"Destruction of material culture by human hands is a vandalism, barbarism," Head of the UNESCO National Commission of Turkey Öcal Oğuz said when commenting on the destruction of historical monuments in the occupied territories of Armenia.
According to him, any cultural heritage must not be destroyed: “The heritage of every culture is valuable. Because they are the monuments of ancient times. ISIS destroyed many patterns of material culture, including heritage of our ancestors in Syria, Iraq, and Libya. We condemned it. The United Nations has confirmed with the four resolutions that Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding districts are occupied by Armenia. Occupation of these lands and claiming as own and, above all, destruction of the cultural heritage there is inadmissible.
"There is no man in the world who will justify the destruction of material culture samples."
Oğuz said that ensuring the rule of law of international organizations is the only way to return to peace:
"UNESCO was created after the Second World War and its purpose is to maintain peace. The main reason we come together within our organization is to understand each other, listen to one another, value each other, and protect one another's culture together. It is important for each country to respect the lands of another state and recognize the UN decisions and documents. The right thing is achieving peace by referring to the UN laws. "