Azernews.Az

By Amina Nazarli

Azerbaijan's clerics have appealed to the world community to stop the Armenian aggression against Azerbaijani people.

The heads of Azerbaijan’s religious confessions, including Chairman of Caucasus Muslims organization Sheikh-ul Islam Allahshukur Pashazadeh, Orthodox Community's Head Archbishop Alexander Ischein and Head of Mountain Jews Religious Community MilikhYevdayev, have addressed a joint appeal to the world’s religious leaders, parliaments, international organizations and European Court of Human Rights in connection with the Khojaly genocide.

“On the eve of the 24th anniversary of the genocide committed against civilians in the Azerbaijani town of Khojaly, expressing the will and the feelings of millions of the people of Azerbaijan, we appeal to the world community, to all people of good will, regardless of the religious, language, race or ethnic identity,” the statement says. “No any nation, no religion can justify those outrage cruel crimes that are incompatible with universal values as violence, murder and aggression.”

On the night from 25th to 26th of February, 1992, thousands of unarmed and defenseless peaceful people of Khojaly were unexpectedly and brutally attacked by Armenian aggressors. The militaries massacred 613 civilians, including some 300 children, women and elderly people.

As a result, Khojaly was wiped out of the ground, while 150 people were missing, 1275 civilians captured and severely tortured, unthinkable atrocity was committed on the bodies of brutally murdered people.

Aged people, children and even pregnant women were killed mercilessly, the appeal reads, adding that the victims’ dead bodies, bearing extensive signs of torture and wounds, proved the insanity of the vandals.

“Armenian extremists, intermittently committing ethnic cleansings as well as acts of physical and moral terror against the people of Azerbaijan throughout history, have invaded 20 percent of our territories, banished more than one million Azerbaijanis from their home places. They carried out acts of vandalism in Karabakh to destroy our historical, religious and cultural monuments and relics. The premeditated genocide committed in Khojaly became a culmination of all these atrocities,” the statement says.

The authors also voice regret that although it has been over 20 years since adoption of the UN Security Council Resolutions calling for the unconditional withdrawal of Armenian invaders from the occupied Azerbaijani territories, they did not obeyed till today, while the Armenian terrorists remain unpunished for the crimes they have committed.

“In its turn, such impunity provokes recurrence of new crimes,” the statement emphasized. “We should not forget that such impunity creates a chain reaction of similar crimes.”

“We, the religious leaders of different faith, keep the dear memory of all people fallen killed in Karabakh, the integral part of our homeland Azerbaijan, as well as in the town of Khojaly, and wish peace, prosperity and fortune to all the people of the world. Each one of us, we have a sacred duty before The Lord and the Mankind to achieve the Triumph of Justice. Therefore, once again we appeal to the world's religious leaders, the parliaments and the international organizations, to the European Court of Human Rights and call to stop the Armenian aggression against Azerbaijan, to give a principled political and legal assessment of the criminal acts, to punish the committers of the crimes and to recognize the Khojaly massacre as the Genocide. May the Great Creator help us in fair deeds!”

--

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

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz