Seoul, January 20 (AZERTAC). The Republic of South Korea`s leading newspapers Joong Ang Daily and The Korea Herald have posted articles about the 20 January tragedy.

Titled “Azerbaijan remembers the bloody January”, the articles highlight criminal acts of the Soviet leadership against the Azerbaijani people who fought for freedom and sovereignty.

Providing an insight into political processes of that time, the newspapers say “twenty-four years have passed since the Central Soviet Authorities perpetrated an atrocious crime against the people of Azerbaijan”. On January 20, 1990, 26,000 Soviet troops invaded the capital of Azerbaijan, Baku, in a desperate, brutal and yet futile attempt to strangle the growing independence movement and prevent the fall of the Soviet Communist regime in Azerbaijan as well as to punish ordinary people who rallied on the streets to legitimately protest against violations of the territorial integrity of their homeland.”

“At that time, Azerbaijan was also subjected to aggression from neighboring Armenia. The country violated the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, which has resulted in the occupation of Azerbaijani territory, and tried to incorporate Nagorno-Karabakh into Armenia. Armenia’s territorial claims and separatist activities were supported by the ruling Soviet regime.”

Authors note that at midnight on January 19, 1990, the “Alfa” Soviet special forces invaded and cracked down ferociously, without mercy for children, women or the elderly. “As a result, more than 147 civilians were killed. More than 700 people were wounded.”

“Hundreds of other civilians were detained, harassed and tortured by the Soviet army in the days and weeks that followed. This massacre became known in Azerbaijan’s history as Black January.”

The Korean media stresses that on January 21, 1990, great son of the Azerbaijani people Heydar Aliyev, who was living in Moscow at the time, went to Azerbaijan’s permanent representative office in the Soviet capital to flatly condemn the crimes perpetrated by the USSR leaders against Azerbaijan and its citizens and express support for his people. “In a statement made at the meeting, Heydar Aliyev gave a political assessment of the tragedy: “As far as the developments in Azerbaijan are concerned, I am convinced that they run counter to the rule of law, democracy, humanity and the principles of state building in our country.”

“However, this did not stop the people of Azerbaijan from continuing their just struggle until the achievement of national independence in 1991, which in itself stands as the best memorial for the victims of Black January.”

“Although 24 years have passed since those bloody days, Azerbaijani people remember and widely commemorate the January 20 tragedy every year, which has been immortalized in the collective memory of Azerbaijan as the “Day of Nationwide Sorrow.”