Petition on Khojaly genocide gets roughly 20,000 signatures
By Rashid Shirinov
The genocide in Azerbaijan's occupied town Khojaly is one of the most terrible massacres against innocent people in the history of mankind. This tragedy can be considered the most horrible example of Armenian vandalism against Azerbaijani people.
Two months ago, Russian historian and political analyst Oleg Kuznetsov prepared a petition addressed to the deputies of the State Duma of the Russian Federation on recognition of the Khojaly tragedy as genocide. To date, almost 20,000 people have signed the petition.
Kuznetsov, talking to Day.Az, said that every fifth person, who read the petition, signed it – that means that almost 100,000 people around the world have read the information about the Khojaly genocide from the petition.
He reminded that the petition aims to get the attention of the Russian Parliament to this issue and initiate parliamentary hearings on the tragedy in Khojaly. Therefore, it is necessary to get sufficient public support and many signatures for the petition.
The expert noted that hearings in State Duma can be initiated by one of the Russian MPs-members of the inter-parliamentary working group consisting of the MPs of the Russian and Azerbaijani parliaments.
Kuznetsov assumed that 100,000 votes would be sufficient to initiate hearing in the State Duma.
“The youth and intelligentsia are the two social forces, on which we must rely, if we want the campaign for the recognition of the Khojaly genocide by the Russian Parliament to be successful,” Kuznetsov said, adding that it is necessary to use the potential of universities for this purpose.
The petition is accessible at http://bit.ly/2n0cOY3
Late into the night of February 25, 1992, Khojaly came under intensive fire from the towns of Khankendi and Askeran already occupied by Armenian armed forces. The Armenian forces, supported by the ex-Soviet 366th regiment, completed the surrounding of the town already isolated due to ethnic cleansing of the Azerbaijani population of the neighboring regions. The joint forces occupied the town, which was ruined by heavy artillery shelling.
Of 3,000 people who were in the town of Khojaly at the moment of the Armenian attack 613 were killed, including 106 women, 63 children and 70 elders. 487 people were severely wounded, including 76 children. 1,275 people were captured and subjected to unprecedented torture, the fate of 197 people still remains unknown. Eight families were totally annihilated, 130 children lost one and 25 lost both parents.
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Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @RashidShirinov
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