Black January - 30th Anniversary of the Blood Crime of the USSR Committed Against the Azerbaijan People

მსოფლიო - 23:05, 19 Jan, 2020

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January 20 is an 30th anniversary of the Baku tragedy. So called Black January (Azerbaijani: Qara Yanvar), also known as Black Saturday or the January Massacre, was a violent crackdown on a civilian population of Baku on 19–20 January 1990, pursuant to a state of emergency during the dissolution of the Soviet Union.

General Secretary of the Soviet Communist Party Mikhail Gorbachev and Defence Minister Dmitry Yazov asserted that military law was necessary to thwart efforts by the Azerbaijani independence movement to overthrow the Soviet Azerbaijani government. According to official estimates 131 Azerbaijani civilians were killed, 800 people were injured and five people went missing. However unofficial number put the number of victims at 300 dead. Later on, in 1995 Gorbachev apologised to Azerbaijan by stating: "The declaration of a state emergency in Baku was the biggest mistake of my political career."

Black January - 30th Anniversary of the Crime of the USSR Committed Against the Azerbaijan People

Here is an article by Aydin Tagiyev, which is dedicated to the 30th anniversary of this date.

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January 20 - a page of honor and heroism in our history

This year marks the 30th anniversary of the tragedy of our freedom fighters. The Azerbaijani people have repeatedly faced severe tragedies and unthinkable injustice. One of these regrettable dates is the bloody tragedy of January 20.

On the night of January 19-20, 1990, the Azerbaijani people, enraged by the aggressive actions of Armenia and the indulgence of the USSR, took to the streets and squares of Baku to express their protest against this flagrant injustice.

Deployment of the Soviet army against the unarmed Azerbaijani people, rightly demanding independence and sovereignty, turned into an unprecedented tragedy.

In these tragic days, which entered the history of the struggle for freedom and territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, the brave sons and daughters, who set the freedom of their country and people, honor and dignity above their lives, became martyrs in the name of the Motherland.

The tragedy of January 20, which claimed a large number of innocent lives, was evidence that the Azerbaijani people, striving for their independence, would never bow before the evil empire, led by Mikhail Gorbachev.

This bloody crime could not break people's will for freedom. And the Azerbaijani people achieved freedom by shedding their blood.

This crime, committed against the Azerbaijani people, is in fact a terrible act of terror committed against the principle of humanism. In this tragedy, where 131 people became martyrs, 744 were injured to various degrees, 4 were missing, more than 400 were illegally arrested, requirements of many international human rights documents, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, were grossly violated.

The morning after the tragedy, the national leader HeydarAliyev, who arrived at the Permanent Mission of Azerbaijan in Moscow, strongly condemned this atrocity during a press conference.

He called this terror, committed against an unarmed people, an action contrary to the principles of international law, democracy and humanity.

Indeed, death in the name of the Motherland is the pinnacle of resoluteness, courage, honor and dignity. The heroism of the martyrs on January 20 is an example for the Azerbaijani people, especially youth. Both present and future generations of Azerbaijan will always remember and take an example from these heroes. The Azerbaijani people will always fight for their freedom and independence, they will always show examples of heroism and patriotism. And therefore, as far as we grieve over the death of our heroes, we are so proud of their resoluteness. "Martyrs are not dead - do not cry for them," says an Azerbaijani proverb. Every Azerbaijani should keep a memory of them in his heart and pass on the history of their heroism to future generations.

At the extraordinary session of the MilliMajlis of Azerbaijan, which took place in 1994, the tragedy of January 20, 1990 was assessed as military aggression and crime.

The result of the discussions was the adoption in March of the same year of the decision "On the tragic events committed in Baku on January 20, 1990."

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, who emphasized that martyrs do not die, they always live in our hearts, always focuses on the perpetuation of the memory of the martyrs on January 20, including the strengthening of the social protection of their families. For example, by presidential decree of January 19, 2006, a pension was established for the families of martyrs on January 20. The reconstruction of the Alley of Martyrs complex by order of the head of state became another proof of respect for the memory of the heroic sons of the Motherland. Another step in perpetuating the memory of our glorious heroes was the creation of a memorial complex on the circle, located at the metro station “January 20”.

The tragedy of January 20, which has become a symbol of national unity, is the valiant history of our people, who fought for their sovereignty. On each anniversary of this event, millions of people visit the Martyrs' Alley, located at the highest point in Baku, to honor the memory of their immortal heroes.

Here it is appropriate to recall the words of the French philosopher, the founder of existentialism, Jean Paul Sartre, "To be free is to be yourself." The most important lesson of these events, inscribed in the memory of the people as a struggle for freedom, is that, faced with danger, representatives of the Azerbaijani people, without blinking an eye, sacrificed their lives in the name of unity and freedom, which laid the foundation for the future independence of their state.

And the responsibility of the Azerbaijani youth is always to honor the memory of our heroes, not to forget the tragedies committed against our people and to understand that we are part of a people who are always ready to sacrifice themselves for the good of the Motherland.

The prominent Azerbaijani poet Abbas Sehkhet in his poem "Homeland" writes that there cannot be a person who does not love his homeland, and if such a person exists, then he has no conscience.

The martyrs on January 20 were also real, conscientious people who deeply loved their homeland. That is why they sacrificed their lives for the bright future of our country and people.

In this sense, January 20 should also become for us a symbol of courage and heroism, which should go forward from generation to generation.

AydinTagiyev