(MENAFN- AzerNews)
Sabina Mammadli read more Azerbaijani Human Rights Commissioner Sabina Aliyeva has urged
international organizations to give international Political and
legal assessment to the Khojaly genocide and other war crimes
committed by Armenia, Azernews reports per Ombudsman's Office.
In a statement dedicated to the 31st anniversary of the Khojaly
massacre, Aliyeva remarked that the tragedy is regarded as one of
the biggest tragedies of the last century, because of being one of
the bloodiest pages of the policy of ethnic cleansing and genocide
regularly carried out by Armenian nationalists against
Azerbaijanis.
She called on the world community to hold the perpetrators
accountable for the committed genocide as well as bring them before
the international court in order to restore justice and prevent the
recurrence of such acts of genocide against humanity.
The ombudswoman once again reminded that on the night of
February 25-26, 1992, the Armenian armed forces launched an armed
attack with the support of the 366th motorized rifle regiment of
the Soviet army stationed in the city of Khankandi with the aim of
mass killing of the peaceful population of the city of Khojaly.
“This city with a population of seven thousand people was razed
to the ground; its inhabitants were subjected to genocide. The main
goal of the Armenian chauvinists in committing this genocide was
also to wipe out Khojaly, a city with historical and cultural
monuments belonging to the ancient times of Azerbaijan, in addition
to brutal killing the population,” she emphasized.
The human rights commissioner noted that during the massacre,
the perpetrators used the most merciless killing methods against
the civilian population, killing 613 people, including 106 women,
63 children, and 70 older people.
“8 families were completely wiped out, 25 children lost both
parents, 132 children lost one of their parents, 487 people were
seriously injured, 1275 people were taken hostage, and the fate of
150 of them is unknown. During the genocide, 56 people were killed
with unprecedented cruelty, people were burned alive and subjected
to terrible torture,” the statement stressed.
It was pointed out that the genocide grossly and massively
violated the rights and freedoms enshrined in the existing
international documents in the field of protection of human rights
and freedoms, including the right to life, based on ethnic
cleansing and hatred and other war crimes committed by the
aggressor Armenia on Azerbaijani lands.
As a result of the Khojaly genocide, the provisions of the
Geneva Conventions of 1949, the Convention on the Prevention and
Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, the International Covenant on
Civil and Political Rights, the International Covenant on Economic,
Social and Cultural Rights, The Convention against Torture and
Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, the
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial
Discrimination, and the Convention on the Rights of the Child were
seriously violated, the statement listed.
Moreover, Aliyeva stressed that the political and legal
assessment of the Khojaly genocide was first given by the national
leader Heydar Aliyev at the country's parliament by declaring
February 26 as 'Khojaly Genocide Day'. Furthermore, actions were
launched for bringing the committed crime to the attention of the
international community and the culprits to justice.
She also underlined that the international campaign“Justice for
Khojaly' conducted by the Heydar Aliyev Foundation bringing the
truth about Khojaly to the international community's attention
plays a vital role in the recognition of the Khojaly genocide by
the world community, and giving legal and political assessment to
it. This resulted in the adoption of numerous resolutions and
decisions condemning the massacre of civilians in Khojaly and
evaluating it as an act of genocide and a crime against humanity by
legislative bodies of 17 countries, as well as 24 states of the
United States, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and the
Organization of Turkic States.
“At present, Azerbaijan continues to take all necessary steps in
order to convey the information to the world community about the
terrorist policy continuously implemented by Armenia, especially
the mines buried in our lands liberated from occupation as a result
of which civilians have been killed or seriously injured,” the
official finalized.
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