Azernews.Az

By Amina Nazarli

The 24^th anniversary of the Khojaly genocide, committed by the Armenian militaries in early 1990s, will be marked by Azerbaijanis living in the world countries and Azerbaijani Diaspora organizations in a large scale.

The State Committee for Work with Diaspora has already approved the plan of actions in conjunction with the next anniversary of the Khojaly genocide. The plan provides scientific and practical conferences, "round tables", a photo exhibition, film and videos, protests, flash mobs and etc.

Khojaly, the second largest town in the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan, came under intense fire from the towns of Khankendi and Askeran already occupied by the Armenian armed forces in 1992.

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.

The events, bringing to the world the truth about Armenian vandalism, will be held in Germany, Sweden, Switzerland, Belgium, Denmark, Netherlands, France, Poland, Finland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Romania, Hungary, Moldova, Belarus and other cities. Azerbaijani community in Denmark entitled “Vatan”, Azerbaijan Federation of Sweden, Culture and Youth Association of Azerbaijan-Romania, Benelux Azerbaijanis Congress and other national missions and diaspora organizations in Europe have planned to organize commemorative events and take measures towards spreading truth about Khojaly Genocide.

The Coordination Center of Azerbaijanis in Germany, “Khazar” community, German-Azerbaijani Culture Society “Bielefeld NRW” and “Alm.Az” community will also hold several events in connection with the tragedy.

The Azerbaijani House in Germany planned to organize a flashmob at the Alexanderplatz Square in Berlin on February 24. March to the Brandenburg Gate is scheduled for February 28.

"Odlar Yurdu" community operating in the Netherlands will hand out brochures on the Khojaly tragedy, and hold a commemorative event in front of the Dutch Parliament.

The events are also expected to be held in the U.S. and Canada. The U.S. Azerbaijani Network (USAN) will hold a ceremony to commemorate the victims of the Khojaly massacre, as well as send an appeal to the U.S. Congress and state legislatures.

The American Society of Azerbaijani culture in Northern California, Cultural Center of Northern Azerbaijan, and Azerbaijani House will also organize events dedicated to the Khojaly genocide, while Azerbaijan-American Women's Association will hold a protest in front of UN headquarters in New York.

Organizations such as the United Diaspora of Ukrainian Azerbaijanis, the regional offices of the United Congress of Azerbaijanis of Ukraine, Ukraine- Azerbaijan Society of Friendship will also hold commemorative events.

The commemorative events on the eve of the anniversary of the tragedy will also be organized in Turkey, Georgia and Russia. A presentation of the book "Anthology of Khojaly Poetry" will be held in Turkey. In addition, panel discussions and a photo exhibition on Khojaly will also be organized.

Regional offices of the Azerbaijani Youth Organization of Russia and the All-Russian Azerbaijani Congress will hold a variety of events.

Currently several activities in the framework of the "Month of Khojaly" is being held in Georgia.

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 20 states of the Unites States, including Texas, New-Mexico, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Western Virginia, New-Jersey, Montana and Tennessee are adopted relevant documents.

The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) adopted a final Cairo Communiqué in February 2013, during a summit held in Egypt's capital, calling the Khojaly tragedy as genocide against humanity. The Communiqué calls on the international community to recognize the tragedy as genocide.

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Amina Nazarli is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @amina_nazarli

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