Azerbaijan, Baku, Feb. 23 / Trend M.Aliyev /
If today the world community does not give a legal assessment of the Khojaly genocide, tomorrow such a crime could happen again in another country, head of the Caucasian Muslims Office (CMO) Sheikh ul-Islam Haji Allahshukur Pashazadeh said at a conference dedicated to the 20th anniversary of the Khojaly tragedy on Thursday.
"This crime was committed by a neighboring invader and the forces standing behind it," Pashazadeh said.
Azerbaijan will never forget its martyrs who sacrificed their lives for its lands, Sheikh ul-Islam noted.
He said those who oppose the country should know that Azerbaijan is stronger, and it is not in the condition it was 20 years ago. "But we are the supporters of peace. No religion preaches war," the CMO head said.
Speaking at the conference, Bishop of the Diocese of Baku and Azerbaijan of the Russian Orthodox Church Alexander Ishenin noted that the events in Khojaly and other regions of Nagorno-Karabakh served as a spiritual self-affirmation of the Azerbaijani people.
"During these events, we became one nation. But this affirmation cost us dearly," he said.
We must draw conclusions from these events, forever remember these tragedies so that they could no longer repeat, the bishop said.
In February 1992 the Khojaly town was razed to the ground, head of the community of Mountain Jews in Azerbaijan Semen Ikhiilov said at the conference. This tragedy has not yet received a decent assessment of the foreign countries. "Sooner or later the world will understand who
was right and who is not. Persons who have committed crimes in Khojaly and other regions of Karabakh, will be punished" Mr Ikhiilov.
Head of executive power of Khojaly Shahmar Usubov, MPs Bakhtiyar Aliyev, Fazail Ibrahimli, Aydin Mirzazade spoke about about he crime against the civilian population of Khojaly and noted the importance of achieving international recognition and bringing the perpetrators to justice.
The Armenian military forces committed genocide in Khojaly on Feb. 26, 1992. Some 613 people were killed, including 63 children, 106 women and 70 old men. A total of 1,000 civilians were disabled during the genocide. Eight families were annihilated, 130 children lost one parent, and 25 lost both. Additionally, 1,275 peaceful residents were taken hostage, while the fate of 150 remains unknown.