In occupied Artsakh, Baku destroyed the "Big and Little Syuniks" monument. "Monumentwatch"

Both different media outlets and individuals, as well as the "Monumentwatch" initiative, raised an alarm about the status of the "Great and Little Columns" monument on the border of the Republics of Artsakh and Armenia as early as April 2023.

"Let's remind that after Azerbaijan closed the former route of the Lachin Corridor on March 29, 2023, and after the launch of the western part of the new route (passing through the villages of Kornidzor and Tegh) at the beginning of April, the "Big and Little Syuniks" built at the border of Syunik and Artsakh also came under the control of Azerbaijan. or the monument called "Motherland".

The monument was built in 2004 with the idea of ​​the unity of the Great and Small Columns. The architect of the monument is Sevada Zakaryan, it was built on the initiative of the former governor of Syunik, Suren Khachatryan, and with the financing of Maxim Hakobyan, the chairman of the board of directors of the Zangezur copper-molybdenum combine. In 2007, a khachkar was erected in the monument area.

Taking into account the impossibility of moving the memorial complex in a short period of time, the Armenian side moved only the khachkar on April 3, 2023, and this can be considered a unique exception, when the monument is removed from its historical landscape, cut off from its integrity for the sake of salvation.

As it was concluded, the April 2024 update of the "Google" satellite map already shows that the monument has been razed to the ground.

Our response

The Hague Convention of 1954, which is also the basis of other international treaties, defines in its first article: "Cultural value, regardless of origin or owner, is movable or immovable heritage of great importance to every people, such as monuments of architecture, 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 Armed Conflict, any act of vandalism, theft, robbery, misappropriation, hostility or reprisal against cultural heritage is prohibited.

After the "Great and Small Columns" monument came under the control of Azerbaijan, it should have been protected by the first protocol of the above-mentioned convention, which is intended for the protection of cultural or spiritual values ​​in occupied (occupied, usurped) territories. Paragraph 1 of the protocol states that "Each Party undertakes to prevent the damage, export or transfer of cultural values ​​from the territory occupied by it to a third country during the armed conflict". Let's note that Azerbaijan accepted this protocol on September 20, 1993 and undertook to follow its provisions.

However, as shown by this and many previous cases, Azerbaijan is carrying out cultural genocide, violating its obligations under international conventions," notes "Monumentwatch".