Int'l coalition members urge Armenia to recognise Khojaly genocide PHOTO

A round table on "Peace and transitional justice" was held with the participation of representatives of the international coalition "Khojaly: Recognise for Reconciliation", which includes representatives of European human rights organisations visiting Azerbaijan.

Representatives of the international coalition shared their impressions about the trip to the so-called "Death Corridor" on the Khojaly-Aghdam road, where hundreds of Khojaly residents lost their lives trying to escape through the humanitarian corridor allegedly provided by the Armenians, where they were actually waiting for death, Report informs.

President of the Association of Mothers of Srebrenica Munira Subasic in her speech noted that the tragedies in Khojaly and in Srebrenica, in fact, are the same crimes.

"Yesterday [February 25] we had the opportunity to meet with eyewitnesses of the Khojaly genocide. We saw a mother who was captured with a child, listened to a musician, in front of whom his wife was shot, talked to a brave policeman who was able to save dozens of innocent people," she noted and added that justice for Khojaly should prevail just as it was for Srebrenica.

The president of the Italian Federation for Human Rights, Antonio Stango, in his speech noted that clear international humanitarian law violations, including the shooting of civilians, were recorded and documented by international organisations such as Human Rights Watch and Memorial, as well as representatives of international media who witnessed this tragedy.

Special Representative of the Chairman of the OSCE Office for Combating Intolerance and Discrimination Professor Bulent Shenai noted if Armenia is interested in peace in the context of post-conflict realities, it should recognise the Khojaly tragedy.

Director of the Budapest Centre against Genocide and Mass Slaughter Georgiy Tatar read out the appeal of the coalition addressed to the Azerbaijani and Armenian governments, which he believes will serve sustainable peace in the region.

The document notes that after the end of the war in 2020, in the conditions when the leaders of Azerbaijan and Armenia declared the beginning of peace in the region, the international civil community should take steps to put an end to impunity and achieve justice for Khojaly.

The first paragraph of the document calls on the Armenian government to recognise the crimes committed in Khojaly, as well as the demand "to show courage through the recognition of the genocide, to be freed from the burden of the crime committed by the former corrupt government of Armenia, to ask forgiveness from the victims of this crime, which is a symbol of the horror and cruelty of the former conflict".

Tatar also announced an initiative to start a dialogue between the civil society of Armenia and Azerbaijan in order to achieve sustainable peace. The document addressed the creation of favorable conditions for dialogue between the governments of both countries.

Ambassador-at-Large of the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry Elshad Iskandarov in his speech expressed gratitude to the members of the coalition for their activities and noted the importance of the concept of transitional justice.

"This concept, first of all, requires the recognition of a crime. Unfortunately, the Khojaly tragedy is a forbidden topic for discussion in Armenia today. People who talk about it are silenced, which leads to a normal perception of the crime instead of a confession. From this point of view, the activities of the coalition to start discussions in Armenian society around this topic are of great importance," he said.

He added that today the opportunity to launch this initiative, to hold such events in memory of the victims of Khojaly directly at the site of the tragedy was provided thanks to Azerbaijan's victory in the Second Karabakh War.

In conclusion, the ambassador expressed confidence that in the coming years it will be possible to hold such events in Khojaly itself.