By Azernews

By Sabina Mammadli

The Azerbaijani Digital Development and Transport Ministry has developed an action plan to prevent the use of geographical maps with distorted toponyms, Trend has reported.

Deputy Minister Rovshan Rustamov made the remarks during the presentation of the Azerbaijani Social Research Center's report on disinformation and hybrid threats to Azerbaijan.

Rustamov mentioned that Azerbaijan is keeping a close eye on Armenia's distortion of Azerbaijani toponyms on maps online.

"As a result of the Azerbaijani ministry's appeals to Google and other companies, thousands of historical Azerbaijani toponyms have been restored," Rustamov said.

He insisted that the public would be informed as soon as possible.

Earlier, Azerbaijani NGO leaders asked UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay to send an expert group to Armenia to assess the current state of Azerbaijan's centuries-old cultural and historical heritage.

NGOs said that by pursuing a policy of both ethnic and cultural genocide, Armenia has purposefully erased all traces of Azerbaijanis, the historical and ancient residents of these territories, plundered, destroyed, embezzled and distorted the Azerbaijani people's cultural legacy. At the same time, ancient place names in these areas were changed with Armenian ones.

“We provided a number of precise facts in our earlier appeals to UNESCO. For example, along with other facts, we have emphasized that the Blue Mosque, the Gala Mosque, the Shah Abbas Mosque, the Tapabashi Mosque, the Zal Khan Mosque, the Sartib Khan Mosque, the Haji Novruzali Bay Mosque, the Damirbulagh Mosque, the Haji Jafar Bay Mosque, the Rajab Pasha Mosque, the Mohammad Sartib Khan Mosque, the Haji Inam Mosque and more than 300 other mosques located in Armenia were deliberately destroyed, appropriated or used for other purposes in the early 20th century. Only the Damirbulagh Mosque functioned as intended until 1988, but it has now been completely demolished and replaced by a high-rise building,” the statement added.

It noted that over 500 Azerbaijani cemeteries in Armenia, such as Aghadada, Ashaghi Shorja, Gullubulagh and Saral have been destroyed. The tomb of great Azerbaijani poet Ashig Alasgar, whose tombstone was erected in his native village in ancient Goycha district, was also destroyed.