Azernews.Az

By Sara Rajabova

U.S. Azeris Network (USAN) has launched its annual letter campaign informing the American public about the events which took place in Baku on January 20, 1990, also known as Black January, Azertag news agency reported on Tuesday.

The USAN statement says that on January 19-20, 1990, sovereign Azerbaijan was invaded by Soviet troops. A courageous resistance by Azerbaijanis to the Soviet invasion continued into February. Eventually, 170 Azerbaijanis were killed, 321 disappeared (their bodies never recovered), over 700 wounded, and still hundreds more were rounded up and detained.

The letter provides statistical details from the book "Black January: Baku 1990. Documents and materials" with reference to data from the Ministry of Healthcare of Azerbaijan SSR: By February 1, 1990, 706 people had applied for medical assistance to medical facilities of Baku. The court medical bureau had accepted 84 persons. 73 of them were with gunshot wounds (16 in their backs), smashed by APCs 8, and bayoneted wounds 2. By February 9, 1990, 170 people, including 6 Russians, 7 Jews, Tatars and Lezgins, had died. Among the dead are six women and 9 children. 370 people were wounded. 321 people disappeared."

The Soviet aggression against Azerbaijan during 70 years came to the end with the bloody tragedy on January 20, 1990. Late at that night 26,000 Soviet Special Forces called "Alfa", without declaring state of emergency, entered to Baku and committed ferocity action against innocent Azerbaijani people. The invasion was launched at the midnight and committed with brutality and no mercy for children, women and elderly.

Despite being subjected to military, political and moral aggression, Azerbaijani national movement succeeded to stand against Soviet challenge, and Soviet troops eventually had to withdraw from Baku. Subsequently Azerbaijan declared its independence on October 18, 1991. With the Decrees of the President of Azerbaijan Heydar Aliyev of December 16, 1999 all the victims of the crackdown were awarded the title "Martyrs of January 20."

Through USAN's letter campaign, members of Azerbaijani-American community inform the American public and call their legislators to issue proclamations and resolutions to officially commemorate the victims of January 20 by the government of the United States. The campaign will last by January 22. In the last two years, USAN has received two official resolutions on Black January from the parliaments of Texas and New York.