18.01.2023

This year marks 33 years since the events of January 20, which became the pride of the Azerbaijani people. The events of January 20, which were included in the memory of our people by a bloody tragedy, make up one of the most glorious and heroic pages of our national history.

As every year, the Constitutional Court honored the bright memory of the Martyrs of Bloody January. On the occasion of the 33^rd anniversary of the tragedy of January 20, Chairman of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Azerbaijan, judges and responsible employees of the Administrative Office visited the Alley of Martyrs and honored the memory of the victims of this tragedy.

Then a memorial ceremony was held in the Constitutional Court building.

At first, the memory of the victims of the tragedy was honored with a minute of silence.

The Chairman of Constitutional Court, who spoke at the event, assessed the tragedy of January 20 as an important turning point in the history of independent Azerbaijan, which embarked on the path of independence. It was noted that a number of norms of the Constitution of the USSR, as well as international human rights treaties, were grossly violated by the unprecedented massacre of the Azerbaijani people by the Soviet army in Baku and several regions of the republic in order to suppress the national liberation movement, which gained scope in Azerbaijan.

The events of January 20 should also be recognized as an international crime. It was a terrible act against people and humanity. The tragedy of January 20, which is one of the most terrible pages of massacres committed against humanity in the 20^th century, was forever imprinted in the bloody memory of our people. These events had an important impact on the future fate of Azerbaijan, strengthening the national liberation movement, and restoring our independence.

In those terrible days, the whole people felt the absence of a strong leader in the republic, such as the Great Leader Heydar Aliyev. But, despite his absence in Baku, it was Heydar Aliyev who announced this before anyone else. Despite the fact that our National Leader was under the special control of the USSR State Security Committee in Moscow, immediately after these events, on January 21, 1990, he, together with his associate Ilham Aliyev, who in those difficult days did not leave Heydar Aliyev for a moment, came to the Permanent Mission of Azerbaijan in Moscow. Expressing a strong protest against the committed aggression, the Great Leader accused the perpetrators of the tragedy, especially the last General Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU Gorbachev, the leadership of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Azerbaijan and demanded the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Baku.

This historic step of the Great Leader Heydar Aliyev once again showed that he is always connected with his people, although he was removed from the leadership of our republic.

It was noted that since the return of the national leader to political power in 1993, important steps have been taken to investigate the causes of the tragedy on January 20 and bring the perpetrators to justice. The political assessment of the events of January 20 was first given by the Great Leader Heydar Aliyev. On March 29, 1994, on the initiative and instructions of our National Leader, the Parliament of the Republic adopted a Resolution "On tragic events that took place in Baku on January 20, 1990." Thus, the tragedy of January 20 gained its political and legal significance precisely after the consistent struggle of the Great Leader Heydar Aliyev.

It was emphasized that in order to perpetuate the memory of the Martyrs of January 20 the memorial complex "Eternal Flame" dedicated to those killed in the struggle for freedom of Azerbaijan was erected on the Alley of Martyrs at the initiative of the Great Leader Heydar Aliyev. According to the decree signed by the President of Azerbaijan on January 17, 2000, those killed during the tragedy of January 20, 1990 were awarded the honorary title "Martyrs of January 20."

Speaking about the state care provided by the Great Leader to the Martyrs families and people with disabilities, the Chairman noted that, having successfully continued the political line of the National Leader, President Ilham Aliyev, as one of the important tasks, set at the state level a solution to the problems of the Martyrs families and persons who have lost health. As a result of the President's intense activities, the social protection of Martyrs families, including disabled people, is strengthened from year to year. On January 19, 2006, by the decree of the head of state, the scholarship of the President of Azerbaijan was established for the families of the Martyrs of January 20. The financial and social situation of these persons is always under the careful attention of the head of state.

First Vice President, President of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation Mehriban Aliyeva always treats the Martyrs families with special love, attention and care, and important work is being done in the direction of their social protection.

The people and the state of Azerbaijan always honor the memory of the Martyrs of January 20. President Ilham Aliyev pays special attention to honoring the memory of the Martyrs and solving social issues of the Martyrs families, annually on January 20 visits the Martyrs Alley and lays a wreath at the Eternal Flame memorial.

It was noted that the blood of the Martyrs of the bloody January tragedy was not spilled in vain. Heroes of the 44-day Patriotic War continued the heroic chronicle of the Martyrs of January 20.

Today, the souls of Great Leader Heydar Aliyev and all the martyrs who died for the independence and territorial integrity of our country are happy. The glorious Azerbaijani Army under the leadership of the President, the victorious Supreme Commander-in-Chief Ilham Aliyev put an end to the 30-year longing of our people, freeing our lands from the Armenian occupation and creating a new reality, the iron fist won. Large-scale construction work has begun in the liberated territories, and former IDPs are already returning to their native lands.

The Decree of President Ilham Aliyev on the declaration of 2023 as the "Year of Heydar Aliyev" in Azerbaijan notes that the decisive steps taken by the Great Leader to restore historical memory by directing the creative energy of the people to achieve a single goal served at that time to revive the national spirit, ensured self-awareness and return to their roots, became the cornerstone on the path leading to the construction of an independent state.

The Chairman stressed that the Glorious Victory of our Valiant Army in the Patriotic War under the leadership of the President, the victorious Supreme Commander-in-Chief Ilham Aliyev will always have a special place in the history of our statehood. The liberation of occupied lands and the restoration of the territorial integrity of the state also ensured the rights of citizens enshrined in the Constitution and laid the foundations of the state.

Concluding the commemorative ceremony, the Chairman noted that the tragedy of January 20 was one of the most tragic days in the recent history of Azerbaijan and at the same time became a symbol of the struggle for national independence and the invincible will of our people.