Azerbaijan has removed 51 sculptures from the Sculpture Park of the Shushi Museum of Fine Arts and wants to turn them into a football pitch. The mayor of Shushi, Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh), Artsvik Sargsyan, told this to Armenian News-NEWS.am.

As reported earlier, the Caucasus Heritage Watch informed on Facebook that satellite imagery shows that between April 10 and June 5, the 51 sculptures at the aforesaid park were removed and the area was completely cleared.

"It was impossible for them [Azerbaijanis] not to resort to that vandalism. Everything is expected from them. If there are even a few monuments left, it was from God. Every year they [people] used to come from abroad, make sculptures and install [them] on the spot. Thus it had become a park of sculptures. It was green-covered and built of tiles," added Artsvik Sargsyan.

According to him Azerbaijan has destroyed all Armenian monuments in Shushi.

In her turn, Lusine Gasparyan, the director of "Shushi City Museums" SNCO, told Armenian News-NEWS.am that they have evidence that Azerbaijanis have destroyed this sculpture park, but it is not clear yet what they have done with its sculptures. "The works not only by Armenians, but also by Italians, Americans, Japanese, Chinese, as well as by sculptors representing peoples of different countries were presented there," she added.

Lusine Gasparyan said that the Artsakh Ministry of Culture is dealing with that issue.

"They apply to various international organizations, but the world remains silent again, as if no one is interested in it; no concrete steps have been taken so far," she concluded.