Memory of the Khojaly genocide victims commemorated at the Embassy of Azerbaijan in Qatar

The Embassy of the Republic of Azerbaijan to the State of Qatar held a commemoration ceremony on the 28th anniversary of the Khojaly genocide. The event was attended by the compatriots living in Qatar.

At the outset, the memory of the victims of the Khojaly massacre and our martyrs who sacrificed their lives for the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan was commemorated with a minute of silence.

Then, Ambassador Rashad Ismayilov spoke about the Khojaly genocide and the Nagorno Karabakh conflict. Noting that the Khojaly genocide was one of the most brutal international terrorist acts committed against civilians in the 20th century, the ambassador said that the atrocities perpetrated were not only against Azerbaijanis, but against all mankind. He mentioned that 633 children, 106 women and 70 elderly people, 613 civilians were brutally killed as a result of the Khojaly genocide and it was unfortunate that the perpetrators of the Khojaly genocide against the Azerbaijani people have so far gone unpunished. Noting the need to bring the realities of Khojaly to the attention of the world community, the ambassador said that great progress had been made in this direction in recent years as part of the "Justice for Khojaly Campaign" and the world had begun to recognize the Khojaly tragedy as an act of genocide. The ambassador stressed that Azerbaijan would never reconcile with the occupation of Azerbaijani territory and that the Armenian occupation would end soon.

Mrs. Rada Abbas, chairwoman of the Public Union for Social Assistance to War Veterans, the witness of the Khojaly events, also spoke at the event. Having witnessed the atrocities carried out against the civil and defenseless residents of Khojaly without distinguishing between women, the elderly, children, Mrs. R.Abbas spoke about the cruelties committed against the civilian population, as well as torture, desecration of corpses, inhumane treatment towards prisoners and hostages, especially women.

She said that the Armenians perpetrated all these brutalities in Khojaly without shame, emphasizing the importance of giving these acts a proper legal assessment at the international level as an act of genocide. She also spoke about the damage caused by the Armenian aggression and occupation. R.Abbas said that the people who witnessed the Khojaly massacre are still among us today. The war veteran underlined the importance of using these people to convey the truth to the masses.