We Are Our Mountains

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We Are Our Mountains ({{langx|hy|Մենք ենք մեր լեռները|Menk' enk' mer leṙnerə}}; {{langx|az|Biz və bizim dağlar}}) is a monument north of Stepanakert in the region of Nagorno-Karabakh, Azerbaijan. The sculpture, completed in 1967 by Sargis Baghdasaryan, is widely regarded as a symbol of the Armenian heritage of Nagorno-Karabakh, with some considering it to be a symbol of Armenian identity as a whole.

The monument is made from volcanic tuff and depicts an old man and woman hewn from rock, representing the mountain people of Karabakh. It is known colloquially as "Tatik-Papik" (տատիկ-պապիկ) in Armenian and "Dedo-Babo" (Դեդո-Բաբո) in the Karabakh dialect, which translates as "Grandmother and Grandfather". The sculpture is prominent in Artsakh's coat of arms.[http://www.haut-karabagh.com/?p=163 Coat of Arms]

On 29 September 2023, Azerbaijani officials placed the flag of Azerbaijan on the monument, on the same day of the Azerbaijani takeover of Stepanakert,{{Cite web |date=2023-09-29 |title=Armenians describe journey to safety after fall of their homeland |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/nagorno-karabakh-armenia-azerbaijan-refugees-b2421023.html |access-date=2023-09-30 |website=The Independent |language=en}} after the Azerbaijani military offensive in Nagorno-Karabakh undertaken ten days earlier and the subsequent flight of the Armenian population.{{Cite web |url=https://www.businesslend.com/news/presidential-representative-in-karabakh-shares-image-from-azerbaijans-khankendi/ |title=Presidential consultant in Karabakh shares picture from Azerbaijan's Khankendi |date=29 September 2023 |access-date=29 September 2023 |archive-date=30 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230930010259/https://www.businesslend.com/sports/lisandro-martinez-could-be-out-for-two-months-in-latest-man-utd-injury-blow/ |url-status=live }} Concerns were raised that Azerbaijan could demolish the monument.{{Cite magazine |date=2023-10-12 |title=The Cultural Genocide Against Armenians |url=https://time.com/6322574/cultural-genocide-armenia-nagorno-karabakh-essay/ |access-date=2024-01-01 |magazine=TIME |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Nayyar |first=Rhea |date=2023-10-02 |title=Symbolic Armenian Monument in Artsakh at Risk of Destruction |url=http://hyperallergic.com/847990/symbolic-armenian-monument-in-artsakh-at-risk-of-destruction/ |access-date=2024-01-01 |website=Hyperallergic |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |last=Rusia |first=Redacción |date=2023-09-27 |title=Artsakh: the end of history |url=https://www.pressenza.com/2023/09/artsakh-the-end-of-history/ |access-date=2024-01-01 |website=Pressenza |language=en-US}} Instead the Azeri government would appropriate the monument, claiming that "it was built in the city of Khankendi in Azerbaijan in 1967 and that it is one of the many examples of Azerbaijan's tolerance of multicultural and national-religious monument[s]" while also claiming that the monument was "Armenianized" and that it had always been an Azeri symbol.{{cite web |title=Azerbaijan starts process of appropriating Karabakh's 'We Are Our Mountains' monument |url=https://news.am/eng/news/839479.html |website=News.am |access-date=23 September 2024}}

File:Nagorno 5 dram 2.jpg coin with Tatik Papik.]]

File:«Մենք ենք, մեր լեռները»4.jpg

Eurovision 2009 image controversy

{{Main|Armenia–Azerbaijan relations in the Eurovision Song Contest}}

During the Eurovision Song Contest 2009, We Are Our Mountains was included, among other local symbols, in the introductory "postcard" preceding the {{Esccnty|Armenia|y=2009|t=Armenian performance}}. İctimai Television (İTV) complained to the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) about the use of the monument in the Armenian intro, since the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh is de jure part of Azerbaijan.{{cite news |date=2023-09-28 |title=A humanitarian disaster is under way in Nagorno-Karabakh |url=https://www.economist.com/leaders/2023/09/28/a-humanitarian-disaster-is-under-way-in-nagorno-karabakh |accessdate=2023-10-01 |newspaper=The Economist }} In response to the complaint, the image was edited out of the video in the finals. In response, the Public Television Company of Armenia (AMPTV) displayed images of the monument on a video screen in the background, and on the back of the clipboard held by its spokesperson Sirusho while presenting the Armenian votes at the finals.{{cite web |url=http://www.frontlineclub.com/festering_wounds_overshadow_eurovision_in_the_south_caucasus |title=Ethnic rivalry wins over kitsch in the Caucasus |last=Krikorian |first=Onnik |date=2009-05-16 |publisher=Frontline Club |accessdate=2008-09-17 }}

In popular culture

This monument is featured in the artwork of the songs "Protect the Land" and "Genocidal Humanoidz" by the American band System of a Down to draw attention to the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War.{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/system-of-a-down-new-songs-protect-the-land-genocidal-humanoidz-1085942/|title=Hear System of a Down's First New Music in 15 Years, 'Protect the Land' and 'Genocidal Humanoidz'|magazine=Rolling Stone|date=6 November 2020|access-date=6 November 2020}}