On 25 April, the Azerbaijani side obstructed the entry of 25 Armenian pilgrims to Dadivank, where an ordination ceremony was planned to be conducted by the clergy of the Artsakh Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church. This was announced by the Ombudsman of the Republic of Artsakh, Gegham Stepanyan, on his Facebook page.
“On 25 April, the Azerbaijani side obstructed the entry of 25 Armenian pilgrims to Dadivank, where an ordination ceremony was planned to be conducted by the clergy of the Artsakh Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church.
By obstructing the entry of the faithful to Dadivank with clearly false and baseless pretexts, the Azerbaijani military sought to thwart an important spiritual ceremony of the Armenian Apostolic Church.
In doing so, the Azerbaijani side violated the agreement reached through the mediation of Russian peacekeepers, according to which Armenian faithful may enter and conduct spiritual ceremonies at Dadivank Monastery.
Spiritual and religious rights and freedoms are enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other fundamental international documents, the violation of which is an encroachment on human dignity, rights and freedoms.
Azerbaijan, which declares itself a country of cultural and religious diversity, disregarding internationally recognised norms, denigrates, desecrates and destroys the cultural values of the Armenian people in the territories under its control, deliberately erases Armenian inscriptions and traces, and artificially obstructs the entry of Armenian faithful to spiritual sites.
The Human Rights Defender of the Republic of Artsakh will also inform the relevant international bodies about this incident, calling for the application of clear mechanisms against Azerbaijan’s illegal actions,” he wrote.
