Georgia publishes article about Azerbaijan’s Khojaly genocide

The popular Georgian newspaper Sakartvelos Respublika has published an article by scientist-historian, professor Guram Markhulia “Khojaly genocide - a tragedy of the 20th century”.

The article is dedicated to the 32nd anniversary of the Khojaly genocide, Azertac reports.

The statements made by Azerbaijani great leader Heydar Aliyev, incumbent President Ilham Aliyev about the essence of the Khojaly genocide were mentioned.

According to the newspaper, the massacre in Khojaly, which can be compared with the massacres in Khatyn, Lidice, Oradour-sur-Glane, is one of the most terrible acts of genocide in world history, not only because of the brutal murder of civilians of the Azerbaijani city, but also because of the torture of innocent people. The Khojaly tragedy will forever remain in our memory.

Professor Guram Markhulia emphasises that President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev raised the flag of the Republic of Azerbaijan in Khojaly on October 15, 2023, and reminds that the city was cleared of separatists on September 19-20, 2023 as a result of local anti-terrorist measures carried out by the Azerbaijani army in Karabakh. The Azerbaijani flag flying in Khojaly once again demonstrates that the blood of the victims of the Khojaly tragedy did not remain unavenged.

The author notes that the Azerbaijani adopted a special resolution declaring February 26 as the Day of Khojaly genocide and national mourning in 1994, on the initiative of great leader of the Azerbaijani people Heydar Aliyev. The reasons for the tragedy and names the perpetrators of the tragedy were mentioned.

According to the article, “Mother’s Cry” monument was erected in Baku’s Khatai district in memory of the victims of the Khojaly genocide. The Heydar Aliyev Foundation consistently carries out events to convey the facts about the Khojaly genocide to the international community. From year to year, the “Justice for Khojaly!” campaign, initiated by Vice-President of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation Leyla Aliyeva, is successful.

The author writes that the Azerbaijani army gained a victory over the Armenian armed forces in the second Karabakh war, which began on September 27, 2020 and ended on November 10, 2020, avenging the victims of the Khojaly genocide on the battlefield.

The Azerbaijani people will never forget this tragedy, and the organisers of the Khojaly genocide must be punished, the article says.

Today, February 26, is the 32nd anniversary of the Khojaly genocide and the occupation of the town of Khojaly by Armenian armed formations with the participation of the 366th Motorized Rifle Regiment of the former USSR.

The Khojaly genocide is the gravest crime of genocide committed against peaceful Azerbaijani people in the course of Armenia’s aggressive war against Azerbaijan. On the night of February 25-26, 1992, in violation of all international legal norms, Armenian armed forces attacked the civilian population of the sieged town of Khojaly with heavy military equipment, killing them with unprecedented brutality and razing the town to the ground.

As a result of crime against not only the people of Azerbaijan but against humanity, 613 civilian Azerbaijanis, including 63 children, 106 women and 70 elders were brutally murdered on grounds of national identity. The Khojaly genocide is one of a series of acts of mass slaughter aiming to crush those who rose up for the defence of their lands from Armenian armed forces’ aggression, to break their will to fight and annihilate the Azerbaijani population of then-time Nagorno-Karabakh.