Senate of State of New Mexico recognizes Khojaly Tragedy

On January 29 the Senate of the State of New Mexico recognized the mass slaughter of civilians in the Azerbaijani town of Khojaly on February 26, 1992, with 35 votes for and 7 against. The draft was submitted by Senator Gerald Ortiz y Pino. 

The draft reads that ‘WHEREAS, the Nagorno-Karabakh War, lasting from 1988 to 1994, was a conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan; and WHEREAS, on February 25 and 26, 1992, Armenian armed forces, accompanied by Russian military troops, occupied the town of Khojaly in Azerbaijan, killing over six hundred innocent civilians, including many children, women and the elderly, wounding more than one thousand people and taking more than one thousand two hundred civilians captive; and WHEREAS, many civilian bodies found in Khojaly after the fight were disfigured and mutilated, making this one of the most inhumane and barbaric battles of the war; and WHEREAS, international organizations such as Human Rights Watch documented the killings in Khojaly, major United States and international news organizations reported on the horrific killings and numerous governments around the world have condemned the attack; 

And WHEREAS, to this day, the conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia continues, with Armenian forces occupying twenty percent of Azerbaijan's territory, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and the surrounding seven districts;

And WHEREAS, resolutions condemning the occupation of Azerbaijan's territory by Armenian forces have been passed by the United Nations security council and the United Nations general assembly; and

WHEREAS, this event in Khojaly is a sobering reminder of the terrible carnage that can be inflicted in wartime and the enduring need for greater understanding, communication and tolerance among people the world over; and WHEREAS, February 26, 2012 marks the twenty-first anniversary of the Khojaly tragedy; 

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the twenty-first anniversary of the Khojaly tragedy, which occurred on February 26, 1992 and resulted in the needless loss of more than six hundred innocent lives, be commemorated; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be transmitted to the United States congress, the United States department of state and the United States embassy in Azerbaijan.’  –25D--