The Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin strongly condemns the statements made in recent days by the Assistant to the President of Azerbaijan, Hikmet Hajiyev, during his visit to the Gandzasar and Dadivank monastery complexes, which deny their Armenian identity and falsely present them as supposedly Albanian, as well as his ironic attitude towards the spiritual and cultural heritage of the Armenian people.
These attempts to distort historical realities for the sake of political expediency constitute a blatant falsification and an encroachment on the historical memory and spiritual heritage of the Armenian people. Such a practice is an undisguised expression of the Armenophobic policy pursued by the authorities of Azerbaijan.
This latest propaganda visit aims to mislead the international community. It is particularly deplorable and alarming that foreign diplomats and representatives of international organizations accredited in Azerbaijan are being involved in the dissemination of historical falsifications.
The Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin expects that the latter will provide an appropriate assessment of the distortion of the identity of Armenian shrines, the encroachments on the spiritual and cultural heritage of Artsakh, and the Armenophobic policy, and will not contribute, through their participation, to the justification of the policy of appropriating the Armenian historical heritage.
The Armenian Apostolic Holy Church has repeatedly warned that following the forced de-Armenianization of Artsakh, the Azerbaijani authorities have been pursuing a policy of appropriating historical monuments, destroying Armenian shrines, khachkars (cross-stones), and cemeteries, and eliminating documents certifying their identity, with Hajiyev’s statements being yet another manifestation of this.
The ongoing encroachments on the Armenian spiritual and cultural heritage of Artsakh must receive an appropriate assessment from the authorities of Armenia and entail effective steps aimed at their prevention.
The Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin calls upon friendly states, relevant international and national structures to exert every effort to prevent further destruction and appropriation of the ancient Christian Armenian heritage.
The establishment of a lasting peace in the region requires respect for the faith of peoples, historical memory, and fundamental rights. The preservation of the spiritual heritage of Artsakh in its integrity, and the realization of the rights of the Armenian Church and the people who created it, constitute an indispensable international obligation.
