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Khojaly genocide anniversary marked in Turkey

26 February 2007 13:12 (UTC +04:00)

The action was organized by Azerbaijani Students and Graduates Union, Azerbaijani Solidarity Circle and Turkish World Human Rights Circle in Taksim Square of Istanbul. Thousands of people holding Turkeyâ€™s and Azerbaijanâ€™s flags condemned those who committed and supported the Khojaly genocide. The participants shouted slogans â€œMurderer Kocharianâ€?, â€œKarabakh belongs to Azerbaijanâ€?, â€œWe will not forget Khojalyâ€?, â€œWe all are Turks, we all are Mustafa Kamalsâ€?.
Chairman of the Azerbaijani Solidarity Circle Timur Selcuq accused the world countries of ignoring the Khojaly genocide.
â€œBut let friends and enemies know that Azerbaijan is not alone,â€? he said.
NGOs and political parties organized mass protest action in Kayseri. The participants had photos of the tragedy victims and laid red carnations in front of the monument of Azerbaijani Turks in Republic Square.
Protest action was also organized in Ebdi Ipekchi Park in Ankara. The participants sang Azerbaijanâ€™s and Turkeyâ€™s state anthem and criticized official Ankara for not stating necessary reaction to Khojaly genocide.
Azerbaijani Consulate General in Istanbul held a conference on the genocide. The Consul general Seyyad Aran stressed that Armenians did not undergo genocide, they themselves committed genocide.
Ex-president of Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus Rauf Denktash called Khojaly victims real lovers of Azerbaijan.
â€œThey showed us way in national struggle. Let us send a message to the whole world that Turkish world is unique and indivisible,â€? he said.
MP from Justice and Development Party Nevzat Yalchintash condemned Armenian leadership and wanted to act in the framework of â€œone nation-two statesâ€? against them.
Denktash reacted by saying â€œone nation-three statesâ€?.
Most of the participants could not help crying when video films of Khojaly were demonstrated.
Federation Fighting With Groundless Armenian Claims held a conference â€œTurkic massacre in Khojalyâ€? in Yalova. Chief of Azeri-Turk Women Union Tanzila Rustamkhanli noted that no Turk lives in Armenia, ancient Turkic land.
â€œBut over 60,000 Armenians live in Turkey and over 20,000 Armenians live in Azerbaijan. Which Armenian will allow publication of a Turkish newspaper in Armenia? But Turkish citizen Hrant Dink published an Armenian newspaper and called our blood bad,â€? she said.
The founder of the Federation Fighting Groundless Armenian Claims Akif Baransel said that they are sorry for Hrant Dinkâ€™s assassination and wanted some Turkish intellectuals that joined Dinkâ€™s funeral to be among them.
â€œI would like these so-called Turkish intellectuals to come here and say â€œWe all are Khojaly, we all are Azerbaijani Turksâ€?. Unfortunately, this is not so,â€? he said.
Azerbaijani consul general to Istanbul Seyyad Aran said that Turks always took care of minorities.
â€œHrant Dink was killed to make Turkey silent and impede its development,â€? he said.
Exhibition â€œCommemoration day of Khojaly genocideâ€? was organized in Eskishehir. The people attending the exhibition read prayers. The Turkish Hearth Eskisheher department chief Nedim Unal stated that it is impossible to forget Khojaly genocide.
Turkish Great Unity Party leader Mohsun Yazichioglu made a special statement on the genocide anniversary. Underlining that they have not forgot the event happened 15 years ago, he called the Turkish government to recognize Khojaly genocide officially. /APA/