Brussels to host roundtable discussion on Armenian-Azerbaijani relations

PanARMENIAN.Net - The recent conflict between Azerbaijanis and Armenians over Nagorno-Karabagh (Artsakh) has extended to Azeri efforts to write Armenians out of the history of the South Caucasus. This anti-Armenian drive has accelerated in the last ten years and threatens to become a long term obstacle to bringing peace into the region.



At a roundtable in Brussels on 22 April, Dr Rouben Galichian, a British-Armenian author and historian, will discuss how Azeris and Armenians characterize each other in the Caucasus today. He will address the relevance of historical discourse and cultural heritage in confidence building and conflict resolution in the South Caucasus region, AGBU Europe reported.



Galichian will argue that many Azeri historians have systematically misrepresented ancient, medieval and modern sources, while government authorities have destroyed historical heritage attesting to the presence of Armenians in that region. The destruction of thousands of khachkars in the medieval Armenian cemetery of Julfa in 2006 is a good example that was also been captured on film.



The round table touches upon a topic - conflict resolution in the South Caucasus- which is increasingly on the EU's agenda. Most EU policy-makers and experts avoid addressing relating to historical interpretation, however absurd the thesis promoted. Mr Galichian's talk will however illustrate the link between aggressive nationalism, the destruction of cultural heritage and conflict in the region. He will thus try to show the need for policy-makers to understand the political significance of disputes on history.