A memorandum authored by the Artsakh Foreign Ministry dispelling the myth and falsifications being advanced by Azerbaijan about the incidents in Khojalu during the Karabakh war was circulated in the United Nations last week.
The document argues that the actions of the Artsakh Republic self-defense forces, aimed at neutralizing the shelling and firing positions of the Azerbaijani armed forces located in Khojalu, as well as at lifting the blockade of the Stepanakert airport, were determined by absolute military necessity and in line with the norms and principles of international humanitarian law.
On the contrary, the Azerbaijani side committed gross violations of a number of norms of international humanitarian law during the above-mentioned events. In particular, the authorities of Azerbaijan decided not to evacuate the civilian population in order to maintain their military-strategic position. Using the civilians as human shields by the Azerbaijani armed forces to provide shelter for themselves is not only a gross violation of international humanitarian law, but also, according to Article 8 (2) (b) (xxiii) of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, amounts to a war crime.
The tragic outcome of the following circumstances – the deliberate violation of international humanitarian law by the Azerbaijani side, the struggle for power in Azerbaijan and the resulting lack of unity of command among the Azerbaijani armed forces – led to human losses, despite all the protective measures taken by the Artsakh self-defense forces, including, in particular, early warning of the operation and provision of humanitarian corridors.
Azerbaijan continues to carry out a policy of falsifications and misinformation, spreading false allegations about the events that occurred during the liberation of Khojalu from the Azerbaijani armed units with the aim of escalating anti-Armenian hysteria and cultivating hatred towards Armenians in the Azerbaijani society.
I do not understand, why all these arguments were not presented to the UN General Assembly and the Security council before the releveant decisions thereon were not made by the aforementioned UN organs respectively. Because of their irrelevancy?
Throughput centuries Armenians have always been scapegoated by racist Turks and pseudo-Turkish Azerbaijani leadership. That’s part of their fascist pan-Turkic agenda. They have manipulated their politically ignorant and gullible population for their own failures and blamed them on the Armenians.
Everything I read in this article is definitely based on factual events. Additionally, the picture used in their rallies displaying this event on their banners was actually taken from the Kosovo war scene in the Balkans. The picture matched a video recording of the Kosovo event. Also, a photo stolen from the 1915 Armenian Genocide where a mother a grieving over her dying child in the Syrian desert was stolen by the Azerbaijanis and displayed as evidence for the fabricated khojaly fiction by the Azerbaijani embassy in Tehran. The Iranian reporters soon discovered the picture was stolen from the Armenians and reported it.
Another well-known incident in which the Armenians were blamed for failed Turkish adventures in 1914 was the sneak attack by 90,000 Turkish terrorists on the Russians through the Caucasus with intention of inciting jihad among sizable Turkic population there to recover lost occupied territory when the Turks voluntarily entered WWI on the side of the Central Powers (Germany, Austro-Hungary). Most of these adventurous Turkish terrorists were killed by the Russians and the rest were frozen to death in infamous Russian winter. This battle came to be known as the battle of Sarikamish.
Armenia again countering false Azeri Khojalu statements yet missing an important opportunity in de-legitimizing the AZERI REGIME itself as THE ONLY REAL CONSTANT OBSTACLE IN THE PEACE PROCESS. This also is a direct reply to Azerbaijan refusing to negotiate with Arsakh as it would further legitimize its freedom….Start discrediting Aliyev by spotlighting the rigged Azeri elections as NOT being legitimate and a true representation of the will of the Azeri peoples”..Who could argue? While at the same time saying we are friends with all Azeris and will always be etc. . It would drive the despot mad and hopefully create more domestic problems without expending Armenian capital.