Azeris call on Europe to condemn Armenian genocide

Azeri demonstrators called on the European Union on Tuesday to condemn Armenian war crimes in the disputed area of Nagorno Karabakh, 16 years after one of the most notorious massacres in the conflict. 

“Rising generations must build a rampart against the renewal of this tragedy,” the group of several dozen protesters said in a statement calling on the UN, EU and international organizations to recognize and condemn the genocide at Khodjaly.

 

“Armenians – terrorists!” the group shouted, waving Azeri and Turkish flags at the Brussels headquarters of the EU.

 

The demonstration fell on the 16th anniversary of the Armenian occupation of the village of Khodjaly in Nagorno Karabakh – a region which was officially part of Azerbaijan.

 

Azeris say that Armenian troops entered Khodjaly after dark on the night of February 25-26, 1992, killed 613 unarmed civilians and took another 1,275 hostage in what they see as an act of genocide.

 

Independent monitor Human Rights Watch judges that “during the conflict, the armies of the Republic of Armenia, the Republic of Azerbaijan, and the self-proclaimed Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh all committed egregious violations of the rules of war.”

 

Source: Agencies