Hague honors Khojaly genocide victims in commemorative ceremony

A solemn event was held in The Hague, the Netherlands, to honor the victims of the Khojaly genocide, committed on the night of February 25–26, 1992.

The ceremony was organized by the Dutch-Azerbaijani Turkish Cultural Association in partnership with the Azerbaijani Diaspora Support Fund under the State Committee on Work with the Diaspora, Caliber.Az reports per local media.

The program began with a visit to the memorial at Nieuw Eikenduynen Cemetery, where participants observed a moment of silence to pay tribute to the victims.

Speakers at the event included Azerbaijan’s Ambassador to the Netherlands, Mammad Ahmadzada, Turkish Ambassador to the Netherlands, Fatma Ceren Yazgan, Turkish MP Samil Ayrim, the Executive Director of the Fund for Support to Azerbaijani Diaspora, Akram Abdullayev, Advisor to the President of the Federation of Turkish-Azerbaijani Associations (TADEF), Parviz Mammadzada, The Deputy Chairman of the Hague City Municipality, Saskia Bruines, a representative of the Foundation Interreligious Council Segbroek, Bart ten Broek, Chairman of the Benelux Azerbaijanis Congress, Coordinator of the Coordination Council of Azerbaijanis in the Benelux Countries for the Netherlands, Elsevar Mammadov, and Chairman of the Dutch-Azerbaijani Turkish Cultural Association, Ilhan Askin.

The speeches stressed that, even after 34 years, the Khojaly genocide remains an unforgettable tragedy for the Azerbaijani people and humanity as a whole. They recalled the massacre of civilians and its devastating consequences, emphasizing that February 26 is indelibly etched in Azerbaijan’s national memory. They also underlined the importance of achieving political and legal recognition of the genocide.

As part of the ceremony, an address by researcher and writer Henry van Rens, author of the book "Black Clouds over Karabakh", was read out to the audience.

The event featured a screening of the short documentary “The Badge of Khojaly” and a photo exhibition by students from the Kharibulbul school, which operates under the Dutch-Azerbaijani Turkish Cultural Association, dedicated to the memory of the victims. The program concluded with a musical performance on the kamancha by Emin Sadigly, honoring the lives lost in the tragedy.

By Vafa Guliyeva