Azernews.Az

By Sara Rajabova

The senate of the U.S.’ Arizona State has recognized the Khojaly genocide, a heinous crime committed by the Armenian armed forces against Azerbaijani civilians in early 1990s.

Arizona State Senate adopted a resolution on February 25 recognizing and condemning the Khojaly Genocide.

The resolution was presented to Azerbaijan’s Consul General in Los Angeles Nasimi Aghayev, who was present at the Senate Floor Session.

The document said on February 25 and 26, 1992, Armenian armed forces occupied the town of Khojaly in Azerbaijan and “killed more than six hundred civilians, wounded more than one thousand civilians; and captured more than one thousand two hundred civilians”.

“The Human Rights Watch called it the “largest massacre in the conflict”; major United States and international news organizations reported about the killings with horror; and numerous governments around the world as well as state legislatures passed resolutions condemning the attack,” the document reads.

The resolution mentions that the “perpetrators of this carnage are still at large and have not been brought to justice yet”.

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 resolution noted that “military forces continue to occupy twenty percent of Azerbaijan’s internationally recognized territory, in the Nagorno-Karabakh region and the surrounding seven regions.

Armenia occupied over 20 percent of Azerbaijan's internationally recognized territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven adjacent regions, after laying territorial claims against its South Caucasus neighbor that caused a brutal war in the early 1990s. Long-standing efforts by U.S, Russian and French mediators have been largely fruitless so far.

The resolution also mentions that “resolutions condemning the occupation of Azerbaijan’s territory by Armenian forces have been passed by the United Nations Security Council and the General Assembly”.

The document concluded by stating that the State Senate of Arizona honors the victims of the Khojaly tragedy, and recognizes February 26 as the 23rd anniversary of the Khojaly tragedy.

This is the first official document on the Khojaly Genocide adopted by Arizona. Thus Arizona becomes the 16th U.S. State to recognize and condemn the Khojaly Genocide.

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 short video of the resolution’s adoption can be viewed here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pNuRKBo6fyo&feature=youtu.be

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Sara Rajabova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @SaraRajabova

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