkars is prohibited by international laws and is considered a serious crime against all humanity, because “The art of Armenian khachkars. The symbolism and craftsmanship of khachkars” since 2010 has been included by UNESCO since 2003. accepted in the “List of Intangible Cultural Heritage” and is considered universal value. This means that khachkar art has an exceptional comprehensive universal value and additional international protection.

Khachkar culture also has additional protection during and after the war. In particular, according to the 1954 Hague Convention on the Protection of Cultural Property in Armed Conflicts. additional to the convention, 1999 According to the principles of the second protocol adopted, the entire Khachkar culture has enhanced protection, and any harm done to it is, according to Article 15 point a of the protocol, a “serious violation” that can be prosecuted as a war crime in international courts. This is documented by the 10th article of the mentioned protocol on the enhanced protection of cultural values, according to which the cultural heritage of the greatest importance for humanity should be under enhanced protection, and UNESCO, in fact, since 2010, has considered the entire Khachkar culture as such. According to Article 12 of the protocol, in the occupied territories, the state party to the protocol, namely Azerbaijan, must ensure the inviolability of cultural values ​​under enhanced protection, refraining from making such values ​​the object of attack or reprisals.

Many such facts show that the actions of the Azerbaijani authorities can be considered as a manifestation of one of the biggest cultural genocides of the 21st century, the purpose of which is to eliminate the historical and material evidence of the Armenian presence in the region,” he wrote.

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