Khojaly Genocide Day Commemorated At The Begin Center In Jerusalem

Rabbi Zamir Isayev stressed: “I think that all the world should pay attention and recognize it as a genocide, as they recognize the Holocaust. I think it’s not important how many people were victims of the genocide. Numbers are not important. If somebody was killed because of his nationality and we know that in the Holocaust we were killed because of our nationality, and Azerbaijanis were killed only because they were Azerbaijanis, it is genocide. We learned from history and are doing everything so no one will forget about this.”

International human rights lawyer Irina Tsukerman also addressed the conference:

“As a lawyer, I have to deal with atrocities and crimes against humanity on a daily basis… Khojaly was not a spontaneous event. It was organized. It included a series of events including an incursion into Azerbaijan’s territory. This laid the foundation for the occupation of Azerbaijan’s Karabakh region for thirty years, which resulted in its liberation during the Second Karabakh War. Unfortunately during this time, it included a mass refugee crisis and trauma.  It all started with Khojaly and similar events.”

“The Soviet Union had a policy of instigating ethnic and religious tensions, creating polarization and divisions, and dehumanizing groups of people that were able to coexist prior. It created fictitious territory for the purpose of dehumanizing and fomenting a false history” As such, she stated, “the Soviet Union backed anti-Azerbaijani sentiments, which led to the tensions with Armenia. It led to horrific atrocities and a great tragedy. Khojaly was a grave tragedy. Unfortunately, there has never been closure from that incident, as the perpetrators were never brought to justice.”

Tsukerman pointed out that “There are no statutes of limitations on crimes against humanity that they perpetrated as a result of state action. It is not too late to state these claims and to push for actions and to impose sanctions on the responsible parties until they either prosecute themselves or the international community does so. The same people who made Khojaly possible have created a system of propaganda with continued dehumanization of Azerbaijanis till the Second Karabakh War. We see echoes of it in the international media. We are now seeing the same kind of thing with Ukraine. It is rooted in the same mentality.”

In conclusion, Tsukerman proclaimed: “The Azerbaijanis should continue to stand for justice. They are fighting for self-defense. They are continuing as a humanitarian leader under these circumstances, helping in the Ukraine as well. This is how a country should conduct itself when injustice is not prevented internationally.”