Türkiye commemorates victims of 1919 Armenian atrocities in Hakmehmet village PHOTO

A memorial ceremony took place in the village of Hakmehmet, located in Türkiye's Iğdır province, to honor the innocent civilians killed by Armenian paramilitary groups in 1919. 

The ceremony marked the 106th anniversary of the mass atrocities committed by Armenians. The descendants of the martyrs and members of the Azerbaijani diaspora gathered to pay their respects, Caliber.Az reports via local media. 

Serdar Ünsal, Deputy Head of the Federation of Turkish-Azerbaijani Friendship Societies, addressed the attendees, emphasizing that the monuments dedicated to the victims of Armenian crimes stand as irrefutable evidence against the false narrative of the so-called "Armenian genocide." "On the anniversary of the fabricated 1915 events, Armenians will once again attempt to stir anti-Turkish hysteria," Ünsal stated. 

"However, the truth is that it was the Armenians who committed genocide against the Turks. Mass graves found in Iğdır’s villages, including Hakmehmet, Akmehmet, Oba, Tuzluca, Gedikli, Yayci, and Kazanci, bear testament to the tragedy faced by thousands of Iğdır residents," he added.

Ünsal also extended an invitation to those seeking to uncover the true history of these events, urging them to visit Iğdır, where Armenians carried out brutal crimes between 1912 and 1920. 

"Unfortunately, a similar fate befell the people of Khojaly later on," Ünsal noted. The Deputy Head further reminded the audience that state-supported archaeological excavations in the villages of Hakmehmet, Oba, and Akmehmet led to the discovery of mass graves and the establishment of monuments to commemorate the victims of Armenian crimes. 

Local residents recounted how, in 1919, Armenian paramilitary groups executed and stabbed all the men in Hakmehmet, then threw their bodies into a 13-meter-deep well. The remains were exhumed over two days, with both local and international media present to witness the event. Following the excavation, the remains of 51 out of 83 victims were identified, while the fate of the remaining individuals remains unknown to this day.

By Naila Huseynova