Cultural destruction, a genocide continued
Feb 1 2006
Excalibur Online (York University), Canada
by Raffi Sarkissian, Contributor
History leaves its tangible marks on our world through the remnants of architecture and artifacts, which become valuable information for individuals researching the social sciences. [...].
[...]. However, in certain circumstances, when these invaluable pieces of history lie in occupied or disputed territory, they are systematically destroyed and removed from the face of the earth in attempts to remove, along with them, the cultural and historical realities and pasts of certain regions. This is especially true when the country committing these acts of cultural genocide is working diligently to hide a historical truth.
[...]
On Dec. 15, 2005, about 100 Azeri servicemen were caught, photographed and videotaped by onlookers from the Iranian boarder, while they desecrated and destroyed a 400-year-old Armenian cemetery filled with hand carved traditional Armenian cross stones, the second of such attempts in the last three years.
[...]. These are treasures, which belongs as much to all of humanity as to the Armenians themselves. Churches dating back to the eight and ninth century have been sentenced to destruction and neglect, or converted to stables and or target practice locations.
The ancient city of Ani, today in Eastern Turkey, which was known for its 1,001 churches, is now barely marked by a handful of half destroyed churches. It is only a matter of time that these remnants too will be destroyed if serious action against this violence is not taken by the international community. [...].
[...]. As civilized human beings, we have learned to treat and respect the cultural, religious and ethnic diversity of this world with dignity, and we must not allow such forms of uncivilized and intentional destruction to occur. Destruction such as this [...] only furthers the ambitions of oppressive and genocidal governments.
Note: Above are excerpts from the article. The full article appears here. Clarifications and comments by me are contained in {}. Deletions are marked by [...]. The bold emphasis is mine.
Excalibur Online (York University), Canada
by Raffi Sarkissian, Contributor
History leaves its tangible marks on our world through the remnants of architecture and artifacts, which become valuable information for individuals researching the social sciences. [...].
[...]. However, in certain circumstances, when these invaluable pieces of history lie in occupied or disputed territory, they are systematically destroyed and removed from the face of the earth in attempts to remove, along with them, the cultural and historical realities and pasts of certain regions. This is especially true when the country committing these acts of cultural genocide is working diligently to hide a historical truth.
[...]
On Dec. 15, 2005, about 100 Azeri servicemen were caught, photographed and videotaped by onlookers from the Iranian boarder, while they desecrated and destroyed a 400-year-old Armenian cemetery filled with hand carved traditional Armenian cross stones, the second of such attempts in the last three years.
[...]. These are treasures, which belongs as much to all of humanity as to the Armenians themselves. Churches dating back to the eight and ninth century have been sentenced to destruction and neglect, or converted to stables and or target practice locations.
The ancient city of Ani, today in Eastern Turkey, which was known for its 1,001 churches, is now barely marked by a handful of half destroyed churches. It is only a matter of time that these remnants too will be destroyed if serious action against this violence is not taken by the international community. [...].
[...]. As civilized human beings, we have learned to treat and respect the cultural, religious and ethnic diversity of this world with dignity, and we must not allow such forms of uncivilized and intentional destruction to occur. Destruction such as this [...] only furthers the ambitions of oppressive and genocidal governments.
Note: Above are excerpts from the article. The full article appears here. Clarifications and comments by me are contained in {}. Deletions are marked by [...]. The bold emphasis is mine.
posted by Vahe Balabanian at 4:51 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home