Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 26
By Rufiz Hafizoglu - Trend:
The Khojaly genocide is a tragedy of the entire humanity, rather than of only Turkic world, said Necdet Unuvar, head of the Turkey-Azerbaijan friendship group at Turkey's parliament.
Unuvar made the statement in the parliament Feb. 26.
He said that instead of discussing the so-called Armenian genocide without any grounds, which allegedly occurred 100 years ago, the world should discuss the Khojaly genocide, which is confirmed by real facts, documents and footage.
"If the world community had not turned a blind eye to the Khojaly genocide, other crimes against humanity would not have occurred in the world today," he said.
"Instead of punishing the perpetrators of the Khojaly genocide, the Armenian side declared them heroes and provided them with positions in the state," he said. "No development is taking place in Armenia, which occupied Azerbaijani lands. Currently, Armenia is the poorest country in the region."
Unuvar added that withdrawal of armed forces from Azerbaijani lands is primarily in the interests of Armenia.
On February 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.
The event became the largest massacre in the course of Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
As many as 613 people were killed, including 63 children, 106 women and 70 old people were killed as a result of the massacre. Eight families were totally exterminated, 130 children lost one parent and 25 children lost both.
A total of 487 civilians became disabled as a result of the onslaught. Some 1,275 innocent residents were taken hostage, while the fate of 150 people 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 two countries signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, Russia, France and the US are currently holding peace negotiations.
Armenia has not yet implemented the UN Security Council's four resolutions on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding regions.
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