By Rashid Shirinov
The Sovereign Order of Saint John of Jerusalem ? Knights of
Malta O.S.J. ? adopted a resolution condemning the brutal genocide
in Khojaly committed by Armenian armed forces.
The resolution reads that on February 26, 1992, units of the of
Armenian armed forces attacked civilian population in the town of
Khojaly of Azerbaijan’s Nagorno-Karabakh region and committed
genuine genocide on the basis of their ethnicity. Hundreds of
people were killed during this massacre.
The Order strongly condemned the act of genocide, noting that
the massacre committed by the current Armenian leadership with
incredible brutality, was one of the worst tragedies of 20th
century.
The Armenian armed forces spared none of Khojaly residents, who
had not managed to leave the city and its surroundings. As a result
of the atrocities of the Armenian armed forces, 613 people were
killed, 487 people were crippled and 1,275 people ? the elderly,
children and women who were captured ? were subjected to
unprecedented torture, abuse and humiliation.
The resolution at the same time touched upon the process of
settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, and the occupation of
Azerbaijan territories by Armenia. The Order noted the importance
of return of internally displaced persons and refugees to their
previous place of residence.
The decision also stated that the Sovereign Order of Saint John
of Jerusalem ?Knights of Malta O.S.J. ? respect the sovereignty and
territorial integrity of Azerbaijan and call conflicting parties
for making more efforts for settlement of Nagorno-Karabakh conflict
as soon as possible.
“Despite of passing of 25 years since Khojaly bloody massacre,
the victims of the crime could not achieve justice and it still
shows that the central element of any peace agreement should be in
its place in a short period of time, as well as relations among the
people should be restored as soon as possible and the harmony
between two nations should be re-established,” the document
reads.
The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in
1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a
result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied
20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and
seven surrounding districts. More than 20,000 Azerbaijanis were
killed and over 1 million were displaced as a result of the
large-scale hostilities. The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed
by peace negotiations.
Armenia still controls fifth part of Azerbaijan's territory and
rejects implementing four UN Security Council resolutions on
withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and
surrounding districts.
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Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow him on
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