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KHOJALU: WILL THE AZERI AUTHORITIES FORGIVE JOURNALIST FOR THE TRUTH ABOUT KHOJALU CORRIDOR?
By Aris Ghazinyan
ArmeniaNow
27.01.11
Photo: www.hrw.org.ru
Azeri journalist Eynulla Fatullayev has been in prison since 2007
for speaking the truth about Khojalu events.
On January 24, prior to the opening of PACE's winter session, the
head of Parliamentary Assembly Mevlut Cavusoglu called for setting
free imprisoned Azeri journalist Eynulla Fatullayev, reports Turan
news agency.
It is an unexpected appeal. Fatullayev is not simply a journalist. He
is one whose reporting was critical of the authorities expressing an
"alternative" to the official propaganda viewpoint on the Khojalu
events. He wrote that in truth Armenians had left a "humanitarian
corridor" for the peaceful Azeri residents to leave. This viewpoint of
his was not in the interests of the Azeri authorities claiming that
Armenian gunmen massacred Khojalu's peaceful residents. The light
that Fatullayev shed, at least to some extent, on the 1992 events,
cost him his freedom.
Azerbaijan commemorates February 26 as the Day of Tribute to the
victims of "Khojaly genocide". This settlement was located some 15
kilometers from Stepanakert, the capital of Nagorno Karabakh.
Khojalu's strategic importance was the airport.
Since September 1991 residential blocks of Stepanakert had been under
constant massive fire of the Azeri artillery and modified anti-hail
missile launch facilities "Alazan", "Crystal" and "Grad".
As a result of non-stop fire, continuous siege, a great number of
refugees, and huge agricultural losses Karabakh was committed to
famine. The situation was aggravated by the lack of fuel for vehicles
making it impossible to deliver food from villages that were in a
relatively better state. Along with that Azeri militia and military
subdivisions blocked practically all the major land routes.
So the only hope for the besieged Armenian population was the air
communication with Armenia. The military-strategic task of the Armenian
defense forces was to take control of the airport in Khojalu.
On February 25 of 1992 the Nagorno Karabakh defense forces repeatedly
informed the Azeri side - certain people in charge - about the
upcoming operation. It is noteworthy that the negotiations in this
connection were held also on the highest level, namely, via a telephone
conversation between then Speaker of NKR Parliament Artur Lazarian
and Azeri president Ayaz Mutallibov.
The fact that the Armenian divisions did warn in advance about
the upcoming storm of the Azeri-controlled airport and provided a
humanitarian corridor - meaning that they acted in accordance with
the Geneva conventions - was confirmed by many Azeri politicians,
governors and journalists. Elman Mamedov - then head of Khojaly
administration, Rustam Hajiyev - member of the People's Front Aghdam
section, Tamerlan Karayev - then Vice-Speaker of the Azeri Parliament,
and even Azeri president Ayaz Mutallibov have testified to that fact.
After his resignation Mutallibov said in an interview (April, 1992)
to Czech reporter Dana Mazalova: "...the corridor by which people
could leave was, indeed, provided by the Armenians."
After the Aliyev clan came to power all these "testimonies" were
officially declared "false" and "treacherous".
It was, though, after the ascension of the Aliyevs that Eynulla
Fatullayev published an article in which he again talked about the
humanitarian corridor left by the Armenian forces.
In the article published in 2005 and titled Karabakh Diary, Fatullayev
wrote about the Khojalu events: "Several days ahead of the Armenians'
advance, the population of Khojaly was repeatedly warned through
loud-speakers about the upcoming operation and civilians were asked to
leave the settlement and escape through the humanitarian corridor along
the River Kar-Kar. Khojaly residents themselves said that they had used
the corridor and, indeed, Armenian soldiers did not open fire at them".
"...having studied the geographical location I can assert with
full conviction that the claims on the absence of the corridor are
groundless. The corridor really existed as otherwise the residents
of Khojaly - completely surrounded and isolated from the outer
world - had no chance of breaking through the circles and out of the
encirclement. But, having passed the area behind the River Kar-Kar,
the line of refuges divided and for some reason part of them headed
towards Nakhichevanik. Seems like the battalions of Azerbaijan's
People's Front were striving for more blood on the way to overthrowing
Mutallibov, rather than the liberation of Khojaly civilians," he wrote.
The author of the article was detained in April of 2007. He was
sentenced to two and a half years of imprisonment for "insulting
Khojaly people". However, afterwards, new charges were brought against
him and in late October of 2007 Fatullayev was sentenced to serving
the total of eight and a half years.
Somewhat later, "taking into account that Fatullayev used drugs and
psychotropic substances", the reporter was put on registration as
a potential drug addict. In July, 2010 a regional court sentenced
Fatullayev for another two and a half years of imprisonment.
From: A. Papazian
By Aris Ghazinyan
ArmeniaNow
27.01.11
Photo: www.hrw.org.ru
Azeri journalist Eynulla Fatullayev has been in prison since 2007
for speaking the truth about Khojalu events.
On January 24, prior to the opening of PACE's winter session, the
head of Parliamentary Assembly Mevlut Cavusoglu called for setting
free imprisoned Azeri journalist Eynulla Fatullayev, reports Turan
news agency.
It is an unexpected appeal. Fatullayev is not simply a journalist. He
is one whose reporting was critical of the authorities expressing an
"alternative" to the official propaganda viewpoint on the Khojalu
events. He wrote that in truth Armenians had left a "humanitarian
corridor" for the peaceful Azeri residents to leave. This viewpoint of
his was not in the interests of the Azeri authorities claiming that
Armenian gunmen massacred Khojalu's peaceful residents. The light
that Fatullayev shed, at least to some extent, on the 1992 events,
cost him his freedom.
Azerbaijan commemorates February 26 as the Day of Tribute to the
victims of "Khojaly genocide". This settlement was located some 15
kilometers from Stepanakert, the capital of Nagorno Karabakh.
Khojalu's strategic importance was the airport.
Since September 1991 residential blocks of Stepanakert had been under
constant massive fire of the Azeri artillery and modified anti-hail
missile launch facilities "Alazan", "Crystal" and "Grad".
As a result of non-stop fire, continuous siege, a great number of
refugees, and huge agricultural losses Karabakh was committed to
famine. The situation was aggravated by the lack of fuel for vehicles
making it impossible to deliver food from villages that were in a
relatively better state. Along with that Azeri militia and military
subdivisions blocked practically all the major land routes.
So the only hope for the besieged Armenian population was the air
communication with Armenia. The military-strategic task of the Armenian
defense forces was to take control of the airport in Khojalu.
On February 25 of 1992 the Nagorno Karabakh defense forces repeatedly
informed the Azeri side - certain people in charge - about the
upcoming operation. It is noteworthy that the negotiations in this
connection were held also on the highest level, namely, via a telephone
conversation between then Speaker of NKR Parliament Artur Lazarian
and Azeri president Ayaz Mutallibov.
The fact that the Armenian divisions did warn in advance about
the upcoming storm of the Azeri-controlled airport and provided a
humanitarian corridor - meaning that they acted in accordance with
the Geneva conventions - was confirmed by many Azeri politicians,
governors and journalists. Elman Mamedov - then head of Khojaly
administration, Rustam Hajiyev - member of the People's Front Aghdam
section, Tamerlan Karayev - then Vice-Speaker of the Azeri Parliament,
and even Azeri president Ayaz Mutallibov have testified to that fact.
After his resignation Mutallibov said in an interview (April, 1992)
to Czech reporter Dana Mazalova: "...the corridor by which people
could leave was, indeed, provided by the Armenians."
After the Aliyev clan came to power all these "testimonies" were
officially declared "false" and "treacherous".
It was, though, after the ascension of the Aliyevs that Eynulla
Fatullayev published an article in which he again talked about the
humanitarian corridor left by the Armenian forces.
In the article published in 2005 and titled Karabakh Diary, Fatullayev
wrote about the Khojalu events: "Several days ahead of the Armenians'
advance, the population of Khojaly was repeatedly warned through
loud-speakers about the upcoming operation and civilians were asked to
leave the settlement and escape through the humanitarian corridor along
the River Kar-Kar. Khojaly residents themselves said that they had used
the corridor and, indeed, Armenian soldiers did not open fire at them".
"...having studied the geographical location I can assert with
full conviction that the claims on the absence of the corridor are
groundless. The corridor really existed as otherwise the residents
of Khojaly - completely surrounded and isolated from the outer
world - had no chance of breaking through the circles and out of the
encirclement. But, having passed the area behind the River Kar-Kar,
the line of refuges divided and for some reason part of them headed
towards Nakhichevanik. Seems like the battalions of Azerbaijan's
People's Front were striving for more blood on the way to overthrowing
Mutallibov, rather than the liberation of Khojaly civilians," he wrote.
The author of the article was detained in April of 2007. He was
sentenced to two and a half years of imprisonment for "insulting
Khojaly people". However, afterwards, new charges were brought against
him and in late October of 2007 Fatullayev was sentenced to serving
the total of eight and a half years.
Somewhat later, "taking into account that Fatullayev used drugs and
psychotropic substances", the reporter was put on registration as
a potential drug addict. In July, 2010 a regional court sentenced
Fatullayev for another two and a half years of imprisonment.
From: A. Papazian