While the destruction of ancient cultural heritage in places
like Palmyra and Timbuktu have garnered the world's outrage, no such condemnation
followed similar destruction in the conflicts that erupted on Europe's
south-eastern flank following the break-up of the Soviet Union. However, the
issue is now resurfacing both in the Balkans and Caucasus.
As recently reported by the Balkan Transitional Justice
Initiative, Kosovo's efforts to become a member of UNESCO have rbecome a
lightning rod for recriminations between Kosovo and Serbia over the destruction
of cultural and religious monuments in both countries the 1990s. However,
despite accusations on both sides of wilful destruction of monuments, local
courts have - with very few exceptions - failed to prosecute those responsible.
And in the Balkans more broadly, the tally is also said to include 1,200
mosques destroyed in Bosnia-Herzegovina and 2,440 buildings of cultural
importance in Croatia.
Meanwhile, longstanding tensions between Armenia
and Azerbaijan surfaced
this week at the UNESCO general session when Armenian Foreign Minister Edward
Nalbandian took the opportunity during his address to condemn the alleged destruction
of medieval Armenian artifacts, including cross-stones and churches, in Armenia's
Nakhijevan region. For his part, Azerbaijan's
Ambassador to UNESCO, Anar Karimov, has condemned Armenia
for much the same reason, citing for example the destruction of the ancient
Aga-Dede mosque and cemetery in Amernia's Masis region.
While the accusations and counter-accusations are not in
themselves likely to usher in greater protection for cultural heritage in
conflict zones, the fact that the issue is being discussed at all is welcome,
and hopefully over time a new international consensus can be reached.
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