Connecticut legislative body adopts document on Khojaly genocide
By Sara Rajabova
The House of Representatives of the U.S. state of Connecticut has passed a document on the 22th anniversary of Khojaly genocide.
Vice-Speaker of the House of Representatives Kevin Ryan and House Majority Leader Joe Aresimowicz presented the document to the counselor at the Azerbaijani embassy in the United States, Mamed Talibov, the embassy said.
The document was presented to the Azerbaijani side at an event marking the fourth Annual Turkic Day in Hartford city of Connecticut.
Armenian armed forces, supported by the ex-Soviet 366th regiment, occupied and ruined the town of Khojali by heavy artillery shelling on February 26, 1992.
As many as 613 civilians, mostly women and children, were killed in the massacre, and a total of 1,000 people were disabled. Eight families were exterminated, 25 children lost both parents, and 130 children lost one parent.
Moreover, 1,275 innocent people were taken hostage, and the fate of 150 of them remains unknown.
Civilians were shot at close range, scalped, and burned alive. Some had their eyes gouged out and others were beheaded.
The legislative bodies of many countries have adopted resolutions recognizing the crime committed by the Armenians against the peaceful people of Khojali as genocide.
The parliaments of Pakistan, Mexico, Colombia, Romania, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Czech Republic, Jordan, as well as the legislative bodies of about 20 states of the Unites States including Texas, New-Mexico, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Western Virginia, New-Jersey, and Tennessee have adopted relevant documents.
The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) adopted a final Cairo Communiqué in February 2013 at the summit held in Egypt's capital, calling the Khojaly tragedy as genocide against humanity.
The Communiqué also calls on the international community to recognize the genocide.