Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 24
By Elchin Mehdiyev - Trend:
A bill on the Khojaly genocide has been adopted at the spring plenary session of the Azerbaijani Parliament, Trend’s correspondent reported from the event.
The bill contains an appeal to the parliaments of foreign countries, international parliamentary organizations on assessing the massacre of Azerbaijanis on Feb. 25-26, 1992 in the Khojaly town of Azerbaijan’s Nagorno-Karabakh region as the crime of genocide.
The bill also recommends the relevant Azerbaijani governmental and non-governmental organizations to join efforts for the wide dissemination of the information about the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and the exposure of deceitful Armenian propaganda.
It is recommended for the law enforcement agencies of Azerbaijan to continue measures to identify and bring to justice the perpetrators of the genocide in the town of Khojaly.
The bill also states that during foreign visits, including participation in international events, Azerbaijani MPs are entrusted to spread the information about the acts of genocide carried out against the Azerbaijanis throughout more than the last 100 years, including the Khojaly tragedy.
On February 25-26, 1992, the Armenian armed forces, together with the 366th infantry regiment of the former Soviet troops, stationed in Khankendi, committed an act of genocide against the population of the Azerbaijani town of Khojaly.
As many as 613 people, including 63 children, 106 women and 70 old people were killed as a result of the massacre. A total of 1,000 civilians became disabled as a result of the onslaught. Some 1,275 innocent residents were taken hostage, while the fate of 150 people still remains unknown.
The conflict between the 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.
The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.