A century after the Armenian massacre of Agulis (Nakhijevan), Armenia is more than determined to protect and secure the right of existence and peaceful development of the Armenian people in its historic homeland, including in Artsakh, Spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Anna Naghdalyan said in a statement.
A century ago, from December 24 to December 25, 1919, the peaceful Armenian population of Agulis was massacred, and this ancient Armenian settlement of Nakhichevan became a ruin.
The Government of the First Republic of Armenia, in response to these pogroms, appealed to the international community, and in particular to the Entente countries, to prevent violence in its territory and to ensure the safety of the Armenians in the region.
“Unfortunately, the crimes against Nakhichevan Armenians were not limited to the history of the 20th century, but found new manifestation in our day when the Azeri authorities carried out the systematic and mass destruction of the Armenian cultural heritage,” she added.
As a result, thousands of Christian monuments were completely destroyed, including churches, monasteries and khachkars in Jugha, Agulis and elsewhere.
“The destruction of thousands of khachkars in Jugha, considered to be the masterpieces of medieval Christian art, by the Azeri military, is documented in video footage, and will remain an unparalleled manifestation of cultural atrocities in world history,” the Spokesperson continued.
“Today, hundreds of years after these tragic events, Armenia is more than determined to protect and secure the right of existence and peaceful development of the Armenian people in its historic homeland, including in Artsakh,” Naghdalyan concluded.
