Int'l coalition set up to enhance Khojaly genocide recognition

By Azernews

By Sabina Mammadli

The Coalition of European Organizations has been formed to increase international support for the "Khojaly: Recognize to Reconcile" initiative of the Budapest International Center for the Prevention of Genocide and Mass Atrocities.

The establishment of the coalition symbolically called the Rome Coalition was announced in Rome, Italy on March 1, 2022.

The announcement was made during an international conference on “Reconciliation through Recognition: peacebuilding and transitional justice” held in the Italian Senate to commemorate the Khojaly genocide victims on March 1, 2022.

Italian legislators, delegates of international human rights organizations, European anti-racism and anti-genocide organizations, and other civil society representatives attended the conference.

As a result of the discussions, the European EMISCO organization, the Italian Federation for Human Rights, the Coordination of Associations and Individuals for Freedom of Conscience (Belgium), the Deputy Director of the Central Museum of Srebrenica, and the former Personal Representative of the OSCE on Religion and Geopolitics announced the formation of the coalition.

It was also stated that the coalition will primarily be open to human rights organizations and prominent public and political figures for membership. The signed document emphasized that Armenia's recognition of the Khojaly genocide will lead to the restoration of peace in the region.

Senator Urania Papatheu stated during the event that atrocities committed in Khojaly should be recognized as genocide and crime in Italy.

Speakers at the conference debated the international legal assessment of the Khojaly genocide and backed the "Recognize to Reconcile" initiative, which calls on the Armenian government to acknowledge and apologize for the genocide.

The senator briefed participants on the initiative as well as the Khojaly tragedy.

In welcoming conference participants, the senator first gave the floor to MP Rossana Boldi, a member of the Italian Chamber of Deputies and Chairperson of the Italy-Azerbaijan Interparliamentary Friendship Association.

Recalling her visit to the liberated territories and the destructions she witnessed there, Boldi noted that, now that the 44-day Patriotic War is over, the time for peace and dialogue has arrived.

She expressed hope that the conference's outcomes will contribute to the peacebuilding process.

Further, the senator invited participants of the conference to commemorate the Khojaly victims with a minute of silence.

Chair of the Italian Federation for Human Rights Prof Antonio Stango stated that the Khojaly tragedy is interpreted as a genocide crime, citing international law and the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.

According to him, despite the liberation of occupied territories in 2020, the justice for Khojaly has not yet been restored.

Taking into account that the leaders of both Azerbaijan and Armenia declared their desire to "open a new page" and begin a "new peaceful era" in the region, Strango stated that the purpose of the conference is to investigate the use of strong international mediation to help people understand Khojaly realities through recognition, dialogue, and reconciliation.

He also praised the "Recognize to Reconcile" initiative, which was launched at a conference held at the OSCE headquarters in Vienna on February 23rd, 2022.

It was also stated that, in light of the unprecedented challenges that Europe and the world face, such initiatives are especially important for reducing the risk of escalation in conflict situations around the world, particularly in areas where there are opportunities for peaceful transformation.

It should be noted that the conference was organized by the Italian Federation for Human Rights and was initiated by Senator Urania Papatheu, a member of the "Forza Italia" Party and Vice-President of the Italian parliamentary delegation to the Central European Initiative (Italian Helsinki Committee).

Armenia committed genocide against the 7,000-person population of Azerbaijan's Khojaly town on February 26, 1992.

As a result of the Khojaly genocide, 613 Azerbaijani civilians, including 63 children, 106 women, and 70 elderly people were killed. Simultaneously, 487 civilians were seriously injured, and 1,275 people were kidnapped. The fate of 150 hostages, including 68 women and 26 children remains unknown.

During the genocide, 56 people were killed with extreme cruelty, with their heads peeled off, various limbs severed, eyes removed, and pregnant women's bellies pierced with bayonets. As a result, eight families were utterly destroyed, 25 children lost both parents, and 130 children were orphaned.

Relevant documents adopted by the parliaments of Mexico, Pakistan, the Czech Republic, Peru, Colombia, Panama, Honduras, Sudan, Guatemala and Djibouti recognized the Khojaly massacre as an act of genocide. The parliaments of Romania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Jordan, Slovenia, Scotland, and Paraguay, as well as the executive and legislative bodies of 22 U.S. states have strongly condemned the Khojaly tragedy as a massacre. The Organization of Islamic Cooperation recognized Armenia as an aggressor and the Khojaly tragedy as genocide.

Azerbaijan annually commemorates the victims of the Khojaly genocide on February 26. 

The heinous Khojaly genocide was preceded by a slew of others. Armenians set fire to around 20 buildings in the Baghanis-Ayrim village of Gazakh region, killing eight Azerbaijanis. A family of five, including a 39-day-old newborn, were all burnt alive.

Between June and December 1991, Armenian troops murdered 12 and wounded 15 Azerbaijanis in Khojavand region's Garadaghli and Asgaran region's Meshali villages.

Armenian military detachments bombed buses on the Shusha-Jamilli, Aghdam-Khojavand, and Aghdam-Garadaghli routes in August and September of the same year, killing 17 Azerbaijanis and injuring over 90 others.

In October and November 1991, Armenians burned, destroyed, and plundered over 30 settlements in the mountainous area of Karabakh, including Tugh, Imarat-Garvand, Sirkhavand, Meshali, Jamilli, Umudlu, Garadaghli, Karkijahan, and other significant villages.