The Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia has issued a statement on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the Armenian massacres in Agulis.
The statement particularly reads as follows:
“Today we commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Armenian genocide in Agulis. On December 24-25, 1919, peaceful Armenian civilians were massacred, and the ancient Armenian settlement of Nakhchivan was left in ruins.
It is worth remembering that, in response to these massacres, the government of the First Republic of Armenia addressed the international community and particularly the Entente with the call to prevent assaults in its territory and ensure safety of the Armenians in the region.
Unfortunately, the crimes committed against the Armenians of Nakhchivan were not limited by the history of the 20th century. In our days, the Azerbaijani authorities emptied Nakhchivan of the Armenians once and for all and perpetrated the massive and systematic eradication of Armenian cultural heritage. This led to the complete destruction of thousands of Christian monuments, including churches, monasteries and khachkars (cross-stones) in Julfa, Agulis and elsewhere. The eradication of thousands of khachkars of Julfa (considered masterpieces of medieval Christian art) by soldiers of the Azerbaijani army, documented in a video, will go down in world history as an unsurpassed manifestation of cultural atrocities.
Today, 100 years after these tragic events, Armenia is more than determined to protect and ensure the right of the Armenian people to existence and peaceful advancement in their historic homeland, including Artsakh.”
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