Azerbaijan’s Destruction of Armenian Monuments Exceeds ISIS Crimes

“A groundbreaking forensic report tracks Azerbaijan’s destruction of 89 medieval churches, 5,480 intricate cross-stones, and 22,700 tombstones,” is the subtitle of an incredible article by Simon Maghakyan and Sarah Pickman, published in the Hyperallergic Magazine last week. The article is titled: “A Regime Conceals its Erasure of Indigenous Armenian Culture.”
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A Regime Conceals Its Erasure of Indigenous Armenian Culture

In April 2011, when a US Ambassador traveled to Azerbaijan, on the southwestern edge of the former USSR, he was denied access to the riverside borderland that separates this South Caucasus nation from Iran. But it was not a foreign foe that halted the visit. Instead, his Azerbaijani hosts insisted that the envoy’s planned investigation inside the Azerbaijani exclave of Nakhichevan (officially, Naxçıvan Autonomous Republic) could not proceed because it was motivated by fake news. The ambassador had intended to probe the reported destruction of thousands of historical Medieval Christian Armenian artworks and objects at the necropolis of Djulfa in Nakhichevan. This cemetery is recorded to have once boasted the world’s largest collection of khachkars — distinctive Armenian cross-stones. However, according to Azerbaijani officials this reported destruction was a farce, that the site had not been disturbed, because it never existed in the first place. Despite ample testimony to the contrary, Azerbaijan claims that Nakhichevan was never Armenian.
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Military-political events in and around Nakhichevan

By Arman Navasardyan, (Ph.D., Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary)
Modern Diplomacy

Turkey’s current foreign policy, emerging from the theory of New – Islamism and Pan-Turkism intertwined with expansionist Azerbaijan’s aspirations, poses a real threat to the security of the region and the territorial integrity of states.

The Turkish-Azerbaijani militaristic policy includes Nakhichevan, thus the Armenian authorities as well as the society can’t be unconcerned about it.
Continue reading “Military-political events in and around Nakhichevan”

Satellite Images Attest to Djulfa’s Disappearance

Five years after Azerbaijan’s war against defenseless medieval Armenian burial monuments, khachkars, the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) has released satellite image comparison and analysis where, in the 2009 data, no trace of the Djulfa cemetery remains.

AAAS’ press release reads, in part:

A high-resolution satellite image of a medieval Armenian cemetery in Azerbaijan taken in September 2003 shows hundreds of khachkars, intricate 15th and 16th century burial monuments. In a satellite image from May 2009, however, the khachkars are missing, suggesting that they were either destroyed or removed.
Continue reading “Satellite Images Attest to Djulfa’s Disappearance”

Scottish Scientist Stephen Sim Describing His Trip to Nakhichevan

Scottish scientist Stephen Sim described the unpleasant experience of his visit to Nakhichevan, the historical Armenian territory now occupied by Azerbaijan.

Since Sim’s accusatory report of 2006 was not adequately covered in the international media, in this article, Harut Sassounian presented some important points from the Scottish scientist’s report.
Continue reading “Scottish Scientist Stephen Sim Describing His Trip to Nakhichevan”

Azerbaijan’s Militarization and the Status of Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic


The peace process between Armenia and Azerbaijan was severely weakened due to the April 2016 four-day war, with further complications due to Azerbaijan asserting its military prowess through a build-up in its exclave of Nakhichevan. This military build-up in Nakhichevan has led to Armenia becoming a more hesitant partner in the OSCE mediation efforts. Continue reading “Azerbaijan’s Militarization and the Status of Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic”

Armenian monuments stand tall in Harvard photo exhibit

Consider the beautiful khatchkars: they started out standing proud and tall. Majestic, detailed, ornate. They began to lean, looking weaker, until finally they were cracked, buried and demolished – leaving the heart of Armenia’s culture, its religion, its very people, broken.

This is what the photo exhibit, Armenian Monuments of the Nakhichevan Region, by Argam Ayvazian and Steven Sim, reveals to its visitors. Panel after panel fill the Concourse Gallery corridors at Harvard with pictures of patterned pottery, rock drawings, tombstones, churches, and of course, khatchkars, or cross-stones.

by Yvette k. Harpootian
November 10, 2007
The Armenian Reporter

Download the PDF: Nakhichevan Exhibition, The Armenian Reporter