Scholars, professors from universities, and academies from Italy, Spain, France, Switzerland, Belgium and the US have appealed to the Italian government to make the necessary efforts to avoid the eradication of the millenary Armenian presence in Nagorno-Karabakh “as happened in Turkey after the 1915 genocide”, to take action for a peaceful solution in the region “in respect of self-determination.”
They also urge the Italian authorities to intervene to prevent the destruction of Armenian monuments in the territories occupied by Azerbaijan as it happened in Nakhijevan.
In an open letter they express concern that “despite the deployment of Russian troops, there is a real risk that the millennial Armenian physical and cultural presence could be erased forever from Nagorno-Karabakh as happened in Turkey after the 1915 genocide and in the Nakhichevan region, where in recent decades the entire Armenian cultural heritage has been destroyed by the Azerbaijani authorities.
The open letter launched by a group of Armenian scholars is addressed to the President of the Republic, the President of the Council of Ministers, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the presidents of the Senate and Chamber Foreign Commissions and the Vatican Secretary of State.
“As scholars of Armenian culture, but also as Italian and European citizens, we therefore ask the authorities of our country to engage with the international community in order to reach a political solution that recognizes the Armenians’ right to live in this territory in complete safety and with respect for their self-determination.”
