EU ambassadors pay tribute at Baku's Alley of Martyrs ahead of January 20 anniversary PHOTO

A day before the 35th anniversary of the tragedy of January 20, ambassadors of European Union (EU) countries in Azerbaijan visited the Alley of Martyrs in Baku.

"On this solemn day, marking the 35th anniversary of the Black January tragedy, the EU Ambassador to Azerbaijan, H.E. Peter Michalko, together with Ambassadors of the EU Member States, laid flowers in the Alley of Martyrs in Baku to honour the memory of the victims of the events of January 1990," Caliber.Az reports, citing the EU Delegation to Azerbaijan's Facebook page.

“I express my deepest condolences to the families and loved ones of those who lost their lives during this tragedy 35 years ago. The EU remains committed to fostering peace, stability, and prosperity in Azerbaijan, the South Caucasus, and the world,” Michalko said.

The events leading up to the tragedy of January 1990 trace back to 1987, when efforts to annex Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia and an escalating wave of expulsions of Azerbaijanis from their historical villages in Armenia were gaining momentum. The Soviet leadership, instead of taking steps to de-escalate these tensions, committed a grave injustice against the Azerbaijani people.

On the night of January 19-20, under direct orders from Mikhail Gorbachev, the then-General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, military units from the USSR Ministry of Defense, State Security Committee, and Ministry of Internal Affairs entered Baku and surrounding regions. These forces launched a violent crackdown on the civilian population, using heavy military equipment and various forms of weaponry. Special and internal Soviet troops displayed extraordinary brutality, killing 82 civilians and wounding 20 others before a curfew was imposed.

Even after the curfew, the violence continued. Over the following days, 21 more civilians were killed in Baku, and 8 additional civilians were murdered in regions where the curfew was not in place—Neftchala on January 25 and Lankaran on January 26.

The final toll from this tragic event was 131 civilians killed and 744 others injured across Baku and nearby regions. The victims included women, children, the elderly, medical personnel, and police officers. Mass arrests were also carried out during and after the military intervention, with 841 civilians detained in Baku and other cities. Among them, 112 individuals were sent to prisons in different Soviet cities.

The Soviet forces not only killed and wounded civilians but also destroyed property. They fired on 200 homes, 80 cars, and set fire to numerous public and private structures, including ambulances.

The atrocities committed by the Soviet troops bore a chilling resemblance to the war crimes condemned at the Nuremberg Trials of 1945-1946. The victims of these tragic events are honored as the “20 January martyrs.” A total of 150 individuals are remembered as martyrs in Azerbaijan, symbolizing the resilience and enduring spirit of the Azerbaijani people in the face of brutal oppression.

By Khagan Isayev