-Fight for Azerbaijan's independence and territorial integrity
To commemorate its Jan. 20, 1990 Black January, Azerbaijan Amb. Ramzi Teymurov
hosted a commemorating event at the Embassy of Azerbaijan, located in Itaewon
Seoul on Jan. 17th afternoon while local journalists were on hand.
In his welcome remarks, Teymurov stated that Azerbaijan's econnomic growth is
very rapiding progressively, but the Embassy attaches great importance to promoting
Azerbaijan's culture & history as well, in terms of its mission peculiality. According
to the Embassy of Azerbaijan, 20th of January is a Day of National Mourning in the Republic
of Azerbaijan. January 20, 1990 is a day which went down in history as a fight for
Azerbaijan's independence and territorial integrity.
On January 20, 1990, entrance of the Soviet army forces into Baku, to suppress the masses,
resulted in unprecedented tragedy in Azerbaijan. The protests were held against the USSR-supported Armenia's aggressive actions, made upon territorial claims towards Azerbaijan.
During the night of 19–20 January, 26,000 Soviet troops invaded Baku to quash the uprising, acting in the wake
of a state of emergency declared by the USSR Supreme Soviet Presidium, signed by
President Gorbachev. The Azerbaijani public was not informed of this move – news of the
decree only spread as many citizens lay wounded or dead in the streets, hospitals and
morgues of Baku.
The Soviet army also attacked the state TV building, in order to cut off the power supply for
preventing the dissemination of news to the international community.
The suppression was brutal and uncompromising. Altogether, 133 Azerbaijani civilians were
killed and approximately 700 were wounded. The victims included elderly people, women, c
hildren, and even medical personnel. The killings were indiscriminate, with the slain including
Azerbaijanis, Russians, Jews and Tatars. In addition to the massacre in Baku, killings took
place in the Lenkaran and Neftchala regions of Azerbaijan, claiming the lives of 26 people.
Valiant sons and daughters of Azerbaijan put the country's freedom, honor and dignity above
everything else, sacrificed their lives and became martyrs.
The massacre perpetrated by the Soviet military machine in Azerbaijan was an act of unseen
aggression and execution of citizens by its own state. It represented a flagrant breach of the
Constitutions of the former USSR and Azerbaijan SSR. By sending troops to crush the civilian
population on that day, the USSR government flouted the international law, including UN
Charter, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the 1966 International Covenant on
Civil and Political Rights of which it had been a party. This despicable act could not prevent
the intention of Azerbaijani people to be independent from the Soviet Union. As a result of
brave struggle the Azerbaijani people restored its independence and Azerbaijan became a
sovereign State.
Despite that many years have passed since those bloody days, Azerbaijani nation remembers
the dreadful night that took many innocent lives, and marks the anniversary of the January 20
tragedy every year. Thousands of people, including the President and members of Cabinet of
Ministers and Parliament, high ranked officials of the Government, are visiting Alley of Martyrs t
o commemorate the heroism of courageous sons and daughters of the Azerbaijani people p
erished on January 20, 1990 for the sake of freedom and independence.
The tragedy of January 20th brought huge losses and death of innocent people, but it also
demonstrated the spirit and pride of Azerbaijani nation.