Black January victims commemorated at Azerbaijan`s Embassy in Riyadh

January 20, 2014. Azerbaijan`s Embassy to Saudi Arabia has hosted an event commemorating the 24th anniversary of the Black January events.

The event started with a moment of silence for the victims of the tragedy.

Opening the ceremony, Ambassador Rasim Rzayev highlighted the events that happened on January 20, 1990 when the Soviet troops stormed Baku to commit a massacre against civilian Azerbaijanis, who took to the streets for their independence and territorial integrity. He called the tragedy one of the bloodiest crimes of the Soviet empire against its citizens. The Ambassador drew the participants`s attention to the fact that the Soviet troops had used internationally prohibited weapons in Baku, and slaughtered women, children and the elderly.

He said, Azerbaijan’s great son Heydar Aliyev, who then lived in Moscow, came to Azerbaijan’s permanent representative office - a day after the tragedy – and strongly condemned those who committed the January massacre.

The Ambassador also spoke of the Azerbaijani government`s attention to families of those who had been killed in the tragic events.

The ceremony featured demonstration of “The Path to Independence” documentary, and the participants then viewed a photo exhibition and a special edition of IRS magazine on the tragedy.

The Embassy sent a press release as well as an appeal by the Azerbaijani Commissioner for Human Rights to Saudi Arabian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, diplomatic missions in Riyadh, and Jeddah-based Organization of Islamic Cooperation.