Azernews.Az

By Sara Rajabova

The 24th anniversary of the heinous bloodshed committed in Azerbaijani capital, Baku on January 20, 1990 was commemorated in different countries of the world.

The diplomatic missions of Azerbaijan abroad organized serious of events to mark the anniversary of the tragic day, which went down in Azerbaijan's history as the Black January.

Azerbaijan`s Embassy in Saudi Arabia has hosted an event commemorating the Black January events. The event started with a moment of silence for the victims of the tragedy.

Opening the ceremony, Ambassador Rasim Rzayev informed about the events that happened on January 20, 1990 when the Soviet troops stormed Baku to commit a massacre against civilian Azerbaijanis, who took to the streets for their independence and territorial integrity.

Rzayev called the tragedy one of the bloodiest crimes of the Soviet empire against its citizens. He drew the participants' attention to the fact that the Soviet troops had used internationally prohibited weapons in Baku, and slaughtered women, children and the elderly.

The envoy also spoke of the Azerbaijani government`s attention to families of those who had been killed in the tragic events.

The ceremony featured demonstration of "The Path to Independence" documentary, and the participants then viewed a photo exhibition and a special edition of IRS magazine on the tragedy.

Azerbaijan`s Embassy in Kuwait also arranged a series of commemorative events to mark the anniversary of the Black January tragedy.

A round table meeting, organized at the embassy, was attended by Kuwaiti teachers, scholars and young intellectuals. The participants watched a documentary about the Soviet army`s atrocities in Baku and other cities of Azerbaijan.

The event provided an insight into the events that led to and followed the tragedy, including national leader Heydar Aliyev's coming to Azerbaijani representation in Moscow immediately after the massacre where he strongly condemned the perpetuators of the crime and demanded their punishment.

Arab language "Bloody January tragedy" photo books and CDs were distributed among the participants.

The Embassy also hosted a commemorative evening, which was attended by Azerbaijanis living and working in Kuwait. The participants watched a documentary and viewed a photo exhibition on the Black January.

Also, the Azerbaijani embassy in Uzbekistan has organized a commemorative event on the 24th anniversary of the Black January tragedy.

Director of Azerbaijan Culture Center Samir Abbasov gave a brief history of the events which led to the 20 January tragedy. He praised the Azerbaijani government`s attention to families of the Black January victims.

Azerbaijan`s Consulate General in Kars has also arranged a commemorative ceremony on the occasion of the 24th anniversary of the January events.

The ceremony, attended by leadership of Kars, staff members of the Azerbaijani diplomatic representation in the city, as well as local public figures, began with a minute`s silence.

Opening the event, Azerbaijan`s Consul General Aykhan Suleymanov highlighted the country`s path to independence as well as the events that led to the January 20 tragedy.

Kars Municipality chairman Nevzat Bozkus and professor at Kars Caucasus University Hacali Necefoglu spoke of the struggle of the Azerbaijani and Anatolian Turks against the Armenian gangsters throughout history.

The event ended with demonstration of a documentary on the Black January.

The Azerbaijani Embassy in China also hosted a commemorative event to mark the 24th anniversary of the 20 January tragedy.

Addressing the ceremony, Ambassador Latif Gandilov briefed the event participants on the bloody tragedy.

He said the 20 January 1990 is a day, which went down in the history as the struggle for the freedom and territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, and as a heroism page.

The foreign media also highlighted the tragedy committed against Azerbaijani people in 1990.