“Caucasus Heritage Watch” lies for the second time about the destruction of the church in the village of Susanlig

The ancient church in the Karabakh village of Susanlig has not been destroyed, construction and restoration work is not being conducted in this village. And purposeful destruction of a historical monument on the instructions of local authorities is impossible," Faiq Ismailov, a  researcher at the Bakikhanov Institute of History of the National Academy of Sciences of Azerbaijan, chairman of the organization Protection of Historical and Cultural Monuments in the liberated territories  told Turan.

The Armenian press quotes the statement of the American organization “Caucasus Heritage Watch” (CHW) that in November 2023 the Azerbaijanis destroyed "to the ground" the Armenian church of St. Sargis in the center of the village of Mohrenes in Hadrut district. Another building similar to the previous one was allegedly built on the site of the destroyed temple.

https://caucasusheritage.cornell.edu/?p=1486

In the modern administrative structure of Azerbaijan, this area is called the village of Susanlig of the Khojavend district of the Karabakh Economic Region. CHW cites a photograph from Google Map, which depicts a certain territory, which allegedly proves the destruction of this church. However, there is no proof that this photo belongs to the village of Susanlig.

"The Albanian church in the village of Susanlig has not been touched. To conduct restoration, restoration, any other work on historical, cultural monuments, the local government must obtain permission from three institutes of ANAS - history, archeology and architecture. The decision of these institutions is sent to the Ministry of Culture, according to which work can be conducted. There was no such procedure regarding the Albanian church in the village of Susanlig, and no one has the right to destroy the ancient monument on their own," Faik Ismailov said.

According to him, the Armenians appropriated the Albanian church of the 17th -18th centuries, the origin of which is clearly visible in the typical Albanian one-arch basilica - architectural style of construction. During the Soviet and occupation times, the dilapidated, dilapidated church was used as a barn. The Armenians added an outbuilding to the side of the wall, which is categorically unacceptable in relation to historical monuments. The Armenians did not hold religious ceremonies in the building. The walls are disfigured with Armenian inscriptions in paint, the roof is overgrown with moss, this can be seen in the photos of 2022.

Last summer, the same organization Caucasus Heritage Watch, created by foreign Armenians, spread the first false statement about the destruction of the church in the village of Susanlig by Azerbaijanis, then we exposed their fake by showing photos taken after the fake publication. In the photo, the church is untouched," Faik Ismailov added.

A careful study of the images from the alleged satellite photo of the village of Susanlig, presented by the CHW, clearly shows the discrepancy between this "evidence" with the usual photo taken in 2022 by the Azerbaijanis of the same temple, but from the ground. In fact, large extensions have been added to the temple building, and a satellite photo shows a certain structure next to which there is nothing.

Moreover, on the CHW website, the integrity of the church building dates from September 26 to August 22, 2023, and the destroyed building dates from August 23, 2022.

The Caucasus Heritage Watch organization was created by employees of Cornell University (USA) and Prague University. The creators are Lori Khachaturian, Adam Smith, Ian Lindsey, Husik Ghoulyan, Salpi Bochieryan.

In the photo, the Albanian church in the village of Susanlig. The arrow shows an illegal outbuilding built by the Armenians during the occupation. In the second satellite photo, a certain structure without buildings nearby, "before the barbaric destruction", is given by the Armenians for the church of St. Sarkis.