The thorough destruction of monuments in Artsakh, occupied by Azerbaijan, continues. After the destruction of Stepanakert’s Cathedral of the Holy Mother of God Hovan, users on social media in Azerbaijan are already talking about the destruction of the monument of Artsakh “We are our mountains”. The monument has been vandalized in the last 2 years, various notes have been made on the monument by Azerbaijanis, and it has been dug up in some parts.

Regarding the destruction of monuments in occupied Artsakh, Nikol Pashinyan has already said in a conversation with journalists after the previous session of the Government that he is not going to make the issue a subject of discussion at the state level.

Lernik Hovhannisyan, Chairman of the Diocesan Council of Artsakh Diocese in other words, despite the fact that RA does not raise the issue at the state level, the issue has been constantly discussed and raised by academic circles, various non-governmental organizations in various international conferences.

“The problem is that there is no state policy in this matter, even our Foreign Ministry avoids saying even a word of slight regret or pain. In other words, if there is no state policy in this matter and together with the word “Artsakh” they avoid saying Amaras, Gandzasr, Dadivank, what could it be about?,- 168.am–Lernik Hovhannisyan said in a conversation with

According to him, if there is no state-level policy and state support behind the work carried out by non-governmental organizations of academic circles, they are already facing serious problems. This issue is one that the state must take serious steps to solve.

“There is no one to hold Azerbaijan’s hand, the structures that are called to deal with the issues of cultural heritage protection in conflict zones, they have long ceased to fulfill their real role, they have mainly turned into political bodies. It is necessary to have a clear policy in order to convince these structures, or in some way to force them, so that a monitoring group visits Artsakh and takes steps on the spot, presents the situation. All this is not being done, Azerbaijan is taking advantage of the situation and doing whatever it wants,” added Lernik Hovhannisyan.

He found it difficult to say what will happen to the monuments of Artsakh, which are at least half standing at the moment, in the absence of state policy, but he knows one thing for sure that they will continue to raise their voices and push the issue forward, even as individuals.

“I don’t know what result this struggle will bring, but the fact that the issue is being raised and discussed is already a step forward, but unfortunately there are no real actions on the ground.”

There are hundreds of cases of vandalism and desecration in Artsakh, but this is the 7th case when churches in Artsakh are completely destroyed. In addition, there is no clear number of cases of vandalism, we are collecting the information on various social platforms,” ​​emphasized Lernik Hovhannisyan.

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