BAKU, Azerbaijan, January 20. The Azerbaijanis, who sacrificed their lives for their Motherland on January 20, 1990, taught the whole world a lesson in patriotism, Dean of the Turkic World Faculty of Economics of UNEC, Prof. Dr. Mehmet Yuce told Trend.
"January 20 tragedy is the Day of a National Mourning in Azerbaijan. On the night of January 19-20, 1990, as a result of military aggression of the units of the Soviet Army and special forces, civilians, including children, women and elderly were massacred by order of the USSR leadership. People commemorate fallen heroes of January 20 on the anniversary of this tragedy. On this day, the Azerbaijani people experience both grief and a sense of pride. The Azerbaijanis, who gave their lives for their Motherland, taught the whole world a lesson in patriotism. At that time Azerbaijan not only opened the way to its independence, but also instilled hope in people of other USSR republics. I honor the memory of all our martyrs who died for the independence of their country," he said.
As a result of this military aggression, 149 civilians were killed, 744 were seriously injured, and 4 people went missing. The Soviet army sent to the country in order to forcefully suppress the mass protests of the Azerbaijani people and the national independence movement started in response to the discrimination policy of the USSR leadership against the people of Azerbaijan, the deportation of hundreds of thousands of Azerbaijanis from their historical lands in the territory of present-day Armenia, and Armenia’s unfounded territorial claims against Karabakh, committed an unprecedented massacre against the civilian population.
On January 21, 1990, immediately after the tragic events, at the Permanent Mission of Azerbaijan in Moscow, National Leader Heydar Aliyev, demonstrating his solidarity with the Azerbaijani people, strongly condemned this crime, demanding political and legal assessment of the massacre, and punishment of the perpetrators. At the special session of the Azerbaijani Parliament, held in February 1994, the brutal killing of innocent people on 20 January 1990 was qualified as military aggression and a crime, and in March 1994 a decision “On the tragic events committed in Baku on 20 January 1990” was adopted. January 20 was declared the National Mourning Day.