President of Supreme Council: Events in Baku, Lithuania have much in common
Vilnius, January 20 (AZERTAC). The Lithuanian Parliament has held a commemorative ceremony in connection with the tragic events of January 20, 1990, when the Soviet troops broke into Baku, Azerbaijan. 24 years ago the Soviet troops killed peaceful residents to prevent demonstrations for independence. President of the Supreme Council of the Republic of Lithuania, MEP Vytautas Landsbergis said that events in Baku and January 13 events in Lithuania have much in common.
Lithuanians have witnessed the tragic events in January, 1991 in Vilnius, when the Kremlin attempted to suppress Lithuanians striving for independence. Similar events took place in Azerbaijan. Late at night on January 19, 1990, after demolition of the central television station and termination of phone and radio lines by Soviet special forces, Soviet troops entered Baku, smashing through the barricades in order to crush the Popular Front. The troops attacked the protesters, firing into the crowds. 147 people were killed and nearly 800 people were injured.
"We were nations of the same fate, we both have encountered the aggression of the empires," said MEP Landsbergis speaking on Lithuania and Azerbaijan. However, he admitted that two decades ago the tragedy of Azerbaijan did not receive proper attention.
"We have seen of it a little bit, there were photographs, but we were busy with the matters of our won independence. We remember it not often enough since they followed each other: massacre in Baku, massacre in Tbilisi, massacre in Lithuania. Massacre of three nations, we should cherish the sense of solidarity," said Landsbergis.
Nigar Jafarly
Vilnius
Other news in this section
