Azernews.Az

By Sara Rajabova

The European Parliament hosted an international conference titled "'Impunity and Responsibilities after Crimes against Humanity and Ethnic Cleansing."

The conference took place at the headquarters of the European Parliament in Brussels as part of the international awareness campaign "Justice for Khojaly".

The event was co-organized by the Youth Forum of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and the European Muslims Initiatives of Social Cohesion (EMISCO) with the support of the Youth Foundation under the presidency of Azerbaijan.

The conference brought together members of the European Parliament, ambassadors accredited in Brussels, and representatives of various international organizations.

The event aimed at increasing awareness of the world community about the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

Members of the European Parliament Karin Kadenbach and Sajjad Karim provided an insight into the history of the Khojaly massacre which was perpetrated by the Armenian armed forces.

The event also saw speeches by Azerbaijani ambassador to Belgium Fuad Isgandarov and representative of the OIC in the European Union Arif Mammadov. They briefed the participants on the Armenian aggression against Azerbaijan as a result of which 20 percent of the country`s territories were occupied and more than one million Azerbaijanis became IDPs (internally displaced person).

Coordinator of the international campaign "Justice for Khojaly" Sevinc Isgandarova also explained about the campaign.

The opening ceremony was followed by panel discussions, where speakers John Mukimbiri, Mark Barwick, Ozbil Biyikli, Vusal Gurbanov and Amir Foratan called crimes against humanity as a threat to all mankind. They said all perpetrators of such crimes must be punished.

The "Justice for Khojaly" International Awareness Campaign was initiated in 2009 by Leyla Aliyeva, General Coordinator of the Islamic Conference Youth Forum for Dialogue and Cooperation.

The Campaign is aimed at raising international civil awareness through demonstration of creative photos and images of suffered people in the Karabakh conflict and in particular Khojaly massacre, as well as reaching out globally via media, Internet and live events.

The Campaign is also aimed at raising awareness on grave situation of oppressed people (due to total ethnic cleansing only Armenians are allowed to remain at the mentioned territories) under the military regime of occupation forces in Nagorno-Karabakh and on necessity for promotion of liberation of this ancient cradle of civilization. It also calls on the global community to remove the root cause of the conflict.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

In 1992, the town of Khojaly, situated within the administrative borders of the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan, came under intensive fire from the towns of Khankendi and Askeran already occupied by Armenian armed forces. The Armenian forces, supported by the ex-Soviet 366th regiment, completed the surrounding of the town already isolated due to ethnic cleansing of the Azerbaijani population of the neighboring regions. The joint forces occupied the town, which was ruined by heavy artillery shelling.

Thousands of fleeing civilians were ambushed by the Armenian forces. Punitive teams of the so-called Nagorno-Karabakh defense army reached the unprotected civilians to slaughter them, mutilating some of the bodies. 613 civilians, including 106 women, 70 elderly and 83 children, were killed in the massacre. A total of 1,000 civilians were also disabled. Eight families were exterminated, and 25 children lost both parents, while 130 children lost one parent. Moreover, 1,275 innocent people were taken hostage, while the fate of 150 remains unknown.