AFP: Azerbaijan marks 10th anniversary of "genocide&quo

[wh00t]

What is this, did the AFP actually see this fit to be printed as news? Baised towards the Azeris as well.

 

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Agence France Presse

February 26, 2002

 

Azerbaijan marks 10th anniversary of "genocide" by Armenians

 

BAKU

 

Azerbaijan demanded on Tuesday that one of the bloodiest episodes of

its war with Armenia over the enclave of Nagorno-Artsax be

recognised by the international community as genocide.

 

The call came as Azerbaijan held a day of mourning to mark the 10th

anniversary of the capture by Armenian forces of the Artsax town of

Khodzhali during which, officials here say, 613 civilians were

murdered. "The tragedy in Khodzhali is ... the bloodiest page in the

history of ethnic cleansing and genocide carried out ... by Armenians

against Azerbaijan," Azerbaijani President Heidar Aliyev said in a

statement released by his office.

 

"Today our task is to inform states, parliaments and the wider public

of the full truth of the genocide in Khodzhali ... and to have it

recognised as a genuine act of genocide."

 

The killings in Khodzhali took place during the 1989-1994 war in

which Artsax's ethnic Armenian population, backed by neighbouring

Armenia, fought for independence from Azerbaijan.

 

Western journalists who visited the town after its capture found

evidence that Armenian forces had killed women and children, and that

some corpses had been scalped and their ears removed.

 

Artsax and Armenia allege that Azerbaijani forces carried out

similar acts of brutality and ethnic cleansing against ethnic

Armenians during the war.

[Arpa]

Originally posted by wh00t:

What is this, did the AFP actually see this fit to be printed as news? Baised towards the Azeris as well.

 

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Agence France Presse

February 26, 2002

 

Azerbaijan marks 10th anniversary of "genocide" by Armenians

 

BAKU

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Wait till you see rest of the story;

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AP Worldstream

February 26, 2002

 

French, German diplomats walk out of Azerbaijan parliament in protest

 

BAKU, Azerbaijan

 

French and German diplomats observing a session of Azerbaijan's

parliament Tuesday in protest of a legislator's criticism of France's

president.

 

The parliament session was discussing the 10th anniversary of the

killings at Khodzhaly, a community in the predominantly ethnic

Armenian enclave over which Azerbaijan and Armenia fought in the

1990s. Azerbaijan says 613 civilians were killed in Khodzhaly on Feb.

25 and 26, 1992, by Armenian forces backed by Russia. Armenian

officials have said the death toll is inflated.

 

The killings are one of the most emotionally potent events for

Azerbaijanis still angered over the war. Since a 1994 cease-fire,

Nagorno-Artsax has been under the control of ethnic Armenian

forces, who also also hold some territory outside Nagorno-Artsax

proper.

 

In the parliamentary discussion, deputy Shamil Gurbanov lashed out at

France's decision last year to term as genocide by Turkey the deaths

of Armenians in 1915-23.

 

French President "Jacques Chirac is insolent. In Khodhaly alone

hundrens of peaceful civilians died as the result of Armenian

atrocities," Gurbanov said.

 

The diplomats who walked out following the statement included German

ambassador Klaus Grevlich and representatives of the French embassy.

[MosJan]

KHOJALU TRAGEDY OR MUTALIBOV’S LATE CONFESSION

February 26 marks the tenth anniversary of a tragedy that occurred in Khojalu village in the Askeran region of Nagorno Karabagh. It doubtless was a tragedy as it took the lives of 600 people. The 1992 February was the highlight of the war in Karabagh, when Azeri armed units occupied almost half of Karabagh’s territory and its capital Stepanakert was being bombarded day and night from nearby located Khojalu and Aghdam. Karabagh was actually strangled.

 

Back in 1992 Heydar Aliyev, who was then chairman of Nakhichevan parliament, blamed the Khojalu tragedy on the then president of Azerbaijan Ayaz Mutalibov. Aliyev was quoted by Azeri news agency Bilik Dunyasi as saying that “the bloodshed would be in our favor and we must not interfere.”

 

Regretfully the Khojalu tragedy has been exploited in Azerbaijan for inner-political goals, when the tragedy of innocent people is being exploited for the sake of political intrigues. Who killed the residents of Khojalu?. Let us put aside all suppositions, let us apply to chronicles. An Azeri cameramen Chingiz Mustafaev, who was shooting a documentary in Aghdam and nearby territories, controlled then by Azerbaijani People’s Front, has questioned the official Azerbaijani theory that it was committed by Armenians and began a journalistic investigation. His first contribution to the Moscow-based D-Press news agency about possible involvement of Azeri troops in it cost him dearly. Shortly after it he was killed in Aghdam region under obscure circumstances. Another evidence came from former chairman of Azeri parliament Karayev who said that the tragedy was plotted and implemented by a top Azeri official.

 

In a recent interview with the Moscow-based Nezavisimaya Gazeta Azerbaijan’s ex-president Ayaz Mutalibov insists that if the People’s Front had not hindered signing of an agreement that was to place the Azeri army under the command of the CIS chief military headquarters, the Khojalu tragedy would not have happened. The interview was entitled “Late Confession.” Mutalibov in other cases insisted that Armenians provided Azeris with a humanitarian corridor to leave Khojalu, but the armed forces of the People’s Front fired at innocent residents near the border of Aghdam. About 600 women, children and old men fell victim to the slaughter, committed by the People’s Front of Azerbaijan. They also murdered brutally 34 Armenians in Khojalu.

 

By Tatool Hakobian

 

 

© Copyright AZG

[MosJan]

i was in khojalu lass then 10 monts a go, it was not the same khojalu that i have seen in video documents regarding khodjalu, in one of the videos you can clearly see the azeri general at first yelling and slapping his shoulders, then he start to shut at them, you can even see the azeri solders shutting azeri villagers.

 

most of azeri solders in the village war newcomers, kids who war place tear by azeri government to bee killed, they did not even batter teaching them anything, most military papers war only 5 days old.

some of the since that i was "fortuned" to see was taped in the morning, one of the houses had 10-or-11 bodies in it, kids, woman, elderly, what was not a prty site, they had ropes on there hands and their legs, house was half way burned, at first i was thinking that this are azeris but when i soo two fedaysi crying next to one of the bodies i released that this war Armenians. one other house - 2 of the solders war inspecting the remains , passports, military documents.

 

if any one if you has a chans to go to khojalu one day, pay attention on the houses, most of the houses are damaged from the azeri site. one of the villagers told me that way before Armenians entered the village azeris start bombing the village using GRAT.

 

Svetlana Paskaleva was also on seen that day and i bevel she has a nice video tape of the events, since her video equipment was much better then the rest... in one of the since she was intervening 6-8 old azeris who war left to be killed. azeri government was making a human sacrifices, and this is the result, today the same SOBs can declare a genocide...

 

I remember Monte Melkonyans words in Kelbajar when after liberating he sad -""It’s a shame that they send them against us, with so little preparation, to be killed like that"

 

 

MOvses

[MosJan]

ALIYEV SPECULATES KHOJALU TRAGEDY

 

Khojalu’s 10-th anniversary marked in Azerbaijan

 

At the TV message addressed to Azeri nation from Cleveland’s clinic where he had undergone prostate surgery, Azeri president Heydar Aliyev said that he is aware that people are concerned with health, but there is nothing to worry about, for he is feeling fine and will return to homeland in couple of days.

 

Aliyev departed to London from Cleveland yesterday, February 26. But he is not to sign agreements with British oil companies or have any official meetings. He just visits his daughter who now lives in London.

 

February 25 Aliyev addressed the Azeri people on the occasion of the 10-th anniversary of tragic events in Khojalu. He said that Khojalu’s tragedy is the continuation of Armenia’s nationalist-chauvinistic policy of ethnic cleansings and Azerbaijanis’ genocide. In the Aliyev’s message it is noted that the goal of Armenians is to capture the Nagorno-Karabagh and other Azerbaijani territories. Aliyev also stressed that the blood of Khojalu victims calls for retaliation.

 

About ten years ago, in 1992, Aliyev’s attitude towards Khojalu tragic events was totally different. Then he blamed ex authorities of Azerbaijan for the tragedy- mainly the ex president Ayaz Mutalibov. Pitifully the tragedy of Khojalu is being speculated for ten years for political purposes. Then Aliyev speculated the issue for becoming president, and now- for passing the authority to his son Ilham Aliyev.

 

Ex president of Azerbaijan Ayaz Mutalibov elucidated the Khojalu events in a different way, though. In the recent interview given to Azeri Zerkalo newspaper, Mutalibov said the following: ‘Late interior minister Tofik Kerimov told me the details of the tragic events in the evening of February 25, 1992. He said that several hundred people were killed in Khojalu. I at once called Mkrtchian (then the chairman of supreme council of Karabagh- T.H.). I did not know the man, neither had I met him before. I just knew his surname. Angered, I asked how could they kill about one thousand people in Khojalu. He said that it was nonsense, and nobody was killed in Khojalu. He said that before Armenian troops captured Khojalu it was empty, for a humanitarian corridor was left for people to leave the town, and the inhabitants safely left it. Part of Khojalu residents were sheltered in Stepanakert’s college’s building, Mktrchian told me. He also said they were given food, although there is shortage of food supply in Stepanakert as well. I did not believe him, and called the head of the police department Armen Isagulov. He also reconfirmed that a humanitarian corridor was left for the inhabitants to leave the town’.

 

To the question what was Rahim Gaziyev (Azeri battalion commander) doing on that gloomy day, Mutaliobov answered frankly: ‘I did not know at first, but Gaziyev was bombing Stepanakert with ‘Grad’ guns, not understanding that it will cause counteraction (it was Gaziyev’s personal initiative, and was not ordered by Azeri chief commanders). Later Gaziyev told me that he was defending Khojalu. And I told him that he did not defend but to the contrary- destroyed Khojalu’.

 

Yesterday, while Aliyev was spending time with his daughter, the 10-th anniversary of Khojalu tragedy was marked in Azerbaijan.

 

By Tatoul Hagopian

 

 

© Copyright AZG

[MosJan]

SCANDAL IN AZERI PARLIAMENT

 

FEBRUARY 27. The attempt of the Azeri MPs to "give political assessment of the events in Xocali (Khojali)" ended in a scandal. Commenting on French President Jacques Chirac's decision to acknowledge the Armenian Genocide, MP Shamil Gurbanov said "Chirac became impudent." Speaker of the parliament Murtuz Aleskerov tried to warn Gurbanov against making such statements. The latter ignored his warning and yelled out his statement again. Outraged by the MP's words the foreign diplomats walked out of the session chamber. It's noteworthy that Turkish Ambassador to Baku Unal Cevikoz followed their suit. However he returned by the evening session.

 

arminfo

[Guest Fadi]

whOOt...

 

This story from Agence France Press is not from a chornicer of the press.

 

The author of this article is M. Murad N. Najafov "chargé d'affaires" of the "Permanent mission" of Azerbaijan. This Azeris organisation is build in order to make recognise an Azeris genocide to the world.

 

This same article has been also published, in the publicity section of "Le Matin" A Swiss Romand newspaper.

 

So not a big deal,