Azerbaijanis are using Armenians gravestones as building material for the construction of roads from occupied Artsakh’s Hadrut to Shushi, said Artsakh’s Foreign Minister David Babayan in an interview with Artsakhpress.
Babayan said that Azerbaijanis are barbarically destroying the historical and cultural monuments, cemeteries and gravestones of Artsakh.
“This is another manifestation of cultural genocide; barbarism with a political purpose. They are not only completely destroying the Armenian trace, but they are also using it for economic purposes. By building such infrastructures, the Azerbaijanis make it much more difficult to restore it in the future. This is a gross violation of international and moral norms,” said Babayan.
To the question of which roads the gravestones are used for, the Foreign Minister answered that different sources provide different data, in particular, it is circulated that they are widely used for the construction of the Hadrut-Shushi road.
“There is evidence that show how the Azerbaijanis are demolishing the cemeteries in Hadrut. This information makes it necessary for the international community to carry out monitoring missions and get acquainted with the reality on the spot. It must be implemented by various governmental structures. We have sent numerous letters to various international organizations regarding the Armenian cultural genocide committed by Azerbaijan, as well as we have made statements. Some progress has been made. Unfortunately, this process is a time-consuming and labor-intensive process for the international structures to function fully,” the Foreign Minister concluded.
