DAYS OF SORROW
World Azerbaijanis remember Black January victims
Baku, January 22 (AZERTAC). The Azerbaijani Representation to the Council of Europe has organized a commemorative event on the 24th anniversary of the Black January.
Delivering a speech at the event head of the representation, Ambassador Emin Eyyubov spoke of the January 20 tragedy, and noted that 147 people were killed during the bloody event.
The Azerbaijani Embassy in Vietnam also has arranged an event marking the anniversary of the Black January. The event was attended by members of the friendship groups with Azerbaijan, officials of the Vietnamese Foreign Ministry and others. The event participants viewed a photo exhibition reflecting the tragedy. A documentary was shown at the event.
The January 20 tragedy was also commemorated in Aktyubinsk and Aktau regions of Kazakhstan. The Azerbaijani Consulate General in Aktau has organized a range of events in accordance of “Action Plan” approved by the Azerbaijan Presidential Administration.
A commemorative event on the victims of the January 20 tragedy has also been held at the Haifa University in Israel. The event was organized by the Israel-Azerbaijan Association (AzIz) with the support of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation.
Azerbaijani ambassador to US Elin Suleymanov addressed at the event organized in New York. The event participants commemorated the tragedy victims with one minute`s silence.
Black January also known as Black Saturday or the January Massacre, was a violent crackdown in Baku on January 19–20, 1990, pursuant to a state of emergency during the dissolution of the Soviet Union and following pogroms and violence against the Armenian population in Baku.
As a result of special military operation held following the Orders of the leaders of the USSR, the military forces entering Baku from different directions killed 147 unarmed civilians with special cruelty regardless their nationality, age and sex. In the capital, surrounding settlements, and districts 744 innocent persons were injured, hundreds of persons went missing and 841 persons were imprisoned unlawfully.