From Crosses to Bulls’ Eyes: The Destruction of the Armenian Khachkars
While the rest of the world has been preoccupied with the death of Milosevich, another government no less destructive than that of Slobo has been quietly and shamelessly busy in eliminating the cultural traces of Armenians from the lands they came to occupy due to the rapproachment of the Soviet government with that of Ataturk’s Turkey. The land in question is Nakhijevan, now under Azeri occupation, and the artefacts are the centuries old Armenian Christian cross-stones which represent elaborate and beautiful carvings of crosses on rocks and stones going back centuries. Some time ago a number of representatives of the Armenian Church in Tehran had videotaped the destruction of the khachkars, as they are known in Armenian, and made it available here, and now the Foreign Ministry of Armenia has released some photos documenting the aftermath of the destruction effectively turning the grounds of those artefacts into a shooting range, I am sure where the Azeri Turks will learn how to shoot Armenian Christians because it does not make sense to have built the shooting range in the first place. And all this without a shred of indignation from the world community, note the reaction to the destruction of the Buddha statues in Afghanistan and the destruction of the Jewish cemetery in Minsk, Belarus. As some bloggers have asked, how are the Armenians to believe in the “good will” of the Turk and the Azeri geovernments when a cultural destruction of all things Armenian is still going on in the 21-st century no less, and not in the backwaters of a Siberian swamp but in a country that claims American and European support? This is beyond me.
Here are some pictures of the khachkars before, during, and after their destruction. Viewers’ discretion is advised.
Filed under: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Current News
My friend, these acts are done by governments, not individual Azeris. Without government support these cross-stones would’ve been left intact as they were for many a year. To draw such conclusions about “Turks” and Azeris based on this event is racist. Moreover, stopping short of condemning the West for ignoring the destruction of the cross-stones while regularly protesting against the destruction of anything Jewish is the root of the problem. The West has adopted double standards, and it is these double standards that need to be criticized, instead of destructive comments and racist stereotyping of “Turks” and Azeris. There is a huge problem with double standards, and it proves the hypocrisy of the West. For example, the Jews are up in arms over the construction of a stadium on the site of a Jewish cemetary, yet they are silent on the construction of a “tolerance” museum on the site of a centuries-old Palestinian cemetary. In fact the whole world is silent on this, the media is silent on this, the Jews are silent on this, the cultural and historical preservationists are silent on this. Now imagine me drawing conclusions about Jews based on the actions of the Israeli government and the silence of the Jews to this act…. What would world reaction be? What would your reaction be?
Firstly read this (http://www.khojaly.org.az) than think about why Azeries behave like this…
Freedom, you should know well that I am not drawing conclusions about the Turk or the Azeri, but I have noted their governments. Plus if there are dissenting voices in Azerbaijan or in Turkey about the cultural destruction that is still going on, I have not heard them, not because they are not loud enough but because they are not there for whatever reason, (intimidation, fear for one’s life etc.), which may or may not be good enough excuse for these sort of things. I have heard dissent on the issue of the Genocide and only in Turkey and by a handful of Turks outside it, but nothing about these things. The destruction of hundreds of years old monuments to erase history and memory is the real racism, as it is Orwellian, and I think you should point the racist stick at them rather than at me. And incidentally the world thinks of Jews as racists and not because of Israeli politics, which is a heavensent for the anti-Jews and Israel’s actions are a convenient starting point for attacks on all things Jewish, and Israeli politics just provide that one small shred of legitimacy that such attacks inherently lack.
Am I blasted mad about the “Museum of Tolerance”? You bet I am. I am also doubly mad at the khachkar destruction because it is my heritage that is being systematically and relentlessly detroyed in Azerbaijan as in Turkey, and my churches that have been desecrated, it is the memory of my grandparents who barely survived the Genocide in the deserts that is being molested, and if I am guilty of feeling so strongly about these issues than let it be, but to tell me I am racist… Ohhh, dear. I can be raving mad, I can be deranged, and I do have a beef with their respective governments for changing truth for lies big and small, but please, please do not tell me I am racist not knowing anything or very little about me.
And Wasatime, I have read the site you point me to, many many times, I assure you more than you could even comprehend, and have come to like especially the parts where the Armenians are the thieves, the slaves, and rats of the world.
I understand your anger, but Armenians are also silent on the systematic destruction of Azeri Mosques in Nagorno-Karabakh (been there, there was no trace of even the remnants of the destroyed Mosques), and I am sure that the governments of Armenia or Nagorno-Karabakh would not jail someone who criticizes this. So where are all the critical voices? I would like to see you dedicate one post on that. I would be very happy if you did. I would also be very happy if you dedicated a post on Khojaly massacre, which DID happen.
I will not. We all know that Armenian troops did commit crimes in reaction to the crimes of the Azeri troops in a tit for tat. But you seem to imply that the crimes of the Armenian troops were somehow committed in a vacuum, which is patently false and misleading. In no way do I try to absolve these crimes, but what I want to say is that things in Karabakh were much more nuanced than you present. For a good starting point you may go to http://www.memo.ru/hr/hotpoints/karabah/GETASHEN/ENG/INDEX.HTM . Also for a detailed hour by hour account as to what and how it happened in Khojaly you may go to http://www.memo.ru/hr/hotpoints/karabah/Hojaly/index.htm if you read Russian, unfortunately the English site somehow lacks this particular document . About the desecrations you may go to http://oneworld.blogsome.com/2006/02/06/notes-from-the-armenian-blogosphere-3/#more-658 and Onnik knows much more about these sites tha any of us.
We all know that Armenian troops did commit crimes in reaction to the crimes of the Azeri troops in a tit for tat.
A war crime is a war crime, a massacre is a massacre. It makes no difference if it were in retaliation to something or not.
[...] In the Diaspora, The Artyom Reader sports a rather stylish new page design and, in addition to writing more on the destruction of Armenian stone crosses in the Azeri exclave of Nakhichevan, posts an update on the controversy surrounding a PBS Special on the Armenian Genocide. Michael Getler, the PBS ombudsman, has added his voice to the controversy surrounding the airing of The Armenian Genocide, a documentary detailing the massacres of the Armenians in the Ottoman Empire beginning in 1915, on public television. The controversy as you may have read in my previous posts like this one, is about the follow-up panel discussion by two noted genocide deniers and why would PBS, whose executives time and again have stated that the Armenian Genocide is a scholarly accepted fact and a historical reality, allow a panel in which some participants will seek to undercut the scholarly consensus on the inidsputability of the facts surrounding the genocide who have been proven be the hired pens of the Turkish governments with a long track record of being so? [...]
I have many times heard the argument that “yes, Armenians do just the same in regards to the Azerbaijani monuments.” OK, we are all humans, and Armenians are capable of doing what the Azerbaijani government does to them.
But here is the thing.
Freedom, please provide evidence for ONE AZERBAIJANI MONUMENT that Armenians have destroyed in Nagorno Karabakh or in Armenia. Azerbaijanis have provided some evidence before, about which you can read at http://forum.hayastan.com/index.php?automodule=blog&blogid=2&showentry=194.
Now, I am waiting an evidence from you.
Oh, another point on Azeris and Turks. Many Azeris get offended if you call them Azeris, Turks, Azerbaijanis (I don’t know what to call them).
They especially get angry when you call them Turks, but I don’t think they are genuine. Last weekend I was at an International festival, and the Turkish and Azerbaijani students had asked the speaker to state during the event that “Turkey and Azerbaijan are one nation, but two countries.” When the Azerbaijani girl danced, the above sentence was told to the crowd.
Blogian, there were three Mosques in Shushi/Shusha, now only 1 stands (partially destroyed). It is impossible that the other 2 have been destroyed by artillery fire so much that there is no trace of them. Ditto for Azeri schools and madrassahs. I was in Shushi/Shusha last summer. An Armenian man (Karabakhtsi) told me that they had deliberately destroyed those structures. Only the Persian Mosque was not destroyed, and that’s because they were afraid the Iranians would destroy Churches in Iran….
Your insinuation that Armenians have never destroyed any Azerbaijani structure is beyond unbelievable. It is ridiculous and racist. Your nationalism has made you so blind that you fail to see the wrongdoings of your own people. I really wish you would change this attitude. There should be more Armenians out there who have conscience and speak the truth irrespective of which ethnicity it is critical of.
Dear Freedom,
What exactly do you want Armenians to do? Remember that you are looking at a people that have suffered the loss of most of their ancestral homeland, as well as their populations. The genocides of 1895-96 and 1915-22, and the illegal Soviet treaties which further handed ancestral lands to the Turks and Azeris. And the continual economic devistation for which current day Turkey and Azerbaijan are responsible. And lets not forget the offensive stance they are taking on the genocide issue. The Armenians have and are being demoralized and oppressed from all angles.They are completely surrounded by terrible “governments” and know that they can lose their borders any day and from any angle. Armenians are still in survival mode and are suffering PTSD on a mass social scale.
Yes it is true that war crimes have been commited on both sides, as they are in every single war in humanity, but if you want Armenians to stand up an apologize, when for the first time they have taken a mammoth step to reverse all this injustice, then don’t hold your breath.
Freedom, it is not evidence telling me a story that a Karabakhtsi papik told you. Thus, I am waiting for a concrete evidence from you.
Also, I am not sure whether you see difference between a government destroying minority monuments and individual vandalism.
I did not say Armenians have never destroyed any Azerbaijani monuments (though I have not seen evidence for it). Armenians have destroyed Armenian monuments, why wouldn’t they also destroy Azerbaijani monuments? But there is a huge difference between a government sending an army to wipe out a medieval cemetery and a group of idiots vandalizing a cemetery.
On the “nationalist” note, I would highly advise you to get to know a person before labeling that person. And your overall tone reminds of the saying, “I have seen so much intolerance in favor of tolerance.”
Blogian, the guy who told me was relatively younger (mid-40s). Besides, I don’t know what age has to do with it. “Concrete evidence”? That’s similar to asking for “concrete evidence” on the Sumgait massacres and saying that if one does not present concrete evidence that it was a pogrom (as opposed to two-sided violence - and there were non-Armenian deaths too) then it is not…. I love the way nationalists twist and turn things to suit their exclusivist agendas.
By the way, these acts of destruction of Azerbaijani cultural and religious places was a deliberate act supported by the authorities of the NK, and they were supposed to “guarantee” that the Azeris would have “nothing to return to”.
Strong evidence, Freedom! You convinced me that I am the worst nationalist possible and that NK deliberately destroyed Azerbaijani monuments.
Freedom JAN:
If Armenians destroyed anything that belongs to the Turks then they didn’t do a good job— they need to destroy some more (that is besides the fact that Turks didn’t build those mosques in the first place since the only thing they can build is MUD HUTS) Nothing that belongs to savage enemies of the Armenians belongs on Holy Armenian soil. If Armenians killed any savages during the Kharabagh WAR then they did a good job–tsavut tanem Hyer!!! they need to kill a lot more because the less savages there are in this world the better for all humanity (this is all being said despite the fact that we should act like Christians and be nice nice towards everyone while ignorant idiots say whatever they want). Don’t forget that anything goes in war MR. FREEDOM especially if it is a war between life long enemies and a war where revenge is due. If Turks can massacre 1.5 million Armenians and deny genocide then what do Armenians have to be ashamed of for killing their enemy in a war???? Why don’y you get yourself out of la la land and stop talking nonsense Mr. FREEDOM( and whoever else supports Mr. FREEDOM)…Who the hell are you anyway??? Take your nose out of Armenian affairs because you are far from understanding anything that has to do with Armenians. Do us all a favor and stop wasting our time with your stupidity and your ignorance. If you like the Turks so much then you can go ……..(you can go fill in the rest for yourself) If you think Armenians are racists for the very little they have done then F………(you can figure out the rest)!!!!! You don’t have to tell an Armenian he/she is a racist MR. FREEDOM…We know we don’t like Turks and are not the least bit ashamed of it. So if you think you are hurting an Armenian by labeling him/her as a racist towards Turks then you are wasting your time buddy. In this case all Armenians are racists
and guess what???? No Armenian cares what you or some other random person has anything to say about it. So unless you have something else to say other than Armenians killed Turks in a war or that Armenians are racists/nationalists or that Armenians destroyed mosques that the Turks didn’t even build in the first place in their own lands where mosques are not accepted since it is a CHRISTIAN NATION (uff….run on sentence) then just keep your comments to yourself.
Jermoren (or in English especiall for you) Sincerely,
Mher
Getse Hayastan!!!!! Tsavut tanem Hyer!!!!
please no personal attacks on this site! i will take them off unconditionally! plain reasoning without insults will do.
iararat:
my apologies:
Nothing PERSONAL to Freedom. What I said is simply for people who think just like he does. After you hear so many people express comments such as Freedom you just get really angry and one day you say something unacceptable without realizing it or without caring much for it.
You know what? I am an Armenian, and I couldn’t care less about stone crosses being destroyed. What I do care about is our children–Armenian and Azeri alike–dying–killing each other for nothing more than nonsense.
We Armenians and Azeris are so proud, but we are truly small, narrow-minded people. Here, and everywhere else on the Internet, I read nothing but continual disagreement and finger pointing amongst the Azeris, Turks and Armenians–”You did this, you did that.”
Yes, I am an Armenian. Yes, I believe that there was a genocide. I also believe that if the the coin where turned, the Armenians would have been every bit as cruel to the Turks, if not worse. We Armenians aren’t so pure and clean as we believe we are. We can be as wretched and as wonderful as every other nation–including Azerbaijan and Turkey.
So, why can’t our people understand one simple fact–this hatred is KILLING our nations, our people. And the real tragedy is–we are brothers. We fail to see how much we have in common. We only look at our differences and our crimes upon each other.
It is enough!!! Instead of fighting, why doesn’t Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, all the Caucasus republic join together and form a union of states? Akin to the European Union, or in fact, The United States. Why can’t we do something so wonderful. It can’t be because of language, or religious reasons, or because of wars. The countries in Europe have had such differences. They had had histories of equal and worse violence than our two countries, and still, they show the sense to forge the E.U., cooling their emotions of the past and look instead, in a united way, towards their future.
Why are Europeans so smart to get together, and we are so dumb not to? Why can’t we follow their lead? Why can’t we do the same? Why can’t we unite? Why can’t we live and grow together? Why can’t we share? We are small, unimportant nations in the eyes of the word. But, if we unite as one, we could stand strong and compete in the world market. But no… instead we continue to banter, and argue, and wave our meaningless flags and our countries into oblivion. Common sense dictates: No one wins! If two men constantly made the same mistake, smashing their heads into each other, over and over, and over, what would you think of them? Would you think they as foolish? Dumb? Pitifully tragic figures? Well, we are those two men.
This isn’t working! This hatred makes our souls feel sick and putrid. Hatred, violence, continual argument has no positive aim. Instead of arguing, let’s join together! Build a U.C.S. United Caucasian States. Forget the past. Put the past in your back pocket, and instead build a future for all of our peoples–TOGETHER. I assure you, the way we are going will prove futile. With hatred, no one wins. It’s time our ancient cultures learn this lesson, just as the European nations have.