Armenian Church Disfigured

[Siamanto]

THE RAPE OF NIJ CHURCH'S ARMENIAN IDENTITY

 

Azg/arm

24 Feb 05

 

A daily Azg reader responded to Feb. 23 article by Agence France

Presse titled "Christian Minority in Azerbaijan Gets Rid of Armenian

Eyesore" posted in our website and dealing with the Udi minority of

Azerbaijan who destroys Armenian monuments of the country in order not

to be likened to Azerbaijan's enemy - the Armenians. Below we present

the reader's letter to Norwegian Humanitarian Enterprise's director

whose company undertook restoration of Armenian church in village of

Nij.

 

Dear Mr. Alf Henry Rasmussen,

 

I would like to express my deepest condemns regarding the cultural

vandalism against the Armenian church in Nij which was being restored

by Norwegian Humanitarian Enterprise. This act of Azerbaijan's

infamous policy of cultural genocide against the Armenian heritage is

indirectly and, I hope, unwillingly sponsored by the Norwegian

government.

 

As Agence France Presse reports, during the reconstruction, the

Armenian identity of the church has been eliminated.

 

As far as Norwegian Humanitarian Enterprise is the sponsor of the

reconstruction, it should have prohibited cultural vandalism against

the Armenian heritage while completing the mission.

 

Norwegian Humanitarian Enterprise has indirectly supported cultural

genocide against the Armenian heritage in present-day Azerbaijan

before too. The Research on Armenian Architecture (RAA) had warned

about the ridiculousnessof this reconstruction in Azerbaijan before

the Armenian inscriptions were wiped off. Particularly speaking of

Sourb Asdvadzadzin of Kish, RAA had expressed its deep concern

regarding the fact that the Norwegian scholars have commenced

collaboration with their Azerbaijani colleagues since 2000 aiming at

the restoration of the Armenian St. Yeghishe (also known as Sourb

Asdvadzadzin, i.e. Holy Virgin) Church of Kish Village. Being unaware

of the historical past of the region in general, and the history of

the village in particular, and without further investigation into the

historical sources, the Norwegians take for granted the false theories

of the Azerbaijani scholars and keep alleging that the church is a

monument of Christian Albanian culture, i.e. it was created by the

Christian ancestors of the present-day Azerbaijani people

(http://www.raa.am/).

 

As your website

http://www.nhe-az.org/eng/Galleries/church/image003.html announces,

the church in Kish functioning as a museum (now) after being

reconstructed by your organization.

 

After the government-planned annihilation of tens of thousands of

Armenian stone-crosses in Jugha, Nakhijevan (situated in present-day

Azerbaijan), Norwegian Humanitarian Enterprise should have realized

the danger of reconstructing Albanian Christian monuments in

Azerbaijan.

 

I hope Norwegian Humanitarian Enterprise will try its best to correct

its mistakes: the Armenian inscriptions should be put back, otherwise

be kept in a safe place, until the Azerbaijani society stops rewriting

the history. The pictures of the Armenian inscriptions (before and

after being scrapped off)should be publicized. The reality for the

church of Kish has to be published and Norwegian Humanitarian

Enterprise should stop its cultural reconstruction plans in a country

that wants to eliminate every single trait of the Armenian heritage in

its territory.

 

Sincerely, Simon Maghakyan, Phi Theta Kappa International Honor

Society; President of Sigma Phi Chapter Littleton, Colorado, USA

 

 

http://groong.usc.edu/news/msg103752.html

[Arvestaked]

That is goddamn disgusting. So disrespectful. When I was I Shushi is saw a mosque still in tact and it probably does not have the smallest fraction of historical value that the Armenian churches have.