Azernews.Az

ANKARA – A documentary filmed by the Turkish TRT TV channel’s Baku bureau, devoted to March 31, the anniversary of the massacre of Azerbaijanis committed by Armenians in 1918, was presented on Wednesday.

Turkish Ambassador Hulusi Kilic said at the presentation of the "Why are we being killed?" film held in the Turkish embassy that the massacres were committed on ethnic grounds. "We are being killed just because we are Turks," he said.

The massacre was unleashed by the Baku Soviet (city executive power in the Soviet times) and Armenian Dashnaks (nationalists) in Baku and Ganja, as well as in Shamakhy, Guba, Neftchala and Kurdamir regions, between March 30 and April 3, 1918. According to official sources, about 700,000 Azerbaijanis were brutally killed, including some 30,000 people slain in Baku, and tens of thousands went missing.

Kilic noted that Turkey’s border with Armenia has been shut for 18 years. "No country would do this for another’s sake. But Turkey will always stand by Azerbaijan, and Azerbaijan will stand by Turkey."

Turkey and Armenia have been at odds for decades and their shared border has been shut since 1993 due to Armenia’s occupation of Azerbaijani territory and Armenian claims on a 1915 "genocide".

Azerbaijani lawmaker Ganira Pashayeva thanked the TRT TV channel for shooting films about Azerbaijan’s history, saying that with the aid of such films the truth about the country should be conveyed to the whole world.

"This is the only way to counter the widespread Armenian lies in the world," Pashayeva said.

The TRT documentary describes the massacres committed by the Armenians in Azerbaijan in 1918-1920 and in the late 20th century, and particularly the Khojaly carnage of 1992, which occurred during the Nagorno Karabakh war. The film contains footage of the developments and commentary from historians and analysts. During the massacres of 1918-1920, the Ottoman Empire’s army, which came to Azerbaijan’s help, lost 1,130 soldiers.