Foreign

Foreign

The European Azerbaijan Society organized a commemorative ceremony in London

01 March 2011 17:54 (UTC +04:00)

Attended by over 200 people, including MPs, Peers, journalists, classical music aficionados and expatriate Azerbaijanis, the purpose of the evening was to remember the 613 civilian victims of the Khojaly Massacre. The concert was preceded by an exhibition of graphic photographs taken by international photojournalists after the slaughter, many of which had not been previously exhibited.

All attendees were visibly moved by pictures of the faces of the grieving, injured and the dead. Lord Kilclooney commented: â€œI first visited Azerbaijan as an election observer for the Parliamentary Assembly for the Council of Europe (PACE) soon after it gained independence from the Soviet Union. I made a point of visiting Nagorno-Karabakh, and witnessed the terrible living conditions of the internally displaced persons (IDPs), mostly living in ramshackle apartment buildings spread across the country. I have also visited Guba, where the Jewish community is encouraged to live and prosper in this secular Muslim country.â€

Chris Pincher MP stressed the need for increased western support of the Azerbaijani stance on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict Chris Pincher MP, member of the Energy and Climate Change Select Committee and Vice-Chairman of the Conservative Friends of Azerbaijan (CFAZ), continued: â€œDuring the 19 years since the Khojaly Massacre, Azerbaijan has increased its relevance to the UK. We have a real responsibility to recognize what has happened, and to push for the rights of the people displaced from their homes by the Armenian invasion. These people need their homes back. The west must support the Azerbaijani stance on this issue, and remember the people that have been forgotten for too long. The Azerbaijani region of Nagorno-Karabakh is generally regarded as central to the development and evolution of mugham, the complex and passionate music that is synonymous with the Azerbaijani spirit. The musicians and composers in the region were acknowledged for their talent, and performed across the Caucasus regionâ€.

The concert comprised a performance by the 22-year-old Azerbaijani violinist Nazrin
Rashidova. The finale was a chance to experience Fikrat Amirovâ€™s Nizami Symphony, being performed in London for only the second time in 50 years.