BAKU, Azerbaijan, February 23. Thirty-four
years have passed since February 26, 1992, when a total of 613
peaceful and unarmed civilians, including 106 women, 63 children,
and 70 elderly people were intentionally murdered in the Khojaly
city by subjecting them to severe tortures on the ground of ethnic
identity, the statement of Azerbaijani Commissioner for Human
Rights (Ombudsperson) Sabina Aliyeva on the 34nd anniversary of
Khojaly Genocide from Khankendi city says, Trend reports.


The statement said that the brutal killing of the civilian
population in the Khojaly city by the armed forces of Armenia, with
the direct participation of the former USSR-backed 366th Motorized
Rifle Regiment, solely based on their Azerbaijani ethnicity,
constituted an integral part of Armenia’s systematic and purposeful
policy of genocide against Azerbaijanis.


The Khojaly Genocide resulted in the complete destruction of
eight families; 130 children lost one parent, 25 children lost both
parents, and 1,275 civilians, including 68 women and 26 children,
were taken captive, and subsequently, severe war crimes were
committed.


This serious criminal act, encompassing elements of the crime of
genocide, constitutes one of the tragic pages in the history of
mankind and a gross violation of fundamental human rights and
freedoms. These premeditated acts were intended to kill ethnic
Azerbaijanis based on their national identity, forcibly expel them
from their ancestral lands, and instill fear and panic among the
population.


As a result of the Khojaly Genocide, the norms of international
human rights and international humanitarian law were violated,
including the provisions of the International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social
and Cultural Rights, the International Convention on the
Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, the Convention
against torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or
punishment, the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the
Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of
Genocide, and the Geneva Conventions for the Protection of War
Victims. Consequently, the rights to life, personal security,
property, freedom from torture, and other fundamental human rights
were seriously violated.


The ombudsperson recalled that the Parliament of Azerbaijan, at
the initiative of the National Leader Heydar Aliyev, made the first
political and legal assessment of the Khojaly Genocide and declared
26 February as the Day of Commemoration of the Khojaly
Genocide.







The 'Justice for Khojaly' campaign, carried out consistently by
the Heydar Aliyev Foundation to inform the world community about
the Khojaly Genocide and to ensure its legal and political
recognition, is of great importance in raising international
awareness of this act of genocide and in the restoration of
justice.


"Following the Patriotic War and the local counter-terrorism
operation, reconstruction works are being rapidly carried out in
the territories liberated from occupation, including the Khojaly
city, and residents are returning to their native lands.


In the course of restoration and reconstruction works carried
out in those territories, mass graves were discovered, and the
remains of individuals who had been tortured and killed were
identified and buried. These facts constitute undeniable evidence
of the Khojaly Genocide and the commission of serious war
crimes.


A number of individuals who participated in the Khojaly Genocide
and other crimes committed against our people were apprehended
during the measures carried out following the local
counter-terrorism operation, and they are being tried in accordance
with international and national legal frameworks.


I deeply respect the dearest memory of the victims of the
Khojaly Genocide and urge international organizations and the world
community to take decisive measures for the legal recognition of
this crime of genocide, one of the bloody massacres perpetrated in
the XX century, and to bring all persons responsible for this crime
to justice," the statement noted.