Azerbaijani authorities start misappropriation of We Are Our  Mountains monument 

ArmInfo.The Azerbaijani authorities have begun the process of appropriating the monument "We  are our mountains" (Grandfather and Grandmother) in occupied Artsakh.

According to Monument Watch, which monitors the cultural heritage of  Artsakh, several days ago the Azerbaijani website Culture of  Azerbaijan distributed a statement about the monument "We are our  mountains", which states that it was built in the "Azerbaijani city  of Khankendi" (Stepanakert) in 1967 and is "one of the many examples  of multicultural and national-religious tolerance of Azerbaijan." 

"It is well known that the mentioned monument is one of the modern  symbols of Armenian Artsakh and was created as a sign and symbol of  the Armenian identity of this corner. The elderly married couple with  a traditional image and appearance became evidence of the historical  past and future hopes of the Artsakh Armenians. Hopes that are today  shattered as a result of the anti-Armenian policy of Azerbaijan. The  sculptor of the monument, which was created from red tuff specially  brought from Armenia, is Sarkis Baghdasaryan, and the architect is  Yuri Hakobyan.

The sculptor described his work as follows: "The monument represents  an elderly Artsakh spouses in traditional costumes, shoulder to  shoulder, with a proud and unyielding look and a serious gaze. The  monument has no pedestal, and it seems as if they came out of the  ground and stood, firmly resting their feet on the Armenian soil on  this hill," the Organization recalled. 

It is further noted that after the complete occupation of Artsakh,  the official Azerbaijani side practically did not touch this monument  for a long time, which is the most striking and famous symbol of the  Artsakh Armenians, and the Azerbaijani media representatives who  visited occupied Stepanakert did not touch it and "did not notice" it  either. Only some media outlets expressed the opinion that it should  be demolished.

"At the end of 2023, rare publications began to appear in which it  was mentioned that the Armenians had "armenianized" the monument. The  Azerbaijani side tried to spread the thesis that they were not  against the monument, but against its "ideological nationalist  interpretation." 

From the Azerbaijani publications, one can conclude that in the  Soviet years, any manifestation of the history, culture and roots of  Armenians in the NKAO was considered "nationalist," the project  added. It is noted that the theses are used to assign the monument  that it was built in the Soviet years with money from Baku, is  Azerbaijani, and is also an indicator of the tolerance of the  Azerbaijani authorities towards Armenians during the USSR.

"We consider it necessary to note that the idea of the monument was  brought to life in those years with the direct participation of the  Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Regional Council of  Nagorno- Karabakh Mushegh Oganjanyan. The leadership of Soviet  Azerbaijan was against the construction of the monument and its  installation. 

Moreover, a complaint was filed and they demanded that it be  dismantled. A special commission of the Central Committee of the  Communist Party of Azerbaijan arrived in Stepanakert to find out what  "we" and what "mountains" were referred to in the monument "We are  our mountains". Thanks to the efforts of the Armenian side, it was  possible to save the monument from dismantling," Monument Watch  recalled. 

"Azerbaijan's policy towards the monument is an attempt to  appropriate heritage, when not only is there a separation from  Armenian identity, but also an image of a multicultural and tolerant  country is being created for Azerbaijan. With such a policy,  Azerbaijan violates the UN Convention on the Protection and Promotion  of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions adopted in Paris in 2005.  The convention mentions the importance of cultural diversity as a  driving force for the sustainable development of societies, peoples  and nations. According to Article 2 of the UN Convention, the  protection of cultural diversity is possible only when human rights  and fundamental freedoms are guaranteed," Monumentwatch.org  summarizes.