08 02 2010- Dear Ambasador

DEAR AMBASSADOR
I JUST RED THIS ARTICLE WHICH MADE ME SO UPSET.
I THINK IT'S ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY TO COUNTERACT BY ALL MEANS (BE IT AT GOVERNMENT LEVEL -NALBANDAN IS ALLREADY INVOLVED- OR HISTORIANS SENDING AROUND ACURATE INFOMATION UPON THE EVENTS OR INTELLECTUALS AND EVEN SIMPLE CITIZENS WITH E-MAILS .. ETC.)
MANY THANKS FOR THE ATTENTION
SETA MARTAYAN

Azerbaijan is planning events on February 26-28 in several countries aimed to achieve “the recognition of February events of 1992 in Khojalu as Armenian’s act of genocide towards the Azeri people”.

Eighteen years ago the Defense Army of Nagorno Karabakh took control of the Azeri military springboard stationed 10 km west of Stepanakert. Khojalu airdrome was located there through which mercenaries were airlifted to Nagorno Karabakh from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Sudan and Chechen Republic.

Seizure of the air station where an Azeri village sharing the same name was situated, was, consequently, an important strategic mission.

When preparing for the operation to seize control of Khojalu, NKR authorities informed the Azeri side in advance – a fact proved more that once and admitted even by Azeri officials, in particular, the then president of Azerbaijan Ayaz Mutalibov.

In his interview to Russian Nezavisimoya Gazeta (Independent Newspaper; April 2, 1992) Mutalibov stated: “In any case, the Armenians did leave a corridor via which people could leave.” However, a column of innocent Azeri civilians was shot by their Azeri soldiers when approaching the border of Agdam region – this was confirmed by Mutalibov, who explained it as the opposition’s attempts to dethrone him by putting on him all the responsibility for what happened in Agdam.

Azerbaijan’s popular human rights defender Arif Yunusov said back then: “Several days prior to the operation notification came about a timely and secure exit corridor to evacuate innocent citizens from the zone of hostilities. Both the civilian authorities and the military leadership and field commanders of Khojalu, Agdam and Baku knew about the corridor. High-ranking and local officials as well as ordinary residents of Khojalu have testified to it.”

When Heydar Aliyev came to power, and especially since 1994 (when a ceasefire was signed) official Baku started implementing politics of “recognition of the events in Khojalu as genocide of the Azeri people”.

And so now Azerbaijan is actively preparing to hold corresponding events in many countries of the world from February 26 to 28.

Last week the Secretary General of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) Ekmeledin Ihsanoglu told Azeri Trend News agency: 'The Organization of the Islamic Conference is the most effective structure in support of Baku in terms of settling the Karabakh issue and putting an end to the occupation of Azeri lands by the Armenians. We will always be supporters of any international resolution in favor of Azerbaijan'.

OIC was formed in 1969 and unites 57 Muslim countries.

In 2007, during the 62nd session of the United Nations' General Assembly a resolution on ‘The situation in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan’ was adopted stressing the need for “immediate, complete and unconditional withdrawal of all Armenian forces from all the occupied territories of the Republic of Azerbaijan”.

The resolution draft submitted by Azerbaijan was approved with votes of 39 in favor and 100 abstentions; it should be noted, though, that the majority of those who supported the Azeri’s initiative were OIC member-countries.

OIC members have recently passed a statement sharply criticizing the events in Khojalu.

The activities if this Islamic organization has acquired expressly anti-Armenian contours with the election of the new Secretary General in June 2004 – a representative of Turkey, head of the Research Center for the Islamic History, Art and Culture Ekmeledin Ihsanoglu. On February 3, Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandyan made a statement in Yerevan: “The events in Khojalu will not be recognized by the OIC member countries despite the statement passed during the recent session”.

Nalbandyan pointed out that an active diplomatic work is being done with the OIC members:

“Very often outside OIC some of its representatives take quite a different stand on this issue and vote absolutely differently.”

But whether that will be sufficient to prevent the “Khojalu issue” from transforming into an important diplomatic issue between Armenia, Azerbaijan and Turkey (and that’s exactly what Ankara and Baku are currently trying to achieve) the Armenian Foreign Minister cannot know.

In May in Dushambe, the capital of Tajikstan, a session of FMs of OIC member-countries will be held during which a new initiative on taking the “Khojalu issue” to the UN General Assembly's agenda of discussions next Autumn.

Azerbaijan’s and Turkey’s current activities are a prelude to those discussions.

SETA MARTAYAN