Armenian Culture Ministry fails to respond to UNESCO's “civilized vandalism”

June 17, 2011 - 17:23 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - Armenian Ministry of Culture sent no official note to UNESCO to protest removal of sings indicating original location of khachkars, the photos of which were featured at Khachkar Craftsmanship exhibit in UNESCO headquarters.

As the head of PR department at Armenian Ministry of Culture Nelly Durgaryan told a PanARMENIAN.Net reporter, the incident outraged Armenian community of France as well as the French public, yet Armenian side has so far issued no statement to UNESCO on the incident.

On June 15, a photo exhibition titled Khachkar Craftsmanship opened in Paris in the framework of scientific conferences organized by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). On the opening day of the exhibition hosting the Armenian Deputy Minister of Culture and Armenian Ambassador in France Vigen Tchitetchian, the guests faced an unpleasant surprise. The attendees were embarrassed to see that the quotations indicating the place of origin of each Khachkar (cross-stone), had been removed without any clarification on the part of organizers of the event. Only dates were indicated under the photos. Armenian organizations of France and Switzerland vigorously protested against attempts to deny the cultural heritage of Armenia.

Hay Dat French Bureau expressed outrage over the unpleasant occurrence at Paris-hosted Khachkar Craftsmanship exhibit, where the signs describing original location of khachkars were removed.

As Hay Dat stressed in its statement, the “civilized vandalism” of UNECSO, inconsistent with the Organisation’s mission, arose strong protest in France’s Armenian community. As the statement said, such attitude will be responded by the community accordingly. “The incident proves the involvement of Azerbaijan and Turkey. By yielding to political pressure, UNESCO stained its good name,” the statement stressed.

On Nov 17, 2010, UNESCO decided to inscribe Armenian Cross-Stones Art, symbolism and Craftsmanship of Khachkars on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Taking into consideration the fact that Khachkar is the acting tradition for all Armenians, its inscription on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage provides grounds for maintenance and transition of knowledge, rituals, traditions and craftsmanship connected with Khachkars to next generations.

Meanwhile, Azerbaijan attempted to protest the decision and claimed that Kachkars “are not Armenian.”