Konul Nurullayeva
Member of National Assembly & Executive Committee of Islamic Solidarity Sports Federation
The President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev once again called attention to Armenia’s policy of aggression when receiving the credentials of Seyid Abbas Musavi, the newly appointed Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Islamic Republic of Iran to Azerbaijan on September 7, 2020. He noted the fact that Azerbaijani citizens have become refugees as the result of this occupation. A policy of ethnic cleansing has been carried out against the Azerbaijanis. The Khojaly genocide had been committed. Armenia destroyed our historical and religious monuments and desecrated our holy sites. In the occupied territories, our mosques were razed to the ground. They even keep livestock in some mosques. There are many video and photo documents and evidence of these ugly deeds. There are extensive video and photo evidence of these hideous deeds.
There is a need to recall the scale of material and moral damage caused to Azerbaijani culture as a result of the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict. Except for immovable historical and cultural monuments, the value of which is hard to determine, the total damage to our country is USD 6 billion 71 million as per the estimates made on the basis of 1994 assessment documents. Early 1990s, Armenian military units, which made groundless territorial claims against the Republic of Azerbaijan and grossly violated the norms of international law, destroyed cultural and religious monuments areas as well.
The famous Azykh and Taglar caves, Garakopek and Uzerliktepe mounds, which were the first human settlements, are now used for military purposes and deliberately destroyed. Along with the mounds in Khojaly, Aghdam, Aghdara, Fuzuli, Jabrayil regions, cemeteries, tombs, tombstones, mosques, temples, monuments belonged to Caucasian Albania in the occupied territories of Shusha, Lachin, Kalbajar, Gubadli, Zangilan, Fuzuli regions are also destroyed. The Armenian vandals destroyed Ashagi and Yukhari Govharaga, Kocharli, Mardinli, Juma mosques in the territory of Shusha historical architectural reserve, most of the houses built in the national style, reflecting the oriental architecture of the reserve city and the ancient cemetery here. Besides they destroyed the Panah Khan’s palace and Juma mosque in Aghdam, the palaces of Hamza Sultan and Sultan Ahmad, mosques, shrines and temples, stone statues, ancient tombs, mounds and residential buildings with historical monuments in Lachin region, and transported all moveable monuments and material culture to Armenia. Armenia continues the process of destroying our monuments and material culture in the occupied territories continues. 
13 historical and cultural monuments of universal value (6 architectural and 7 archeological), 292 of national value (119 architectural and 173 archeological), 330 of local value (270 architectural, 22 archeological, 23 garden, park, monumental and memorial monuments, 15 examples of decorative art) remained in Nagorno-Karabakh and adjacent regions of ancient Azerbaijani lands occupied by Armenian terrorists. The museums looted by the Armenian aggressors contained valuable items related to the history and culture of the Azerbaijani people, including paintings and sculptures, Azerbaijani carpets of universal value, carpet products, memorabilia of prominent Azerbaijani personalities and other valuable materials. The funds of Shusha, Lachin and Gubadli art galleries with works by prominent Azerbaijani artists and sculptors, were also destroyed. Armenian aggressors brutally took the statues of great personalities of Azerbaijani music Uzeyir Hajibeyov and Bulbul, as well as poet Khurshud Banu Natavan from Shusha to Armenia. These monuments brutally shot and damaged by heavy machinery, against all moral norms. These monuments were obtained with great difficulty and brought to Baku, and are currently on display at the Art Museum of Azerbaijan. The protection of the cultural heritage of Azerbaijani people is globally important as this heritage is an integral part of universal civilization.
Deliberate destruction of our historical and cultural monuments in the occupied territories of the Republic of Azerbaijan contradicts the 1954 Hague Convention on the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict, the 1992 European Convention for the Protection of Archaeological Heritage, and the 1972 UNESCO Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage. As the President of Azerbaijan, Mr. Ilham Aliyev emphasized, it is a crime not only against us but also against the entire Muslim world.. Azerbaijan contributes to strengthening Islamic solidarity and makes a great effort to that end. Azerbaijan is always ready to make additional efforts to unite the Islamic world and resolve the problems between some countries. In this context, the Islamic world must also show determination on Armenia’s long-standing policy of aggression and destruction of Azerbaijan’s national and cultural heritage and religious monuments of Islamic culture.
As the President of Azerbaijan Mr. Ilham Aliyev formulated, we can now unambiguously say that a country that destroys mosques and desecrates holy sites keeping there livestock, can never be a friend of Muslim countries.
