YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 16, ARMENPRESS. A demonstration was held outside the UN Armenia Office in Yerevan demanding the international community and the UN to take measures and prevent the destruction of Armenian cultural heritage in Artsakh by Azerbaijan.

Gayane Abrahamyan, a former lawmaker and the representative of the For Equal Rights Educational Center, told reporters that the demonstration is organized by several NGOs and public figures.

“The Azerbaijani side is falsely claiming that the heritage which is in Artsakh for centuries isn’t Armenian. This is a lie, however the actions that they are carrying out for decades cause concern that one day we wont be able to counter these lies. That’s why we are stressing that we have months. If we don’t fight against these lies now and don’t apply to all possible international organizations, namely UNESCO, we will simply lose the Armenianness of Artsakh, because the Azerbaijani authorities are trying to erase our trace. By doing so, they are trying to rule out the right to self-determination from the Armenian side and generally any aspiration in Artsakh,” Abrahamyan warned.

She reminded that the International Court of Justice ruled that Azerbaijan must take all necessary measures to prevent and punish acts of vandalism and desecration affecting Armenian cultural heritage, including but not limited to churches and other places of worship, monuments, landmarks, cemeteries and artefacts.

Abrahamyan said they will meet the UN Armenia Office administration after the demonstration. She said they’ve addressed a letter to UNESCO last week.

Anther member of the initiative, Seda Grigoryan, highlighted the need to ensure access of international monitoring groups to the territories which Azerbaijan captured during the war. “According to the information I have the Armenian authorities are doing everything they can so that such groups are dispatched there, but Azerbaijan is denying access. International observers must go and see the monuments on the ground and document them,” she said.

Photos by Hayk Manukyan