SOCIETY

Guivami Rahimli: Unveiling the Truth Behind the Black January Events

20.01.2025 [00:24]
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Baku, January 20, AZERTAC

Today Azerbaijan is marking the 35th anniversary of the "Black January": the violent crackdown by Soviet forces on the Azerbaijani independence movement during the collapse of the Soviet Union.

On January 20, 1990, Soviet troops stormed Baku, the Azerbaijani capital, on the orders of the Central government in an ultimately failed attempt to save the communist rule and crush the national movement by committing an unprecedented massacre against the civilians and violating the norms of international law.

For several days, around 26,000 Soviet troops cracked down on protesters, firing into crowds, and killing 147 and injuring 744 civilians.

Before this tragic event, Armenia's unfounded territorial claims against Azerbaijan and the aggressive separatist activities of Armenian radicals in Azerbaijan's Karabakh region, supported by the Soviet leadership, escalated tensions in the region. These actions resulted in the violent deportation of hundreds of thousands of Azerbaijanis from Armenia and fueled the growth of the national movement against the Soviet government in Azerbaijan.

Although the Soviet leadership decreed emergency rule, which lasted for more than a year, in October 1991, Azerbaijan declared its independence from the Soviet Union.

The events of January 20, a grave crime of the 20th century and a blatant violation of the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights, constituted a crime against humanity.

The Soviets managed to suppress all efforts to communicate the news about the bloody January events in Baku to the international community, not allowing foreigners to enter Baku, so there would be no leakage of unfolding events and information.

A world-renowned photojournalist Reza’s effort to smuggle himself into Baku during those turbulent days of January 1990 and getting the story out to the world looks like a fiction movie. But it’s the real life. Reza told me his story many times on various occasions during our meetings: the way he lived through those painful moments of Black January. I shared his story with AZERTAC in an article “Black January – The start of Azerbaijan's independence”

Within 24 hours when Reza returned to Paris after visiting Baku, the tragic story of Azerbaijan's Black January had been distributed around the world. TV channels and radio stations, magazines and newspapers all over the world were asking for footages. Black January was no longer a secret - the world was watching.

Guivami Rahimli also shares with AZERTAC some feedback related to his article that spreads the truth about the Black January events:

Ramiz Abutalibov also shared this article in his FB page. He represented Azerbaijan at UNESCO during the Soviet times, helped in getting visas from the Soviet Consular in Paris for Reza, Ahmed Sel and Shirin Melikoff, and was behind the scene arrangements of this crew’s visit to Baku during Black January events,

Reza, who played an incredible role in spreading the truth about Black January events, in a message to his friends wrote:

“I promised that I will be in Baku for the Black January commemoration day and hope to see you on the Alley of Martyrs on January 20, 2025.

The memories I have shared once again confirm how the January 20 tragedy stands as a great example of national heroism and solidarity. The courageous actions and the photographs I took played an invaluable role in bringing the truth of this tragedy to the attention of the international audience.

January 20 is not only a day of mourning but also a symbol of our nation’s struggle for freedom. The heroism of our martyrs will never be forgotten, and this day remains one of the core values that unite us as a nation.

I believe that these stories will continue to inspire future generations. I would be honored to join you at the Alley of Martyrs on January 20, and share these heroic stories with you once again, and I look forward to meeting you there.”

Black January - the start of Azerbaijan's independence, followed the country's full restoration of territorial integrity during the 44-day war in 2020, liberating 20 percent of its lands occupied by Armenia for nearly 30 years. A peace deal is being negotiated between Azerbaijan and Armenia to establish lasting peace in the region and offers the Armenian leadership a chance to restore the rights of Azerbaijanis expelled from their native lands in Armenia. It is hoped that this will create conditions for the return of Azerbaijanis to their historical lands, eliminating the racial discrimination raised by the first president of Armenia, who described the presence of Azerbaijanis in the region as a problem, stating that ethnic cleansing against Azerbaijanis and the occupation of Azerbaijani territories was “the solution to a 600-year-old problem.”

“The Right to Return: Advancing Justice for Azerbaijanis Expelled from Armenia,” a statement by President Aliyev, has been circulated as an official document of the United Nations’ General Assembly and the Security Council.