Azerbaijani Community of Hungary commemorated Khojaly Genocide’s victims

The commemoration event was organized by the Embassy of Azerbaijan in Budapest on February 24, 2017, and aimed to bring together the Azerbaijani Community of Hungary to remember the Khojaly genocide, which happened exactly 25 years ago. The members of the Azerbaijani-Hungarian Youth Union, diaspora, enterpreneurs, journalists and other guests attended this event.

During the event it was noted that the Khojaly massacre was an integral part of the Armenian aggressivity and genocide policy against Azerbaijan, which resulted in severe and gross violation of international legal norms and principles, as well as of human rights and freedoms, that entered in the world history as a bloody tragedy. At the night of the 25th, to 26th February of 1992, the crime committed in Khojaly city by Armenian armed forces, together with the 366th moto-artillery regiment of the former Soviet army dislocated in Khankendi, must be recognized as genocide from the international law perspective. A lot of heavy military foreces of this regiment entered the city, the perpetrators annihilated many with special cruelty. The people were forced to leave the city in horror, while the armed forces razed the city, totally destroyed and burned down the houses and social infrastructure.

During the Khojaly genocide, 613 people, including 106 women, 63 children and 70 older people were killed; hundreds of people were severely injured; 1275 people were taken as hostages.  8 families were totally exterminated. 25 children lost both, whereas 130 children lost one parent; captives and hostages were subjected to merciless torture. Human rights of those people, especially the fundamental right to life, were grossly violated.

As a result of ethnic cleansing policy of Armenia who expanded the scope of military aggression against Azerbaijan by perpetrating this tragedy and occupied Lachin, Kalbajar, Aghdam, Jabrail, Fuzuli, Gubadli, Zangilan regions beyond the borders of Nagorno-Karabakh, which are integral parts of Azerbaijan. This is reaffirmed once again by the international law, as well as by the UN Security Council Resolutions 822, 853, 874, 884 from 1993, UNGA Resolution on “Situation on the occupied territories of Azerbaijan” dated on 14 March, 2008, Resolution 1416 from 2005 and Recommendation 1669 from 2009 of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe confirming the occupation of Azerbaijani territories by the Armenian military forces, and governing of Nagorno-Karabakh by separatist regime. As a consequence, over one million of the Azerbaijani people became refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs), whose fundamental rights and freedoms were severely violated.