Helsinki Commission Chairman Remembers 27th Anniversary of Khojaly Massacre

Washington/27.02.19/Turan: On the 27th anniversary of the Khojaly Massacre, U.S. Helsinki Commission Chairman Congressman Alcee Hastings issued a statement offering condolences to the people of Azerbaijan.

"I believe it is important to recognize and remember those whose lives were lost," he noted.

"I rise today to recognize the 27th anniversary of the Khojaly Massacre, which took place on February 26, 1992, and remember the 613 men, women, and children who were brutalized during this despicable act of violence. Khojaly, a town in the Republic of Azerbaijan, was home to an unprecedented act of brutality that desecrated the norms and principles of international law, human rights, and freedoms. Armenian forces, with the support of the 366th motorized rifle regiment of the Russian army, stormed the besieged town of Khojaly engaging in acts so violent that their effects are still felt in the community, indeed the entire country, to this day," reads the statement.

"Although a ceasefire was achieved in 1994, more than 20 percent of Azerbaijani territory including Nagorno Karabakh remain occupied and more than 1 million Azerbaijanis remain refugees and internally displaced persons," Hastings noted.

"Notably, while providing this crucial and costly support, Azerbaijan has still taken significant and impressive strides to improve economic development in their region, he added." -0-