Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb.25
By Ilkin Izzet - Trend:
The Coordination Center of Azerbaijanis in Germany has again appealed to the member of the Petitions Committee of German Bundestag Gunter Baumann with the petition "On recognition of the crime of genocide committed against the Khojaly residents in 1992 and the peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict", Azerbaijani State Committee for Work with Diaspora said Feb.25.
Information about the Khojaly genocide and the signatures of Azerbaijanis in Germany has been attached to the petition. All Azerbaijani diaspora organizations in Germany, especially, German-Azerbaijani cultural society in North Rhine-Westphalia federal district actively participated in collecting the signatures.
The first petition was submitted in 2014. After receiving response from the Bundestag, Coordination Center of Azerbaijanis in Germany sent a letter of protest to the Petitions Committee. The correspondence on this issue continued throughout the year.
After the persistent appeals of the Coordination Center of Azerbaijanis in Germany, the Petitions Committee of Bundestag decided to revise the submitted petition.
Conflict between 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.
On February 25-26, 1992, the 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.
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.
Azerbaijan and Armenia 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 the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding regions.
Edited by CN