On the occasion of the 34th anniversary of the Khojaly genocide, a meeting was held at the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection of the Population with a group of family members of the genocide victims, as well as war veterans who were eyewitnesses to the massacre. The memory of the victims of the Khojaly genocide was honoured with a minute of silence during the meeting.
Deputy Minister of Labour and Social Protection of the Population, Anar Bayramov, emphasised that the genocide committed in the city of Khojaly on the night of 25–26 February 1992 by the Armenian armed forces, with the participation of the 366th regiment of the former Soviet army stationed in Khankendi, was one of the gravest crimes ever committed against humanity.
It was stated that during the genocide, carried out with unprecedented brutality against the civilian population, 613 people were killed, including 63 children, 106 women, and 70 elderly persons; 8 families were completely annihilated; 487 people were injured; and 1,275 people were taken hostage. As a result of the occupation, the city of Khojaly was reduced to ruins.
Upon the initiative of National Leader Heydar Aliyev, the Milli Majlis adopted a resolution on 24 February 1994 entitled “On the Day of the Khojaly Genocide.” By the Decree dated 25 February 1997, 26 February at 17:00 each year was declared a nationwide minute of silence in honour of the victims of the Khojaly genocide.
It was emphasised that the blood of the victims of the Khojaly genocide has not remained unavenged. During the 2020 Patriotic War, under the leadership of President and Supreme Commander-in-Chief Ilham Aliyev, the Azerbaijani Army liberated the country’s territories from Armenia’s 30-year occupation. As a result of the local anti-terror operations conducted by the Azerbaijani Army on 19–20 September 2023, the city of Khojaly was also cleared of separatist forces. On 15 October 2023, the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan raised the State Flag of Azerbaijan in the city of Khojaly.
The meeting also noted that the Khojaly Genocide Memorial was inaugurated in the city of Khojaly with the participation of President Ilham Aliyev, First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva, and their family members, and that significant steps have been taken over the years to promote international recognition of the Khojaly genocide. The purposeful activities carried out by the Heydar Aliyev Foundation in this regard, including the “Justice for Khojaly!” awareness campaign launched in 2008 with the Foundation’s support, were highlighted.
The unprecedented atrocities committed by Armenian armed formations in Khojaly were discussed. Attention was also drawn to the social protection measures implemented for the families of those who were killed and for persons who sustained injuries resulting in disability during the Khojaly genocide. Furthermore, the large-scale reconstruction works carried out in Khojaly, as in all liberated territories, and the measures undertaken to ensure the employment of residents resettled in their native homeland were emphasised.
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