MEETING TO COMMEMORATE MARAGHA POGROM HELD IN YEREVAN
Tert.am
13.04.12
On the occasion of the 20th anniversary of Armenian massacres of
Maragha, the Azerbaijani SSR Refugee Assembly held today a meeting
to commemorate the innocent victims of the tragic events.
The discussion, entitled From Maragha to New Maragha, From Baku to
Bagaran, aimed to awaken the public memories of the true eevnts in
the Azerbaijani village.
Addressing the meeting, a representative of the Assembly, Susan
Melikyan, brought up details of the tragic killings, noting that
the Azerbaijanis perpetrated the violence in an attempt to commit
ethnic cleansings.
"But the Armenians did not retreat; they created a new Maragha,
resettling there those people who'd taken a narrow escape from the
killings," he said, adding that the events in Maraga resulted in the
Karabakh war that caused regional instability and the tragedy of the
two nations.
"It is time for the Armenian political and ruling circles to
drastically revise the existing stereotypes of settling the regional
conflict and refuse to return any territory to Azerbaijan. And because
the refugees cannot return to Baku, they can go back to Bagaran."
A lawmaker of the opposition Heritage party, Larisa Alaverdyan,
who was a chief expert of the Armenian Supreme Council's (former
parliament) special committee dealing with Nagorno-Karabakh affairs,
said Maragha differed with its bigger territory and was the only
village in Karabakh that was situated on a plateau.
"But a bigger pogrom in the village was committed on April 24. We do
not keep silent about the events. We do have facts about them. It is
worth to mention that Maragha was a rare village," she said, adding
that only non-governmental organizations addressed the tragic killings
until 2009.
Alaverdyan regretted to note that well-read people knowing about the
Khojalu events often turn out to be unaware of Maragha.
"We must inform the public of the events. We must be able to take
legal action as speaking and screening [films] are not enough to
prevent Azerbaijan's racist policies," she said.
The participants later watched a documentary featuring the village's
former residents who recalled Azerbaijani's killing people in Maragha
twenty years ago on these days.
The Azerbaijani troops perpetrated the Maraga Massacre on April 10,
1992. They set the villahge on fire, massacring its inhabitants,
and taking some away with them as captives. Those who could narrowly
escape found refuge in forests and spread all over the world.
Maragha is still under Azerbaijani control.
About 80-100 were assaulted, 40 wounded and 63 taken captive on
this day in Maragha. Seven of the captives were repatriated later,
17 were exchanged, one captive was bought back and one succeeded
breaking captivity and fleeing.
There has been news that 8 of the captives were killed, while the
fate of rest 29 is still unknown. One of the captives was killed
during the exchange, while another one was killed while fleeing.
Tert.am
13.04.12
On the occasion of the 20th anniversary of Armenian massacres of
Maragha, the Azerbaijani SSR Refugee Assembly held today a meeting
to commemorate the innocent victims of the tragic events.
The discussion, entitled From Maragha to New Maragha, From Baku to
Bagaran, aimed to awaken the public memories of the true eevnts in
the Azerbaijani village.
Addressing the meeting, a representative of the Assembly, Susan
Melikyan, brought up details of the tragic killings, noting that
the Azerbaijanis perpetrated the violence in an attempt to commit
ethnic cleansings.
"But the Armenians did not retreat; they created a new Maragha,
resettling there those people who'd taken a narrow escape from the
killings," he said, adding that the events in Maraga resulted in the
Karabakh war that caused regional instability and the tragedy of the
two nations.
"It is time for the Armenian political and ruling circles to
drastically revise the existing stereotypes of settling the regional
conflict and refuse to return any territory to Azerbaijan. And because
the refugees cannot return to Baku, they can go back to Bagaran."
A lawmaker of the opposition Heritage party, Larisa Alaverdyan,
who was a chief expert of the Armenian Supreme Council's (former
parliament) special committee dealing with Nagorno-Karabakh affairs,
said Maragha differed with its bigger territory and was the only
village in Karabakh that was situated on a plateau.
"But a bigger pogrom in the village was committed on April 24. We do
not keep silent about the events. We do have facts about them. It is
worth to mention that Maragha was a rare village," she said, adding
that only non-governmental organizations addressed the tragic killings
until 2009.
Alaverdyan regretted to note that well-read people knowing about the
Khojalu events often turn out to be unaware of Maragha.
"We must inform the public of the events. We must be able to take
legal action as speaking and screening [films] are not enough to
prevent Azerbaijan's racist policies," she said.
The participants later watched a documentary featuring the village's
former residents who recalled Azerbaijani's killing people in Maragha
twenty years ago on these days.
The Azerbaijani troops perpetrated the Maraga Massacre on April 10,
1992. They set the villahge on fire, massacring its inhabitants,
and taking some away with them as captives. Those who could narrowly
escape found refuge in forests and spread all over the world.
Maragha is still under Azerbaijani control.
About 80-100 were assaulted, 40 wounded and 63 taken captive on
this day in Maragha. Seven of the captives were repatriated later,
17 were exchanged, one captive was bought back and one succeeded
breaking captivity and fleeing.
There has been news that 8 of the captives were killed, while the
fate of rest 29 is still unknown. One of the captives was killed
during the exchange, while another one was killed while fleeing.