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Chain events held in the State Migration Service related with the 21st anniversary of 20 January tragedy
On January 19, 2011 Service bodies visited Martyrs’ Avenue, placed fresh flowers onto the graves of our compatriots who gave their lives for the independence of Azerbaijan, laid wreath onto the foot of the “Eternal Torch” memorial as a sign of respect and esteem to the indelible memory of our martyrs.
In the memorial ceremony started with a review to the exhibition dedicated to the terrible night memory of bloody incident victims was commemorated with a minute silence.
Service chief, 2nd rank state migration service counselor Arzu Rahimov spoke about the history of 20 January which has turned to a pride and glory personification of our nation. He stated that, on the night January 19 passing to January 20, 1990 for the purpose of breaking faith and will, humiliating pride of Azerbaijan nation protesting against aggression towards its territorial integrity, wanting establishment of truth and justice, gloriously struggling for ideas of independence as a result of terrorist act carried out by totalitarian soviet regime one of the bloodiest incident against humanity occurred. As a result armed troops being brought to Baku illegally and serving to reaction peaceful people inflicted, hundreds of people were killed, wounded, and lost. Arzu Rahimov noted that with the instructions of the first secretary of former USSR Central Committee Michael Qorbachov specially mobilized military troops and armoured equipment were brought to Baku and Sumgayit, thus to some regions of Azerbaijan, peaceful inhabitants were inflicted with special cruelty and unexampled savagery.
Reminding necessity of supplying world communities operatively with the realities happened when Azerbaijan was in information blockade Service chief stated that National leader Heydar Aliyev was the first patriot political figure to give operative and precise value to the incident. On January 21, 1990 he came to the permanent representation of Azerbaijan in Moscow with his family and notified his severe objection to this terrible tragedy in the press conference. Arzu Rahimov stated that determined position of Great Leader in hard days when our republic was surrounded with information blockade was a severe and crushing strike to the totalitarian regime. He also stressed that despite all pressure and threads this genius person accused people bearing responsibility for the tragedy of his nation at one step of Kremlin in front of the whole world. “Great Leader Heydar Aliyev’s “All committers of the slaughter must be properly punished” demand has been main essence of his later speeches, statements, and documents he signed. Issue of strict punishment of persons committed the crime against Azerbaijan nation kept its urgency in the following stages of Great Leader’s activity. It is not a coincidence that first legal-political value to the incident was given in November of 1990 – during the leadership of genius person to Nakhchivan Supreme Parliament. Opportunity of giving legal-political value to 20 January tragedy arouse after the return of National Leader Heydar Aliyev to Nakhchivan in July 1990, and his election as a chairman to Nakhchivan Supreme Parliament on September 9, 1991. On November 21 of the same year with the initiative of the Great Leader in the decision adopted by Nakhchivan Supreme Parliament celebration of 20 January as the National Funeral Day was decided. In the decision for the first time main culprits of the incident enumerated name by name, and it was showed that they are directly bearing responsibility for this. This, in real, was the first formal legal-political value that was given to the incident”.
Service chief stressed that National Leader Heydar Aliyev always honored memory of 20 January martyrs, signed several orders for the purpose of eternalizing their name. He also stated that President Ilham Aliyev remains loyal to this tradition, too, he takes all the necessary measures to eternalize memories of martyrs who gave their lives for the independence of Homeland and to improve social conditions of their families.
At the end of the ceremony it is notified that the 20 January tragedy of 1990 will not be obliterated from the memory of our nation and it will always be commemorated. Even if decades, centuries pass.