in Russian – https://aga-tribunal.info/karakhanyan-10-12-2021/

Lusine Garakhanyan, the minister of education, science, culture and sports of the Republic of Artsakh commented the election of Azerbaijan as a member of UNESCO Committee.

The fact that Azerbaijan was elected a member of the UNESCO Committee for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict was itself a cause for deep concern and distrust towards the above-mentioned international organization with the mission of preserving the world cultural heritage.Especially in recent decades, arguments about Azerbaijan’s policy of open vandalism against the Armenian cultural heritage under the guise of anti-Armenianism have been repeatedly presented on various international platforms. However, as a result, the country not only was not held accountable, but also pursued a very aggressive policy of continuation, especially during and after the war unleashed by itself in September 2020, initiating and destroying thousands of different historical and cultural monuments of exclusively Armenian origin in the occupied territories of the Artsakh Republic.On October 7, the Ghazanchetsots Church in Shushi was twice shelled by the Azerbaijani armed forces. After the end of the war, Saint John the Baptist Church, commonly known as Kanach Zham  (which means “Green Chapel”) was blown up, and many cultural institutions fell victim to the ongoing vandalism, as evidenced by the videos and photos they posted on the Internet.And at present, the instructions on the destruction of Armenian monuments at the level of the President and the removal of Armenian letters from the monuments on the background of anti-Armenianism in Azerbaijan are serious evidence that the country continues to be an enemy of human civilization.It seems that the reactions of international organizations to all this should have been adequate, but, unfortunately, we are witnessing a completely opposite attitude.