Monument of Khojaly tragedy may appear in Germany

Chairman of the AzerbaijaniGerman Cultural Society of Saxony-Anhalt Province, Yashar Niftaliyev proposed to establish a monument to the victims of the Khojaly tragedy in Tangerhutte, the Azerbaijani State Committee for Work with Diaspora told Trend on August 23.

Niftaliev took part in the meeting of local deputies and the leadership of the Tangerhutte city. Niftaliyev, addressing the event, spoke about the realities of Azerbaijan, the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and Khojaly genocide.

Then, Niftaliyev proposed to establish the monument to the Khojaly victims in Tangerhutte. The city leadership and MPs assured they will discuss the in detail at the next meeting.

Niftaliyev also presented the participants materials on the realities of Azerbaijan, including the book by the German writer and journalist Johannes Rau about the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

Khojaly, the second largest town in the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan, came under intense fire from the towns of Khankendi and Askeran already occupied by the Armenian armed forces in 1992.

About 613 civilians mostly women and children were killed in the massacre, and a total of 1,000 people were disabled. Eight families were exterminated, 25 children lost both parents, and 130 children lost one parent. Moreover, 1,275 innocent people were taken hostage, and the fate of 150 of them remains unknown.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts. The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations.

Armenia still controls fifth part of Azerbaijan's territory and rejects implementing four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding districts.