Turkey, Istanbul, Feb. 26 /Trend R.Hafizoglu, K.Zarbaliyeva /
A rally "We are all Khojalians, we are all Karabakhians!" dedicated to the 20th anniversary of the Khojaly genocide came to end at Taksim square in Istanbul.
The rally was preceded by "march of justice" which began from Galatasaray Lyceum, special correspondents of Trend reported from Istanbul. The participants chanted "Karabakh is our and will always be ours!".
Members of the Turkish Grand National Assembly, representatives of political parties, NGOs and community leaders of the fraternal country, thousands of citizens took part in the rally.
The Azerbaijani delegation included Azerbaijani members of parliament, heads of diaspora organizations and NGOs.
People carried Turkish and Azerbaijani flags and chanted "Let us support Karabakh", "We are all Khojalians, we are all Karabakhians", "Homeland is indivisible, martyrs are immortal," "Do not be silent about the Armenian lies".
Participants of the meeting honored victims of the Khojaly tragedy with moment of silence. Famous Azerbaijani singer Azerin performed the national anthems of Turkey and Azerbaijan, as well as song "Cirpinirdi Kara Deniz".
The participants demanded justice for Khojaly and noted that Azerbaijan is not alone in this aspiration.
"The whole Turkic world is side by side with Azeri Turks. It is necessary to give legal and political assessment to genocide committed in Khojaly," the participants said.
Thousands of people took part in the "march of justice" and rally at Taksim Square.
Police enhanced security at Taksim Square.
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.
