Azernews.Az

By Nigar Orujova

Azerbaijan's State Commission on Prisoners of War, Hostages and Missing Persons marked the 20th anniversary of its establishment on Wednesday.

President Ilham Aliyev sent a congratulatory message to the Commission saying that during its activity, the Commission has gone through a hard way of struggle, always abided by the national and state interests and has been guided in its work by the principles of humanism of the Azerbaijani state.

"This commission jointly with state bodies, public and international organizations honorably fulfilled such a high humanitarian mission as repatriating people taken hostages and captives as a result of the aggression on the part of Armenia, as well as determining the fate of the missing people," the president's message said. "Distribution of the solicitation material prepared by the Commission and its working group about the historical roots, reasons of the emergence and the grave consequences of the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, and the humanitarian disaster played an indispensable role in conveying to the international community the actual truth about the conflict."

On the occasion of the anniversary, the Commission held an event attended by Chairman Eldar Mahmudov, Deputy Prime Minister Ali Hasanov, representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, and the leaders of the OSCE in Azerbaijan.

During the meeting it was noted that in the late 1980s and early 1990s events unfolded very quickly, resulting in great anxiety in the society. Those who lost their loved ones did not know who to turn to for help. To resolve this humanitarian issue, the State Commission on Prisoners of War, Hostages and Missing Persons of the Republic of Azerbaijan was established in 1993.

From the very first days of its inception, the commission cooperated with the International Committee of the Red Cross, and this partnership continues today.

Since then the commission has published a lot of books and other materials revealing the truth about Armenian terrorism and atrocities committed by the Armenians.

The commission has established that 553 Azerbaijanis have been killed or died in captivity.

It was also stressed that much work should be done to solve the humanitarian problem, investigate the fate of the missing people, and that the humanitarian disaster cannot be alleviated until the current status quo changes.

The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict emerged in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. The two South Caucasus neighbors fought a lengthy war that ended with the signing of a precarious cease-fire in 1994. Armenian armed forces have since occupied over 20 percent of Azerbaijan's internationally recognized territory. Peace talks brokered by US, Russian and French mediators have been largely fruitless so far.

Armenia has not yet implemented the U.N. Security Council's four resolutions on a pullout from Nagorno-Karabakh and the seven surrounding regions.