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US Azerbaijani and Turkish Networks start new campaign on Khojaly genocide

08 February 2012 15:09 (UTC +04:00)

â€œA grave crime was committed against innocent Azerbaijani civilians by the Armenian army 20 years ago, on February 25-26, 1992, which became and remains the largest massacre of modern times in the region of South Caucasus and Caspian Basinâ€, read the letters.. â€œOn that day, the military units of Armenia, seized the town of Khojaly, in the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan, and committed a massacre, which was the culmination of the Armenian aggression and occupation of Azerbaijan. On that day, the Armenian governmentâ€™s efforts to rid Nagorno-Karabakh of its ethnically Azerbaijani population, resulted in almost 2,000 of innocent civilians, mostly women, children, and elderly, being killed, wounded, or taken hostage by the Armenian military forces.â€

According to the authors, the crime against peaceful residents of Khojaly was condemned worldwide, including by the US government, and broadly covered by national newspapers and magazines.

â€œSome of the American and Western journalists and groups who eye-witnessed or extensively covered the Khojaly massacre, were: Hugh Pope, Thomas Goltz, Tom DeWaal, and Human Rights Watch. Congressman Dan Burton (R-IN), a Ranking Member of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere, had the following appeal: "This is not the ringing condemnation that the survivors of Khojaly deserve, but it is an important first step by an international community that has too long been silent on this issue. Congress should take the next step and I hope my colleagues will join me in standing with Azerbaijanis as they commemorate the tragedy of Khojaly. The world should know and remember."

February 26, 2012, is a Memorial Day for the people of Azerbaijan.
â€œAll Azerbaijani people will forever remember where they were on February 25-26, 1992, like all Americans will forever remember where they were on the tragic morning of September 11, 2001â€, say the authors.

The organizers also mention that, having experienced terror firsthand, Azerbaijan has become a staunch ally of the US in the War on Terror and a member of the Coalition, with Azerbaijani battle-ready peacekeepers serving side-by-side with Americans in Kosovo, Afghanistan and Iraq.

In the wake of the 20th year anniversary of Khojali massacre, the US Azeris Network and all Azerbaijani-Americans and friends join in calling upon Congress to properly recognize and commemorate this tragedy (on the floor of the Congress, in the Congressional Record, and by attending a vigil), and to pressure the Armenian government to accept its responsibility for this massacre and withdraw its troops from the occupied regions of Azerbaijan.