Karygiannis urges UNESCO to condemn eradication of Armenian cemetery in Azerbaijan
PARIS, FRANCE - The Honourable Jim Karygiannis, Member of Parliament for Scarborough-Agincourt called on the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to condemn the eradication, by the Azeri military, of the ancient Armenian tombstones and stone crosses (khatchkars) in Jugha, Azerbaijan.
“The complete and systematic annihilation of this medieval cemetery is reprehensible,” said Mr. Karygiannis. “The willful destruction of this cultural and religious site has taken place over six years. UNESCO stood idly by and has done nothing, despite photographic evidence. UNESCO must take a firm stand and denounce this deliberate act of ethnocide.”
Mr. Karygiannis, Vice-Chairman of the Canadian-Armenian Interparliamentary Friendship Association, is a member of an international delegation of Parliamentarians who presented their case to the Director-General of UNESCO.
The delegation demanded UNESCO take the following action which is within its mandate to protect cultural heritage, including:
-
condemn the willful destruction of the cultural sites in Jugha;
- send independent investigators to
the area;
- oversee and publish an accurate
report on the destruction of the khatchkars;
- establish an international centre of
cross-cultural learning at the site in Jugha;
- erect a religious memorial to honour
the memory of lost generations; and,
- sanction the Republic of Azerbaijan
for violating international conventions on the protection of historical
monuments.
The destruction of the Armenian cemetery at Jugha began in 1998. From then, until the end of 2005, many representations were made to UNESCO alerting it to what was happening. In December 2005, eyewitnesses filmed the Azeri military breaking the tombstones with pick axes and dumping the broken stones beside a railway. Despite repeated warnings, UNESCO remained impotent in this situation.
“I challenged the Director-General of UNESCO to do no less than condemn these terrible acts. This destruction happened under his watch. UNESCO’s inaction is totally unacceptable.” Mr. Karygiannis further stated.
