Azerbaijanis living in Turkey and Turkish people gathered at İstanbul’s Halkalı Square on Friday to protest the bloodiest act of Armenian aggression during the Nagorno-Karabakh war, which took place in the town of Khojaly. Chanting in unison with their Turkish brethren, Azerbaijanis demanded justice from the international community on the 18th anniversary of the Khojaly massacre.
At midnight on Feb. 25, 1992, Armenian and Russian military forces attacked the town of Khojaly, populated by 2,000 Azerbaijanis, resulting in the mass killings of civilians while they were sleeping.
The leader of Turkey’s Jafaris, Selahattin Özgündüz; Küçükçekmece Mayor Aziz Yeniay; living witnesses of the Khojaly massacre; then-Governor of Karabakh Elmar Memmedov; several Azerbaijani deputies, including Fazil Mustafa and Aydın Mirzezade; Azerbaijan’s consul general to İstanbul, Sayyad Aran; political party representatives; and civil society organizations were among those who participated in the rally.
Speaking during the ceremony, Özgündüz said the Armenian community was known during Ottoman times as a “loyal nation,” but something mysterious happened as they decided to betray their state through pogroms in eastern Turkey. He said while Turkish authorities tried to show the soft side of the state through forced migrations, some tragic events occurred. “Now the international community holds heated debates as to whether or not the tragic events which happened in 1915 constitute genocide, but no one pays attention to the tragedy several years ago in Khojaly.”
As a result of the massacre, 613 people were killed, including 106 women and 83 children. More than 1,000 people were captured. There is still no information on the fate of approximately 150 people.
While Aran said Turkey was always supports them at every instance, Memmedov said they are hopeful that one day the Khojaly massacre will be truly assessed by the international community. In his speech, Mirzezade said the Khojaly massacre was a part of a larger political game.
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