The new book “Genocide after the Genocide” can become a weapon to fight against the genocide of Armenian cultural monuments in Turkey.

This is what director of the Foundation Studying Armenian Architecture and monument expert Samvel Karapetyan said during the book presentation, writes Artsakhpress.

“The purpose of our book is to let Armenians and the whole world, know about the genocide that is being perpetrated against our own monuments in our historic homeland. With this we’re tearing, or we should aspire to tear the Turks’ mask by speaking out about the crimes that have been committed,” said Samvel Karapetyan.

The director of the Foundation Studying Armenian Architecture informed that Minister of Urban Development Narek Sargsyan, the Ministry of Culture, Monarch Company and Hayastan All-Armenian Fund had made great contributions to the creation of the extensive book.

“I thought this would be a small book, but we managed to print 2,000 copies of an extensive multilingual book, some of which will be for sale. The online versions of the book will be available on the website of the Foundation Studying Armenian Architecture,” said Samvel Karapetyan.

The book presents 32 monuments that have been included in the mobile exhibition. A booklet with brief information has also been published through cooperation with the Duty of the Soul NGO and a grant contest declared by the RA President.

“The booklet and the extensive book present not only eradicated, but also distorted monuments. For instance, the cross can be seen in the initial form of the coat-of-arms of the city of Ani, but during “restoration”, the Turks not only put it in a frame that was missing, but also eliminated the cross. There are photos of that coat-of-arms that have taken prior to 1920, meaning it could have been restored in case of the desire for normal restoration,” said Samvel Karapetyan.

The monument expert mentioned that the series of materials devoted to cultural genocide include materials devoted to the TIgran Honents Church, the dome of which has been partially restored. According to Karapetyan, it’s clear that the dome could have been restored completely, but in that case one would be able to see the cross, which is not something that Turkey wants.

As member of Duty of the Soul NGO Shoghineh Hovhannisyan informed, the opening of the exhibition showcasing 32 samples will be held at the hall of the Union of Architects in Yerevan on July 17. The exhibition will showcase the monuments of Western Armenia that have experienced cultural genocide. The exhibition has already been held in Stepanakert, Ijevan and Vanadzor. The exhibition in Yerevan will be followed by an exhibition in Brussels.