24.02.2023

On February 24, in connection with the 31^st anniversary of the Khojaly tragedy, the staff of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Azerbaijan visited the Khojaly genocide monument erected in memory of the victims of the tragedy.

Then a memorial event was held at the Constitutional Court.

At the beginning of the event, the memory of the victims of the Khojaly genocide was commemorated with a minute of silence.

Chairman of the Constitutional Court, Farhad Abdullayev, who opened the event, noted that the Khojaly massacre, one of the most terrible tragedies of the 20th century, was a crime committed not only against the people of Azerbaijan, but against all humanity. Expulsion of the Azerbaijani people from their historical lands, turning them into refugees and internally displaced persons and all this was accompanied by mass massacres by Armenians was part of the planned ethnic cleansing and aggression policy carried out by Armenia against Azerbaijan for many years. The political and military leadership of Armenia of that time is responsible for this genocide committed with special cruelty and unimaginable cruelty.

The Chairman noted that on the night of February 25-26, 1992, Armenian military formations with the participation of the 366^th regiment of the former Soviet army located in Khankend, grossly violating the norms and principles of international law, attacked the besieged city of Khojaly, committing an unprecedented murder against civilians. During this terrible genocide, a total of 613 people, including 106 women, 63 children, and 70 elderly people, were killed with particular cruelty just because they were Azerbaijanis, 487 civilians were seriously injured, and 1,275 people were taken hostage.

As a result of the Armenian occupation, the city of Khojaly, which has an ancient culture, distinguished by historical monuments, which is important in studying the history of Azerbaijan, was actually destroyed and became a ruin. Destruction of a number of material and cultural monuments in the city of Khojaly, destruction of graves by methods characteristic of vandals, erasing of all traces of Azerbaijanis are clear examples of Armenian cruelty.

Noting that the Khojaly genocide, which is one of the bloodiest pages of our history, is a historical crime against all humanity, Great Leader Heydar Aliyev gave a political and legal assessment of this tragedy and brought our voice of truth to the attention of world states and international organizations. On the initiative of the National Leader, on February 24, 1994, the Milli Majlis (Parliament) declared February 26 as the "Day of Khojaly genocide". It was after this decision that the events of Khojaly, one of the bloodiest pages of the history of the Azerbaijani people, are annually commemorated on February 26 as the Day of Khojaly genocide.

It is emphasized that the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, İlham Aliyev, who demonstrated the righteous position of our state to the whole world, seeks not only the liberation of our occupied lands, but also to attract the attention of the world community to Armenian vandalism. As a result of the successful foreign policy and hard work of the head of state, many countries of the world now recognize the Khojaly tragedy as a real genocide. Bringing the Khojaly massacre to the international community and making it known by the countries of the world, perpetuating the memory of the victims of the tragedy, strengthening the social protection of their family members and relatives is always in the focus of the country's leadership.

It was noted that in addition to this tragedy, a number of mass murders committed against our people, merciless tortures against captured and hostages are currently being investigated by the law enforcement agencies of our country, petitions are submitted to international courts regarding these crimes, and those involved in the organization and commission of those crimes other persons have been identified, work is being continued to bring them to criminal responsibility according to the current legislation, and necessary steps are being taken.

Noting the important projects implemented by the Heydar Aliyev Foundation in the direction of bringing the Khojaly genocide to the world, the chairman emphasized the invaluable services of Mehriban Aliyeva, the First Vice President of the Republic of Azerbaijan. As a result of this successful activity, the world community has more information about the Khojaly tragedy.

Farhad Abdullayev pointed out that the international campaign "Justice to Khojaly!" started on May 8, 2008 at the initiative of Leyla Aliyeva, the vice-president of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation has the great importance in the recognition of the truths of the Khojaly genocide by the countries of the world and the international community, the history and results of the Armenia-Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the dissemination of the truths about the genocide on a large scale, and the implementation of educational measures.

The chairman stressed that our occupied lands were liberated as a result of the great Victory of our brave army in the Patriotic War under the leadership of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Ilham Aliyev. With the end of thirty years of occupation and injustice, the territorial integrity of our republic was restored, and the justice of international law was ensured. Although the Armenian side refused to implement the resolutions adopted by the UN Security Council in 1993 on the immediate withdrawal of Armenian troops from the occupied territories of Azerbaijan, Azerbaijan ensured the implementation of these resolutions and managed to end the conflict through military and political means.

It was also noted that the 59th meeting of the Munich Security Conference held a few days ago is another success of Azerbaijan's foreign policy. Taking part in the conference, the President of Azerbaijan that Azerbaijan bases its position on international legal norms. The head of state emphasized that Azerbaijan expected the UN Security Council to respect its resolutions, but we did not see it and we had to fight and sacrifice 3 thousand lives to restore our dignity, territorial integrity and justice, to implement those resolutions. During those meetings, the world community was informed in detail about what happened on the Lachin-Khankendi road, and the misconceptions formed by Armenian state officials about the blockade of Armenians living in Karabakh were overturned.

At the end of the event, the chairman noted that thanks to the glorious Victory achieved as a result of the Patriotic War, there was no blood left on the ground both martyrs of the Khojaly tragedy as well as other massacre victims who were subjected to Armenian cruelty. The tragedy of Khojaly is the bloodshed of our people, and bringing the truth of Khojaly to the world community is the duty of every Azerbaijani. The people of Azerbaijan will never forget the Khojaly genocide and will always honor the memory of the victims of the tragedy.