A nationwide march was held in Baku on February 26 to mark the 27th anniversary of the Khojaly genocide, one of the bloodiest crimes in human history.
President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva and family members took part in the march.
The purpose of the nationwide march from Azadliq Square to the monument erected in Khatai district and attended by tens of thousands of people is to honor the memory of the victims of the Khojaly tragedy, to bring this barbaric crime against humanity committed by Armenian fascists to the attention of the world community.
The participants of the nationwide march, led by President Ilham Aliyev and First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva, demanded portraits of innocent victims of the massacre - children, women and the elderly killed with special cruelty, horrific scenes of the events of 27 years ago, called for an international political and legal assessment of the genocide and posters and banners in Azerbaijani, Russian and English with the names and surnames of the victims of the genocide. On roadside monitors, building facades and balconies along the route, different slogans were displayed such as, "The world must recognize the Khojaly genocide!", "Justice for Khojaly!", "Do not forget Khojaly!", "Reject Armenian fascism!", "Khojaly - the genocide of the XX century", "Criminals will not go unpunished!”,“ Khojaly genocide - 27 years ”,“ Khojaly genocide is a crime against humanity ”,“ Khojaly, the end of the word ”,“ Destroyed Khojaly will be revived ”and so on.
Looking at the sad faces of the participants of the nationwide march, it seemed that the last 27 years could not erase from the memory of the horrors of the bloody massacre of civilians in Khojaly. The name of this Azerbaijani city, which was destroyed in one night, is now associated with Khatin, Liditse and Songmi.
In general, this nationwide march is the next stage of Azerbaijan's large-scale work on the Khojaly genocide. The world must know the real truth about the Khojaly massacre and understand that the indifference to this atrocity committed in the eyes of all civilized humanity at the end of the twentieth century, the impunity of those responsible for the deaths of hundreds of civilians can lead to a repeat of such tragedies. The march also demonstrated the close unity of the Azerbaijani people, their respect for the memory of their martyrs, their determination to do everything possible to liberate the occupied territories and restore the territorial integrity of our country.