A commemorative ceremony dedicated to the 28th anniversary of the Khojaly genocide was held at the Mozart Concert Hall in Strasbourg, organized by the Permanent Mission of Azerbaijan to the Council of Europe as part of "Justice for Khojaly!” international awareness campaign.
The commemorative ceremony was attended by the diplomatic corps accredited to the Council of Europe, academic circles of Strasbourg and representatives of the local community, as well as our students studying at the University of Strasbourg and representatives of the diaspora.
At the commemorative ceremony, the head of the Permanent Representation of Azerbaijan to the Council of Europe, Fakhraddin Ismayilov informed the participants about the Khojaly massacre, which is a crime against humanity. He noted that the Khojaly tragedy was part of Armenia's policy of ethnic cleansing against Azerbaijanis. He stated that (over) on the night from February 25 to 26, 1992, in the city of Khojaly in the Nagorno-Karabakh region, the Armenian armed forces committed an act of genocide against innocent people.
He said that 613 Azerbaijanis, including women, children and the elderly, were brutally killed by Armenians overnight. He also reminded that as a result of the occupation of 20 percent of Azerbaijan's territory by Armenian military units, hundreds of thousands of Azerbaijanis were expelled from their native lands.
F.Ismayilov said that such atrocities were unacceptable in the late XX century and stressed the importance of the international awareness campaign "Justice for Khojaly!" initiated by Vice-President of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation Leyla Aliyeva in order to inform the world community about the Khojaly genocide. He informed the participants about the events taken within the campaign. He noted with regret that the perpetrators of this genocide have not yet been brought to justice. Residents of Khojaly demand justice and punishment for those who are responsible for this massacre. Otherwise, impunity and silence will lead to new human tragedies.