Azerbaijan demolished the Stepanakert cross. monumentwatch.org

After the aggressive military operations of September 2023 and the total depopulation of Artsakh, Azerbaijan continues to destroy Armenian cultural values on the basis of ethnicity. This is written by the website monumentwatch.org, which monitors Artsakh's cultural heritage.

The proof of all this was the fall of the 50-meter illuminated cross on one of the hills near the Dashushen village near Stepanakert, which was not only a blow to the cultural value, but also to the entire Christian Armenian community. The video of the fallen cross was first published by the Telegram channel of the Ukrainian publication Strana.ua.

The video was shot on September 29, 2023, showing the cross lying on the ground (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s1PonCbyJP8).

The cross was installed on May 9, 2017, in memory of the servicemen who died for the liberation and defense of Artsakh. It was the second highest in the European region, it was visible from all sides of Stepanakert, the capital of Artsakh, it was illuminated with special lights that made it visible even at night (https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1464736120263360).

Our response

It is worth reminding that the damage done to the cultural values of each nation is a blow to the cultural heritage of the entire humanity, because each nation has its own contribution to the global cultural diversity. According to the Hague Convention of 1954, which is also the basis of other international treaties and which in its first article defines the following: cultural value "...regardless of origin or owner, movable or immovable heritage of great importance to every people, such as architectural, monuments of art or history, regardless of their religious or secular nature". According to Article 4 of the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in Time of Armed Conflict, any acts of vandalism, theft, robbery, misappropriation, hostilities and reprisals against cultural heritage are prohibited. According to the first Hague Protocol of 1954, it is forbidden to destroy cultural or spiritual values in the occupied territories.

Such a policy of deliberate destruction of cultural heritage is also condemned by UNESCO's 2003 declaration "On Deliberate Destruction of Cultural Heritage".