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AZERIS USE KOSOVO PHOTOS TO DEPICT ALLEGED KHOJALY ATROCITIES
Karabakh Foreign Ministry
Monday, July 7, 2008
STEPANAKERT
The official Azeri propaganda campaign to depict Armenians as
perpetrators of a so-called massacre in Khojaly in 1992 is in full
swing, as some Azeri Websites have begun to circulate photos of
atrocities in the Kosovo war as images of dead Azeris at the hand
of Armenians.
The Nagorno-Karabakh Republic Foreign Minsitry press service recently
unveiled several Websites that utilized forged documents and photos
to advance the Azeri version of the Khodjalu events in an effort to
sway Azeri and world public opinion.
The photograph in question, which has appeared in Khojaly.org and
Azerbaijan.az, depicts a slew of ravaged corpses in a populated area,
to reinforce its claims that Armenian massacred Azeris in that area.
Studies of the color-version of the photograph in question have
concluded that the same photograph was used by Serbian and Albanoan
Websites, as well as the New York Times and other newspapers in the US.
The Nagorno-Karabakh Republic Foreign Ministry, in a statement,
reminded that on February 25 and 26, 1992 the Karabakh Defense Army
launched a military operation to liberate the only airport in the
republic that was under Azeri control, and from where, since 1991,
systematic attacks were being launched by Azeris on populated areas
of Karabakh
The liberation of the airport and neutralizing of Azeri armed units in
Khojaly were of vital strategic importance for ensuring the security
and safety of the Karabakh population.
"Sub units of the Nagorno-Karabakh Defense Army granted a corridor
(evacuation routs: eds) for the safe passage of the Khojaly population
days before the operation, about which the Azeri side was notified,"
said the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic Foreign Ministry.
"It is a well-know fact that the Karabakh authorities informed Azeri
side of the plan to neutralize Azeri weapons caches two months prior to
the operations," added the foreign ministry, saying that confirmation
of the information was received by then Azeri President Ayaz Mutalibov.
The Karbakh Foreign Minister explained that despite the warnings by
the Karabakh Defense Army, the Azeri government did not undertake any
effort to evacuate the civilian population of Khojaly. Furthermore,
a group of civilians on route to Aghdam was massacred around the
same time.
The Karabakh foreign ministry revealed that at the time, Mutalibov
linked the massacres to his opposition, who were attempting to topple
him from power.
The foreign ministry also detailed that area, where Azeri filmed and
photographed corpses was in fact three kilometers away from Aghdam
and 11 kilometers away from Khojaly, adding that until the liberation
of Aghdam in 1993, that area was exclusively under Azeri control and
all access by Karabakh Defense forces was blocked and prohibited.
The foreign ministry also said that details of the Khojaly events
remain "shrouded in mystery" by official Baku, and efforts to depict
Armenians as perpetrators have, for years, been part of an official
anti-Armenian campaign to fuel hatred toward Armenians in Azebaijan.
One of the most hard-fought battles of the Karabakh liberation
struggle, the 1992 battle of Khojaly has been used by Azeris to allege
mass killings by Armenians, in an effort to veil Azeri-initiated
pogroms against Armenians in Sumgait, Kirovabad, Shahumian and Baku
in the late 1980s and early 1990s, as well as to create obstacles in
the peace process.
Karabakh Foreign Ministry
Monday, July 7, 2008
STEPANAKERT
The official Azeri propaganda campaign to depict Armenians as
perpetrators of a so-called massacre in Khojaly in 1992 is in full
swing, as some Azeri Websites have begun to circulate photos of
atrocities in the Kosovo war as images of dead Azeris at the hand
of Armenians.
The Nagorno-Karabakh Republic Foreign Minsitry press service recently
unveiled several Websites that utilized forged documents and photos
to advance the Azeri version of the Khodjalu events in an effort to
sway Azeri and world public opinion.
The photograph in question, which has appeared in Khojaly.org and
Azerbaijan.az, depicts a slew of ravaged corpses in a populated area,
to reinforce its claims that Armenian massacred Azeris in that area.
Studies of the color-version of the photograph in question have
concluded that the same photograph was used by Serbian and Albanoan
Websites, as well as the New York Times and other newspapers in the US.
The Nagorno-Karabakh Republic Foreign Ministry, in a statement,
reminded that on February 25 and 26, 1992 the Karabakh Defense Army
launched a military operation to liberate the only airport in the
republic that was under Azeri control, and from where, since 1991,
systematic attacks were being launched by Azeris on populated areas
of Karabakh
The liberation of the airport and neutralizing of Azeri armed units in
Khojaly were of vital strategic importance for ensuring the security
and safety of the Karabakh population.
"Sub units of the Nagorno-Karabakh Defense Army granted a corridor
(evacuation routs: eds) for the safe passage of the Khojaly population
days before the operation, about which the Azeri side was notified,"
said the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic Foreign Ministry.
"It is a well-know fact that the Karabakh authorities informed Azeri
side of the plan to neutralize Azeri weapons caches two months prior to
the operations," added the foreign ministry, saying that confirmation
of the information was received by then Azeri President Ayaz Mutalibov.
The Karbakh Foreign Minister explained that despite the warnings by
the Karabakh Defense Army, the Azeri government did not undertake any
effort to evacuate the civilian population of Khojaly. Furthermore,
a group of civilians on route to Aghdam was massacred around the
same time.
The Karabakh foreign ministry revealed that at the time, Mutalibov
linked the massacres to his opposition, who were attempting to topple
him from power.
The foreign ministry also detailed that area, where Azeri filmed and
photographed corpses was in fact three kilometers away from Aghdam
and 11 kilometers away from Khojaly, adding that until the liberation
of Aghdam in 1993, that area was exclusively under Azeri control and
all access by Karabakh Defense forces was blocked and prohibited.
The foreign ministry also said that details of the Khojaly events
remain "shrouded in mystery" by official Baku, and efforts to depict
Armenians as perpetrators have, for years, been part of an official
anti-Armenian campaign to fuel hatred toward Armenians in Azebaijan.
One of the most hard-fought battles of the Karabakh liberation
struggle, the 1992 battle of Khojaly has been used by Azeris to allege
mass killings by Armenians, in an effort to veil Azeri-initiated
pogroms against Armenians in Sumgait, Kirovabad, Shahumian and Baku
in the late 1980s and early 1990s, as well as to create obstacles in
the peace process.