OIC delegation visits Ganja UPDATED

A delegation of the Independent Permanent Commission on Human Rights of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) arrived in Ganja.

The members of the delegation visited the neighbourhoods destroyed by the Armenian armed forces' rocket fire on Ganja and were informed about the war crimes committed against civilians during the 44-day war, Trend reports. 

It was noted that the Armenian armed forces violated the norms and principles of international law and the Geneva Convention of 1949 by deliberately targeting the civilian population of Azerbaijan by shelling residential houses with heavy artillery.

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At the invitation of Ombudsman Sabina Aliyeva, a delegation led by Chairman of the Independent Permanent Commission on Human Rights of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Muhammed Lawal Sulaiman will visit Ganja.

The delegation will visit the territories affected by the Armenian armed forces' missile attacks and will conduct monitoring at the facilities there, APA reports.

It is envisaged to familiarise with the reconstruction works carried out in those territories. It is also planned to visit Victory Park and hold a meeting with the victims of Armenian terror.

Earlier, the delegation also visited the liberated Fuzuli and Aghdam districts.

Armenians have destroyed virtually all religious and historical monuments in the previously occupied territories of Azerbaijan during the 30-year occupation. Some 65 out of 67 mosques were destroyed, Aghdam's Juma mosque was partially preserved due to its use by the Armenian armed forces for military purposes, and the Yukhari Govhar Agha Mosque in Shusha was presented as a "Persian" mosque after the so-called reconstruction.

Along with humanitarian terror, Armenia committed systematic vandalism against Azerbaijani cultural heritage in Karabakh by erasing historical Azerbaijani toponyms, destroying hundreds of historical and cultural monuments, mosques, and other shrines, desecrating religious values, misappropriating ancient Albanian churches, and presenting them as Armenian.

Nearly 900 cemeteries in the liberated lands were completely destroyed, tombstones were broken, and graves were excavated with the remains desecrated. For the past 30 years, Azerbaijani citizens have been denied the right to visit their loved ones' graves.

Armenia committed ethnic-cultural genocide as well as ethnic cleansing against Azerbaijanis. There were no Azerbaijanis left in Armenia as a result of the mass deportation of Azerbaijanis from their ancestral lands in the early 20th century. Over 250,000 Azerbaijanis were expelled from their native lands and became refugees as a result of the final deportation in 1988 alone.

By pursuing a policy of both ethnic and cultural genocide, Armenia has purposefully erased all traces of Azerbaijanis, the historical and ancient residents of these territories, plundered, destroyed, embezzled, and distorted the Azerbaijani people's cultural legacy. At the same time, ancient place names in these areas were changed to Armenian ones.