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Monday January 20 2025

Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry issues statement on January 20 - National Day of Mourning

19 January 2025 22:01 (UTC+04:00)
Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry issues statement on January 20 - National Day of Mourning

"The anniversary of the bloody massacre committed against the civilian population by the former USSR on the night of January 19-20, 35 years ago, to suppress the national liberation movement of the Azerbaijani people, is celebrated every year in our country as January 20 - the Day of National Mourning. On January 20 - the Day of National Mourning, which is a day of deep sorrow and at the same time great pride in our modern history, we commemorate with deep gratitude all our Martyrs who sacrificed their lives for the independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity of our country."

Azernews reports that this was noted in the Statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) on the occasion of January 20 - the National Day of Mourning. It was noted that in the 1980s of the last century when so-called provocations such as the "Sumgayit events" were prepared and committed to justify the continuation of Armenia's groundless territorial claims against Azerbaijan, as well as the mass deportation of Azerbaijanis from their historical homelands in the territories of present-day Armenia, the discriminatory policy of the former Soviet authorities against our country and people led to the rise of the national liberation movement of the Azerbaijani people.

“In order to suppress the people's movement fighting for the independence and territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, on the night of January 19-20, 1990, units of the Soviet army, special forces, as well as a contingent of internal troops committed a brutal massacre against the civilian population in Baku, Sumgayit, Lankaran and Neftchala. As a result of the January 20 military aggression, which was committed against innocent people, including children, women, and the elderly, in violation of all international law norms, and was one of the most serious crimes against humanity of the last century, 150 civilians were killed, 744 were seriously injured, and 4 people went missing.

Despite the complexity of the period and the measures taken by the former Soviet authorities to prevent the spread of the truth of January 20, the fact that the brutal massacre committed was brought to the attention of the international community immediately, the day after the tragedy, is connected with the name of the National Leader Heydar Aliyev. After the restoration of our independence and the return of the National Leader to power in our country, a number of crimes committed against our people, including the January 20 tragedy, were given a political and legal assessment, and in this regard, in March 1994, the Milli Majlis adopted a decision “On the tragic events committed in Baku on January 20, 1990”. Despite the fact that the January 20 tragedy was planned and carried out to crush the national resistance of the Azerbaijani people, this bloody massacre, in addition to being a turning point in the history of our people's independence, solidarity, and national liberation movement, marked the beginning of the inevitable collapse of the USSR, which had been tried to be delayed for a long time. The unity and will of our people, emerging from the most difficult days and the most complex trials of history, formed the basis for the brilliant victory of the Glorious Azerbaijan Army led by the Victorious Supreme Commander-in-Chief in the 44-day Patriotic War, which resulted in ensuring our territorial integrity, as well as the end of the occupation and conflict with the anti-terrorist operations that led to the full restoration of our sovereignty on September 19-20, 2023. On the 35th anniversary of the January 20 tragedy, which left a deep mark on our history of independence, we proudly commemorate our Martyrs who gave their lives for our state and territorial integrity, and we wish good health to our citizens who lost their health on this path! Long live Azerbaijan! ”, the Statement emphasized.

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