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Conference dedicated to Khojaly Massacre held at George Washington University

26 February 2010 12:40 (UTC +04:00)

Washington. Isabel Levine â€“ APA. A Conference dedicated to the Massacre of Khojaly was held at George Washington University, Washington DC, on February 25.
According to APAâ€™s Washington DC correspondent, the conference was organized by the Azerbaijani-American Council (AAC), Azerbaijan Society of America (ASA), Assembly of Turkish-American Associations (ATAA), the George Washington University Turkish Student Association, the Association of Turkish-Americans of Washington (ATA-DC) and the Azerbaijani-American Student Association (AASA).

Speaking at the conference Azerbaijani Ambassador to the United States Yashar Aliyev said that, Khojali is one of the biggest Massacres in the 20th Century, in the World.

According to the Ambassador, Khojaly, once an Azeri-populated town located in the Mountainous Karabakh region of Azerbaijan, was occupied by Armenian forces on the night of February 25-26, 1992. Its population was subjected to ethnic cleansing and massacre by the occupying forces, killing 613 Azeri and Ahiska Turkic civilians, including 106 women and 83 children, according to the Human Rights Watch.

The event featured a presentation of "Justice for Khojaly" music video co-authored by the U.S. hiphop performer Toni Blackman and famous Azeri rap group "Dayirman", produced by the Grammy-award-winning Gordon Williams, and sponsored by OIC’s international campaign "Justice for Khojaly".
Mr. Y.Aliyev expressed his gratitude to the event organizers as well as to the international campaign of "Justice for Khojaly" led by the Organization for Islamic Conference Youth Forum (OIC-YF) general coordinator, Leyla Aliyeva.

Also, ASA President Tomris Azeri, U.S. State Department-chosen music ambassador and the author of "Justice for Khojaly" music video Toni Blackman; Grammy-winning producer of the music video Gordon Williams made a speech at the conference.

Ms.Azeri tolked about the impact of Khojaly Massacre on Azerbaijani identity. She recited the fragments of Markar Melkonyan’s "My Brother’s Road" as a vivid admission of Khojaly crime in the words of ASALA terrorist, Monte Melkonian.

Speaking at the event, both Blackman and Williams recited the insightful words of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on the vision of justice and shared their impressions from visiting the refugee camps in Agjabedi region of Azerbaijan.

The following video presentation of the "Justice for Khojaly" clip was well received by the audience. Additionally, the short documentary on Khojaly prepared by journalist and Member of Parliament, Qanira Pashayeva, with support from Heydar Aliyev Foundation was presented at the event.

AAC, ASA and ATAA will continue Khojaly campaign week and Pax Turcica Census Workshop series with a rally in front of the United Nations in New York, on February 26th, and a public presentation on February 27th at the New York University’s Polytechnic Institute.