32 years have passed since the Khojaly massacre. However, as the years pass, this terrible event is forever engraved in the memory of each of us. Armenian chauvinists once again confirmed that they are not behind the fascists in their brutality in committing the Khojaly genocide, which has no analogues in history due to its scale. On that day, the Armenian armed forces openly demonstrated to the world that they are more cruel than the fascists. Although 32 years have passed, we must not forget the bitter consequences of the tragedy, we must always remember and future generations must be informed about Armenian cruelty.
The state of Azerbaijan is taking all the necessary steps to convey the truth about Armenian cruelty to the world, to recognize the terrible tragedy as an act of genocide against our people. The fact that the Khojaly tragedy is a genocide has already been reflected in the decisions and resolutions of many countries and international organizations. More than 21 countries of the world at the parliamentary level, as well as more than 25 states of the United States, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation have recognized the Khojaly genocide.
Every year, our people remember the Khojaly genocide with great sadness and grief, and pray for the souls of our martyrs. This year, the anniversary of the genocide is being commemorated in a different way for the first time. Because our lands occupied by Armenians 32 years ago have regained freedom. Under the leadership of President, Commander-in-Chief Ilham Aliyev, the victorious Azerbaijan Army put an end to Armenia's policy of aggression. He expelled the enemy from our occupied territories. The cruel Armenian army, which had been carrying out a hostile policy against our people for more than 200 years, was defeated. The victims of the Khojaly genocide, as well as our other martyrs, were avenged.
Thus, the Patriotic War, which began on September 27, 2020, ended with the brilliant victory of our glorious army under the leadership of President, Commander-in-Chief Ilham Aliyev. The political and military leadership of Armenia, powerless in front of the Azerbaijani Army, was forced to sign the act of capitulation. Karabakh Victory not only reduced the pain in the hearts of millions of people, but also increased the confidence that the criminals who committed the Khojaly genocide will answer before the court of justice. The determination of our Honorable President confirms the increasing ranking of our country in the international world, the strengthening of our position and the further expansion of our relations.
Regarding the commemoration of the thirtieth anniversary of the Khojaly genocide in all territories of our republic, the decree of our head of state dated January 28, 2023 also states that this tragedy is one of the most terrible pages in the history of Azerbaijan.
On the night of February 25-26, 1992, the Armenian armed forces, grossly violating the norms and principles of international law, attacked the city of Khojaly with the participation of the 366th regiment of the former Soviet army located in Khankendi and killed the civilian population with unprecedented cruelty. The Khojaly massacre was part of the planned ethnic cleansing and aggression policy carried out by Armenia against Azerbaijan for many years. As a result of the Khojaly genocide committed by Armenia against Azerbaijanis, as well as the military aggression accompanied by the Baganis Ayrim, Garadaghli, Agdaban and Bashlibel massacres, up to 20 percent of our lands were occupied, 20 thousand citizens were killed, and more than 50 thousand people were injured and disabled. Azerbaijan faced a great humanitarian disaster.
The great leader Heydar Aliyev called the Khojaly tragedy a genocide against our compatriots: "Heroes and valiant children of our people died fighting for the defense of our lands. However, Khojaly tragedy has a special place in all this history. It is that, on the one hand, this is an example of the loyalty of every resident of Khojaly to his land, nation, and homeland. On the other hand, it is the genocide committed against Azerbaijan by the nationalist, brutal forces of Armenia - it is an unprecedented manifestation of brutality."
The Khojaly genocide was not the work of yesterday or today. It is one of the terrible results of the bloody struggle of Armenia for a long time to realize the idea of creating a "great Armenia" state. As a result of the Armenian policy of hostility lasting more than two hundred years, our territories were occupied from time to time, and our compatriots were brutally murdered. This enmity continues to this day, starting from the time when Armenians were moved to Karabakh, the ancient land of Azerbaijan, during Tsarist Russia. From the first day of their settlement, Armenians tried to change Azerbaijani toponyms and make them their own, tried to seize fertile territories, oppressed Azerbaijanis in the settlements where they were the majority, and showed cruelty towards them.
By abusing the conditions created by the Russian revolutions, Armenian usurpers brutally murdered hundreds of thousands of our compatriots in 1905-1907 and 1918. The years 1918-1920 are remembered in the memory of our people by the special cruelty of Armenian armed bandits. In those years, tens of thousands of peaceful Azerbaijanis were subjected to genocide in Yerevan, Darelaez, Zangezur, Goycha, Tbilisi, Nakhchivan, Baku, Ganja, Shamakhi, Guba, Lankaran, Karabakh, Mughan and Goychai, were expelled from their places of residence, tortured, and hundreds of settlements were destroyed. destroyed.
The expulsion of Azerbaijanis from their historical and ethnic lands continued during the Soviet era. In 1948-1953, 150 thousand Azerbaijanis were deported from their historical ancestral lands in Armenia and settled in the Kur-Araz plain of Azerbaijan. In 1988, another 250,000 Armenians were forcibly expelled from their ancestral homeland by the armed forces of Azerbaijan. The events of Karabakh that started in 1988, the attempt of Armenian ideologues to realize the absurd idea of creating a "great Armenia" state resulted in the destruction of villages and cities, the killing of tens of thousands of innocent compatriots with particular cruelty, and the displacement of hundreds of thousands of Azerbaijanis from their historical lands.
At that time, the Armenians, who relied on their foreign patrons and pro-Armenian forces, at the same time, became even more ashamed of the arbitrariness and double standards that were taking place in the world. At such a time, the Armenian fascists committed the Khojaly tragedy, which has no analogues in the world. This terrible massacre, which took place before the eyes of the world community, is distinguished by its special cruelty. On February 26, 1992, Armenian military units razed the city of Khojaly with a population of 7,000, shot civilians, and those who managed to save their lives hid in the mountains and forests in the winter cold, snow and frost. Most of them froze to death. During the Khojaly genocide, 613 people, including 106 women, 63 young children, 70 elderly people were killed, 8 families were completely destroyed, 25 children lost both parents, 130 people lost one of their parents, 1000 civilians of various ages were disabled from gunshot wounds. On the night of the genocide, 1,275 civilians were taken hostage, and the fate of 150 of them is still unknown. All in all, the Khojaly genocide directed against the people of Azerbaijan is an act of barbarity in human history with its unimaginable cruelty and inhuman methods of punishment. This genocide is also a crime against all humanity.
On the day of this merciless genocide, the people of Khojaly showed courage and bravery typical of Azerbaijanis, behaved like real heroes and fought until their last breath in an unequal battle against the Armenian-Soviet military units, and did not bow down to the enemy.
After the national leader Heydar Aliyev's return to power, this bloody tragedy was given a legal and political assessment for the first time. In 1994, on the initiative of the great leader Heydar Aliyev, the Parliament of Azerbaijan adopted February 26 as the Khojaly Genocide Day. By the decree signed by the great leader in 1998, March 31 was declared the Genocide Day of Azerbaijanis. Since that time, the government of Azerbaijan and the Azerbaijanis of the world have been working purposefully and consistently to bring the truth about the crimes committed by Armenian nationalists against our people, including the Khojaly tragedy, to the international community, and to recognize this massacre as genocide.
By order of the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, the 30th anniversary of the Khojaly genocide, one of the most terrible and bloody tragedies of the 20th century, was celebrated with a large crowd. The memory of the victims of the genocide was commemorated in our capital with a national march attended by more than 60,000 people. This march shook the world. The world community became more familiar with this injustice - Khojaly tragedy.
The Heydar Aliyev Foundation also has special services in conveying the truth about the tragedy to the world community. The organization of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation has done important work in the direction of conveying the truths of Azerbaijan and the true nature of the Karabakh conflict to the international community. In addition to 27 expositions and publications presented through Azerbaijan's diplomatic missions abroad in the United States, the Republic of South Africa, the Republic of Korea, Belarus, Estonia, the Czech Republic, France, Georgia, Indonesia, Sweden, England, Israel, Jordan, Canada, Qatar, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Japan. , Austria, the United Arab Emirates, Italy, Iran, Spain, Hungary, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and the public of Turkmenistan also got extensive information about the bloody crimes and acts of vandalism committed by Armenians against Azerbaijanis in Khojaly.
"Justice to Khojaly!", which was initiated by Leyla Aliyeva, the Vice-president of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, to provide full and comprehensive information about the Khojaly tragedy to the world community. The activity of the international campaign deserves high praise. Within the framework of this campaign, rallies, marches and events were organized in different countries of the world. The main goal of the campaign is to recognize the Khojaly massacre as the biggest crime against humanity by the international community.
In the course of the 44-day Patriotic War, the occupying Armenian army once again proved its brutality and grossly violated the norms of international law, again demonstrating cruelty and cruelty against the civilian population. Ganja, Barda, Naftalan. Targeting Tartar, Mingachevir, other towns and villages with ballistic and jet missiles capable of mass destruction, and cluster bombs, he proved once again that committing bloody crimes against the civilian population is the state policy of the Armenian side. Despite all these atrocities, the brave Azerbaijani Army showed Armenia its rightful place and won a brilliant victory over the enemy, liberating our native lands from occupation. Khojaly people, as well as all our martyrs, were avenged.
The people of Azerbaijan will never forget the Khojaly tragedy. Legal and political evaluation of this genocide should be given and the perpetrators of this terrible tragedy should be brought to justice as soon as possible.
By Kamran A. Behbudov
Azerbaijan, Baku city
