(MENAFN- Trend News Agency) Having played a crucial role in Azerbaijan's
formation and development, Heydar Aliyev left an indelible mark in
history of Azerbaijan. 'Azerbaijan & Heydar Aliyev' – is a special
project of Trend News Agency, dedicated to the 100-th anniversary
of the national leader, which will cover key events of Heydar
Aliyev's work in the years of him leading
Azerbaijan.
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On the night of January 19-20, 1990, as a result of military
aggression of the units of the Soviet army against Azerbaijan, its
civilians, including children, women and elderly were massacred in
the cities of Baku, Sumgayit, Lankaran and Neftchala by order of
the USSR leadership.
Azerbaijani national leader Heydar Aliyev was one of the first
top officials to publicly address this bloody tragedy. As a result
of the aggression of the Soviet troops in Baku, 134 citizens were
killed, and more than 600 people were injured.
On January 21, 1990, immediately after the tragic events, at the
Permanent Mission of Azerbaijan in Moscow, Heydar Aliyev,
demonstrating his solidarity with the Azerbaijani people, stated
that he considers this act illegal, anti-democratic, contrary to
humanism and the principles of the construction of the rule of law
declared in the country.
Addressing the session of the Supreme Council of the Republic of
Azerbaijan on March 7, 1991, Heydar Aliyev, People's Deputy at the
time, once again condemned the January 20 tragedy, saying that this
military aggression was committed by the Soviet Union against the
Azerbaijani people without any reason and warning. He noted that,
having grossly violated the laws of the state, military units
equipped with modern weapons of the Soviet army entered Baku, as a
result innocent blood was shed, hundreds of people were killed,
have been injured, or gone missing.
Heydar Aliyev stressed that the session of the Supreme Council
should assess the January 20 tragedy. His statement on the matter
triggered the beginning of a new political period in the history of
Azerbaijan.
The next decisive step of Heydar Aliyev was the statement of
July 19, 1991 addressed to the party organization of the Council of
Ministers of the USSR. In this statement about his withdrawal from
the ranks of the Communist Party, he openly stated that the
communist regime was leading the country to the abyss, and the
collapse of the USSR was inevitable.
In his address, Heydar Aliyev once again brought up the January
20 tragedy, condemning this anti-humanistic, unconstitutional and
illegal action. He expressed hope that Central Committee of the
Communist Party of the Soviet Union and the Communist Party of
Azerbaijan would uncover this crime and identify the perpetrators.
However, as he noted, it has already been six months, but not only
have the perpetrators of this terrible crime, already known to
everyone, not been named, but, on the contrary, everything possible
is being done to hide them. Heydar Aliyev pointed out that history
has proved more than once that bloody acts directed against one's
own people cannot be forgotten and forgiven even decades later.
In July 1991, Heydar Aliyev left the ranks of the Communist
Party of the Soviet Union.
The fact that the tragedy of January 20 was not given a
political and legal assessment was one of the most worrying issues
for Heydar Aliyev.
Although after January 20, 1990, the primary task of the forces
in power was to analyze the tragedy, identify the perpetrators and
give a political assessment at the state level, and, despite the
urgent demands of the people, no measures were actually taken in
this regard until 1993.
The extraordinary session of the Supreme Council of Azerbaijan,
convened on January 22, 1990, left its work unfinished and did not
continue discussing this issue at the next sessions. Also, the work
of the commission of the Supreme Council, which was supposed to
investigate the January events, remained unfinished.
In 1993, after Heydar Aliyev returned to lead the country as
president, a full political and legal assessment at the state level
was given to the January 20 tragedy.
At a meeting held on January 12, 1994, Heydar Aliyev, who was
already the president of Azerbaijan, said that the people were
subjected to aggression, the perpetrators have not yet been
identified, and, apparently, those responsible for the January 20,
1990 tragedy have not begun to tell the people about the true
essence of this great tragedy, in their own interests.
Heydar Aliyev's decree 'On holding the 4th anniversary of the
January 20 tragedy' dated January 5, 1994 stated: 'On January 20,
1990, which went down in the history of our people as the January
tragedy, Azerbaijan gave its first martyrs in the name of its
freedom and independence. A time interval of 4 years separates us
from that very day, inscribed in history with blood. Unfortunately,
during these 4 years, the events of January 20 were not given the
necessary political and legal assessment at the state level'.
In the decree, the Milli Majlis (Azerbaijani Parliament) was
recommended to give the events of January 20 a full political and
legal assessment, and to this end consider holding a special
session of the parliament.
As a result of discussions in the parliament, a decision was
made on March 29, 1994, when, finally, a full political and legal
assessment of the bloody tragedy of January 20, 1990 was given at
the state level. In the decision, the events of January 20, 1990
were regarded as military aggression and a crime on the part of the
totalitarian communist regime in order to suppress the national
liberation movement unfolding in Azerbaijan, to break the faith and
spirit of the people who stood up to fight for the idea of a
sovereign state.
The document reflected the fact that the Communist Party of the
Soviet Union, the Soviet state and the government, and Mikhail
Gorbachev personally committed a grave crime against Azerbaijan, as
well as the fact of treason to Azerbaijani people by Abdurrahman
Vezirov, Ayaz Mutalibov, Viktor Polyanichko, Vagif Huseynov. Along
with other issues, it was noted that the chairman of the Presidium
of the Supreme Soviet of the Azerbaijan SSR, Elmira Gafarova, the
first secretary of the Baku City Committee of the Communist Party
of Azerbaijan, Muslim Mammadov, are responsible for committing this
bloody tragedy.
Heydar Aliyev has never ignored the memory of martyrs and their
families. The president, who personally visited the Alley of
Martyrs on all the anniversaries of the January 20 tragedy,
expressed condolences to the families of the martyrs on behalf of
the Azerbaijani people, and was closely interested in their
problems. The president assessed this tragedy as a great historical
event, and stated that the brave sons of Azerbaijan, sacrificing
themselves, cleared the way for the national liberation of the
Azerbaijani people, for the independence of the country. The
president noted that the Alley of Martyrs is the most sacred and
valuable place for the Azerbaijani people.
At a meeting with the leadership of the Academy of Sciences,
full members and corresponding members, directors of institutes and
leading scientists on January 31, 1997, Heydar Aliyev said that
Azerbaijani people should draw a historical conclusion from this,
and should never bend, or break, adding that the interests of the
nations should be above the life of every person.
With due regard to the January 20 tragedy, Heydar Aliyev spoke
about the historical lessons that these events taught, at each
meeting.
At a meeting with a group of employees of the Ministry of
National Security on March 28, 1998, Heydar Aliyev also mentioned
the importance of an in-depth analysis of the January 20
tragedy.
Heydar Aliyev has always regarded the tragedy of January 20 as
the bloodiest, in fact, terrorist act against humanity, regretting
that the organizers and perpetrators of this terrible crime still
remain unpunished.