Thu 21 January 2010 | 07:01 GMT Text size:

The Azerbaijani embassy in Iran held a commemoration ceremony on the 20th anniversary of January 20 tragedy.

The state anthem of Azerbaijan was sounded and a sura from Koran in memory of our martyrs was read at the event that involved Iranian officials and representatives of the embassies functioning in Tehran and the capital city community.

Wreaths and flowers were delivered to the embassy on behalf of the establishments and enterprises, as well as state organizations.

After the documentary, Black January-1990, Ambassador Javanshir Akhundov spoke of the crimes committed by the Soviet troops in Baku and the Azerbaijani regions on the night of 20 January 1990. He noted that the armed aggression against the Azerbaijani people committed by the leadership of the former USSR presided by Mikhail Gorbachev resulted in a terrible tragedy. The then leadership of Azerbaijan also had a hand in the bloody atrocities committed by the USSR leadership. The next day after the tragedy national leader Heydar Aliyev came to the permanent office of Azerbaijan in Moscow, shared the grief of his people, condemned those responsible for the January tragedy, and demanded to give a political and legal assessment to the events despite the threat to his life and the life of his family members. The then leadership of Azerbaijan did not dare to call the names of those responsible for this historical crime even after the USSR collapse. The political assessment to the January events was given only after the return of national leader Heydar Aliyev to power in 1994.

Seid Kazim Musevi, co-chair of the Iran-Azerbaijan interparliamentary group of friendship, said the Iranian community holds the memory of martyrs and asked Allah to let the sons and daughters who sacrificed their lives for freedom and integrity of Azerbaijani lands to lay in peace. Saying that Azerbaijan and Iran have much in common in religion, history and culture, he said Iran was among the first countries to recognize Azerbaijan’s independence. Musevi said the political economic and cultural ties between the two friendly countries are on the high level and voiced confidence that these ties will further continue.

The participants took interest in the exhibition of books and other printed production on January tragedy, Khojaly genocide committed by Armenian barbarians, and heavy implications of the military processes around Nagorno Karabakh. Booklets about the January Tragedy were distributed to them.

Ehsan was given afterward.

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