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Embassy of the Republic of Armenia: Azerbaijani Distortion of the
Events in Khojaly
By MassisPost
Updated: March 4, 2014
WASHINGTON, DC ' Azerbaijani diplomacy and propaganda continues to
mislead the international community and Azerbaijani people by
falsifying the essence and the history of the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict and the facts about the Khojaly events in particular.
By distorting the Khojaly events, Azerbaijani regime attempts to
escape the responsibility for the Armenian massacres in Sumgait
(February, 1988), Kirovabad (November, 1988), Baku (January, 1990),
Maragha (April 1992) and against its own population in Khojaly.
Azerbaijan strives to portray itself as a victim, thus trying to
prepare a moral ground both domestically and internationally to
unleash another war against Nagorno-Karabakh.
Azerbaijan continues to reject international appeals, including by the
European Court of Human Rights, to openly debate about the events in
Khojaly. In that regard one can only ask why all who have expressed
points of views differing from Azerbaijani official version of the
events have been either killed, like journalist Mustafaev, or
imprisoned like journalist Fatullayev, or politically persecuted like
Ayaz Mutalibov, the first president of Azerbaijan?
In reality Khojaly village was one of the Azerbaijani strongholds in
the heart of Nagorno-Karabakh which for many months as Human Rights
Watch put it `pounded the capital of Nagorno Karabakh, Stepanakert,
and other Armenian towns and villages with shells and grenades. The
indiscriminate shelling and sniper shooting killed or maimed hundreds
of civilians, destroyed homes, hospitals and other objects that are
not legitimate military targets, and generally terrorized the civilian
population'.[1] Therefore, suppressing the Azerbaijani fire had become
a matter of survival for the people of Nagorno-Karabakh.
As Azerbaijani journalist Eynulla Fatullayev stated `And even several
days prior to the attack, the Armenians had been continuously warning
the population about the planned operation through loudspeakers and
suggesting that the civilians abandon the town and escape from the
encirclement through a humanitarian corridor. According to the Khojaly
refugees' own words, they had used this corridor and, indeed, the
Armenian soldiers positioned behind the corridor had not opened fire
on them'[2].
However, goes on Fatullayev `¦ part of the Khojaly inhabitants had
been fired upon by our own [Azerbaijani troops]¦ Whether it was done
intentionally or not is to be determined by investigators ¦ [They were
killed] not by [some] mysterious [shooters], but by provocateurs from
the NFA[3] battalions ¦ [The corpses] had been mutilated by our own
¦'[4].
Ayaz Mutalibov, then the president of Azerbaijan blamed his political
opponents for killings in Khojaly. He stated in an interview that
`¦the corridor, by which people could escape, had nonetheless been
left by the Armenians. So, why did they have to open fire? Especially
in the area around Aghdam, where there was sufficient force at that
time to get help to the people. As the Khojali inhabitants, who
narrowly escaped, say, it was all organized in order to have grounds
for my resignation. Some forces functioned for the effort to discredit
the president'[5].
The fact that Khojaly inhabitants felt victim of fierce domestic
political strife for power in Azerbaijan was confirmed also by then
Chairman of Azerbaijan's Supreme Council Karayev and his successor
Mamedov, Azerbaijani Human Rights Activist Yunusov and others.
Heydar Aliyev, then a presidential hopeful in Azerbaijan stated that
`¦the bloodshed will profit us. We should not interfere in the course
of events'[6].
Mr. Fatullayev, the Chief Editor of the Azerbaijani newspaper `Realny
Azerbaijan' spent many years in prison for alleged defamation of
inhabitants of Khojaly. He appealed to the European court of Human
Rights, which ruled that the Azerbaijani government shall immediately
release Fatullayev. He was eventually released in 2011 and shortly
after confirmed to Radio Liberty that he has not changed his views on
Khojaly events and held `Azerbaijani fighters, not Armenians,
responsible for the 1992 killings' of Khojaly inhabitants[7].
The Azerbaijani aggressive rhetoric and distortion of history, backed
by the billions worth acquisition of offensive weaponry[8], bares
serious threat to the security and stability for the whole region and
thus should be adequately countered by the international community.
Embassy of the Republic of Armenia to the United States of America
[1] http://www.hrw.org/reports/1993/WR93/Hsw-07.htm#TopOfPage
[2] http://hudoc.echr.coe.int/sites/eng/pages/search.aspx#{`fulltext':["fatullayev"],'itemid':["001-98401"]}
[3] National Front of Azerbaijan. In 1992 an opposition militarized
party, which came to power after the Khojaly events.
[4] `Case of Fatullayev v Azerbaijan' (Application no. 40984/07)
European Court of Human Rights
http://hudoc.echr.coe.int/sites/eng/pages/search.aspx#{`fulltext':["fatullayev"],'itemid':["001-98401"]}
[5] `Nezavisimaya Gazetta', 2 April 1992 (Russia)
[6] `Bilik-Dunyasi Agency', April 1992 (Azerbaijan)
[7] http://www.rferl.org/content/fatullayev_says_im_still_here/24347732.html
[8] Azerbaijan made the largest real percentage increase (89 per cent)
in military spending in the world. `Background paper on SIPRI military
expenditure data, 2011³http://www.sipri.org/research/armaments/milex
http://massispost.com/2014/03/embassy-of-the-republic-of-armenia-azerbaijani-distortion-of-the-events-in-khojaly/
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
Events in Khojaly
By MassisPost
Updated: March 4, 2014
WASHINGTON, DC ' Azerbaijani diplomacy and propaganda continues to
mislead the international community and Azerbaijani people by
falsifying the essence and the history of the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict and the facts about the Khojaly events in particular.
By distorting the Khojaly events, Azerbaijani regime attempts to
escape the responsibility for the Armenian massacres in Sumgait
(February, 1988), Kirovabad (November, 1988), Baku (January, 1990),
Maragha (April 1992) and against its own population in Khojaly.
Azerbaijan strives to portray itself as a victim, thus trying to
prepare a moral ground both domestically and internationally to
unleash another war against Nagorno-Karabakh.
Azerbaijan continues to reject international appeals, including by the
European Court of Human Rights, to openly debate about the events in
Khojaly. In that regard one can only ask why all who have expressed
points of views differing from Azerbaijani official version of the
events have been either killed, like journalist Mustafaev, or
imprisoned like journalist Fatullayev, or politically persecuted like
Ayaz Mutalibov, the first president of Azerbaijan?
In reality Khojaly village was one of the Azerbaijani strongholds in
the heart of Nagorno-Karabakh which for many months as Human Rights
Watch put it `pounded the capital of Nagorno Karabakh, Stepanakert,
and other Armenian towns and villages with shells and grenades. The
indiscriminate shelling and sniper shooting killed or maimed hundreds
of civilians, destroyed homes, hospitals and other objects that are
not legitimate military targets, and generally terrorized the civilian
population'.[1] Therefore, suppressing the Azerbaijani fire had become
a matter of survival for the people of Nagorno-Karabakh.
As Azerbaijani journalist Eynulla Fatullayev stated `And even several
days prior to the attack, the Armenians had been continuously warning
the population about the planned operation through loudspeakers and
suggesting that the civilians abandon the town and escape from the
encirclement through a humanitarian corridor. According to the Khojaly
refugees' own words, they had used this corridor and, indeed, the
Armenian soldiers positioned behind the corridor had not opened fire
on them'[2].
However, goes on Fatullayev `¦ part of the Khojaly inhabitants had
been fired upon by our own [Azerbaijani troops]¦ Whether it was done
intentionally or not is to be determined by investigators ¦ [They were
killed] not by [some] mysterious [shooters], but by provocateurs from
the NFA[3] battalions ¦ [The corpses] had been mutilated by our own
¦'[4].
Ayaz Mutalibov, then the president of Azerbaijan blamed his political
opponents for killings in Khojaly. He stated in an interview that
`¦the corridor, by which people could escape, had nonetheless been
left by the Armenians. So, why did they have to open fire? Especially
in the area around Aghdam, where there was sufficient force at that
time to get help to the people. As the Khojali inhabitants, who
narrowly escaped, say, it was all organized in order to have grounds
for my resignation. Some forces functioned for the effort to discredit
the president'[5].
The fact that Khojaly inhabitants felt victim of fierce domestic
political strife for power in Azerbaijan was confirmed also by then
Chairman of Azerbaijan's Supreme Council Karayev and his successor
Mamedov, Azerbaijani Human Rights Activist Yunusov and others.
Heydar Aliyev, then a presidential hopeful in Azerbaijan stated that
`¦the bloodshed will profit us. We should not interfere in the course
of events'[6].
Mr. Fatullayev, the Chief Editor of the Azerbaijani newspaper `Realny
Azerbaijan' spent many years in prison for alleged defamation of
inhabitants of Khojaly. He appealed to the European court of Human
Rights, which ruled that the Azerbaijani government shall immediately
release Fatullayev. He was eventually released in 2011 and shortly
after confirmed to Radio Liberty that he has not changed his views on
Khojaly events and held `Azerbaijani fighters, not Armenians,
responsible for the 1992 killings' of Khojaly inhabitants[7].
The Azerbaijani aggressive rhetoric and distortion of history, backed
by the billions worth acquisition of offensive weaponry[8], bares
serious threat to the security and stability for the whole region and
thus should be adequately countered by the international community.
Embassy of the Republic of Armenia to the United States of America
[1] http://www.hrw.org/reports/1993/WR93/Hsw-07.htm#TopOfPage
[2] http://hudoc.echr.coe.int/sites/eng/pages/search.aspx#{`fulltext':["fatullayev"],'itemid':["001-98401"]}
[3] National Front of Azerbaijan. In 1992 an opposition militarized
party, which came to power after the Khojaly events.
[4] `Case of Fatullayev v Azerbaijan' (Application no. 40984/07)
European Court of Human Rights
http://hudoc.echr.coe.int/sites/eng/pages/search.aspx#{`fulltext':["fatullayev"],'itemid':["001-98401"]}
[5] `Nezavisimaya Gazetta', 2 April 1992 (Russia)
[6] `Bilik-Dunyasi Agency', April 1992 (Azerbaijan)
[7] http://www.rferl.org/content/fatullayev_says_im_still_here/24347732.html
[8] Azerbaijan made the largest real percentage increase (89 per cent)
in military spending in the world. `Background paper on SIPRI military
expenditure data, 2011³http://www.sipri.org/research/armaments/milex
http://massispost.com/2014/03/embassy-of-the-republic-of-armenia-azerbaijani-distortion-of-the-events-in-khojaly/
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress