Monument Watch: Baku pursuing policy of `Azerbaijanization` of purely  Armenian settlements in Artsakh

ArmInfo.Since the capture of Artsakh, Azerbaijani authorities have been actively resettling Azerbaijanis, primarily in previously purely Armenian settlements that never had an Azerbaijani population, primarily in the  territories of the former Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region.

This was stated in a statement by Monumentwatch.org, which monitors the  situation with Artsakh's cultural heritage. "In 2024-2025,  Azerbaijanis resettled in the villages of Vank, Goratag, Nerkin  Goratag, Kolatak, Khaterg, Chapar, and Drmbon in the Martakert  region; the town of Martuni in the Martuni district; the villages of  Karmir Shuka and Sos; the town of Hadrut in the Hadrut region; and  the villages of Aygestan, Patara, Astgashen, Khachen, Noragyug,  Khnapat, Khnatsakh, and Shosh in the Askeran district. 

The policy of resettling Azerbaijanis also began in the city of  Stepanakert and in Krkzhan, a suburb of Stepanakert. It is clear that  the Azerbaijani side is primarily pursuing a policy of  "Azerbaijanization" of purely Armenian, historically Armenian  settlements and regions, assigning new toponyms and a new history to  these settlements and territories, excluding the Armenian historical  and cultural presence," the Organization stated. According to  Monumentwatch, it is no coincidence that since 2024, the historical,  cultural, and spiritual heart of Artsakh, the historic Khachen with  its village of Vank, has begun to be "Azerbaijaniized."

"Judging by the photographs, Azerbaijanis are simply being resettled  in Armenian houses that have been renovated, modernized, and  presented by Azerbaijani media as 'newly built.' Similarly, the  Azerbaijani side presents schools, kindergartens, and residential  buildings built during the Soviet and Artsakh years, as well as in  cities, many of which were built by the Artsakh government. The  Azerbaijani government presents the 'relocated' Azerbaijanis as  'deported indigenous residents,'" Monumentwatch added.

It adds that, of course, there is a major contradiction and obvious  lie here, as there are documents compiled during the Soviet years on  the ethnic composition and population of the villages resettled by  Azerbaijanis, which clearly demonstrate the complete absence of an  Azerbaijani population in the resettled villages. "It is clear that  the Azerbaijani side, by filming the oral histories of these inverted  settlers, is simply creating a new and acceptable past for these  villages. In historically Armenian settlements populated by  Azerbaijanis, historical and cultural monuments located within the  settlements, their administrative boundaries, and their surroundings,  monuments erected and built within the settlements, the cemeteries of  these settlements, etc., are under direct threat of destruction. As a  result of the Azerbaijani 'return,' a monument erected in memory of  the victims of the Patriotic War and the Artsakh War in the village  of Vank was demolished," Monumentwatch added.

In conclusion, the organization attached photographs showing the  process of resettling the village of Khnatsakh. Monuments to the  Patriotic War and the Artsakh Liberation War in the village were  dismantled, and in their place, a sign bearing the fictitious  Azerbaijani name of the village, "Khanyurdu Kendi," was erected.