Cynicism without the right to forgiveness - how Azerbaijani cemeteries in Karabakh were destroyed

A few years ago, Armenian blogger Roman Baghdasaryan stated that 70 percent of the tombstones in Azerbaijani cemeteries in 7 districts around the former NKAO are missing. The looters were doing business on tombstones, the blogger said, prompting a barrage of hysterical criticism and threats from fellow tribesmen. The Armenian audience was terribly outraged, not by the fact of the destruction of Azerbaijani cemeteries, but by the fact that Baghdasaryan dared to reveal this truth. Before that, the destruction of graves in the South Caucasus was discussed everywhere only in the context of Armenian myths, and it was not customary to mention what the Armenians themselves were doing on the territory of Armenia and on the occupied lands of Azerbaijan. Only the Azerbaijani side talked about it, but no one listened to it.

Meanwhile, there was a lot to talk about.  

"The scariest thing in Lachin is the graves dug by Armenians and the scattered skulls. And numerous ancient cemeteries in the territory of the second largest region of Azerbaijan have been completely wiped off the face of the earth and barbarously looted. Graves have been dug up in search of jewels, tombstones have been toppled, and skulls are scattered everywhere. How could anyone stoop to such blasphemy? This is probably the scariest thing I've seen during a recent trip to Lachin."

These words illustrate the true state of affairs and describe the situation that the liberators found. The occupiers withdrew, leaving behind devastation and countless traces of vandalism. This happens when the water runs out after a tsunami. Only in our case, it wasn't the elements that did the evil.

Azerbaijani cemeteries were destroyed during the years of the Armenian occupation. We are not saying that they were bulldozed. This was done gradually. Vandals tore apart tombstones, turning them into building materials. Roads were laid out with the names of deceased Azerbaijanis, stairs were built from tombstones, and the names of the deceased were not removed. Apparently, the Armenians were pleased to feel what was under their feet.

The destruction of graves that miraculously survived the years of occupation continued, but at an accelerated pace, after the 2020 war in the RMK area of responsibility. The invaders already had nothing to lose, and they openly demonstrated their "exploits" on social networks.

The Armenian occupiers really did terrible things that at first glance were beyond comprehension and logic. There is no way to justify the satanic rituals (there is no other name) performed over the graves of Azerbaijanis. The invaders not only smashed or carried away tombstones, they tore up graves, rummaged through the remains in search of gold crowns, and scattered bones around the territory.  It is still unknown where the remains of Khurshidbanu Natavan were taken. Her grave was destroyed during the Armenian occupation of Aghdam. After the 2020 war, it was recorded that the tombstone was broken, and the grave was dug up and empty. Why the Satanists needed the remains of the daughter of the last khan of Karabakh is still a mystery.

It's hard to understand people who dig through graves in search of gold crowns, scatter remains, or steal bones for some reason. And this was done by representatives of an ethnic group that builds churches at every turn and shouts everywhere about its God-chosen nature. Now, as we move towards peace, I don't want to think about all this. And we wouldn't have remembered if our neighbors hadn't tried to harass the international community with scary tales about us. Today, the diaspora, the lobby, the Armenian revanchists and the separatists are trying to get the world to condemn and punish Baku, while the Armenians themselves are responsible for thousands of acts that do not fit into the framework of human understanding.

Many former internally displaced persons, returning to their lands, cannot find the graves of their loved ones.

In 2022, the Armenian crimes were suddenly seen in the State Department. It was really strange to see the truth about the Armenian crimes included in the traditional report of the US State Department on the observance of religious rights and freedoms in the world. The report provided documented evidence of the systematic destruction of dozens of Azerbaijani cemeteries in the Fizuli, Agdam, Zangilan, Kalbajar and Jabrayil districts, desecration of Azerbaijani graves and the "war with the dead." "The graves were desecrated, and traces of their destruction by heavy construction equipment, damage to the tombstones, and exhumation of the remains were found. The remains from Azerbaijani graves were exhumed in order to extract gold teeth, after which the skulls and bones remained scattered in cemeteries," the report says.

According to the Azerbaijani State Committee for Work with Religious Structures, in total, more than 900 Azerbaijani cemeteries were either completely destroyed, or the remains of the deceased were removed from their graves, desecrated, and tombstones were removed.

Political scientist Fuad Akhundov, having visited the destroyed cemetery of Agdam after the war, agreed with the opinion of the Armenian side that Nzhdeh cannot be compared with Hitler. "It never occurred to the Germans, who were retreating from the Soviet troops, to dig up graves and destroy them. And 1,500 graves were destroyed and looted in Aghdam," Akhundov said in an interview.

The ancient Garagachi cemetery was destroyed by Armenian vandals in the Agdam region. Archaeologists have determined that it is three thousand years old and stretches for three kilometers in length and two kilometers in width. The oldest tombstone at the time of the occupation of the area by Armenia dated back to the 12th century. Now the cemetery has been destroyed.

According to the report of the Office of the Ombudsman of Azerbaijan, during the years of occupation, both graves and four mausoleums located in the cemetery were destroyed.

In 2008, a Russian blogger visited occupied Aghdam, who captured the Garagachi cemetery on camera. Two of the four mausoleums mentioned in the Ombudsman's report were captured, albeit dilapidated. That is, the ancient cemetery continued to be destroyed throughout the years of the Armenian occupation. The destruction was not the result of fighting, it was the work of human hands.

If those who destroy cemeteries and dig in graves can be called people at all...