Artsakh`s Cultural Ombudsman criticizes Turkmenistan`s President for  visiting occupied NKR

ArmInfo.Artsakh's Cultural Heritage Ombudsman, Hovik Avanesov, expresses his categorical protest over the President of Turkmenistan's visit to occupied Artsakh-an ancient Armenian land whose indigenous population was forcibly expelled as a result of Azerbaijan's military aggression in  2020-2023.

"This visit was not simply to a disputed region or to a typical  international forum. The President of Turkmenistan visited a  territory from which an entire people was completely displaced, where  the consistent destruction of their historical memory continues, and  where cultural heritage is systematically desecrated, appropriated,  and falsified," Avanesov noted in his Facebook post. According to  him, it is particularly outrageous that the Turkmen leader's visit to  Artsakh is taking place while Azerbaijan continues its policy of  cultural erasure of the Armenian presence. Monuments are being  destroyed, Armenian inscriptions are being removed, the historical  appearance of settlements is being altered, and traces of  centuries-old Armenian civilization are being erased. All of this is  happening before the eyes of the international community and with a  demonstrative refusal to allow independent international missions to  objectively assess the state of the region's cultural heritage.

"This visit cannot be considered a neutral diplomatic act. It is  objectively being used by the Azerbaijani side as a tool for  international legitimization of the consequences of the ethnic  cleansing of Armenians in Artsakh and a policy of cultural  revisionism. In fact, the presence of the Turkmen leader in the  territory from which approximately 150,000 Armenians were expelled is  becoming part of a propaganda campaign designed to convince the world  that the Artsakh issue is closed and that the forcibly created  situation must be accepted as the new political reality," he  continued.

Avanesov emphasized that it is impossible to build a stable peace on  the ruins of destroyed shrines, on silence about the ethnic cleansing  that took place, and on attempts to erase the memory of the people  who, for decades, created the cultural and spiritual heritage of this  region.

He said it was particularly alarming that the head of a state that  has repeatedly declared its commitment to respecting the history,  culture, and traditions of the world's peoples chose to ignore the  fate of dozens of monasteries, hundreds of churches, cemeteries,  thousands of khachkars (cross-stones) and other monuments that were  threatened with destruction after Azerbaijan established control over  Artsakh.

"History knows of numerous cases where the destruction of cultural  heritage became the final stage of a policy of expulsion. First, a  people is deprived of the right to live on their land, then traces of  their existence are destroyed, and then the world is asked to forget  what happened. Today, this is precisely the scenario being played out  in Artsakh. We consider it unacceptable for foreign leaders to  participate in events in the occupied territory without publicly  assessing the fate of the exiled population and condemning the  ongoing destruction of their cultural heritage. Any other approach is  inevitably perceived as political indifference to gross violations of  human rights and international norms for the protection of cultural  property," he stated. The Artsakh Cultural Heritage Ombudsman  declares that no international visit, no ceremony, and no political  declaration can change the historical truth: Artsakh is one of the  most ancient centers of Armenian civilization, and its cultural  heritage was created by the Armenian people and is an integral part  of the world's cultural heritage.

"We call on the President of Turkmenistan to publicly assess the  facts of the destruction of Armenian cultural heritage, support  international monitoring of Artsakh's monuments, and renounce any  steps that could be used to justify or legitimize the consequences of  ethnic cleansing and cultural destruction. History will judge not  only those who destroyed churches, monasteries, and cemeteries, but  also those who chose to visit these lands after the expulsion of the  indigenous people, pretending nothing had happened," the Artsakh  Cultural Heritage Ombudsman concluded.