By Azernews

By Sabina Mammadli

MP Sevil Mikayilova has called UNESCO to urge Armenia, which committed terrorism against Azerbaijani culture during its notorious 30-year occupation, to adhere to fundamental principles concerning cultural heritage preservation.

"It would be more expedient for UNESCO to carry out its mission fairly within the framework of its Charter and relevant international documents, rather than listen to Armenia's lies, which have turned universal values into a political tool. Azerbaijan has always demonstrated its commitment to international obligations, and the appropriate thing to do would be for UNESCO to address the call for respect for basic principles to Armenia, which is terrorizing our culture," Mikayilova added.

She said that the disparity between UNESCO's indifference to the fate of cultural and historical monuments that have been destroyed or erased from the face of the earth and its current "compassion" demonstrates how one-sided and politicized the organization's efforts to preserve the world's cultural heritage are.

The MP described it as interesting that UNESCO, which had been a spectator during the 30 years of occupation of Azerbaijani lands, has suddenly become active following the resolution of the Karabakh conflict.

Mikayilova emphasized that the organization, which has the noble mission of protecting the world's material and cultural heritage, is well aware of the 1954 Hague Convention and, in accordance with its mandate and mission over the years, could at the very least visit the region to clarify the condition of the monuments captured by the Armenian occupiers.

"However, they did not come, did not look, did not want to rescue. The result is obvious. Armenia, which once occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan's territory, has literally committed moral terror on these territories, appropriating and destroying religious, historical, and cultural monuments," added the MP.

Mikayilova said that a UNESCO representative's enthusiasm over Armenian "monuments" is enraging. Remembering the Hague Convention, they have decided to send a technical mission to the region to inspect the liberated territories.

"This abrupt move by UNESCO, which has not listened to Azerbaijan's appeals for many years, indicates that it has moved away from its humanitarian mission and has become a political tool," she added.

The MP emphasized that Azerbaijan had not broken or destroyed anything and that after liberating its territories from Armenian occupation, the state concentrated on eradicating the consequences of vandalism and destruction, which did not leave anyone indifferent.

The MP drew attention to the massive construction and restoration projects that have begun in the regions.

She emphasized that this is Azerbaijan's sovereign territory, and the state is always concerned with the preservation of material and spiritual heritage.

"Azerbaijan, which has made significant contributions to the protection of global cultural heritage, has done and continues to do the necessary work to preserve historical heritage in these areas," she added.

Mikayilova stated that cultural and historical monuments are human treasures and that UNESCO should prioritize their preservation.

Azerbaijani NGO leaders have earlier 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.

Furthermore, the heads of several NGOs urged UN bodies to take steps against the hate-motivated actions against Azerbaijan by Armenians working for the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).

As a result of discussions held in Baku on February 11, the NGO leaders sent an appeal to UN Secretary-General António Guterres.

It was stressed at the meeting that a group of Armenian UNDP employees, including Armen Grigoryan, Narine Sahakyan, Mary Tavoukjian and Stepan Margaryan, published defamation and insults on their social media accounts not only against Azerbaijan, but also against all Turkic peoples, and openly promoted separatism, abusing the status of UN employees.