Azerbaijan, Baku, May 10 / Trend S.Aghayeva /
An article titled, "Smoldering fire of the Karabakh conflict," dedicated to the 20th anniversary of Shusha's occupation, was published in the Hungarian Nepsava newspaper on May 9.
The author, a well-known journalist and writer Ferenc Kepecs together with representatives of the Hungarian press visited Azerbaijan last year and was able to see the consequences of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and the living conditions of refugees and internally displaced persons, the Azerbaijani Embassy to Hungary told Trend on Thursday.
The article says that Shusha was founded by the head of the Azerbaijani feudal Karabakh khanate and for about 200 years was considered a cultural center, the famous "Conservatory of the Caucasus", that Shusha, declared in 1985 as an important material and cultural site in the region reserve, was ruthlessly destroyed by Armenians. Speaking about the reason that the Azerbaijanis, who formed in May 1992 more than 90 percent of the urban population, have fled their homes, the author writes that if they stayed in Shusha, the Armenian vandals would commit here the second genocide, like Khojaly.
Kepecs writes that the Armenians have occupied not only the Shusha but also seven Azerbaijani districts surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh. According to the author, who is seeking the answer to the question of why a dynamic, at times superior to Armenia in terms of material and human resources Azerbaijan does not liberate its lands by force, the main reason impeding to take a decisive step in this regard is the accession of Armenia to the Organization of the Treaty on collective security and the Russian factor.
"The Armenian armed units which seized the territory of Azerbaijan are waging a sniper war not only against servicement, but against the civilian population," - the author stresses, recalling the murder by Armenians of Azerbaijani children - 9-year-old Fariz Badalov and 13-year-old Aygun Shahmaliyeva.
The newspaper also posted photos of ruined minarets of the famous Govhar Agha mosque in Shusha.
Armenian troops carried out a military operation on May 8, 1992 to occupy Shusha. Artillery shots were fired over the city which continued up to 6 pm. Over 1000 Armenian soldiers attacked Shusha from three sides.
Some 248 historical facilities, eight museums, one photo gallery, eight music schools and tens of cultural facilities lie under Armenian occupation in Shusha.
During Shusha's occupation, hundreds of innocent people died, nearly 60 citizens, including women and children were taken prisoners and are missing. Most have not been released yet. Nearly 22,000 people became homeless.