Memory of Khojaly genocide victims commemorated in Moscow
Qabil Ashirov
Read moreAn event was held at the Embassy of Azerbaijan in Russia, organised jointly with the representative office of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation in Russia, dedicated to the 32nd anniversary of the Khojaly genocide, Trend reports.
The event was attended by ambassadors, representatives of the diplomatic corps, the Russian public, the diaspora, the Azerbaijan Youth Association of Russia, and Azerbaijani students studying in Moscow.
Before the official part of the event, the ambassadors of Azerbaijan, Türkiye, and Pakistan, along with the guests present, laid flowers at the bas-relief of the National Leader of the Azerbaijani people, Heydar Aliyev, installed in the Embassy building, as well as a banner dedicated to the victims of the Khojaly tragedy. The funeral music played in the hall was performed by a string quartet.
Opening the event, Ambassador of Azerbaijan to Russia Polad Bulbuloglu noted that this Day of Remembrance differs from previous ones in that today Khojaly, like the entire territory of Azerbaijan, is completely liberated from the occupiers.
Khojaly is an unhealing wound of the Azerbaijani people. This is one of the most serious crimes committed against the civilian Azerbaijani population during the long-term aggression of Armenia and one of the most tragic pages in the history of Azerbaijan.
Polad Bulbuloglu emphasised the special significance of the fact that it was on this day that President Ilham Aliyev paid a visit to Khojaly, where he laid the foundation of the Khojaly Genocide Memorial and met with representatives of the public.
The ambassador noted that this year for the first time the entire country, especially, Khojaly, liberated from occupation, commemorates the events of February 26 with a completely different, special feeling, with the head held high, as the National Flag of Azerbaijan proudly flies over the city.
The ambassador emphasised that at one time, a political and legal assessment of such a bloody crime was given only after the return of National Leader Heydar Aliyev to the leadership of the country. The great role played by the international information campaign “Justice for Khojaly,” initiated by Vice-President of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation Leyla Aliyeva, was also noted, within the framework of which young people both in Azerbaijan and abroad actively take part in preserving the memory of the victims of the tragedy.
Polad Bulbuloglu, addressing the representatives of the younger generation present, admonished them to never forget the difficult pages of the history of their country and to spread information about the Khojaly genocide among their peers and the international community.
In his speech, the ambassador paid special attention to the problem of mine terror.
In conclusion, Polad Bulbuloglu emphasized that Azerbaijan, being committed to the normalisation of Azerbaijani-Armenian interstate relations, insists on compliance with international obligations and the renunciation of territorial claims on the part of Armenia, as it is confident that there is no alternative to the peaceful development of the region.
Then, an activist of the Azerbaijan Youth Association of Russia, student of the First Moscow Medical State University named after I.M. Sechenov, Gunel Mirieva, read the poems of the poetess Naila Nadir, “My land, my Karabakh.”
Next, the quartet performed Edvard Grieg’s mournful work, “The Death of Ose.”
On this day, a large stand was installed at the entrance to the Embassy, dedicated to the memory of those killed in the Khojaly tragedy. Azerbaijanis living in Moscow, representatives of the diaspora, and students laid flowers at the memorial throughout the day.
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