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Azerbaijanis around the US commemorate the 22nd anniversary of "Black January" events

10 January 2012 08:34 (UTC +04:00)

In their letters to the US elected officials, the Diaspora members remind that on the night of January 19-20, 1990, sovereign Azerbaijan was invaded by 26,000 Soviet troops. A courageous resistance by Azerbaijanis to the Soviet invasion continued into February. Eventually, 170 Azerbaijanis were killed, 321 disappeared (their bodies never recovered), over 700 wounded, and still hundreds more were rounded up and detained.

â€œThe terrible event remembered by this commemoration was an atrocity--but it also gave birth to a hope that led eventually to independence and freedom the following year. Twenty two years later, there is no sign of "Black January" declining in significance. Millions of Azerbaijanis and friends of Azerbaijan visit Martyrs’ Alley in the Azeri capital, Baku on January 20th to pay tribute to the memory of their compatriots who laid their lives for the country’s independence. They lay flowers on the graves of the victims and the nation’s commitment to independence, democracy, and freedom is renewedâ€, read the letters.

The Diaspora ask for US officialsâ€™ support by also commemorating the victims with a minute of silence and statement for the record, just like Texas legislature did last year.