Aus: International Council of Monuments and Sites
http://www.internati...rbaijan2002.htmDestruction of the Armenian Cemetery at Djulfa
For a long time there have been complaints about the destruction of
Armenian monuments and sites in Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey, three
of the neighbouring countries of Armenia. A particularly sad example
is the destruction of the Armenian cemetery in the former town of
Djulfa, situated in the south of Nachitchevan, a region under the
sovereignty of Azerbaijan. This cemetery, which had been in use from
the early Middle Ages to the destruction of the town in 1605, was an
outstanding testimony of Armenian culture because of thousands of
tombstones mostly from the 15th and 16th centuries in the shape of
so-called Khatchkars. The destruction process, which began in 1998
when 800 Khatchkars were removed, was temporarily halted following
protests from UNESCO, but in November 2002 it was taken up again. When
ICOMOS was informed and given photos of this barbaric act in a remote
frontier area by RAA (Research on Armenian Architecture) in January
2003 and by ICOMOS Armenia in February 2003, the destruction, which
cannot have been carried through without the consent of the Azerbaijan
government, was already completed: "On January 10th Mr Haghnazarian
[author of the following report] was called by the very distressed
Armenian Bishop of Tabriz (Iran) who informed him that he went to the
Iranian side of the river Araxes opposite the cemetery of Djulfa some
days ago to see with his own eyes what had seemed incredible to him:
The 1500-year-old cemetery had completely been flattened in the
meantime."
There only remains the hope that under the guidance of UNESCO it will
be possible to investigate the situation on the spot and to take care
of the remains of the tombstones, transported away by Azerbaijan
railways probably to be used as material for building
measures. Hopefully, strong protest will at least prevent the
demolition of more Armenian heritage sites in Azerbaijan in the
future. The intentional destruction of the cemetery of Djulfa should
be considered as a crime against the common heritage of
humanity. Apart from that all that remains is deep sorrow for the
irreplaceable loss.
Here is the report of RAA:
Khatchkars are cross-stones about one metre wide and up to 2.50 metres
high, richly decorated with Christian symbols, flowers and arabesque
climbing plants as well as with subjects from daily life. These
delicately engraved stones represent a 1500-year-old tradition of
Armenian stone masons. Khatchkars are unique and were used as
free-standing steles but also as ornaments in the masonry of Armenian
churches and cloisters. Since the early Middle Ages they have been
used as tombstones on cemeteries.
One of the outstanding cemeteries because of the unusually great
number of Khatchkars is the one in the former town of Djulfa (old name
Djugha) in the south of Nachitchevan right on the bank of the river
Araxes which forms the border to Iran. Alexander Rotes mentions this
cemetery in his description of journeys in 1648 and reports of 10.000
fully decorated cross stones. In 1605 the Armenian people of Djulfa
were forced by Shah Abbas to settle in Persia in order to have trade
and commerce developed by them in his country. He destroyed the town
to prevent their return, however left the cemetery untouched. At the
beginning of the 20th century 6000 reclining and standing Khatchkars
were still counted.
After Armenia was incorporated into the Soviet Union Nachitchevan in
the south of Armenia was declared a part of Azerbaijan at Stalin's and
Lenin's behest in 1922. Nachitchevan is still under Azerbaijan's
political sovereignty.
During the Soviet reign this historically and culturally unique
cemetery of Djulfa was not at all under the protection of historical
monuments of Azerbaijan. On the contrary. After 1922 a large number of
Khatchkars disappeared. Considering the close watch of the border of
the prohibited military zone this could not have happened without the
government's knowledge. And more destruction was yet to come.
In November 1998 eye witnesses from the Iranian border zone observed
tombstones being excavated by a crane and loaded onto railroad wagons
on the cemetery grounds across the river Araxes. The ripped-up ground
was then made even again by bulldozers. This destruction lasted for
three weeks and about 800 Khatchkars were taken away. There is reason
to believe that these cross-stones - if not destroyed right away -
were used as building material for foundations of new houses to hide
their removal. The transportation by the State Railway is clear
evidence of the planned action by the Government of Azerbaijan.
Protests on behalf of UNESCO and affiliated organisations finally put
a stop to these barbarous activities.
To our great regret the cultural outrage is going on. Reliable sources
informed us that the destruction not only of the tombstones but also
of the still existing, though greatly reduced churches and cloister
grounds in the area was resumed on 9 November 2002. A great number of
workmen are again dismantling valuable relics of Middle Age Christian
culture partly by demolishing them and partly by taking them away on
trucks to an unknown destination. And yet again this cannot be done
without the permission of the government.
One cannot avoid drawing a parallel to the fundamentally motivated
destruction of the Buddha statues by the Taliban in Afghanistan, which
was accompanied by world-wide protest. Similar to that case we are
here confronted with the systematic obliteration of religious
monuments of a foreign culture, the only difference being that the
destruction in Nachitchevan concerns the European history of
civilisation.
Azerbaijan signed the UNESCO World Heritage Convention in 1993 and is
represented in the parliamentary assembly of the Council of
Europe. Azerbaijan consequently committed itself to the aims of this
institution and should be asked to account for its action in
Nachitchevan.
Dr. Armen Haghnazarian
Dr. Dieter Wickmann
http://groong.usc.ed.../msg132288.htmlLook at these pictures :
http://www.cathcil.o...Pictures109.htmWE CAN'T ACCEPT THAT.
WE MUST LOBBY THE UNESCO, THE UNO, THE COUNCIL OF EUROPE AND OUR DIFFERENT GOVERNMENTS TO STOP THIS
CRIME AND PUNISH AZERBAIJAN.
WE MUST INFORM THE MEDIAS OF THAT.