February 26, 2008 - Today long-suffering people of Azerbaijan marks 16th anniversary of the Khojaly massacre - one of the most brutal tragedies of the XX century.

On February 26, 1992, Armenian armed forces supported by 366th Soviet infantry regiment, occupied the town of Khojaly in the Nagorno Karabakh region of Azerbaijan. Occupation of Khojaly was followed by unprecedented cruelties against civilians. Within few hours the aggressors massacred 613 innocent and unarmed people, including 106 women and 83 children. 476 people became disabled. 1275 people were taken into hostage and the fates of 150 of them are still unknown. The event had sparked the exodus of Azerbaijanis from their historic lands. As a result of ethnic cleansing in Nagorno Karabakh, and other territories of Azerbaijan occupied by Armenian armed forces, about 1,000,000 people turned into IDP and refugees and forced to live in tent-camps and railway carriages.

Khojaly massacre was committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a group of people on the basis of their national origin. As such it is genocide, as described in 1948 UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.

It is true that acts of genocide befell the history of mankind previously as well. Lidice, which once more demonstrates similarity between the histories of Azerbaijani and Czech people, Oradur, Khatun are just few examples of such savagery. But it is the perpetrators' cruelty which distinguishes Khojaly from other tragedies of its kind. Armenian troops' brutality outdid that of other murderers and their fierceness against women and children has been also reflected in writings by foreign journalists.

Failure to punish those responsible for the Khojaly Genocide is a reason why similar genocides may recur in the future, and whereas just assessment will help prevent future genocides, people of Azerbaijan urges international community to give legal evaluation to one of the most brutal crimes against humanity, the Khojaly massacre.

Prague, February 26, 2008