Azerbaijan, Baku, July 31 /Trend, U.Sadikhova /
The Turkish-Azerbaijani association created in Ankara will primarily work towards the elimination of false facts on Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and Khojaly tragedy being disseminated by the Armenians in the Western media, the president of the Association Sinan Ogan told Trend.
On Saturday with the participation of Turkish officials and representatives of the Azerbaijani State Committee for Work with the Diaspora the Turkish-Azerbaijani association was officially inaugurated in Ankara.
"The Association created today in Ankara will be lobbying to expand the dissemination of truthful information about the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the Khojaly tragedy and fraternal relations between Azerbaijan and Turkey, based on the "one nation - two states" principle", Ogan, a member of the Expert Council of Trend and the head of the Turkish Center for International Relations and Strategic Analysis TURKSAM said by telephone from Ankara.
In addition to working in 81 Turkish provinces, the newly created association will also operate in European countries and the U.S., where the Armenian lobby is the most actively circulating false facts in the media," said Ogan.
"The false information about the Nagorno-Karabakh, Khojali tragedy and the Turkish-Azerbaijani relations most often appear in European and American press, so that the Armenians have created the impression that they are innocent. This is one of the main problems of Azerbaijan and Turkey", he said. "The Armenian lobby could even penetrate the Turkish media, leaving its mark there.
The association of friendship between the two countries will focus on the meetings and international conferences in European countries, to bring the true state of affairs," Ogan said.
The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan since 1992, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.
Armenian military forces committed genocide acts in the town of Khojali, Azerbaijan, with the population of 7,000 people on Feb. 26 1992. There were 3,000 people in the town at the time of attack.
As a result more than 600 people were killed, including 63 children, 106 women and 70 old men. 1,000 peaceful people of different age became physicly disabled during Khojali genocide. 8 families were completely annihilated, 130 children lost one parents, while 25 lost both of them. 1,275 peaceful residents were taken hostages, while the fate of 150 of them is still unknown.
Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994.The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group - Russia, France, and the United States - are currently holding the peace negotiations.
Armenia has not yet implemented the U.N. Security Council's resolutions on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh region and the occupied territories.
"The work on lobbying and functioning of the Diaspora is free, it must go beyond Turkey and take root in Europe and the USA" - he said, adding that the association will actively cooperate with the Azerbaijani Diaspora in Turkey and the Azerbaijani community, to which great attention is paid by the leadership of Azerbaijan.
"In the future we look forward to working closely with the Azerbaijani and Turkish governments for the elimination of any forgery and strengthening of Azerbaijani-Turkish brotherhood," said Ogan.