Azerbaijan seeks int'l recognition of Khojaly genocide
By Vugar Khalilov
The Azerbaijani parliament has urged the international community to recognize the Khojaly genocide committed by Armenians against Azerbaijani civilians in 1992.
In a statement issued on the 30th anniversary of the Khojaly genocide, the Azerbaijani legislative body called on the world parliaments to recognize and condemn the genocide to prevent similar tragedies in the future.
The statement emphasized that the Khojaly genocide should be given the necessary legal and political assessment by the international community and that the perpetrators, organizers, and ideologues should be arrested and punished.
The document described the genocide as a serious crime against humanity, stressing that Armenians intended to break the will of the Azerbaijani people and occupy the territories by committing the Khojaly genocide.
"During the Khojaly genocide committed by Armenians against the Azerbaijani people, 5,379 people were deported, 1,275 people were taken prisoner and tortured (the fate of 150 of them, including 68 women and 26 children is still unknown), 487 people were injured. 1,000 civilians of all ages became disabled from gunshot wounds, eight families were completely destroyed, 130 children lost one parent and 25 children lost both parents, 613 people, including 63 children, 70 elderly people and 106 women were brutally killed by torture,” the statement added.
Armenia committed genocide against the 7,000-person population of Azerbaijan's Khojaly town on February 26, 1992.
Relevant documents adopted by the parliaments of Mexico, Pakistan, the Czech Republic, Peru, Colombia, Panama, Honduras, Sudan, Guatemala and Djibouti recognized the Khojaly massacre as an act of genocide. The parliaments of Romania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Jordan, Slovenia, Scotland, and Paraguay, as well as the executive and legislative bodies of 22 U.S. states have strongly condemned the Khojaly tragedy as a massacre. The Organization of Islamic Cooperation recognized Armenia as an aggressor and the Khojaly tragedy as genocide.
Every year on February 26, Azerbaijan marks the anniversary of the Khojaly genocide and pays tribute to the memories of victims.
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