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ARMENIAN FM DELIVERS SPEECH AT UNESCO, RAISES PROBLEM OF ARMENIAN CROSS-STONES DESTROYED IN NAKHIJEVAN
21:06 ~U 11.11.13
Below is a statement by Armenian FM Edward Nalbandian at the 37th
session of the UNESCO Gemneral Conference.
Mr. President,
Ladies and gentlemen,
First of all I would like to join the previous speakers in
congratulating Mr. Hao Ping, Vice Minister for Education of China
on his election as the President of the 37th Session of the UNESCO
General Conference and extend our thanks to the outgoing President Ms.
Katalin Bogyay.
Mr. President,
Every two years we come together to reaffirm the founding vision of
this institution: the pursuit of the ideas of peace and humanity
through the education, science and sustainable development,
intercultural and interreligious dialogues.
Last year Armenia marked 20th anniversary of its UNESCO membership.
Since then Armenia, as a dedicated member, has been increasingly
engaged in the Organization's activities and programs, promoting its
principles and values.
Mr. President,
Armenia expresses its support to the initiative of the UN Secretary
General "Education first", in which the UNESCO plays a key role. In
this regard it has been both an honor and a responsibility for us to
be in the Council of the International Bureau of Education.
We welcome UNESCO's focus on inclusive social development and
intercultural dialogue reflected in its new Mid Term strategy
objectives. It is difficult to imagine modern development without
international cooperation in the fields of education, science,
technology and culture. UNESCO plays a crucial role in promoting
such cooperation through global networks, including the UNESCO Chairs
and the "Associated schools networks", in which Armenia is actively
involved. We consider the programs mutually beneficial for UNESCO
and its member countries and we would encourage enhancement of the
programs by further improvement of communication and cooperation with
the networks on the ground and better utilization of their potential.
Mr. President,
The past year was memorable for Armenia as Yerevan became the twelfth
World Book Capital. Throughout the year Yerevan was a meeting place
for several well-known writers, journalists, publishers, librarians
and booklovers from all over the world.
This significant event coincided with another major celebration -
500th anniversary of the Armenian book-printing. Armenians were among
the first in the world to make use of Guttenberg's invention and
starting from 1512 founded Armenian printing houses around the world.
The first Armenian book was printed in Venice in 1512, and the first
Armenian printed magazine - in Madras in 1794.
The year-long events presenting Armenia's rich cultural heritage to the
world was truly "crowned" by inscription of over thousand-year-old
Armenian epic "David of Sassoun" on the Representative List of
Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
The celebrations of the 300th anniversary of great Armenian poet and
musician Sayat-Nova were included in the UNESCO list of anniversaries
for 2012-2013. Sayat-Nova made a considerable contribution not only
to the Armenian, but also to the cultural heritage of our region.
Inscription of Aram Khachaturian's compositions on the Memory of the
World International Register this June was a wonderful tribute to
the composer's legacy on the occasion of his 110th anniversary in 2013.
Mr. President,
We highly appreciate UNESCO's goal of promoting intercultural dialogue,
understanding and tolerance in the world.
Since last May Armenia has assumed the Chairmanship of the Committee
of Ministers of the Council of Europe making fight against xenophobia,
hate-speech and intolerance its key priorities.
In an era when the protection and promotion of human rights are
considered to be the underpinning concept for the civilized world,
intolerance towards the values of civilization belonging to others,
damaging or destroying cultural or religious heritage intentionally,
consistently, repeatedly, must be condemned with the same resolve
and determination as violence against people.
The destruction of thousands of delicately carved cross stones by
the Armenian masters, dating from the 9th to the 16th centuries,
is a vivid manifestation of such crime by Azerbaijanis in Nakhijevan.
Several thousands of these giant medieval sculptures were bulldozed
under the Azerbaijani government's watchful eyes and this area was
turned into a military ground in a government sanctioned operation.
The 16th International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) General
Assembly resolution regretfully stated with regard to this vandalism:
"this heritage that once enjoyed its worthy place among the treasures
of the world's heritage can no longer be transmitted today to future
generations."
Our numerous calls for sending international fact-finding missions
to Nakhijevan, as well as attempts by a number of international
organizations and countries have been either ignored or rejected by
the Azerbaijani side.
Mr. President,
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the UNESCO Convention
against Discrimination in Education state that "Education shall promote
understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations, racial
or religious groups". Taking into consideration UNESCO's unique role
in the sphere of education, we call upon the Organization to create
within its educational programs some sort of an overview mechanism
that will examine and evaluate the textbooks of the member-states,
especially history and social sciences textbooks, with a special
emphasis on exclusion of racism or xenophobia. The Armenian heritage,
culture and history, after lasting continuously for more than thirty
centuries are nowadays being distorted and altered in Azerbaijan. In
this country the rewriting of its history is continued by means of
misappropriation or annihilation of the traces of other cultures on
their territory, or even more, by privatizing the cultural heritage
of the neighboring nations. A country that appeared on the political
map of the world less than a hundred years ago has territorial and
cultural claims towards a country and a people the several millenniums'
history of which is recorded from the ancient times.
Mr. President,
Only through coordinated efforts the international community can
pursue the ideas of peace and humanity through education, science and
sustainable development, intercultural and interreligious dialogues.
Armenia is strongly committed to the ideals and goals of UNESCO and
will continue expanding its involvement in the UNESCO initiatives
and programs.
Thank you.
http://www.tert.am/en/news/2013/11/11/eduard-nalbandyan/
21:06 ~U 11.11.13
Below is a statement by Armenian FM Edward Nalbandian at the 37th
session of the UNESCO Gemneral Conference.
Mr. President,
Ladies and gentlemen,
First of all I would like to join the previous speakers in
congratulating Mr. Hao Ping, Vice Minister for Education of China
on his election as the President of the 37th Session of the UNESCO
General Conference and extend our thanks to the outgoing President Ms.
Katalin Bogyay.
Mr. President,
Every two years we come together to reaffirm the founding vision of
this institution: the pursuit of the ideas of peace and humanity
through the education, science and sustainable development,
intercultural and interreligious dialogues.
Last year Armenia marked 20th anniversary of its UNESCO membership.
Since then Armenia, as a dedicated member, has been increasingly
engaged in the Organization's activities and programs, promoting its
principles and values.
Mr. President,
Armenia expresses its support to the initiative of the UN Secretary
General "Education first", in which the UNESCO plays a key role. In
this regard it has been both an honor and a responsibility for us to
be in the Council of the International Bureau of Education.
We welcome UNESCO's focus on inclusive social development and
intercultural dialogue reflected in its new Mid Term strategy
objectives. It is difficult to imagine modern development without
international cooperation in the fields of education, science,
technology and culture. UNESCO plays a crucial role in promoting
such cooperation through global networks, including the UNESCO Chairs
and the "Associated schools networks", in which Armenia is actively
involved. We consider the programs mutually beneficial for UNESCO
and its member countries and we would encourage enhancement of the
programs by further improvement of communication and cooperation with
the networks on the ground and better utilization of their potential.
Mr. President,
The past year was memorable for Armenia as Yerevan became the twelfth
World Book Capital. Throughout the year Yerevan was a meeting place
for several well-known writers, journalists, publishers, librarians
and booklovers from all over the world.
This significant event coincided with another major celebration -
500th anniversary of the Armenian book-printing. Armenians were among
the first in the world to make use of Guttenberg's invention and
starting from 1512 founded Armenian printing houses around the world.
The first Armenian book was printed in Venice in 1512, and the first
Armenian printed magazine - in Madras in 1794.
The year-long events presenting Armenia's rich cultural heritage to the
world was truly "crowned" by inscription of over thousand-year-old
Armenian epic "David of Sassoun" on the Representative List of
Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
The celebrations of the 300th anniversary of great Armenian poet and
musician Sayat-Nova were included in the UNESCO list of anniversaries
for 2012-2013. Sayat-Nova made a considerable contribution not only
to the Armenian, but also to the cultural heritage of our region.
Inscription of Aram Khachaturian's compositions on the Memory of the
World International Register this June was a wonderful tribute to
the composer's legacy on the occasion of his 110th anniversary in 2013.
Mr. President,
We highly appreciate UNESCO's goal of promoting intercultural dialogue,
understanding and tolerance in the world.
Since last May Armenia has assumed the Chairmanship of the Committee
of Ministers of the Council of Europe making fight against xenophobia,
hate-speech and intolerance its key priorities.
In an era when the protection and promotion of human rights are
considered to be the underpinning concept for the civilized world,
intolerance towards the values of civilization belonging to others,
damaging or destroying cultural or religious heritage intentionally,
consistently, repeatedly, must be condemned with the same resolve
and determination as violence against people.
The destruction of thousands of delicately carved cross stones by
the Armenian masters, dating from the 9th to the 16th centuries,
is a vivid manifestation of such crime by Azerbaijanis in Nakhijevan.
Several thousands of these giant medieval sculptures were bulldozed
under the Azerbaijani government's watchful eyes and this area was
turned into a military ground in a government sanctioned operation.
The 16th International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) General
Assembly resolution regretfully stated with regard to this vandalism:
"this heritage that once enjoyed its worthy place among the treasures
of the world's heritage can no longer be transmitted today to future
generations."
Our numerous calls for sending international fact-finding missions
to Nakhijevan, as well as attempts by a number of international
organizations and countries have been either ignored or rejected by
the Azerbaijani side.
Mr. President,
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the UNESCO Convention
against Discrimination in Education state that "Education shall promote
understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations, racial
or religious groups". Taking into consideration UNESCO's unique role
in the sphere of education, we call upon the Organization to create
within its educational programs some sort of an overview mechanism
that will examine and evaluate the textbooks of the member-states,
especially history and social sciences textbooks, with a special
emphasis on exclusion of racism or xenophobia. The Armenian heritage,
culture and history, after lasting continuously for more than thirty
centuries are nowadays being distorted and altered in Azerbaijan. In
this country the rewriting of its history is continued by means of
misappropriation or annihilation of the traces of other cultures on
their territory, or even more, by privatizing the cultural heritage
of the neighboring nations. A country that appeared on the political
map of the world less than a hundred years ago has territorial and
cultural claims towards a country and a people the several millenniums'
history of which is recorded from the ancient times.
Mr. President,
Only through coordinated efforts the international community can
pursue the ideas of peace and humanity through education, science and
sustainable development, intercultural and interreligious dialogues.
Armenia is strongly committed to the ideals and goals of UNESCO and
will continue expanding its involvement in the UNESCO initiatives
and programs.
Thank you.
http://www.tert.am/en/news/2013/11/11/eduard-nalbandyan/