Azernews.Az

An appeal over the upcoming 20th anniversary of the Khojaly massacre of Azerbaijanis committed by Armenian armed forces during the 1990s war and a million signatures urging recognition of the genocide have been submitted to the Dutch parliament, according to Azerbaijan’s embassy in the Netherlands.

The initiative was made as part of the Justice for Khojaly campaign, which aims to increase the awareness of the world community about the Khojaly massacre. Representatives of the campaign, Azerbaijani-Dutch Friendship Society and other Azerbaijani diaspora activists have met with senior members of the Dutch parliament’s foreign affairs commission, and lawmakers representing the Dutch Labor Party and Christian-Democratic Party.

During the meeting, Gert van Damme, coordinator of the Justice for Khojaly campaign in the country, urged punishing those responsible for the mass killings of Azerbaijani civilians in Khojaly and expressed hope that the issue would be raised in the Dutch legislature. He asked the parliament and public of the Netherlands, which is considered one of the world’s most democratic countries, to support the efforts to ensure that justice is served with regard to the Khojaly issue.

Marion Van der Vegt, CEO of Azerbaijani-Dutch Friendship Society, said the Netherlands and the world community at large should give a legal and political assessment to the atrocities perpetrated in Khojaly, which occurred only 20 years ago and have been fully confirmed.

Van Damme and Van der Vegt submitted the list of signatures, titled "One million signatures – one wish", to the Dutch parliament.

During the attack on Khojaly, a town located in Azerbaijan’s occupied Nagorno Karabakh region, on February 25-26, 1992, 613 people were brutally killed, 1,275 captured, and hundreds of others were disabled and went missing.

This story is published by AzerNEWS Weekly under a project funded by the Foundation for State Assistance to the Development of the Media under the President of the Azerbaijan Republic.