Caucasus Muslims Office labels Echmiadzin Church claims as disinformation

The statement by the Echmiadzin Church regarding the demolition of two illegal structures in the Azerbaijani city of Khankendi is disinformation and an expression of hostility, the Caucasus Muslims Office (CMO) stated.

In a statement issued by the CMO regarding the matter, this move was described as an unsuccessful attempt to politicise the issue, Caliber.Az reports.

“At a sensitive time when the normalization process between the two countries is underway, baseless accusations against Azerbaijan by Echmiadzin, which has remained silent about the destruction and insult of historical, religious and cultural monuments of Azerbaijan for decades during the occupation, is a failed attempt to politicize the issue.

The demolition of two buildings illegally constructed in Khankendi during the occupation of Azerbaijan’s territories cannot be distorted in any way as the destruction of religious or cultural heritage. Thus, after Azerbaijan fully restored state sovereignty over its territories in 2023, it has maintained these illegal buildings, which are symbols of the occupation, in their existing state throughout this period.

However, in recent months, former internally displaced persons who have returned to their homelands in large numbers have repeatedly appealed to state bodies and local courts to demolish all structures that did not exist in these territories before the occupation. It is known that, according to international humanitarian law, structures built by an occupying power in an occupied territory without consent are considered illegal, regardless of their purpose, and, as a rule, must be demolished at the expense of the occupying power. For this reason, there is both a legal and moral basis for the demolition of all structures that were subsequently illegally built in these territories, where Azerbaijanis were killed and expelled during the First Garabagh War.

It should be noted that Azerbaijan is one of the rare countries where mosques, churches and synagogues are located side by side, which demonstrates the deep-rooted culture of religious tolerance and respect for all religions by our people. For centuries, places of worship and communities of various religions, including Orthodox, Catholic and Jewish, have operated freely in Azerbaijan. Today, faithful to this tradition, Azerbaijan is restoring at its own expense religious and cultural monuments that were destroyed and desecrated during the occupation. Among these, it is worth highlighting the recent restoration of the (Armenian) Gazanchi Church in Shusha, as well as the state protection of the Armenian Church in Baku throughout the conflict,” Caucasus Muslims Office said.

The statement concluded that attempts by Echmiadzin to distort realities in Azerbaijan serve only to undermine regional peace efforts and should be stopped.

By Jeyhun Aghazada