Azernews.Az

By Laman Sadigova

The resolution calling to punish the organizers of the Khojaly massacre was adopted during the 11th session of PUIC conference in Bangdad on January 25.

The resolution entitled “Cooperation between the Islamic Conference Youth Forum and the Parliamentary Union of OIC Member States (PUIC)” aims at ensuring recognition of the Khojali genocide, committed by the Armenian armed forces in the early 1990s.

The resolution also calls on the OIC member states to take necessary measures to bring to justice the perpetrators of the Khojaly genocide.

A relevant section of the resolution, adopted by members of the 54 states of the parliaments, supports the international “Justice for Khojaly” campaign initiated by the Vice-President of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, General Coordinator of the O.I.C. Youth Forum for international dialogue Leyla Aliyeva.

In 1992, on February 26, the Armenian armed forces unleashed hell onto Azerbaijan, targeting innocent and unarmed civilians. Hundreds perished by the hands of Armenian soldiers, lost to a hatred they did not understand.

The town of Khojaly, the second largest town in the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan, came under intense fire by the Armenian armed forces.

Some 613 civilians mostly women and children were killed in the Khojaly genocide, 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 “Justice for Khojaly” International Awareness Campaign, which was launched in 2009, was aimed to catch an international attention to this brutal massacre. To raise 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 parliaments of Pakistan, Mexico, Colombia, Romania, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Czech Republic, Jordan, as well as the legislative bodies of more than 15 states of the Unites States, including New-Mexico, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Western Virginia, New-Jersey, Tennessee and Arizona have adopted relevant documents.

The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) adopted a final Cairo Communiqué in February 2013, at its summit held in Egypt, labeling the Khojaly tragedy genocide against humanity. The Communiqué calls on the international community to recognize the genocide.