The UNESCO governance has been informed about the latest provocation by Armenia

On September 28, 2020, the Acting Permanent Delegate of the Republic of Azerbaijan to UNESCO Ayaz Gojayev, met with the Assistant Director-General for Priority Africa and External Relations of UNESCO Firmin Edouard Matoko.

At the meeting ADG was informed about the gross violation of the ceasefire regime by the Armenian armed forces in the morning of September 27, 2020, the shelling of Azerbaijani civilians and settlements, as well as, the attack on our military positions, resulted  the human and servicemen losses.

It was noted that in order to protect civilians, as well as to defend the territorial integrity and sovereignty of our country, the Azerbaijani army launched the anti-terrorist operations against the Armenian military forces, while Armenia targeted the civilian population of Azerbaijan. As a clear example, five members of a family, including two under-aged schoolchildren, were killed, and a large number of civilians were injured, their property was severely damaged.

At the same time, the true facts about the recent resettlement of Armenian families from Syria and Lebanon to our occupied territories, the relocation of the so-called regime's parliament to Shusha, the pearl of Azerbaijani culture, as well as the statements by Armenian Prime Minister and Defense Ministers undermining the negotiation process and the regularly targeted civilian population of Azerbaijan, were delivered to ADG.

"The main goal of UNESCO is to preserve the cultural heritage. Armenia is trying to erase the traces of Azerbaijanis in the region by destroying our cultural heritage in the occupied territories. The carpet factory in the Tartar region was deliberately fired upon by Armenian armed forces and as a result of it the factory was severely damaged. Taking into account the fact, that the traditional art of Azerbaijani carpet weaving is included to the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, it means the direct destruction of the world heritage. These facts should also concern UNESCO”, Ayaz Gojayev said.

There was underlined the necessity from the international organizations, including a close partner – UNESCO – to show a fair stance on the fact of Armenia’s military aggression against Azerbaijan and underlined that Azerbaijan expects a strong position from the international organizations, condemning Armenia's military attacks on our civilians.

The Assistant Director-General for Priority Africa and External Relations of UNESCO Firmin Edouard Matoko noted that he would deliver the information to the attention of the Director-General.