News - “Le Figaro”: Azerbaijan destroys Armenian thousand-year cultural and historical heritage

Azerbaijan is purposefully destroying Armenian cultural and historical heritage, a leading French newspaper “Le Figaro” writes, citing the results of a report by the European Center for Law and Justice (ECLJ). “The report, published this Thursday based on satellite images, details and describes the alarming disappearance and destruction of monuments of Armenian cultural heritage in the Nagorno-Karabakh region, which came under Azerbaijani control in September 2023,” the newspaper notes, citing the report's findings. According to the researchers, the thousand-year-old heritage of Nagorno-Karabakh is in danger. The international Christian non-governmental organization described in detail the “cultural destruction” carried out by Baku in the region. Azerbaijanis, in particular, have been caught destroying churches, demolishing crosses, and eliminating cemeteries. “This brazen and destructive policy is aimed at erasing the heritage of the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh,” the Strasbourg-based organization warned. The region of Nagorno-Karabakh, the newspaper noted, which has been almost continuously populated by Armenians since antiquity, has some 500 cultural sites housing some 6,000 monuments of Armenian heritage since the collapse of the Soviet Union. “Le Figaro” recalled that after the complete transfer of the region under the control of Baku, the latter almost constantly denied foreign observers access to cultural sites. This despite numerous requests from Armenia and various international organizations. “Thus, it was with the help of satellite images collected by researchers and various organizations that ECLJ was able to compile an accurate list of destroyed churches, missing statues and cemeteries destroyed by vandals,” the publication reported.