Denying the Undeniable

Despite the existence of photographs and videotapes testifying to the recent destruction of the Christian headstones in Nakhichevan, Azerbaijani officials are “dismissing” the “Armenian claims.”

BakuToday, an Azerbaijani newspaper, reports on 27 December 2005, “Azeri officials have dismissed Armenians’ claims on the alleged destruction of Armenian graves at an old cemetery of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, saying that these statements simply target misleading the international community.”

The common denialist tactic of “we did it – but you did it too” is in use again with fabricated stories

The “Armenian claims” are video and photo documents showing Azerbaijani soldiers destroying the ancient Christian headstones of Old Julfa (Hin Jugha) in Nakhichevan. Photographs from the mid-December (2005) destruction are available at the Web site of the Catholicosate of Cilicia (http://www.cathcil.org/v04/doc/Photos/Pictures109.htm). The video, taped by the Armenian Prelacy of Iran at the Iranian-Azerbaijani border, is available at www.azerivandalism.cjb.net (smaller file); the same file (clearer view, but larger file) is available at www.julfa.cjb.net.

The eyewitness reports and documents brought to our attention indicate that on December 15, 2005 some 100 Azerbaijani soldiers, armed with heavy equipment, broke into the Old Jugha ( Julfa ) Cemetery, and engaged in barbaric destruction of its centuries-old Armenian khachkars ( headstones ).

The old Cemetery of Julfa is known to specialists to have housed as many as 10,000 of these intricately carved khachkar headstones, up to 2,000 of which were still intact after an earlier outbreak of vandalism on the same site in 2002. Eyewitness accounts of the ongoing demolition indicate at the organized nature of the operation, qualifying it as cleansing.

– from the letter of the U.S. Congressmen to the Azerbaijani Ambassador

The Azerbaijani officials did not respond to the destruction until two U.S. Congressmen, Joe Knollenberg and Frank Pallone, Jr., sent a letter to Ambassador Pashayev of Azerbaijan on 22 December 2005. The letter urged the Azerbaijani government “to halt the ongoing vandalism in Julfa’s Old Cemetery immediately.”

The Azerbaijani government, nevertheless, is not “simply” saying that the last remains of the ancient Armenian cemetery of Old Julfa were not destroyed. The common denialist tactic of “we did it – but you did it too” is in use again with fabricated stories: on 26 December 2005, as PanArmenian.net informs, “Azeri media reported alleged destruction of an over one thousand years old [Azerbaijani] Agadede sanctuary 10 km away from Yerevan [in Armenia].”

By Simon Maghakyan

Back in 1998, genocide scholar Katherine Bischoping said: “The future of Holocaust denial may be foreshadowed by the persistent denial of the Armenian genocide.”

While the Republic of Turkey denies the Armenian genocide and calls for a “joint commission” to investigate the “events,” another Muslim country steps in to establish “int'l committee to clarify Holocaust.”

Haaretz reports, “An Iranian official on Friday called for the establishment of a committee to clarify the real extent of the Holocaust, the news agency Fars reported.”

A Turkish Terrorist Group, Called Akhaltsikhe Liberation Brigade (ALB), Has Threatened the Armenians of Georgia with Genocide Again

ALB has issued a video to distribute among the Armenians and Russians of Georgia. PanArmenian.net describes the video, "Four members of the Brigade against a background of Turkish flag have read an address to the Armenians and Russians residing in the town of Akhaltsikhe of the Armenian-populated Samtskhe Javakhetia region of Georgia. The address maintains the demand to Armenians and Russians to leave Akhaltsikhe immediately and go to Armenia, Russia or America otherwise the brigade members will eliminate the Armenian population of the region. 'All who stand in our way will die. We will not allow mentioning of you here. The land of Akhaltsikhe will become ours soon. All who don’t hear us now will regret they were born. Leave your property for us and run. You and your ancestors should remember the year of 1915 (the Armenian Genocide). Russians will not help you. Their time is up on our land. We have warned you, this is our last warning. Go and live or stay and die,' the address says. After reading the address, the brigade members shouting out Allah Akbar burnt the flags of Armenia, Russia and the U.S."

Earlier, on 12 October 2005, the same group posted leaflets calling upon Armenians to live their homes in Georgia, “Otherwise you will be subjected to Genocide like your ancestors in 1915."

One of the main regions of Georgia, Javakhk (Javakheti), is populated by Armenians and has been part of historic Armenia.

The leaflet in Russian

(Translation from Russian)

Time for Revenge has Arrived

Armenians of Akhaltsikhe! We are coming! Whoever stands up against us will die!
For thousands of years you are poisoning the air of our lands.
Get the hell out of our land to your Armenia, Russia, America – wherever you want. We will not tolerate here even a memory about you. Do not try to stand up against the will of the all-mighty [Allah].
Soon, the land of Akhaltsikhe will again be ours; who does not listen to this now will regret they were born.
Disloyal dogs, leave property to us and run away fast: your ancestors remember 1915 [the genocide].
Russians will not help you; their presence in our land is also timed; their sold hyenas, Armenians, you also get the hell out of here!
Know that the time of paying for our insulsts is close: [so] hurry up and do not be mistaken! Go and live, or stay and die.

Brigade for the Liberation of Akhaltsikhe

Joe Knollenberg (R-MI) and Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) sent a joint letter to Ambassador Pashayev of Azerbaijan expressing their concern over the reported destruction of Armenian monuments in the medieval cemetery of Julfa, Nakhichevan of the Azerbaijan Republic on December 15, 2005.

The full text of the letter to Azerbaijani Ambassador Hafiz Pashayev:

December 22, 2005

The Honorable Hafiz M. Pashayev
Ambassador
Embassy of Azerbaijan
2741 34th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20008

Dear Ambassador Pashayev,

As Co-Chairs of the Congressional Caucus on Armenian Issues, we are writing to express our grave concern and indignation regarding the reported destruction of the historically and architecturally significant Armenian monuments in the medieval cemetery of Julfa, Nakhichevan of the Azerbaijan Republic.

The eyewitness reports and documents brought to our attention indicate that on December 15, 2005 some 100 Azerbaijani soldiers, armed with heavy equipment, broke into the Old Jugha ( Julfa ) Cemetery, and engaged in barbaric destruction of its centuries-old Armenian khachkars ( headstones ).

The old Cemetery of Julfa is known to specialists to have housed as many as 10,000 of these intricately carved khachkar headstones, up to 2,000 of which were still intact after an earlier outbreak of vandalism on the same site in 2002. Eyewitness accounts of the ongoing demolition indicate at the organized nature of the operation, qualifying it as cleansing.

Azerbaijan, as a member of the international community, has national responsibilities within the United Nations, the OSCE, the Council of Europe and other relevant international frameworks to preserve the cultural and historical heritage in its custody. Persistent vandalism in Azerbaijan against monuments representing our common cultural heritage advises us and the international community concerned on your Government’s deliberate ignorance of its responsibilities in that regard. Such practice runs against the basic norms of civilized conduct of nations, and undermines the US and international efforts toward achieving greater stability and security in the region.

We therefore urge your Government to halt the ongoing vandalism in Julfa’s Old Cemetery immediately. We further urge the preparation and presentation of a documented report on the damage caused to the architectural ensemble as a result of the latest violence, to lead to measures in remedy of the situation. We also call upon your Government to cooperate with the international and expert community toward developing a program of action that would enhance the protection and preservation of this endangered treasure of world cultural heritage, and prevent the occurrence of any further violence.

We look forward to reviewing progress in this regard on a periodic basis.

Sincerely,

Joe Knollenberg
Frank Pallone, Jr.

Despite Undeniable Evidence, the World Continues to Ignore the Various Acts of Cultural Genocide Perpetrated Against the Oldest Christian Civilization

The destruction of the Armenian stone crosses (khachkars) by the Azerbaijani government has been ignored by the international community. A few days ago, a group of 200 Azerbaijani soldiers destroyed the remnants, of the few surviving architectural treasures of Old Jougha, a 400-year-old Armenian cemetery located in Nakhichevan (now, a part of Azerbaijan). Back in 1648, some 10,000 khachkars at the 1,600 square meter site of the Old Jugha cemetery were recorded, many as old as the 8th century. Thousands of Armenian graves were destroyed here in 2002 by the Azerbaijani government, vandalism which was ignored by the world.

In recent decades, Armenian culture has undergone an array of vandalism, yielding an immunity, which the world has developed as a response. Nearly every successive day, an act of cultural genocide against the Armenian civilization occurs in the neighboring countries of Armenia, excluding Iran. Armenian churches and stone crosses suddenly “become” Georgian in Georgia; in Turkey, there is not much left to destroy (over 2000 churches and cathedrals were ruined during the Armenian genocide in 1915), but a few surviving monuments are still being converted to Mosques or to secular buildings; in Azerbaijan, the Armenian monuments are either being wiped out or becoming “Albanian,"; let alone Russia, where Armenian cemeteries are being desecrated.

Many acts of cultural genocide against the Armenian culture have been documented, but now the world has a video to look at: A “hot action” that displays Azerbaijani soldiers erasing the last memories of the Armenian past in Nakhichevan.

www.Blogian.cjb.net is watching the latest developments on the cultural genocide against the Armenian heritage in Nakhichevan.

The 30-second video can be downloaded by visiting http://azerivandalism.cjb.net/ and clicking on “Click here to download file '14dec2005.wpl.' ” The same video is also available through http://clips1.vimeo.com/video_files/2005/1…vimeo.37011.wmv (larger file). The Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia has posted clear photographs of the vandalism at its website: http://www.cathcil.org/v04/doc/Photos/Pictures109.htm. Archival photographs from the destruction in 2002 are available at http://raa.am/Magazine/FR_set_E_Exhib.htm.

© www.Blogian.cjb.net

Exclusive Cultural Genocide Video

www.Blogian.cjb.net has made it possible to download the 30-second documentary showing the recent destruction of the Christian monuments in Azerbaijan.

Haylur broadcasted on 16 December 2005 a video, which shows Azerbaijani soldiers destroying Armenian stone-crosses in Old Jougha (at the Azerbaijani-Iranian border). The video, provided by the Armenian prelacy in Iran, reveals the attempt of the Azerbaijani government to erase every trace of the Armenian memory in Nakhichevan, a historic Armenian region that was annexed to Soviet Azerbaijan by Russian dictator J. Stalin’s order.

“Almost 100 Azerbaijani servicemen penetrated the Armenian cemetery near Nakhichevan at the bank of the Araks [Aras] River and using sledgehammers and other tools, began to crush Armenian graves and crosses, that were saved by a miracle in the attacks of 2002,” the Armenian prelacy told Regnum, a Russian news agency.

Old Jougha was a famous Armenian cemetery with hundreds of years old stone-crosses (khachkars). The cemetery included tens of thousands of stone-crosses, each of them a unique architectural monument. A few years ago the Azerbaijani government destroyed most of the Armenian monuments of Old Jougha, but stopped the vandalism after UNESCO’s protest. As of now, no international organization has protested the recent vandalism.

www.Blogian.cjb.net, a Blog network based at www.Hayastan.com, has received the video reportage from the Armenian prelacy of Iran, and has made it possible for Internet users to download it. In order to download the 30-second video showing the destruction, go to http://azerivandalism.cjb.net/ and click on “Click here to download file "14dec2005.wpl.”

Breaking UPDATE:

The video is also available at http://clips1.vimeo.com/video_files/2005/1…vimeo.37011.wmv (larger file).

For more and larger photographs of the destruction, visit http://www.cathcil.org/v04/doc/Photos/Pictures109.htm

Associated Press (AP) photographer Hakob Berberyan took this photo on 16 December, 2005 in Armenia.

AP describes, "A tree rises above the Noravank Canyon, which is rich with rare flora, fruits, springs and different animals, in southern Armenia, Friday, Dec. 16, 2005. The canyon is well known because of its ancient Noravank monastery complex."

Another Armenian champion this year……
Now in Chess

Remember I once wrote that this year Armenians are going crazy? Well, I thought Arthur Abraham becoming box champion was the last crazyness that Armenians did this year. Well, I was wrong…. Today, Levon Aronian won the World Chess Cup!!!

Rediff reports on 17 December 2005 "Former World junior champion Levon Aronian of Armenia comprehensively defeated former World champion Ruslan Ponomariov of Ukraine 2-0 in the tie-break games of the final to annex the World Chess Cup that concluded in Khanty Mansiysk, Russia, on Saturday."

The paper goes on to say, "The superiority of the Armenian can be gauged by the simple fact that he was stretched to the tie-breaker only twice — once in round four against Spanish hope Francisco Vallejo Pons and next in the finals against Ponomariov.

Besides, Aronian won all the two mini-matches under normal time control games. The success rate of the Armenian was phenomenal as he won as many as seven out of 14 games under normal time control and drew the remaining. "

Aronian took home $80,000 for winning the game!

A proud son of Armenia, representing his mother country.

The Spoof published an interesting commentary on Orhan Pamuk's trial for recognizing the Armenian genocide. The article, written by Ponderous Oaf, tells of a hypothetical meeting where the world leaders argue there is no such a country as Turkey.

*Disclaimer for Turkish nationalists: take a deep breath before reading this.

Published on 17 December 2005, the story tells:

An investigatory committee has been formed to produce evidence of Turkey’s history and existence.

“It’s really quite simple,” said Kofi Annan. “If the Armenian Genocide did not happen, then there’s a strong likelihood that Turkey never happened. We’re going to use the same level of investigatory diligence and scholarship that Turkey has used in investigating the Armenian genocide, and find out if we’ve had an imposter in the UN all these years. If what we suspect is true, we believe that there’s a huge land mass in the middle east that’s for sale. Israel is apparently very interested.”

wait a minute. where is Turkey?

Cultural genocide of Armenian monuments continues in Nakhichevan

Regnum Russian News Agency
16:53 12/15/2005

Read it in Russian

“Almost 100 Azerbaijani servicemen penetrated the Armenian cemetery near Nakhichevan at the bank of the Araks River and using sledgehammers and other tools, began to crush Armenian graves and crosses, that were saved by a miracle in the attacks of 2002,” the Armenian Embassy in Iran, citing the Armenian Eparchy of the Iran province of Atropatena informed the press.

According to the source, “this fact is another step of the Azerbaijani government, aimed at distortion of history and liquidation of the Armenian traces in the territory of Nakhichevan. According to the embassy’s report, the Armenian monuments and graves in this region continue to be the subject of planned acts of vandalism by Azerbaijanis. In the light of these actions, spiritual leaders of three Armenian eparchies express their indignation and address the international community, international institutions such as UNESCO, to help prevent another cultural genocide by Azerbaijan.”