BAKU, Azerbaijan, Feb.26
Trend:
Khojaly genocide was a heinous crime against humanity, a Jakarta-based senior journalist, author of the book ‘Azerbaijan Seen from Indonesia’ Veeramalla Anjaiah wrote, Trend reports with reference to the article published in Eurasia Review.
Anjaiah wrote that many do not know what happened in Khojaly city (Azerbaijan) on the night of Feb. 25 to 26, 1992.
“A group of armed Armenian soldiers as well as militia attacked Khojaly on the wee hours of Feb. 26 , butchering unarmed residents of the town. It was a heinous crime against humanity. The brutal act of the Armenian soldiers against unarmed civilians was a black chapter in the history of mankind. It was a clear act of genocide and ethnic cleansing in Khojaly,” Anjaiah wrote.
Anjaiah added that the purpose of the attack was to occupy Khojaly and evict Azerbaijanis from the town.
“It was a part of Armenia’s well-planned strategy to annex Nagorno Karabakh, an internationally recognized region of Azerbaijan, with the help of the Soviet Union’s 366th Infantry Regiment,” the author wrote.
He added that international media widely reported Armenian atrocities against Azerbaijani people during the war, the United Nations Security Council adopted various resolutions regarding the immediate withdrawal of Armenian forces from occupied territories and peaceful resolution of the conflict, the parliaments of 15 countries have recognized Armenian atrocities as massacres against the Azerbaijani people, legislative bodies of 22 US states also issued similar statements.
Indonesia, Anjaiah said, being a home to the world’s biggest Muslim population, condemned Armenian aggression against Azerbaijan.
“Ignoring international condemnation, Armenia did not withdraw its forces from Azerbaijani territories. None of the perpetrators of the Khojaly genocide were brought to justice,” he wrote.
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.
During the Karabakh war, on Feb. 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 many as 613 people, including 63 children, 106 women and 70 old people were killed in the massacre. Eight families were totally exterminated, 130 children lost one parent and 25 children lost both. Some 1,275 innocent residents were taken hostage, while the fate of 150 people still remains unknown.
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 Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.