Texas legislative body working on new resolution on Khojaly tragedy
By Sara Rajabova
Jean Wu, a member of the Texas House of Representatives in the United States has circulated at the parliament a resolution in connection with the 23rd anniversary of the Khojaly tragedy, committed by the Armenia armed forces in early 1990s.
If approved, this would be the second resolution on Azerbaijan by the parliament of Texas, Azerbaijani State Committee for Work with Diaspora told Trend on February 17 quoting the U.S. Azeris Network - the organization of the Azerbaijani diaspora in the United States.
The resolution noted that the civilian population of Khojaly in Azerbaijan’s Nagorno-Karabakh region was killed by Armenian armed forces in early 1990s.
In 1992, the town of Khojaly came under intense fire from the towns of Khankendi and Askeran already occupied by the Armenian armed forces. 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, the fate of 150 of them remains unknown. Many civilians were shot at close range, scalped or burned alive.
The document also emphasized that the killing of civilians in Khojaly isonly one of the tragedies in the history of Armenia's occupation of the Azerbaijani territories.
The resolution also noted that it is a bitter reminder of the crimes that may occur during the war, and the importance of dialogue in order to avoid violence.
The legislative bodies of many countries have already adopted resolutions recognizing the crime committed by Armenians against the peaceful people in Khojaly as 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 New-Mexico, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Western Virginia, New-Jersey and Tennessee have adopted relevant documents.
The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) called the Khojaly tragedy a genocide in its Cairo Communiqué in February 2013. The Communiqué also urged the international community to recognize the tragedy as a genocide.
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Sara Rajabova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on
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