Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 19
By Anakhanum Khidayatova - Trend:
Indonesia supports Azerbaijan in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, said Fahri Hamzah, deputy speaker of Indonesian parliament, in an interview with Trend Feb. 19.
He added that Indonesia supports the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan.
The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.
The two countries signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, Russia, France and the US are currently holding peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented the UN Security Council's four resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.
Hamzah also said the Indonesian parliament was offered to investigate the Khojaly genocide at international level.
"Indonesia will send a commission to Azerbaijan to investigate the Khojaly genocide so that the people of Indonesia would learn about the Khojaly realities," added Hamzah.
On Feb. 25-26, 1992, the Armenian military, together with the 366th infantry regiment of Soviet troops stationed in Khankendi, committed genocide against the population of the Azerbaijani town of Khojaly. Among those 613 killed in the massacre, there were 63 children, 106 women and 70 old people.
Eight families were totally exterminated, 130 children lost one parent and 25 children lost both. A total of 487 civilians became disabled as a result of the onslaught. Some 1,275 innocent residents were taken hostage, while the fate of 150 people still remains unknown.
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