Azernews.Az

A commemoration event dedicated to the 33rd anniversary of the Khojaly genocide took place in Lviv, Ukraine, with the participation of diaspora representatives and local community members, Azernews reports.

The event was organized by the United Ukrainian Azerbaijanis Congress and the Lviv City Coordination and Methodological Center in collaboration with the Galicia Youth Union. The topic of the event was "The Tragic Events of Khojaly and the Ukrainian War: History Lessons the World Has Not Learned."

The event began with a one-minute moment of silence in honor of the victims of the Khojaly genocide. After the national anthems of Azerbaijan and Ukraine were played, a video was presented, highlighting the Khojaly genocide and the ongoing war in Ukraine.

Shahriyar Maharramov, Head of the Youth and Sports Department of the United Ukrainian Azerbaijanis Congress, provided detailed information about the Khojaly genocide. He emphasized the importance of international recognition of the genocide and mentioned the active involvement of the Congress in the "Justice for Khojaly" campaign, initiated by the Vice President of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, Leyla Aliyeva, in various countries.

Maharramov noted the significant role played by several international parliamentary bodies, including the Parliamentary Union of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), as well as the parliaments of Mexico, Pakistan, Indonesia, Colombia, Panama, Paraguay, Honduras, Afghanistan, Guatemala, and Djibouti, which have recognized the Khojaly massacre as an act of genocide.

"If the international community had given a fair legal assessment of the Khojaly genocide at the time and punished those responsible, subsequent conflicts, including the war in Ukraine, might not have occurred.Azerbaijan has restored its territorial integrity, and under the leadership of Commander-in-Chief Ilham Aliyev, reconstruction and restoration work is already underway in Khojaly, liberated from occupation," Maharramov added.

Colonel Taras Gren, Head of the Western Region at the Ukrainian Military Medical Clinical Center, shared a personal story about Yunis Ismayilov, an Azerbaijani student from the military academy in Lviv, who left his studies in 1992 to join the fight in Garabagh as the conflict escalated.

"Although he was studying at a military academy, Yunis Ismayilov left his education unfinished and went to Azerbaijan to fight in Garabagh in 1992. He was a man with a great heart," said Colonel Gren.

Following this, leaders of the Tatar community, Amet Bekir, and Galina Makarchuk, Head of the Lviv City Coordination and Methodological Center, spoke about the historical significance of Khojaly, stating: "The history of Azerbaijan shows that if the Khojaly genocide had been legally recognized at the time, there would have been no new wars."