World Azerbaijanis commemorate Black January victims

/By AzerNews/

By Amina Nazarli

The 25th anniversary of the heinous bloodshed committed in Baku on January 20, 1990 was commemorated in different countries of the world.

The diplomatic missions of Azerbaijan abroad organized serious of events to mark the anniversary of the tragic day, which went down in Azerbaijan's history as the Black January, AzerTag state news agency reported.

The Azerbaijani embassy in Austria has organized a commemorative event dedicated to the tragedy.

The event was attended by representatives of the Azerbaijani and Turkish Diaspora organizations, Azerbaijani students in Vienna and others.The event began with a minute silence for the people killed on January 20, 1990.

Ambassador Galib Israfilov described the tragedy as a historical phenomenon paving the way for Azerbaijan`s independence.

The Azerbaijani embassy in Uzbekistan also hosted a commemorative event on the 25th anniversary of the Black January. The event brought together employees of the Embassy, public figures of Uzbekistan, and representatives of the Azerbaijani Diaspora..

Addressing the event, Ambassador Huseyn Guliyev spoke about the discrimination policy of the Soviet leadership against Azerbaijan.

Another commemorative event was held in Berlin. The event organized by the Azerbaijani embassy was attended by Bundestag members, political and cultural figures, journalists, diplomats and members of Azerbaijani diaspora.

The ceremony started with a minute silence for victims of the January tragedy.

Opening the event, Ambassador Parviz Shahbazov spoke of the history of the tragedy, Azerbaijani people`s struggle for independence, causes and consequences of the tragedy.

He condemned the Soviet leadership`s actions against the Azerbaijani people.

The event featured a commemorative concert by Germany-based Azerbaijani musicians Elnara Ismayilova and Faig Aliyev. The participants also viewed a photo exhibition on the 20th January tragedy.

A commemorative event to mark the 20 January tragedy was also organized in the Kingdom of Sweden. The ceremony started with a minute silence for victims of the January tragedy.

Addressing the event, Ambassador Adish Mammadov highlighted the history of the 20 January events.

Mammadov said it was the day of the unity of Azerbaijan`s people struggling for the country’s territorial integrity.

He called the tragedy one of the bloodiest crimes of the Soviet empire against its citizens. Mammadov drew the participants’ attention to the fact that the Soviet troops had used internationally prohibited weapons in Baku, and slaughtered women, children and the elderly.

The Azerbaijani Embassy in China also hosted a commemorative event to mark the 25th anniversary of the 20 January tragedy.

A book-album entitled “January 20: A bloody and glorious page of our history”, a joint project of the Public and Political Affairs Department of the Azerbaijani Presidential Administration and AzerTAc, has been presented as part of the event.

Addressing the ceremony, Ambassador Latif Gandilov briefed the event participants on the bloody tragedy.

He said the 20 January 1990 is a day, which went down in the history as the struggle for the freedom and territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, and as a heroism page.

The event participants watched a documentary on the Black January.

The Embassy of Azerbaijan in the Republic of Korea also organized a commemorative event, thatbrought together Azerbaijanis living in Seoul, members of the Azerbaijan-Korea Student Association (BUTA), representatives of the Korean companies operating in Azerbaijan, as well as journalists.

The event began with a minute silence for the January 20 victims.

Azerbaijani Ambassador Ramzi Teymurov spoke about the causes of the tragedy and the terror act committed by the Soviet army against the Azerbaijani people.

He said that the brutality against peaceful Baku citizens committed on January 20, 1990 once again showed the criminal essence of the Soviet regime.

The Ambassador characterized the terror act as violation of the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights, as well as other international documents on human rights.

Teymurov also expressed his sorrow as the tragedy has not been given its legal assessment.