Azernews.Az

By Sara Rajabova

Azerbaijani people, as well as Azerbaijanis living abroad, commemorate the 22nd anniversary of the Khojaly genocide on February 26.

The Khojaly massacre is one of the most terrible and tragic pages in the Azerbaijani history.

The heinous crime against innocent civilians was committed by Armenia.

This tragedy has been the continuation of the ethnic cleansing and genocide policy of Armenia against Azerbaijani people for over 200 years.

Contrary to all norms of the international law, the Armenian government wanted to annex Nagorno-Karabakh and proved it is ready to resort to any kind of crime and barbarism for the sake of its ideology.

The Khojaly massacre was one of the most serious crimes not only against the people of Azerbaijan, but the humanity as a whole. The Khojaly genocide is comparable to the genocides in Khatin, Hiroshima, Nagasaki and Songmi.

Late into the night from February 25 to 26, 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.

There were 3,000 people in the town when the Armenian military forces attacked, as the most part of the population had to leave town during 4-month blockade. The Armenian armed 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.

As many as 613 civilians mostly women and children were killed in the massacre, and a total of 1,000 people were disabled. Eight families were exterminated, 25 children lost both parents, and 130 children lost one parent.

Moreover, 1,275 innocent people were taken hostage, and the fate of 150 of them remains unknown. Civilians were shot at close range, scalped, and burned alive. Some had their eyes gouged out and others were beheaded.

All these were committed by Armenian militaries with special mercilessness and inconceivable barbarism.

The Azerbaijani government has taken various measures to bring to the international community the realities about the Khojaly massacre.

The "Justice for Khojaly" International Awareness Campaign was initiated in 2008 by Leyla Aliyeva, General Coordinator of the Islamic Conference Youth Forum for Dialogue and Cooperation.

The Campaign is aimed at raising international civil awareness by creative photos and images depicting people who have suffered during the Karabakh conflict, particularly the Khojaly massacre. They also try to reaching out throughout the world via media, Internet, and live events.

The parliaments of several countries, OIC and the U.S. states have passed the resolutions recognizing the Khojaly genocide. The parliaments of Pakistan, Mexico, Colombia, Romania, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Czech Republic, Jordan, as well as legislative bodies of about 20 states of the Unites States, including Texas, New-Mexico, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Western Virginia, New-Jersey and Tennessee have adopted relevant documents.

This grave crime against Azerbaijani people should not remain without punishment. Armenian military-political aggression must be condemned by world community, and perpetrators of Khojaly massacre should be brought before the international court.