Read on Twitter
1/ I was asked to present some information regarding the facts of vandalism and destruction of the cultural heritage of Azerbaijan in Armenia and Karabakh, so here is a thread:
2/ After the occupation of Karabakh, numerous mosques and other sites of Az cultural heritage were looted and destroyed in the region. We have some clear evidence of cases documented by independent journalists, from satellite images, or recently after the deoccupation.
3/ In the video from Zangilan posted in late October we can see Imam Huseyn mosque of the 17th century being used as a piggery (the mosque was identified by Az historian Arif Yunusov, one of the leading experts in the history of Nagorno-Karabakh region).
4/ Another example of vandalism can be seen on these images of Aghdam mosque which is still under occupation (the whole town was destroyed in 1993) https://twitter.com/theauslander1/status/1322585628320649216?s=21
5/ More cases of destruction were revealed from the satellite images taken in 2019, showing the ruins of severely damaged mosques of the 17th and 18th centuries in Shusha, namely Saatly, Mardinli and Ashaghy Govhar Agha mosques. https://caspiannews.com/news-detail/satellite-images-reveal-new-details-about-armenias-destruction-of-azerbaijans-heritage-2019-2-27-40/
6/ Many historical sites of cultural importance, including Vagif Mausoleum, Natavan’s house, Karavansaray in Shusha were plundered and destroyed. More information on the list of destructions available here: https://vestnikkavkaza.net/analysis/Armenia-destroys-Azerbaijan-s-cultural-and-historical-heritage-in-occupied-territories.html
7/ Yukhary Govhar Agha mosque of #Shusha was fortunately saved and restored, however as in the case of the Blue mosque of Yerevan, it is being presented as a Persian one: https://eurasianet.org/karabakhs-contentious-mosque-restoration
8/ The full list of Azerbaijani mosques, including those of Karabakh available here (with photos taken before the occupation): https://ebooks.az/book_jFOt7kga.html Once the conflict is settled and access to the area is allowed, the current condition of these sites should be evaluated.
9/ Good to see not all the monuments were totally destroyed (although they weren’t restored either). In this brochure some of those saved were presented as “Islamic monuments of Armenian architecture”, once again rejecting the Azerbaijani legacy of NK. http://www.raa-am.com/raa/pdf_files/148.pdf
10/ Regarding Yerevan and other parts of Armenia, some of religious sites were destroyed under the Soviets, but a large number of them were destroyed as the consequence of eviction of Muslims (Azerbaijanis and Kurds) during several waves of deportations (1918-1920, 1940s, 1980s).
11/ The less Muslims lived in Armenia, the less need was to save their cultural heritage. Many other examples of destroyed sites are presented in this article. This topic deserves more research to be initiated by Az, Arm and foreign historians: https://www.virtualkarabakh.az/en/post-item/3/30/historic-architectural-monuments-of-irevan.html
12/ This issue of destruction of Az cultural legacy in Karabakh is not well studied due to the continuation of the conflict and the lack of access of Az and independent researchers to the field. It is one of the consequences of the conflict that should not be ignored.
13/ Once the conflict is settled, the cases of vandalism and the involvement of the unrecognized authorities of “NKR” in this process should be thoroughly investigated.
14/14 Azerbaijani (along with Armenian) cultural heritage of the region has to be recognized and protected, and hopefully, the active process of restoration of cultural sites will be initiated once the conflict is settled.
Another example to this thread: https://twitter.com/HikmetHajiyev/status/1324679255083667458
More about legal aspect of the issue. Thank you @SEDLAW15 https://twitter.com/SEDLAW15/status/1324750288247525379
In Nagorno-Karabakh, 63 out of 67 mosques were completely destroyed; hundreds of historical and cultural monuments were damaged. https://twitter.com/shafiyev_farid/status/1327224275368030208
Another good thread on the destruction of Azerbaijani cultural heritage in #NagornoKarabakh https://twitter.com/turkiina/status/1328482975772762112
