BAKU, Azerbaijan, Jan. 20
By Leman Zeynalova - Trend:
The events of January 20 have led to the birth of new Azerbaijani statehood, Gela Vasadze, a Georgian political analyst and regional project director of the Georgian Strategic Analysis Center (GSAC), told Trend Jan. 20.
What happened in Baku in January 1990 was a reaction of the central authorities to the beginning of collapse of the USSR, Vasadze noted.
“It seemed to someone in the Kremlin that it would be enough to scare people who began to demand independence, and everything would be the same,” said the analyst. “But history has its own logic. After these events, the communist regime completely lost the moral right in the eyes of the people to lead the country, and its end became a matter of time. In Georgia, Soviet power came to an end in April 1989, in Azerbaijan - in January 1990.”
Azerbaijan honors memory of the victims of the January 20 tragedy.
January 20 is a day that went down in history of Azerbaijan's fight for independence and territorial integrity.
On the night of January 19-20, 1990, the Soviet army forces entered Baku to suppress the masses protesting the USSR-supported Armenian aggression based on territorial claims against Azerbaijan. The result was an unprecedented tragedy for Azerbaijan.
As a result, 147 people were killed, 744 were injured and 841 were illegally arrested after Soviet troops entered Baku. The Soviet troops also destroyed 200 apartments and houses, as well as private and public property.
The January 20 tragedy brought huge losses and death of innocent people. But it also demonstrated the spirit and pride of Azerbaijani nation. Azerbaijanis gained the independence they were dreaming of, and the country achieved sovereignty.
Despite that many years have passed since those bloody days, Azerbaijanis remember the dreadful night that took many innocent lives and mark the anniversary of the January 20 tragedy every year.
January 20 is immortalized in the memory of Azerbaijani nation as a Day of the Nationwide Sorrow.