ARMENIAN PARLIAMENTARIAN CALLED CE TO CUT SHORT DESTRUCTION OF ARMENIAN MONUMENTS IN AZERBAIJAN

PanARMENIAN.Net - During a discussion of a report "On condition of culture in the South Caucasus" at a session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) Armenian delegation member Ashot Galoyan called to take trenchant measures to protect Armenian monuments in the region of Nakhichevan in Azerbaijan. "Just this minute when we are discussing the report, destruction of Armenian historical and cultural legacy continues in Nakhichevan, specifically in Julfa city," - A. Galoyan stated. As reported by "Mediamax" agency, the Armenian parliamentarian reminded that 800 grave monuments (khachkars) disappeared from the Armenian cemetery in Nakhichevan already in 1998 and "these barbaric actions were stopped only owing to intervention by the UNESCO and other international organizations." Ashot Galoyan reported Azeri authorities had resumed demolition of Armenian monuments in Nakhichevan. Galoyan called the CE to form a commission "to engage in returning Armenian khachkars to the places they were before, if they are not demolished yet."