Subject: Utter Outrage and Condemnation of the Azerbaijani-Organized Conference on “Christianity in Azerbaijan: History and Modernity” in Rome: A Blatant Act of Historical Revisionism, Genocide Apologia, and Cultural Erasure
To His Eminence Rev. Card. José Tolentino de Mendonça (Chancellor, Pontifical Gregorian University) and Fr. Mark A. Lewis, SJ (Rector, Pontifical Gregorian University)
It is with profound outrage that I write to you regarding the international conference titled “Christianity in Azerbaijan: History and Modernity,” organized by the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry and held on Thursday April 10th in the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome. This abhorrent event represents not only a blatant and deeply offensive attempt to distort historical reality and systematically erase the rich Armenian religious and cultural heritage in Nagorno-Karabakh but also demonstrates a malicious complicity in the ongoing denial of the Armenian Genocide and the active support for ethnic and cultural erasure of Nagorno-Karabakh, actions that fill any right-minded individual with shock and indignation.
The very premise of this conference, shamelessly centered on the thoroughly discredited theory of Caucasian Albanian continuity with modern Azerbaijanis and the subsequent appropriation of undeniably Armenian religious sites, is a transparent and infuriating act of historical revisionism. The attribution of cherished monuments such as the medieval monastery of Dadivank to the Caucasian Albanian culture is not merely an academic falsehood; it is a calculated and insulting step in a broader campaign by Azerbaijan to delegitimize the historical presence and inalienable rights of the Armenian people in the region. This rhetoric been employed by Azerbaijan to justify its genocidal ethnic cleansing and destruction of Armenian presence in Nagorno-Karabakh and has resulted in the desecration of Churches and cemeteries and the removal of Armenian inscriptions in an ill-fated attempt to provide credence to these acts. This deliberate and egregious distortion of history chillingly echoes the Azerbaijani state’s long-standing and reprehensible denial of the Armenian Genocide and its systematic efforts to erase Armenian cultural markers in territories under its control, a policy underway before the recent events in Nagorno-Karabakh as was witnessed with the destruction of Armenian monuments in Nakhitchevan.
Furthermore, the clandestine planning of this conference and evident efforts to exclude esteemed experts in Armenian Studies, unequivocally underscores its propagandistic intent rather than any semblance of genuine scholarly pursuit. The dehumanization of Armenians and the anti-Armenian rhetoric employed by Azerbaijani officials use such events to justify their hatred and increase animosity towards Armenia and Armenians.
The fact that this event took place at the Pontifical Gregorian University and involved a letter of congratulations from Cardinal Claudio Gugerotti risks bestowing legitimacy upon a regime actively engaged in historical negation and cultural annihilation.
Considering how serious this incident is, representatives from the Pontifical Gregorian University should:
- Publicly and unequivocally condemn the Azerbaijani government’s ongoing and outrageous efforts to rewrite history and eradicate Armenian cultural heritage and the instrumentalization of historical revisionism to support ethnic and cultural erasure, incite hatred, and perpetuate a climate of impunity.
- Immediately re-evaluate and sever any partnerships or engagements with Azerbaijani entities such as the “Baku International Multiculturalism Center” that demonstrably contribute to this campaign.
We expect your immediate and decisive action on this critical matter.
Sincerely,
Kaspar Karampetian.