In current weeks, there have been studies claiming that Armenia and Azerbaijan are on the cusp of inking a peace deal that may lastly carry an finish to their decades-old battle over the disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh).
Whereas peace within the South Caucasus must be welcomed, Armenia should demand Azerbaijan finish its ongoing marketing campaign of cultural erasure of Armenian church buildings, monasteries, khachkars (cross-stone monuments), and different spiritual websites which have stood within the area for hundreds of years as a situation for any peace settlement. Within the wake of Azerbaijan’s ethnic cleaning of greater than 120,000 Armenians from their ancestral homeland of Artsakh, the specter of wiping out their whole existence from this space stays at present. In keeping with a current report from Reuters and The Museum of the Bible, an estimated 400 Armenian church buildings and different spiritual websites have been underneath assault and are at risk of being defaced or outright destroyed.
As the primary nation to undertake Christianity in 301 AD, Armenia’s identification and tradition have been intently outlined by its Christian religion, which makes these historic symbols so vital to its survival as a folks. Christianity has sustained Armenians all through their painful historical past, which has been marked by widespread persecution and mass struggling over lots of of years. That historical past contains the primary genocide of the twentieth century when greater than 1.5 million Armenians have been systematically exterminated by the Ottoman Turks, an occasion that each Turkey and Azerbaijan deny to today.
That’s the reason preserving these spiritual websites must be a precondition for any lasting peace between the 2 nations. By respecting and honoring that historical past, Azerbaijan would ship a message that they really need peace with Armenia. Nonetheless, all indicators present Azerbaijan heading in the wrong way.
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Taking a web page out of the authoritarian playbook, Azerbaijan’s petro-dictator Ilham Aliyev used the pretext of historic revisionism to launch his unprovoked struggle towards Armenians dwelling in Artsakh in 2020. Claiming that enormous elements of Armenia’s territory have been Azerbaijan’s “historical lands,” he launched into a controversial marketing campaign to revive Armenian church buildings and non secular websites to their “original” type. What that type means was not initially clear, however we now know that the entire destruction and evisceration of those websites was Azerbaijan’s unique intent.
Beneath the guise of restoration, Azerbaijan dismantled the enduring Ghazanchetsots Cathedral in Shushi quickly after taking up the town. The cathedral was a logo of Armenian existence within the area. Later, extra photos from the town surfaced — occupying Azeri forces razed an Armenian genocide memorial. And up to date satellite tv for pc imagery exhibits Azerbaijan’s destruction of Armenian spiritual and cultural websites continues unabated, together with the destruction of the 177-year-old St. John the Baptist church in Sushi, and the demolition of the St. Ascencion Church in Berdzor and the whole village of Karintak, the place a mosque is at the moment underneath development the place the city as soon as stood.
Regardless of the overwhelming proof of a cultural genocide going down, Azerbaijan continues to disclaim any culpability within the desecration of those spiritual websites. They’ve even ignored the Worldwide Courtroom of Justice’s (ICJ) November order calling Azerbaijan to “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.”
In the summertime of 2019, Armenians had the foresight to suppose forward a 12 months earlier than the struggle in Artsakh broke out. College students from the TUMO Middle for Inventive Applied sciences produced a 3D scanning venture of the Dadivank Armenian monastery, which was constructed between the ninth and thirteenth centuries. The scholars wished to leverage the ability of expertise to carry some of the vital websites in Armenian historical past to life for folks all over the world to see whereas educating them about Armenia’s wealthy tradition and presence within the area. Little did they notice that their efforts would quickly flip right into a preservation marketing campaign. With the area and monastery now within the fingers of Azerbaijan, the scholars’ scan of Dadivank may be the one signal holding Armenia’s legacy alive as Azerbaijan continues to rewrite historical past.
Nonetheless, there’s a important distinction between a digital file and a bodily place of worship. That’s the reason it’s so vital that these Armenian spiritual and cultural establishments which have weathered earthquakes and wars keep intact. In some ways, Azerbaijan’s belligerence and aggression transcend a chunk of land or sovereignty. It’s a type of spiritual persecution that spreads throughout borders and must cease instantly.
It’s exhausting to take Azerbaijan at face worth when it says it needs peace with Armenia, whereas concurrently attempting to erase Armenia’s spiritual and cultural identification. For a rustic that claims to tolerate varied spiritual backgrounds and coexistence, Azerbaijan has a protracted method to go. They will begin by making the preservation of Armenian spiritual and cultural websites in Artsakh a precedence. Something in need of that must be a dealbreaker for any lasting peace.
Initially printed in Newsweek.
Stephan Pechdimaldji is a communications strategist dwelling within the San Francisco Bay Space. He’s a first-generation Armenian American and grandson of survivors of the Armenian genocide. You’ll be able to observe him on X at @spechdimaldji.
“Well bless their hearts.”
