Armenia’s response to Azerbaijan’s recent vandalistic destruction of hundreds of medieval Armenian cross-stones and the decision of converting Baku’s Armenian church to a library is surprising. Armenia’s government allocated 2 mln 308 thousand drams (5,100 USD) on 4 May 2006 to register and document the existence of Azerbaijani cemeteries and historic-cultural monuments (though these are not too many) on the territories of the Republics of Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh.

Of course the move is political, and of course the decision wants to show the international community that Armenia is not like Azerbaijan. But I wish Azerbaijanis at least wanted to pretend that they are not destroying Armenian monuments. The reality is far worse. Azerbaijan’s government does not even acknowledge the existence (well, perhaps not any more?!) of thousands of Armenians monuments in the territory of the Republic of Azerbaijan, let alone the need to register or preserve those.

I so hope that the war between the two countries does not restart. But if it starts, the one good outcome will be (hopefully) the persecution of Azerbaijani officials who are directly responsible for the destruction of Azerbaijan’s Armenian heritage.

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