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Azerbaijani Parliament adopts bill on Khojaly Genocide - UPDATED

Azerbaijani Parliament adopts bill on Khojaly Genocide - <span style="color: red;">UPDATED

24 February 2017 12:45 (UTC +04:00)

A bill on the 25th anniversary of the Khojaly genocide has been adopted by the Azerbaijani Parliament.

The document was put to the vote and adopted unanimously at the parliament’s plenary meeting on Friday.

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12:04

Azerbaijani Parliament commenced a plenary meeting Friday commemorating the 25th anniversary of the Khojaly genocide.

A bill “On the 25th anniversary of the Khojaly Genocide” is being discussed in the meeting.

First Deputy Speaker Ziyafat Asgarov is presenting the bill.

The bill reaffirms the Azerbaijani parliament’s decisions (dated 24 February 1994, 24 February 1995, 27 February 2007 and 24 February 2012) on the assessment of the massacre committed by Armenian military units, Armenian armed groups stationed in Nagorno-Karabakh and the 366th infantry regiment of Soviet troops in the Azerbaijani town of Khojaly on the night of 25-26 February 1992 as a crime of genocide.

According to the document, Azerbaijani MPs are instructed to ensure during their visits to foreign countries and participation in international events a wider dissemination of the acts of genocide that the Azerbaijani people were subjected to over the past 100 years, as well as the truth about the Khojaly genocide and effectively use the opportunities of inter-parliamentary working groups.

The bill also recommends the relevant Azerbaijani governmental and non-governmental organizations to join efforts for the wide dissemination of the information about the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and the exposure of deceitful Armenian propaganda.

The bill contains an appeal to the parliaments of foreign countries, international parliamentary organizations on assessing the massacre of Azerbaijanis on Feb. 25-26, 1992 in the Khojaly town of Azerbaijan’s Nagorno-Karabakh region as the crime of genocide.

The document also emphasizes that Armenia wants to attract to its provocations member states of the Eurasian Economic Union and Collective Security Council and makes every effort to cover up the truth about the Khojaly genocide.

On February 25-26, 1992, the Armenian armed forces, together with the 366th infantry regiment of Soviet troops, stationed in Khankendi, committed an act of genocide against the population of the Azerbaijani town of Khojaly. As many as 613 people, including 63 children, 106 women and 70 old people were killed as a result of the massacre. Eight families were totally exterminated, 130 children lost one parent and 25 children lost both. A total of 487 civilians became disabled as a result of the onslaught. Some 1,275 innocent residents were taken hostage, while the fate of 150 people still remains unknown.