unimelb-nlp/MultiEup-v2 huggingface dataset:
Debate: Destruction of cultural heritage in Nagorno-Karabakh
Date: THURSDAY, 10 MARCH 2022
Speaker: Evin Incir
Country: Hungary
Language: EN

Azerbaijan’s attack on the Armenian cultural heritage is an attack on its people, a country and most importantly, it is an attack on its future generations. It is also an attack on international commitments. In its attempt to rewrite history, to assert dominance, Azerbaijan has resorted to the destruction of cultural treasures that future generations now never get to enjoy. This is something that I, with my own Kurdish roots, have seen happening to my people and our identity for decades by Turkey. It has consequences beyond possibility of explanation. In December 2021, the International Court urged Azerbaijan to cease all destruction of Armenian cultural heritage. The resolution that we will vote on today provides us with an opportunity to send a clear message to Azerbaijan. The world is watching and we will not stay quiet if this silence and threat of violence doesn’t stop. The European Parliament must stand firm against the unacceptable action of Azerbaijan. International agreements must be followed. We therefore call upon Azerbaijan to comply with its obligation, especially with regard to its membership in UNESCO, which clearly opposed the destruction of all cultural heritage. Enough is enough.
Debate: Destruction of cultural heritage in Nagorno-Karabakh
Date: THURSDAY, 10 MARCH 2022
Speaker: Nathalie Loiseau
Country: Poland
Language: FR

Le 3 février dernier, le ministre de la culture d’Azerbaïdjan a annoncé la mise en place d’un groupe de travail sur le patrimoine du Haut-Karabakh. Il est vrai que depuis le conflit armé de l’automne 2020, près de 1 500 monuments sont passés sous le contrôle de l’Azerbaïdjan. Parmi eux, 161 églises ou monastères arméniens, 345 pierres tombales, 591 stèles. Il y aurait donc matière à assurer leur protection. Mais il y a, en réalité, matière à s’alarmer de ce que le ministre azéri compte faire.  En effet, le 15 mars 2021, le président Aliyev s’est déplacé à Tsakuri, dans la région d’Hadrout; face à une église du XIIe siècle, il a promis d’effacer les inscriptions arméniennes qui y figurent. D’autres églises ont déjà été détruites. Le prétexte invoqué: rendre justice à la culture des Albanais du Caucase. Si vous ignorez de quoi il s’agit, ne vous inquiétez pas, aucun historien sérieux n’en atteste. Si vous vous demandez s’il y a vraiment de quoi s’inquiéter, sachez qu’entre 1997 et 2006, 89 églises arméniennes, 5 800 stèles et plus de 22 000 tombes, dont celles du cimetière arménien de Djoulfa, ont été rasées par l’Azerbaïdjan dans l’enclave du Nakhitchevan. Bakou nie toute destruction et s’insurge du mauvais procès qui lui serait fait. L’Azerbaïdjan affirme que l’Arménie porte la responsabilité de la destruction de patrimoine azéri dans le premier conflit du Haut-Karabakh. C’est possible, et si tel est le cas, cela doit être condamné.  Mais pourquoi alors l’Azerbaïdjan empêche-t-il l’Unesco de faire son travail et d’envoyer sur place une mission d’experts, comme cela est proposé depuis novembre 2020. C’est pourtant le rôle de l’organisation onusienne d’intervenir dans le cadre de la convention de 1954 pour la protection des biens culturels en cas de conflit armé. Aujourd’hui, j’en appelle aux coprésidents du groupe de Minsk pour qu’ils interviennent auprès de l’Azerbaïdjan. J’en appelle à l’Union européenne, afin qu’elle se prévale des liens privilégiés du partenariat oriental pour obtenir des assurances claires de la part de Bakou que le patrimoine arménien sera préservé. J’en appelle à l’Unesco, qui ne doit pas se laisser intimider, mais aussi à d’autres acteurs de terrain, tels qu’Aliyev, pour qu’ils agissent enfin.  Écoutons ce que Sigmund Freud nous a appris: tout ce qui travaille à la culture travaille contre la guerre.
Debate: Destruction of cultural heritage in Nagorno-Karabakh
Date: THURSDAY, 10 MARCH 2022
Speaker: Viola Von Cramon-Taubadel
Country: Ireland
Language: EN

What took millennia to build in times of peace can be destroyed in a moment by the war. After the second Karabakh war, thousands of Armenian monuments came under Azerbaijani control. Very recently, Aliyev’s government erased Armenian churches, crushed stone tombstones in another Azerbaijan region, Nakhchivan. This provides a dramatic peek into the potential future of Armenian artefacts in Nagorno-Karabakh.  We cannot allow the cultural devastation of Nakhchivan to repeat in Nagorno-Karabakh too. Attempts to revise history should be condemned, be it the so-called Albanisation or removing the conical dome from the Armenian Holy Saviour Cathedral in Shusha.  Equally unacceptable is the destruction of Azeri cultural heritage sites left behind by 600 000 IDPs. After the first four, many Azeri religious sites were destroyed and neglected. Cultural heritage is erased not by bulldozers, but by people full of hate. If the two Caucasian nations focus more on what unites them instead of what divides them, they will discover that their cultures are much more similar than they imagined.
Debate: Destruction of cultural heritage in Nagorno-Karabakh
Date: THURSDAY, 10 MARCH 2022
Speaker: Charlie Weimers
Country: Luxembourg
Language: EN

Azerbaijan’s President Aliyev is following in the footsteps of the Islamic State. During the war in 2020, Azeri armed forces deliberately twice shelled the Holy Saviour Cathedral in Shushi. Shortly afterwards, Azerbaijan destroyed the 18th-century St John the Baptist Church.  Reports in satellite imagery have meticulously tracked the systematic destruction of almost 100 medieval Armenian churches, thousands of cross stones and tens of thousands of tombstones. As these sites of religious significance, of history and of culture are destroyed, we may not see them, but we will never forget.  President Aliyev has sought to cover up his crimes by distorting history through the promotion of false Albanisation theories and the erasure of Armenian scripture on churches. We can’t let him get away with it. Commissioner, colleagues, the EU needs to speak up, condemn the cultural genocide committed by President Aliyev against Armenian Christian heritage sites. Will you hold him accountable for the continued cultural genocide against Armenians? We must sanction him. Palmyra, Maaloula, Qaraqosh, St John’s Baptist Church in Shushi. Lest we forget.
Debate: Destruction of cultural heritage in Nagorno-Karabakh
Date: THURSDAY, 10 MARCH 2022
Speaker: Željana Zovko
Political group: PPE
Language: EN

By erasing cultural heritage, history is altered. The evidence of the existence of an entity vanishes. In conflict areas, such as in and around Nagorno-Karabakh, monuments and religious buildings are often targeted because of their symbolic value, something I deeply deplore and strongly condemn. It is just thanks to the inherent meaning that cooperation on, and mutual respect for, cultural heritage has a power of reconciliation, a power to promote coexistence, a power that can lead to peace. First is to take stock of the status of cultural heritage in the region.  I call on UNESCO and the international community to urgently organise a fact—finding mission in and around Nagorno-Karabakh and I call on the states of Azerbaijan and Armenia to fully cooperate. UNESCO’s motto is that war starts in people’s heads, and it’s there where peace begins.
Debate: Destruction of cultural heritage in Nagorno-Karabakh
Date: THURSDAY, 10 MARCH 2022
Speaker: Costas Mavrides
Political group: S-D
Country: Latvia
Language: EL

Τα γεγονότα φανερώνουν πολιτισμική γενοκτονία εναντίον του πολιτισμού αιώνων των Αρμενίων στο Ναγκόρνο Καραμπάχ, πράγμα που αποτελεί συστηματική κρατική πολιτική του Αζερμπαϊτζάν. Η άρνηση του Αζερμπαϊτζάν να επιτρέψει πρόσβαση της UNESCO πρέπει να έχει κόστος. Στην περίπτωση ενώπιόν μας υπάρχουν εγκληματικές ευθύνες. Θα δράσει το διεθνές ποινικό δικαστήριο της Χάγης εναντίον καθεστωτικών αυταρχικών ηγετών, οι οποίοι διαπράττουν αυτά τα εγκλήματα, εγκλήματα κατά του πολιτισμού και της ανθρωπότητας; Ο πολιτισμός είναι μέσο προσέγγισης και όχι μέσο μίσους.
Debate: Destruction of cultural heritage in Nagorno-Karabakh
Date: THURSDAY, 10 MARCH 2022
Speaker: François Alfonsi
Political group: Verts/ALE
Country: France
Language: FR

Dix-huit mois après l’agression menée par la dictature de Bakou contre le peuple arménien de l’Artsakh, la situation reste préoccupante et les tensions très vives. La défaite des forces arméniennes a créé de graves déséquilibres dans les relations entre l’Arménie et les États voisins agresseurs, la Turquie et l’Azerbaïdjan.  Par la proposition que nous votons aujourd’hui, nous apportons un soutien bienvenu à ceux qui sont, à juste titre, inquiets de leur avenir. Le négationnisme à l’égard du patrimoine culturel arménien, et la destruction des édifices par l’armée azérie dans les territoires qu’ils ont conquis par la force qui en est le témoin, sont le prélude à de nouvelles agressions. L’Artsakh est toujours menacé d’épuration ethnique. Par notre soutien, le peuple arménien est plus fort et les intentions belliqueuses de ses voisins seront plus facilement écartées.  Il n’y a pas, dans le Haut-Karabakh, deux belligérants qui se neutralisent: il y a un agresseur et il y a une victime. L’agresseur est une dictature. La victime est une démocratie et elle est très affaiblie. L’Europe doit se mettre aux côtés de l’Arménie et apporter sa contribution pour écarter le risque d’une nouvelle guerre.
Debate: Destruction of cultural heritage in Nagorno-Karabakh
Date: THURSDAY, 10 MARCH 2022
Speaker: Susanna Ceccardi
Political group: ID
Country: France
Language: IT

Anche in questa occasione, come nel 1915, e come nel 1938, siamo di fronte a un bivio della storia: restare indifferenti, spettatori passivi, oppure aprire gli occhi sulla sistematica distruzione di una delle culture più antiche e affascinanti del mondo. La storia, come si sa, la fanno i popoli. Ma a scriverla sono sempre i vincitori. E quando lo fanno, il  Il dovere delle istituzioni, quindi il nostro dovere, è proprio maggiore laddove è necessario tutelare la memoria e sostenere chi per timore di subire una rappresaglia non ha potuto nemmeno manifestare il proprio dissenso verso la Russia che bombarda l'Ucraina. Li abbiamo lasciati soli in passato e ora non vogliono più esporsi. Rispettare la storia dei vinti, porre le basi per costruire un futuro di rispetto e civile di convivenza, ammettere le atrocità di un genocidio. Questa è l'Europa. Per questo motivo è nostro dovere impegnarci e impegnare l'UNESCO e tutte le parti in causa a effettuare, censire e proteggere la storia e il patrimonio culturale dell'Artsakh. La distruzione del patrimonio storico di un popolo viola i principi dell'Europa democratica, riportando l'orologio del tempo al 1915 e l'essere umano a ripetere per l'ennesima volta, ancora una volta, lo stesso errore.
Debate: Destruction of cultural heritage in Nagorno-Karabakh
Date: THURSDAY, 10 MARCH 2022
Speaker: Anna Fotyga
Political group: ECR
Country: Denmark
Language: EN

Yes, we have to remember that both sides in recent phases of conflict used a lot of information – actually, disinformation – using it as warfare, actually, so we have to rely on impartial sources like UNESCO's mission. That is a fact finding mission that is to be sent to the region. We have to support this and to remember the role of Russia, that always wants to ignite the conflict and benefit from escalation.
Debate: Destruction of cultural heritage in Nagorno-Karabakh
Date: THURSDAY, 10 MARCH 2022
Speaker: Mick Wallace
Political group: The Left
Country: Germany
Language: EN

I travelled to Iraq last year and met a lot of religious and political public officials. We heard that there used to be EU delegations going to Iraq regularly and cooperating on archaeological digs and restoration. It was perceived as being incredibly helpful by the Iraqis and they are really disappointed that it’s not happening anymore because obviously it was stopped by the invasion by the US and allies and the bombing. Sadly, the war gave rise to ISIS and allowed groups like al-Qaeda to flourish and these groups in particular have done untold damage to architectural and cultural heritage.  Today, the Western—backed Saudi coalition are actually deliberately targeting extraordinary cultural heritage. We need to stop all this bombing and militarism everywhere and start to rebuild and preserve the artefacts of our common history. We helped to destroy it. We should help to fix it.
Debate: Destruction of cultural heritage in Nagorno-Karabakh
Date: THURSDAY, 10 MARCH 2022
Speaker: Carles Puigdemont i Casamajó
Political group: NI
Country: Portugal
Language: EN

Madam President, Armenia and Azerbaijan agreed to a cessation of hostilities, but are still a long way from peace. The destruction of the cultural heritage in Nagorno-Karabakh, known as the Republic of Artsakh, is a clear example of this.  The long-running conflict has had a catastrophic impact on the cultural heritage of the region. Azerbaijan needs to actively protect the Armenian cultural heritage in and around the Republic of Artsakh and stop its destruction. It's our duty to ensure the transmission to future generations of the cultural and natural heritage. No development can be sustainable without a strong cultural component. Indeed, only an approach to development based on mutual respect and open dialogue among cultures can lead to lasting peace.  I urge the European Parliament and the European Commission to use its powers and influence to prevent and punish acts of vandalism and desecration affecting Armenian cultural heritage in Nagorno-Karabakh.
Debate: Destruction of cultural heritage in Nagorno-Karabakh
Date: THURSDAY, 10 MARCH 2022
Speaker: Andrey Kovatchev
Political group: PPE
Country: Poland
Language: EN

Madam President, the reality of today shows us that history, identity, culture and religions matter. Manipulation, falsification and destruction of historical heritage leads to hate, discrimination and violence. The war of Putin against Ukraine proves this one more time. He's also using these ugly instruments of history manipulation for justification of these terrible actions.  Reconciliation can be achieved only by reaching mutual trust. The topic of the destruction of cultural heritage in Nagorno-Karabakh against Armenians is just one example of how important is trust. The destruction of any cultural heritage sites, artefacts and objects contributes to the escalation of hostilities, lack of mutual understanding and prejudice between and within societies. On the contrary, the respect of minorities, which is one of our core values, includes the protection of their cultural identity and heritage.  The urgency resolution which we are voting today welcomes the UNESCO proposal to send an independent experts’ mission to visit Nagorno-Karabakh and assess the situation on the ground. We request further that international experts be given unhindered access by Azerbaijan to all cultural sites for a proper inventory to be carried out. It is critical to remember that the protection, rebuilding and restoration of historical heritage and religious heritage should be seen in the broader framework of the conflict resolution between Armenia and Azerbaijan, and needs to be requested, supported and welcome. This process includes also the condemnation of any destructions of cultural, religious and historical sites, regardless of whether this happened in the past or in the present day, or by whom.  The new generations need to have a peaceful and secure future without the hate from the past.
Debate: Destruction of cultural heritage in Nagorno-Karabakh
Date: THURSDAY, 10 MARCH 2022
Speaker: Marina Kaljurand
Political group: S-D
Country: Poland
Language: EN

Madam President, aggression of Russia against Ukraine demonstrates once again how important is the EU’s engagement with the Eastern Partnership countries. While the EU was largely absent during the second Nagorno—Karabakh war, we can still make a difference if we take a more active role today. War is not the solution, and the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh cannot be solved by military force. This is one of the lessons learned from the first war. Falsification of history, as well as war against cultural heritage, cannot be justified. Actions perpetrated by Armenia in the past, and damage to Azerbaijani heritage over the past decades does not justify attacks on cultural heritage in the present. Sustainable peace has to be negotiated. Reconciliation and rehabilitation should stem from mutual respect, including respect for minority rights and protection of historical, religious and cultural heritage. While effort is needed from both sides to resolve this conflict, we condemn the continued policy of Azerbaijan to erase and deny Armenian cultural heritage in and around Nagorno-Karabakh. I would like to recall the provisional measures introduced by the International Court of Justice last year in the case of Armenia v. Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan must take all necessary measures to prevent and punish acts of vandalism and desecration affecting Armenian cultural heritage, and I urge Azerbaijan to remove all obstacles and facilitate the UNESCO independent mission of experts in order to assess the situation regarding cultural properties in and around Nagorno-Karabakh.
Debate: Destruction of cultural heritage in Nagorno-Karabakh
Date: THURSDAY, 10 MARCH 2022
Speaker: Virginie Joron
Political group: ID
Country: Estonia
Language: FR

Madame la Présidente, chers collègues, Madame la Commissaire, alors que tous nos regards sont légitimement tournés vers l’Ukraine, un autre pays européen continue à souffrir le martyre, loin des caméras et de l’agitation diplomatique, malheureusement. Ce pays, c’est l’Arménie, ce peuple est le peuple arménien, cruellement lâché par tous à l’automne 2020.  L’Arménie continue aujourd’hui de souffrir. Au Haut-Karabakh, ce territoire disputé avec l’Azerbaïdjan, les troupes azéries procèdent à la destruction du patrimoine culturel arménien de cette région, et ce dans le but de faire fuir la population arménienne de ce territoire. Il y a encore quelque temps, j’étais à Erevan et j’ai pu constater la souffrance du peuple arménien face à cette guerre qui continue. Nous nous étions émus, à juste titre, de la destruction des mausolées de Tombouctou par l’État islamique. Mais qui se soucie de l’épuration culturelle qui menace aux confins du continent européen?  Monastères, églises ou pierres tombales, 1 500 monuments culturels arméniens sont menacés de destruction. Ces actes ont déjà eu lieu par le passé au Nakhitchevan où, en 2006, l’Azerbaïdjan avait fait raser la nécropole de l’ancienne ville arménienne de Djoufa. Ces actes menacent de se répéter aujourd’hui, alors que, semble-t-il, l’Azerbaïdjan vient de créer un groupe de travail dont les activités consisteront à effacer les «inscriptions fictionnelles» arméniennes des monuments religieux ou historiques du Haut-Karabakh.  Si toutes les destructions du patrimoine culturel sont à blâmer, où qu’elles aient lieu, dans le monde entier, cette menace-là nous oblige particulièrement envers ce peuple frère, chrétien et européen.
Debate: Destruction of cultural heritage in Nagorno-Karabakh
Date: THURSDAY, 10 MARCH 2022
Speaker: Bert-Jan Ruissen
Political group: ECR
Country: France
Language: NL

Voorzitter, commissaris, collega’s, Armenië heeft een zeer rijke historie. Als eerste land ter wereld riep het in de vierde eeuw na Christus het christendom uit tot nationale religie. Vele duizenden locaties, onder meer in Nagorno-Karabach, herinneren hieraan. Door het langlopende conflict met Azerbeidzjan wordt dit culturele en religieuze erfgoed nu enorm bedreigd. Vele monumenten zijn inmiddels beschadigd of verwoest. Armeense sporen worden uitgewist door “albanisering” van het cultureel erfgoed. Het is een regelrechte poging tot geschiedvervalsing!  Met onze gezamenlijke resolutie maken we vandaag een duidelijk statement: 1)  de EU moet Azerbeidzjan streng aanspreken op de systematische vernietiging van het cultureel erfgoed; 2) een onafhankelijke onderzoeksmissie is nodig om ter plaatse de schade te inventariseren; 3) in onze nabuurschapsrelaties met Azerbeidzjan moet het onderwerp een heel prominente plek krijgen. De afbraak van het cultureel en religieus erfgoed in Nagorno-Karabach moet stoppen!
Debate: Destruction of cultural heritage in Nagorno-Karabakh
Date: THURSDAY, 10 MARCH 2022
Speaker: Martina Michels
Political group: The Left
Country: Romania
Language: DE

Frau Präsidentin, liebe Kolleginnen und Kollegen! Nach dem Waffenstillstand und dem unerträglichen Siegesgeschrei aus Baku im November 2020 ist der Südkaukasus bis heute so fragil wie zuvor, einschließlich Kampfhandlungen. Die Zerstörungen von Stein gewordener Geschichte und deren anschließende Fälschung durch Aserbaidschan sind inakzeptabel. Ethnische Homogenität ist eine Fiktion von Rassisten. Sie erklärt nirgendwo auf der Welt die Grenzen von Nationalstaaten. Die kulturellen Identitäten der Völker sind ein Mix aus positiver Migrationsgeschichte, aus einem achtsamen Umgang mit Mahnungen, aus Krieg und Vertreibung. In Bildern, Liedern und Begegnungsorten ist festgehalten, wie Versöhnung und Frieden im Alltag aussieht. Mit der heutigen Entschließung fordern wir den Zugang von Expertinnen und Experten unter dem Dach der Unesco und den Schutz zivilgesellschaftlicher Organisationen. Sie sollen das Kulturerbe der Regionen insbesondere um Bergkarabach und Nachitschewan kartografieren und sichern können. Dafür müssen auch die Minsk-Gruppe und die OSZE vermitteln, um Stabilität in der Region nachhaltig zu sichern. Die Zerstörung von Kulturgütern ist ein Symbol von Überlegenheitsdenken, das in Kriegen systematisch eingesetzt wird. Und deshalb geht es uns alle an. Und zwar überall.
Debate: Destruction of cultural heritage in Nagorno-Karabakh
Date: THURSDAY, 10 MARCH 2022
Speaker: Fabio Massimo Castaldo
Political group: NI
Country: France
Language: EN

Madam President, in these days, we are all deeply moved by the criminal invasion of Ukraine, for which Putin created unacceptable justifications. He falsified the past, bending history to his propaganda needs, and he is trying to prevent a sovereign country from choosing its own future.  Similar trends are present in Nagorno-Karabakh, where Azerbaijan’s authorities are trying to eradicate the cultural heritage of the autochthonous Armenian population in the territories they occupied with brute force. Monuments, medieval monasteries, churches, tombs: there is no respect for either the living or the dead. Cancelling the past, their leadership intends to criminally justify the future they have in mind for the region, and we cannot accept and let it happen.  From this House we must speak clearly. We call on the Azerbaijan authorities to immediately halt this barbaric vandalism and to open a constructive and inclusive dialogue in the region. Furthermore, we encourage UNESCO to put in place its fact-finding mission, and we must support their endeavours, also taking a strong position vis-à-vis Baku’s reluctance to allow such deployment. As the Roman philosopher Cicero said, history is the witness of time, the light of truth, the teacher of life and is committed to immortality. Therefore, it cannot be rewritten to justify expansionist and imperialistic ambitions.