On January 20 it will be 15 years since a horrible tragedy that went down in Azerbaijan´s history as one of the remarkable stages in the national liberation movement. In the early morning hours on January 20, 1990, atrocities were committed by 26,000 Soviet troops against civilians in Baku. They acted pursuant to a state of emergency declared by then Soviet leader Gorbachev and disclosed to the Azerbaijani people only after hundreds of peaceful residents laid wounded or dead in the streets of Baku. (19-JAN-2005)
The Soviet military shot people at point-blank range with particular cruelty. Tanks and armored personnel carriers intentionally drove into cars killing the people inside and fired at hospitals, preventing medical staff from caring for the wounded.
Cruel attack
As a result of unlawful actions of the Soviet troops, 133 people were killed, including women and children, 611 wounded and 841 illegally arrested.
A series of events are being held in Azerbaijan to mark the 15th anniversary of the victims. Many in Azerbaijan believe that the tragedy should be commemorated more than once a year.
Events
“The commemoration activities should be held regularly as a campaign”, parliament member Zahid Oruj told a Monday roundtable entitled “Bloody remembrance of January 20” organized by the Public Union of Retired Military on Youth Enlightenment.
The participants termed January 20 as a terrible tragedy in the country´s history which prompted a new stage in the national liberation movement.
An official from the President´s Office socio-political department Rasim Mirzayev regarded the January 20 tragedy as a milestone of heroism of the Azerbaijani people.
Lawyer, Prof. Kamil Hasanov blamed Azerbaijanis for being forgetful of their history. “Such forgetfulness has brought nightmares to the Azerbaijani people”, he said.
The participants also looked into the reasons for the horrible tragedy and stressed
the importance of giving it a political assessment in the international arena.
