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`THIS IS A MODERN GOLGOTHA, BUT MANY TIMES MORE HORRIBLE...'
http://artsakhtert.com/eng/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1002: this-is-a-modern-golgotha-but-many-times-more-horrible&catid=3:all&Itemid=4
Monday, 08 April 2013 14:40
That's how Vice-Speaker of the House of Lords of the
British Parliament Baroness Caroline Cox described the tragedy of the
Karabakh village of Maragha, which became a victim of the monstrous
crime by Azerbaijan in April 10, 1992. According to the Baroness, who
visited the village just a day after the atrocities of the Azerbaijani
troops, "the Azeris committed a crime against humanity in Maragha in
1992".
The tragedy in Maraga was a regular link in a long line of genocidal
acts and ethnic cleansing against the Armenian population periodically
committed by Azerbaijan at the state level. A series of bloody crimes
began still in the Soviet period, when the Armenians of Sumgait, Baku,
Kirovabad, Mingechaur, etc. became victims of the mass killings and
deportations. And Maragha is on the conscience of the leadership of
independent Azerbaijan, which proves the immutability of its
decades-long policy of ethnic discrimination and genocide against the
Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh and Azerbaijan.
Many experts point to the fact that the armed attack on Maragha was
not caused by a military necessity. The village was located far away
from the center of military activities and didn't present any danger
from the military point of view. Consequently, the genocide against
its civilian population should be viewed primarily as an action of
intimidation of the Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh, which had
claimed its rights to a free life and declared the independent NKR.
The military aggression unleashed against the Nagorno-Karabakh
Republic differed with its unprecedented cruelty, in which Azerbaijan
used weapons of mass destruction against the civilians, such as ball-
and needle bombs prohibited by international law. But, even against
this background the crime in Maragha stands alone, because the human
mind is unable to comprehend and explain such manifestations of
monstrous, truly cannibal cruelty.
Caroline Cox recorded the atrocities of the Azerbaijani army and
special mission units on photo- and video tape, described in her
numerous interviews and in her book "Ethnic Cleansing in Progress: War
in Nagorno-Karabakh". Let's refer again to the testimonies of the
Baroness: "One of the most terrible pictures of the massacre in
Maragha was the decapitated human bodies. I saw Azerbaijanis beheading
people, I saw burnt bodies; apparently, some people were burnt alive.
They were destroying Armenian houses to the ground and burning them,
previously looting them and taking out things, which did not belong to
them". As a result of the brutal massacre, according to different
data, between 80 and 100 people were killed, including 30 women; over
40 people were injured and about 70 people were taken hostages, among
them 9 children. Numerous villagers were killed on the way, in front
of parents, children and relatives, the fate of 29 people remains
unknown so far. Two weeks later, the village was subjected to repeated
attacks and was actually wiped out.
Such is the terrible statistics of that monstrous tragedy. However, no
less terrible is the indifference of the international community, and
first of all, of the competent international organizations, which were
simply duty-bound to give a moral, legal and political assessment of
the criminal actions of Azerbaijan. It is known that still in 1997,
several human rights organizations, basing on the stories of
eyewitnesses and Baroness Cox' team members, prepared an extensive
reference and submitted it to the UN Commission on Human Rights. The
document, comprising chilling facts, irrefutably proved that the
Azerbaijani authorities had committed acts of mass violations of human
rights in Maragha, which was subject to the corresponding
international conventions. Unfortunately, the criminal acts of
Azerbaijan have not received any condemnation or assessment yet,
which, no doubt, encourages it for continuing its hostile
anti-Armenian policy so far.
21 years have passed since that terrible day, but the issue of
bringing Azerbaijan to account has not lost its urgency, because the
crimes similar to those committed in Maragha cannot have a statute of
limitations. The Azerbaijani authorities have not repented and,
judging by their current cynical behavior, are not going to repent.
But have we the right to remain silent? Currently, quite a big folder
of documents and materials on the military crime in Maragha is
created. The serious legal arguments the Armenian party possesses are
good reasons to appeal to the relevant international bodies for
condemning and punishing the executors of the crimes against the
civilians. This must be done for restoring justice for the sake of the
innocent victims of the Maragha tragedy. Also, for the sake of the
future, because only punishment for genocide can prevent a new
genocide.
The crime in Maragha, like the previous atrocities of the Azerbaijani
regime, its continued and openly racist policy against the Armenian
people convincingly prove the inadmissibility of indulging the
Azerbaijani claims to Nagorno-Karabakh, which has no right to it -
neither legal nor political, nor moral. A kind of remind to the
international mediators in the Karabakh conflict settlement process
can be the words of Baroness Cox: "I understand and support the
Armenians of Karabakh that they will never be able to live under the
Azerbaijani power, as the Armenians, who lived in Karabakh under
Azerbaijan's power, have passed through a lot".
Leonid MARTIROSSIAN
Editor-in-Chief of Azat Artsakh newspaper
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
http://artsakhtert.com/eng/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1002: this-is-a-modern-golgotha-but-many-times-more-horrible&catid=3:all&Itemid=4
Monday, 08 April 2013 14:40
That's how Vice-Speaker of the House of Lords of the
British Parliament Baroness Caroline Cox described the tragedy of the
Karabakh village of Maragha, which became a victim of the monstrous
crime by Azerbaijan in April 10, 1992. According to the Baroness, who
visited the village just a day after the atrocities of the Azerbaijani
troops, "the Azeris committed a crime against humanity in Maragha in
1992".
The tragedy in Maraga was a regular link in a long line of genocidal
acts and ethnic cleansing against the Armenian population periodically
committed by Azerbaijan at the state level. A series of bloody crimes
began still in the Soviet period, when the Armenians of Sumgait, Baku,
Kirovabad, Mingechaur, etc. became victims of the mass killings and
deportations. And Maragha is on the conscience of the leadership of
independent Azerbaijan, which proves the immutability of its
decades-long policy of ethnic discrimination and genocide against the
Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh and Azerbaijan.
Many experts point to the fact that the armed attack on Maragha was
not caused by a military necessity. The village was located far away
from the center of military activities and didn't present any danger
from the military point of view. Consequently, the genocide against
its civilian population should be viewed primarily as an action of
intimidation of the Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh, which had
claimed its rights to a free life and declared the independent NKR.
The military aggression unleashed against the Nagorno-Karabakh
Republic differed with its unprecedented cruelty, in which Azerbaijan
used weapons of mass destruction against the civilians, such as ball-
and needle bombs prohibited by international law. But, even against
this background the crime in Maragha stands alone, because the human
mind is unable to comprehend and explain such manifestations of
monstrous, truly cannibal cruelty.
Caroline Cox recorded the atrocities of the Azerbaijani army and
special mission units on photo- and video tape, described in her
numerous interviews and in her book "Ethnic Cleansing in Progress: War
in Nagorno-Karabakh". Let's refer again to the testimonies of the
Baroness: "One of the most terrible pictures of the massacre in
Maragha was the decapitated human bodies. I saw Azerbaijanis beheading
people, I saw burnt bodies; apparently, some people were burnt alive.
They were destroying Armenian houses to the ground and burning them,
previously looting them and taking out things, which did not belong to
them". As a result of the brutal massacre, according to different
data, between 80 and 100 people were killed, including 30 women; over
40 people were injured and about 70 people were taken hostages, among
them 9 children. Numerous villagers were killed on the way, in front
of parents, children and relatives, the fate of 29 people remains
unknown so far. Two weeks later, the village was subjected to repeated
attacks and was actually wiped out.
Such is the terrible statistics of that monstrous tragedy. However, no
less terrible is the indifference of the international community, and
first of all, of the competent international organizations, which were
simply duty-bound to give a moral, legal and political assessment of
the criminal actions of Azerbaijan. It is known that still in 1997,
several human rights organizations, basing on the stories of
eyewitnesses and Baroness Cox' team members, prepared an extensive
reference and submitted it to the UN Commission on Human Rights. The
document, comprising chilling facts, irrefutably proved that the
Azerbaijani authorities had committed acts of mass violations of human
rights in Maragha, which was subject to the corresponding
international conventions. Unfortunately, the criminal acts of
Azerbaijan have not received any condemnation or assessment yet,
which, no doubt, encourages it for continuing its hostile
anti-Armenian policy so far.
21 years have passed since that terrible day, but the issue of
bringing Azerbaijan to account has not lost its urgency, because the
crimes similar to those committed in Maragha cannot have a statute of
limitations. The Azerbaijani authorities have not repented and,
judging by their current cynical behavior, are not going to repent.
But have we the right to remain silent? Currently, quite a big folder
of documents and materials on the military crime in Maragha is
created. The serious legal arguments the Armenian party possesses are
good reasons to appeal to the relevant international bodies for
condemning and punishing the executors of the crimes against the
civilians. This must be done for restoring justice for the sake of the
innocent victims of the Maragha tragedy. Also, for the sake of the
future, because only punishment for genocide can prevent a new
genocide.
The crime in Maragha, like the previous atrocities of the Azerbaijani
regime, its continued and openly racist policy against the Armenian
people convincingly prove the inadmissibility of indulging the
Azerbaijani claims to Nagorno-Karabakh, which has no right to it -
neither legal nor political, nor moral. A kind of remind to the
international mediators in the Karabakh conflict settlement process
can be the words of Baroness Cox: "I understand and support the
Armenians of Karabakh that they will never be able to live under the
Azerbaijani power, as the Armenians, who lived in Karabakh under
Azerbaijan's power, have passed through a lot".
Leonid MARTIROSSIAN
Editor-in-Chief of Azat Artsakh newspaper
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress