(MENAFN- AzerNews)
Fatima Hasanova read more This year, Baku is celebrating the 31st anniversary of the
Khojaly genocide, one of the most terrible pages of modern history,
a tragedy perpetrated by the Armenian fascists against the civilian
population of Azerbaijan.
The events in Khojaly have been recognized as a massacre in 20
US states and several states, including Israel and Pakistan.
Memorials have been built in Turkiye and Germany in memory of the
Khojaly tragedy.
But despite all this, the perpetrators of this tragedy have not
yet been held accountable for it. This topic is still relevant
today since the representatives of the French Jewish community
preferred to support the Armenians, but at the same time hush up
the events of the Khojaly massacre. In general, most of the rest of
the world chose to support Armenia, ignoring what happened in
Khojaly.
Azerbaijan has liberated Karabakh from the Armenian occupation
and is even ready to live in peace with the Armenians living there.
However, even when peace is achieved with Armenia, Azerbaijan will
not be able to put up with this pain that has fallen on its
people.
In Israel, a series of events are planned to mark the
anniversary of the tragedy. With the support of the AzIz
Association, the Justice for Khojaly organization, and the
Azerbaijan State Committee for Work with the Diaspora, requiem
concerts will be held in the Jewish state with the participation of
the famous pianist Narmin Rzayeva.
- February 26, 19.30 Kibbutz Jezreel, tel.
052-375-6323;
- February 27, 18.00 Jerusalem, st. Moshe Dayan, 135, matnas
'Pisgat Zeev', tel. 054-499-8680;
- March 2, 18.30 Rishon Lezion, st. Zadal, 3, matnas 'Beit
ha-am', tel. 052-869-0862.
Israel has always supported Azerbaijan.
'613 civilians, including 106 women and 63 children in Khojaly
were killed with extreme cruelty: they were burned alive, scalped,
parts of their bodies and heads were cut off, their eyes were
gouged out, pregnant women's stomachs were ripped open with
bayonets. Another 1,275 people were taken prisoner, and many of
them were raped and subjected to the most brutal torture,' Rabbi
Yisrael Baruk wrote in his book Khojaly: A Crime against
Humanity.
Similar to the Jewish people, Azerbaijan's history is rife with
tragedy. Azerbaijan was a democratic nation and the first in the
Muslim world to grant women the right to vote in 1919, one year
before the United States did the same. However, Azerbaijan joined
the Soviet Union in 1920. Repressions against the Azerbaijani
people reached their culmination with the massacre in Black January
1990. The Khojaly massacre and the occupation of a fifth of
Azerbaijani territory were outcomes of the conflict with Armenia.
The US Congress and the Joe Biden administration both denounced the
Azerbaijani people's recent ability to reclaim their lands.
Famous Jewish writer Elie Wiesel said: 'When human lives are
threatened when human dignity is threatened, national boundaries
and interests become irrelevant. No matter where in the world a man
or woman is persecuted for their race, religion, or political
beliefs, this place should be the center of the universe.'
Former Israeli President Reuven Rivlin told the UN General
Assembly in 2015 the following.
'On this day, we must honestly ask ourselves, is our fight, this
Assembly's fight against genocide, effective enough? Was it
effective enough in Bosnia? Was it effective in preventing killings
in Khojaly? I am afraid that the UN Convention on the Prevention
and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide has remained only a
symbolic document. The unprecedented challenge is not to be content
with statements, but rather to continue decisive action,' he
said
If the international community had heeded his advice, the world
would be a better place today for Azerbaijanis, Israelis, and
everyone else.
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