(MENAFN- AzerNews) The memory of the victims of the Khojaly genocide was
commemorated in Paris with the joint organization of the
Azerbaijani Embassy in France, the Permanent Representation to
UNESCO and the support of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation.
As Azernews reports, citing Azertac, Azerbaijani Ambassador to
France Leyla Abdullayeva, Permanent Representative to UNESCO Elman
Abdullayev, Head of the Azerbaijan-France Inter-parliamentary
Relations Working Group, Department Director of the Heydar Aliyev
Foundation Soltan Mammadov spoke about the actions of Armenia
against Azerbaijan at the event held at the Cultural Center of the
country's embassy in France.
Speaking at the event, they stressed that the bloodiest page of
the armed conflict was the genocide committed in the city of
Khojaly 31 years ago, providing detailed information about the
blockade of Khojaly, a strategic point in the region, by the
Armenians, and the brutal killing of 613 women, children, and
elderly people by Armenian armed forces on a cold winter night. It
was noted that peaceful residents were taken hostage, and hundreds
of people are still missing.
Ambassador Leyla Abdullayeva stated that the tragedy grossly
violated international and humanitarian law, and cited articles
published in the world media that clearly reflected the Armenian
brutality in the Khojaly genocide. She noted that in the words of
the Armenian president at that time, Serzh Sargsyan 'Before
Khojaly, Azerbaijanis thought that Armenians could not raise their
hands against civilians. But we were able to break this
stereotype', are his admission to a British journalist that he was
one of the organizers of the bloody event.
Further, the ambassador compared the Khojaly genocide with the
'martyr settlement' of Oradour-sur-Glane in France and said that
this genocide will never be erased from memory as one of the most
terrible tragedies in human history.
The diplomat noted that the events of Khojaly should be heard
all over the world. She highlighted that with this purpose, on the
initiative of the vice-president of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation
Leyla Aliyeva, since 2008, the 'Justice for Khojaly!' international
campaign was launched, and thanks to this campaign, the parliaments
of 17 countries of the world, 30 states of the USA and 2
international organizations recognized the Khojaly tragedy as
genocide.
'I hope that the authorities of France will also recognize this
massacre committed by Armenians against civilians. Justice cannot
be restored until the criminal is punished. We do not demand
revenge, but justice,' Abdullayeva emphasized.
Moreover, Soltan Mammadov spoke about the facts and evidence
that Armenia committed the crime of genocide against Azerbaijanis
on the night of February 25-26, 1992. He spoke about the steps
taken towards the recognition of the Khojaly genocide, the European
Court of Human Rights assessment of the massacre of Khojaly's
civilian population as 'war crimes or crimes against humanity'.
He also talked about the importance of the 'Justice for
Khojaly!' campaign which promoted this tragedy worldwide. He
pointed out that Khojaly is an unparalleled page in the martyrdom
history of the Azerbaijani people, and at the same time, it will
always be publicized and studied as a universal crime.
Additionally, Permanent Representative to UNESCO Elman
Abdullayev drew attention to the fact that Armenian militants
killed people in Khojaly on a national basis and said that it is
everyone's moral duty to build a future free from hatred and
discrimination. Speaking about Khojaly's deep mark in the history
of Azerbaijan, Abdullayev said that the killers of Khojaly should
be brought to justice.
The event also presented a photo exhibition of the Khojaly
genocide of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, which made a worthy
contribution to the dynamic development of Azerbaijan in all fields
and the acceleration of the process of civil society building in
our country, visually conveyed the inhuman murders of Armenian
usurpers to the participants of the event.
The photo exhibition of the genocide presented by the Heydar
Aliyev Foundation, which made a worthy contribution to the dynamic
development of Azerbaijan in all fields and to the acceleration of
the development process of the civil society in Azerbaijan,
visually conveyed the inhuman murders of Armenian aggressors to the
participants of the event.
The event continued with a concert dedicated to the memory of
the Khojaly victims. At the concert, Honored artist, Tar player
Sahib Pashazada, Azerbaijani violinist Sabina Rakcheyeva, a music
group of French composer Pierre Thiloin performed samples of works
by Fikret Amirov, Gara Garayev, Khayyam Mirzazade, and foreign
composers.
The composition 'Khojaly 613' dedicated to the Khojaly genocide
by the French composer Pierre Thiloin was also performed at the
concert.
Ambassadors accredited to France, permanent representatives to
UNESCO, Ali Onaner, ambassador of Turkiye to France Gulnur Aybet,
permanent representative of Türkiye to UNESCO, diplomats,
representatives of the local community, as well as the Azerbaijani
community, took part in the memorial ceremony.