The memory of the victims of the Khojaly genocide was honored in Paris

A commemorative event on the 30^th anniversary of the Khojaly genocide was held at the Salle Cortot music hall in Paris with the support of the Azerbaijani Embassy in France and the Permanent Delegation of Azerbaijan to UNESCO, the Heydar Aliyev Foundation and the State Committee for Work with the Diaspora.

Azerbaijani Ambassador to France Rahman Mustafayev and UNESCO Permanent Delegate to UNESCO Elman Abdullayev spoke at the commemorative event and gave detailed information about the genocide committed against the civilian population in Khojaly.

It was reported that the Armenian armed forces brutally killed 613 civilians in one night. It was noted that the brave Azerbaijani Army under the leadership of Supreme Commander-in-Chief Ilham Aliyev opened a new glorious page in our history by ending the occupation of our lands by Armenia.

The Khojaly genocide is a rare tragedy in history, the author of which, Serj Sargsyan, openly admitted in an interview with British journalist Thomas de Waal that he was directly involved in the genocide.

It was underlined that the massacre committed by the Nazis in the French village of Oradour-sur-Glane during the Second World War was committed by Armenians against civilians in Khojaly in the 20^th century.

At the event it was also emphasized that the Khojaly tragedy was the bloodiest page of Armenia's aggression against Azerbaijan. It was noted that the "Justice for Khojaly!" campaign has been implemented since 2008 on the initiative of Vice-President of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation Leyla Aliyeva. The main purpose of the international campaign is to inform the world community about the Khojaly tragedy, to condemn the crimes of the Armenian armed forces and to achieve a political and legal assessment of this tragedy. This international campaign is of great importance for the memory of the victims of the Khojaly genocide. Such crimes should not go unpunished to prevent a recurrence of similar tragedies.

As a result of the "Justice for Khojaly!" campaign, the parliaments of 17 countries, as well as 24 US states, called the Khojaly tragedy a "genocide" and a "crime against humanity." The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe has adopted a statement condemning the Khojaly genocide and called on other international organizations to give a legal assessment to the tragedy.

Speakers spoke about the atrocities committed by the Armenian armed forces against the Azerbaijani civilian population on that terrible night. The names of the victims of the Khojaly massacre were listed, the inhuman treatment of women, children and the elderly by Armenians as well as the complete destruction of the hundreds of families was discussed.

It was noted that although Armenian nationalists try to hide the realities of Azerbaijan, the fact that they brutally massacred civilians is also communicated to the international community by Azerbaijani diplomats and members of the diaspora.

Then the jazz program of Isfar Sarabski Quartet dedicated to the memory of the victims of the Khojaly genocide was presented. Isfar Sarabski (piano), Bahruz Zeynal (tar), Sasha Mashin (drums) and Makar Novikov (contrabass) performed the folk songs "Ay Lachin" and "Yellow Bride", compositions by Gara Garayev, Said Rustamov and others.