Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb.2
By Elchin Mehdiyev - Trend:
Azerbaijani MP Fazil Mustafa proposed to invite French President Francois Hollande to the 23rd anniversary of Khojaly genocide.
The MP put forward this proposal during the session of the Azerbaijani parliament.
Fazil Mustafa said Hollande plans to visit Armenia on April 24 in connection with the 100th anniversary of the "Armenian genocide".
"The 23rd anniversary of the Khojaly genocide is approaching," said the MP. "If these people are so sensitive about the genocide issue, then let's invite these politicians, MPs to Baku."
Speaker of Azerbaijani parliament Ogtay Asadov in his turn said that this issue is raised everywhere, at each conference, however, international organizations have one-sided attitude to these issues.
The conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia 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.
Armenian armed forces, together with the 366th infantry regiment of Soviet troops stationed in Khankendi committed an act of genocide against the population of the Azerbaijani town of Khojaly on February 25-26, 1992.
As a result of the massacre, some 613 people were killed, including 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 remains unknown.
The two countries signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, Russia, France and the U.S. are currently holding peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented the U.N. Security Council's four resolutions on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding regions.
Edited by SI