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Azerbaijan: 20 January 1990 - We have not forgotten, we will not forget.

Azerbaijan: 20 January 1990 - We have not forgotten, we will not forget.

By Gunel Abbas

 

There will be no future for the people who forget their past. Fortunately, we have not forgotten the slightest nuance of what happened to us in the past. We are ashamed that we have not been able to give a proper answer to what happened to us in time, but we have not forgotten. Now we have thrown away the stone of shame and forgetfulness once and for all. Because the souls of our martyrs, whose memory we always cherish, are happy. Thanks to the bravery of our mighty army under the leadership of Muzaffar Supreme Commander-in-Chief Ilham Aliyev and the solidarity of the people, our martyrs were avenged by the historic victory we won in the 44-day Patriotic War, and the blood of their did not remain on the ground.

On the night of January 19-20, 1990, at 11:30 pm, the Soviet Union invaded Baku without declaring a state of emergency and detained civilians, killing, injuring and missing hundreds of people. was committed. Before the state of emergency was declared, the military brutally killed 82 people and wounded 20 others. After the declaration of a state of emergency, 21 people were killed in Baku on January 20 and in the following days. Eight more people were killed in the regions where the state of emergency was not declared - on January 25 in Neftchala and on January 26 in Lankaran.

As a result of the illegal incursion of Soviet troops, 146 people were killed, 744 were wounded and 841 were illegally arrested in Baku and Azerbaijani regions. The military destroyed 200 houses and apartments, 80 cars, including ambulances, and state and private property as a result of the fire caused by incendiary bullets. The dead included women, children and the elderly, as well as paramedics and police. As a result of the Black January tragedy, the Constitution of the USSR and the Constitution of the Azerbaijan SSR were grossly violated, and the sovereign rights of the Republic of Azerbaijan were violated. This premeditated act of aggression was aimed at stifling the struggle of the Azerbaijani people for democracy and national liberation, insulting the people and inflicting a moral blow on them. At the same time, they entered homes that night, took children hostage, and killed some.

There are two feelings that we feel special on January 20. Today, one of the most tragic days in the new history of Azerbaijan, as well as the heroic page of our people, has become a symbol of the struggle for national independence, freedom and invincible will.
At that time, our national leader Heydar Aliyev, demonstrating his political will, came to the Azerbaijani representation in Moscow and made a sharp statement strongly condemning this crime committed by the USSR leadership. It was on the initiative of Heydar Aliyev that the political and legal assessment of the tragic events of January 20 was given in the Milli Majlis in January 1994.

Over time, great strides have been made to perpetuate the memory of the martyrs of January 20. A memorial complex was established in the circle above the metro station "January 20", and on January 20, 2010, a memorial complex was opened in the circle "January 20" in the Yasamal district of Baku. The spirit of our martyrs, our national consciousness, our genetics demand that we - every Azerbaijani - protect and develop our independent state.

The people of Azerbaijan do not forget their sons and daughters, who died in front of armored vehicles for the freedom of Azerbaijan in January 1990 and died for the independence of Azerbaijan. As today, every year on January 20, at 12:00, the memory of the martyrs of January 20 is commemorated throughout Azerbaijan with a minute of silence, sound signals are given from ships, cars and trains, and national flags are lowered as a sign of mourning. Today is the 32nd anniversary of that date. For a world with a long history, this figure may seem small. But as long as our people and state stand, we will always remember with respect our dear souls, who will not forget what we lost in that strange night, even if 322 years, not 32 years later.

*The writer is Azerbaijani journalist

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