Armenia must demand Azerbaijan stop attacking its churches in Nagorno-Karabakh

In recent weeks, there have been reports claiming that Armenia and Azerbaijan are on the cusp of inking a peace deal that would finally bring an end to their decades-old conflict over the disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh).

While peace in the South Caucasus should be welcomed, Armenia must demand Azerbaijan end its ongoing campaign of cultural erasure of Armenian churches, monasteries, khachkars (cross-stone monuments), and other religious sites that have stood in the region for thousands of years as a condition for any peace agreement. In the wake of Azerbaijan's ethnic cleansing of more than 120,000 Armenians from their ancestral homeland of Artsakh, the threat of wiping out their entire existence from this area remains today. According to a recent report from Reuters and The Museum of the Bible, an estimated 400 Armenian churches and other religious sites have been under attack and are in danger of being defaced or outright destroyed.

As the first nation to adopt Christianity in 301 AD, Armenia's identity and culture have been closely defined by its Christian faith, which makes these historical symbols so important to its survival as a people. Christianity has sustained Armenians throughout their painful history, which has been marked by widespread persecution and mass suffering over hundreds of years. That history includes the first genocide of the 20th century when more than 1.5 million Armenians were systematically exterminated by the Ottoman Turks, an event that both Turkey and Azerbaijan deny to this day.

That is why preserving these religious sites should be a precondition for any lasting peace between the two countries. By respecting and honoring that history, Azerbaijan would send a message that they truly want peace with Armenia. However, all signs show Azerbaijan heading in the opposite direction.

Taking a page out of the authoritarian playbook, Azerbaijan's petro-dictator Ilham Aliyev used the pretext of historical revisionism to launch his unprovoked war against Armenians living in Artsakh in 2020. Claiming that large parts of Armenia's territory were Azerbaijan's "historical lands," he embarked on a controversial campaign to restore Armenian churches and religious sites to their "original" form. What that form means was not initially clear, but we now know that the complete destruction and evisceration of these sites was Azerbaijan's original intent.

Under the guise of restoration, Azerbaijan dismantled the iconic Ghazanchetsots Cathedral in Shushi soon after taking over the city. The cathedral was a symbol of Armenian existence in the region. Later, more images from the city surfaced — occupying Azeri forces razed an Armenian genocide memorial. And recent satellite imagery shows Azerbaijan's destruction of Armenian religious and cultural sites continues unabated, including the destruction of the 177-year-old St. John the Baptist church in Sushi, and the demolition of the St. Ascencion Church in Berdzor and the entire village of Karintak, where a mosque is currently under construction where the town once stood.

Despite the overwhelming evidence of a cultural genocide taking place, Azerbaijan continues to deny any culpability in the desecration of these religious sites. They have even ignored the International Court of Justice's (ICJ) November order calling Azerbaijan to "take all necessary measures to prevent and punish acts of vandalism and desecration affecting Armenian cultural heritage, including but not limited to churches and other places of worship, monuments, landmarks, cemeteries and artefacts."

In the summer of 2019, Armenians had the foresight to think ahead a year before the war in Artsakh broke out. Students from the TUMO Center for Creative Technologies produced a 3D scanning project of the Dadivank Armenian monastery, which was built between the 9th and 13th centuries. The students wanted to leverage the power of technology to bring one of the most important sites in Armenian history to life for people around the world to see while educating them about Armenia's rich culture and presence in the region. Little did they realize that their efforts would soon turn into a preservation campaign. With the region and monastery now in the hands of Azerbaijan, the students' scan of Dadivank might be the only sign keeping Armenia's legacy alive as Azerbaijan continues to rewrite history.

Still, there is a significant difference between a digital record and a physical place of worship. That is why it is so important that these Armenian religious and cultural institutions that have weathered earthquakes and wars stay intact. In many ways, Azerbaijan's belligerence and aggression go beyond a piece of land or sovereignty. It is a form of religious persecution that spreads across borders and needs to stop immediately.

It is hard to take Azerbaijan at face value when it says it wants peace with Armenia, while simultaneously trying to erase Armenia's religious and cultural identity. For a country that claims to tolerate various religious backgrounds and coexistence, Azerbaijan has a long way to go. They can start by making the preservation of Armenian religious and cultural sites in Artsakh a priority. Anything short of that should be a dealbreaker for any lasting peace.

Originally published in Newsweek.