BAKU, Azerbaijan, February 26. The West has done nothing to penalize Armenia for the crimes against humanity in Khojaly, Dean of the Faculty of Turkic World Economics at UNEC and professor of Uludag University, Mehmet Yuce, told Trend.
"On February 26, 1992, Armenians committed one of the most horrifying crimes against humanity - genocide in the town of Khojaly. They killed indiscriminately all those who got in their way - men, women, children, the old - with savage and vicious viciousness. These atrocities were deliberate. The purpose was to show what the cruelty of the Armenians could reach. This massacre took place before the eyes of the world, but no one said a word. Inspired by this, armed Armenian gangs began to commit even more atrocities. Those who committed this crime did not answer to the law. On the contrary, Serzh Sargsyan and Robert Kocharyan, who were the main perpetrators of the Khojaly genocide, later became presidents of Armenia. Sargsyan also commanded armed Armenian units in Karabakh. Nevertheless, these two, as presidents, received no criticism from Western leaders. During the Khojaly genocide, Sargsyan was Armenia's defense minister. He then said: "Before Khojaly, Azerbaijanis thought that Armenians could not raise a hand against civilians. We were able to break this stereotype in Khojaly". With these words, he admitted to committing genocide in Khojaly. However, the West has not applied any sanctions against Armenia. It is necessary to ask the so-called human rights structures and organizations of the West what they have done in connection with the Khojaly genocide. The Khojaly genocide is a continuation and the bloodiest page of Armenia's policy of ethnic cleansing and genocide against Azerbaijanis. During this genocide, people were not just killed, but subjected to unthinkably cruel torture, and human dignity was violated. Anger and hatred towards the Azerbaijani people were manifested most horribly.
Khojaly has already been cleared of Armenian invaders. However, Azerbaijan must continue its struggle to recognize this genocide in the international arena. The recently discovered mass graves, as well as testimonies of people who suffered from Armenian vandalism, provide even more evidence to bring the truth about this in the international arena. The struggle for recognition of the Khojaly genocide and imposition of sanctions against Armenia by the countries of the world should be conducted by a separate working group within the Organization of Turkic States," he said.
To note, today marks the 32nd commemoration of the Khojaly massacre. On the night of February 25-26, 1992, Khojaly city was occupied by Armenia’s armed forces with the assistance of the former USSR’s 366th Motorized Rifle Regiment following massive artillery shelling.
As a result of the occupation, 613 people, including 63 children, 106 women, and 70 elderly citizens were brutally murdered, eight families were completely wiped out, 130 children lost one of their parents, and 25 children lost both of their parents. The fate of 150 people, including 68 women and 26 children out of 1275 people, who were taken prisoner and hostage as well as cruelly tortured is still unknown.
Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel