Azernews.Az

This year the 20th anniversary of the Khojaly massacre committed by Armenians against Azerbaijanis during the Karabakh war is marked in over 100 world countries with the support of Azerbaijan’s Heydar Aliyev Foundation, the Foundation said in a statement.

The events dedicated to the genocide will be marked through the embassies, consulates, other diplomatic missions and diaspora organizations on the basis of campaign materials, according to the Foundation.

The files prepared by the foundation have become an effective ideological tool in informing the world about Azerbaijan's realities and have been distributed in many countries.

The commemorative events have been held in Washington, New York, Warsaw, London, Beijing, the Hague, Dubai, Kiev, Moscow, Berlin, Strasbourg, Brussels, Bucharest, Geneva, Ankara, Istanbul, Prague, Paris, Rome, Tbilisi, Sarajevo and other cities since 2005.

The film "Khojaly genocide" prepared by the Foundation will be screened at the commemoration ceremonies. Photographs reflecting atrocities committed by the Armenians in Khojaly and materials on the Khojaly tragedy published in influential publications will be demonstrated as well.

It is also planned to distribute a collection of booklets prepared by the Foundation, "Karabakh realities", and the book "War against Azerbaijan: a focus on cultural heritage".

"Karabakh realities" gives the opportunity to get detailed information about the history of Karabakh, an Azerbaijani region occupied by Armenian armed forces, the outbreak of the conflict, the Khojaly genocide, the consequences of the Armenian aggression and the activities of Armenian terrorist organizations against Azerbaijan.

"Karabakh realities", published since 2005 in Azerbaijani, Russian, English, German, French and other languages, will be presented to the international community this year.

The booklets have photographs and Azerbaijan's map which indicates Azerbaijani territories occupied by Armenia.

The book "War against Azerbaijan: a focus on cultural heritage", published in English, provides detailed information about vandalism committed by Armenians against Azerbaijani historical sites.

A complex devoted to the victims of the genocide will be opened by the Heydar Aliyev Foundation on the eve of the 20th anniversary of Khojaly genocide in a European city.

On February 25-26, 1992, Armenian armed forces invaded Khojaly, a town located in Azerbaijan’s Nagorno Karabakh region. During the attack, 613 people, including underage children and women, were brutally killed and hundreds of others disabled. 1,275 people were captured, including 150 whose fate is still unknown, and 5,379 people were ousted from their homes.

The Karabakh conflict emerged in 1988 over Armenia’s territorial claims. The ensuing war claimed some 30,000 lives and displaced up to a million Azerbaijanis. About 20 percent of Azerbaijani territory has been occupied by Armenian armed forces since a ceasefire was signed in 1994. Peace talks, brokered by Russia, France and the U.S. through the OSCE Minsk Group, have been largely fruitless so far.

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.