UNESCO should send monitors to South Caucasus, specifically to Nakhijevan
"Armenia appreciates and respects the historical-cultural heritage of national minorities, which are within its territory," Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian said when addressing the 34th session UNESCO's General Conference.
"The destruction of timeless monuments in the Soviet period - monuments belonging to all religions, not just our ancient Christian churches and monasteries, but also mosques - cannot be undone. We can only take pride in what we have and protect and preserve them. In fact, the Cemetery of Riataza, belonging to Armenia's Yezidi non-Christian minority, Armenian sites on the Great Silk Road and Yerevan's exquisite, recently restored Blue Mosque are on the waiting list for inclusion in the UNESCO World Heritage List.
In our region, borders have changed frequently and peoples have moved and been moved repeatedly. Armenia's ancient civilization has established settlements, left behind traces of living communities - fountains and bridges, churches and massive religious and artistic sculptures. The fate of those monuments is important for their own sake, for the sake of artists and historians, but even more so, for the sake of a world that must remember its history, must remember the legacy of peoples who have come and gone.
Our interest therefore in the world's cultural heritage is not just philosophical. It is very much personal. Our history is indeed intertwined with the history of our neighbors, with their history. We are dismayed at attempts to ignore this history. We are appalled at attempts to undo this history.
We are not the only ones who have said from this podium that the destruction of a people's patrimony is tantamount to destroying their memory, their history, their identity. Unfortunately, we have neighbors who have built today's identity on a less than real history. And we see the trauma and instability that results.
Once again, we urge UNESCO to send monitors to our region, specifically to Nakhijevan, to see and appropriately judge the intentional destruction in areas far removed from war and confrontation," the Minister said, the RA MFA press office reported.
"The destruction of timeless monuments in the Soviet period - monuments belonging to all religions, not just our ancient Christian churches and monasteries, but also mosques - cannot be undone. We can only take pride in what we have and protect and preserve them. In fact, the Cemetery of Riataza, belonging to Armenia's Yezidi non-Christian minority, Armenian sites on the Great Silk Road and Yerevan's exquisite, recently restored Blue Mosque are on the waiting list for inclusion in the UNESCO World Heritage List.
In our region, borders have changed frequently and peoples have moved and been moved repeatedly. Armenia's ancient civilization has established settlements, left behind traces of living communities - fountains and bridges, churches and massive religious and artistic sculptures. The fate of those monuments is important for their own sake, for the sake of artists and historians, but even more so, for the sake of a world that must remember its history, must remember the legacy of peoples who have come and gone.
Our interest therefore in the world's cultural heritage is not just philosophical. It is very much personal. Our history is indeed intertwined with the history of our neighbors, with their history. We are dismayed at attempts to ignore this history. We are appalled at attempts to undo this history.
We are not the only ones who have said from this podium that the destruction of a people's patrimony is tantamount to destroying their memory, their history, their identity. Unfortunately, we have neighbors who have built today's identity on a less than real history. And we see the trauma and instability that results.
Once again, we urge UNESCO to send monitors to our region, specifically to Nakhijevan, to see and appropriately judge the intentional destruction in areas far removed from war and confrontation," the Minister said, the RA MFA press office reported.
