Azerbaijan building a mosque at area of destroyed Armenian Genocide  memorial in occupied Shushi

ArmInfo. Azerbaijani museum, a mosque and a square in occupied Shushi - at area of  destroyed Armenian Genocide memorial. This is reported by monumentwatch.org.

"On September 20, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, visited Shusha, which is under the control of Azerbaijan, attended the opening of the "Flag Square", which was built in 2021 at the site of the memorial dedicated to the victims of the Armenian Genocid, but now destroyed by Azerbaijan. According to information disseminated by Azerbaijani media, a "Victory Museum" dedicated to Azerbaijan's "victory" in the 44-day war in 2020  will also be built near the "Flag Square". The new Shushi mosque, marking the "victory" of Azerbaijan is also being built, and Aliyev was present at the groundbreaking back in May 2021," the Organization reports.

It is noted that after the 44-day war, the Azerbaijani side gives a special place to the capture of Shushi as a "symbol of victory in the war for the liberation of Karabakh." "Therefore, these three complexes to be built at the highest point of the city, are given special significance. These three structures, especially the mosque and the museum, symbolize the destruction of Armenian Artsakh, and the ethnic cleansing of Armenians.

The construction of an Azerbaijani museum, mosque and square in Shushi at area of the monument to the victims of the Armenian Genocide is a blatant violation of the cultural rights of the Armenian people. This is not only a consequence of the unpunished destruction of heritage, but also the creation of a new identity through the denial of Armenianness. According to Article 4 of the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict and Article 9, paragraph c of the Second Protocol of 1999, any modification of cultural property, that aims to conceal or destroy cultural, historical or scientific evidence, is prohibited," the statement by monumentwatch.org asserts.

 In this context, the Organization deems it obvious that Azerbaijan is destroying and appropriating the cultural heritage of an entire community. By doing so, they are depriving the community of the right to live and create in accordance with their identity. Azerbaijan now aims to consolidate this act of appropriation at both the national and international level, violating the fundamental cultural rights of the Armenian community, as defined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It goes against Article 15 of the "Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights" adopted by the United Nations in 1966, which enshrines the right of everyone to freely participate in the cultural life of their community.  "The alienation of the Armenian identity of the historic city of Shushi, which was an important center of Armenian culture, clearly violates the fundamental principles of historicity, authenticity and integrity of the city, arising from the "Nara Document on Authenticity" of cultural heritage adopted in 1994 in Japan," monumentwatch.org summarized.