February 24, 2008

Scientific conference ‘Khojaly genocide and realities of 1915 events’ was held in Berlin

Scientific conference ‘Khojaly genocide and realities of 1915 events’ was held in Berlin on February 24.

 

The conference, organized by Ygdyr Municipality, Heydar Aliyev Foundation, Azerbaijan’s Embassy to Germany and Consulate to Kars, was opened by Ambassador of Azerbaijan to Germany Perviz Shahbazov and Head of Ygdyr Municipality Nuraddin Araz.

 

Director of the Institute of History of the National Academy of Sciences of Azerbaijan (ANAS), MP Yagub Mahmudov, MP Fazail Ibrahimli, Chairman of Turkey History Organization, professor Yusif Halachoglu, scholar in history Kerim Shukurov, professor Enver Konukchu, Chairman of Foundation for Study of Genocide against Turks, social anthropologist and ethnographer Sefa Yurukel, professor of Giresun University Aygun Attar and others made lecture in the conference.

 

They underlined Khojaly tragedy, which is the obvious example of the ethnic cleansing and genocide policy Armenian nationalists conduct against the people of Azerbaijan, is against all the principles of international law as one of the most brutal and bloody genocides in the history of mankind and international community should legally assess the unprecedented massacre of civilians. 

 

Yagub Mahmudov territorial claims of Armenians to Azerbaijan and as if these lands were historically Armenian lands have no ground. Ancient Greek scientist Herodotus wrote Armenians moved to Eastern Anadolu from their historical homeland Balkan Peninsula. 

 

Kerim Shukurov said only in the last century Armenians committed 351 different acts of aggression against Azerbaijan. These acts were more severe in 1905, 1915-17, 1920, 1948-50, 1988, 1991-94. The strategy of terrorist Armenian nationalists against Azerbaijan for next 20-30 years is not known and it needs to think of this and prepare perfect preventive actions. They also implement wide-scale ideological propaganda-diversion in international arena against Azerbaijan and Turkey.

 

Talking of incidents took place in Turkey in 1915 Professor Yusif Halachoglu mentioned no genocide was committed against Armenians at the time. Upon documents taken from the archives of England and France the scholar proved at the time number of Armenians living in Ottoman Empire was 1,3 mln and it is a false claim that 1,5 mln people were massacred. Saying no mass Armenian grave has been discovered so far in Turkey the Professor said in Turkey and Azerbaijan there are a lot of mass graves where innocent people killed by Armenians have been buried and the last of such graves was recently discovered in Guba district, Azerbaijan.

 

Exhibition ‘Khojaly in the Eye of Children’ was shown in the conference due to support of Heydar Aliyev Foundation, books about Khojaly tragedy and Armenian aggression to Azerbaijan distributed.