Azerbaijani embassy in Slovenia circulates statement on Khojali tragedy

Azerbaijan, Baku. Feb. 27 /Trend/

Azerbaijani embassy in Slovenia has circulated a statement on Khojali tragedy. The press release was distributed among Slovenian Foreign Ministry, Parliament, Office of the President, Ombudsman, diplomatic corps, mass media agencies and Slovenian-Azerbaijan Friendship Association, the embassy representative told Trend.

Khojaly was a small town in the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan. Over the night from 25 to 26 February 1992 Armenian armed forces supported by 366th Soviet infantry regiment, invaded the town of Khojaly in the Nagorno Karabakh region of Azerbaijan. Occupation of Khojaly was followed by unprecedented cruelties against civilians. Within few hours the aggressors massacred 613 innocent and unarmed people, including 106 women and 83 children. 476 people became disabled. 1275 people were taken into hostage and the fates of 150 of them are still unknown. The event had sparked the exodus of Azerbaijanis from their historic lands. As a result of ethnic cleansing in Nagorno Karabakh, and other territories of Azerbaijan occupied by Armenian armed forces, about 1.000.000 people turned into IDP and refugees.

"Human tragedy in Khojaly was well documented by international media and by respected international human rights organizations such as Human Rights Watch. However, world decision-makers have fallen short from properly recognizing this horrific crime. Khojaly massacre was committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a group of people on the basis of their national origin. As such it is genocide, as described in 1948 UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide", the statement stressed.

"Failure to punish those responsible for the Khojaly Genocide is a reason why similar genocides may recur in the future, and whereas just assessment will help prevent future genocides. People of Azerbaijan urge international community to give legal evaluation to one of the most brutal crimes against humanity, the Khojaly massacre. To raise the awareness of Khojaly massacre an international awareness campaign "Justice for Khojaly" was launched in 2008. More than 140.000 people and 125 international organizations have joined the campaign. The campaign is carried out through peaceful actions, protests, conferences, presentations and publications. To find out more and to join the campaign please visit www.justiceforkhojaly.org which will help broaden the understanding of the scale of Khojaly massacre" the statement read.