By Dr. Kamran Balayev
The scourge of terrorism of Armenian regime has plagued and scarred the lives of Azerbaijanis’ for too long. A spotlight must be shone on the injustices and terrorist acts that continue to play a role in the lives of Azerbaijanis that are simply looking to make their way in an international and tolerant community.
Armenia’s regime’s terrorism occurs under the umbrella of what Western observers often refer to as a ‘frozen conflict.’ This attitude allows these criminal acts to continue. Westerners see our problem as a vestige of the post-Soviet era and for too long the injustices caused against us have been diminished. Various terrorist groups related to the power regime of Armenia systematically and deliberately perpetrate acts of terrorism against peaceful citizens in Baku and other major areas of Azerbaijan. They target industrial units and transportation networks. Throughout the 1990’s for example, bombs and attacks on innocent civilians became commonplace. A bombing campaign on civilian trains throughout these years resulted in the deaths of hundreds of Azerbaijanis.
Our suffering was recently put back onto the world stage as a result of the ‘Four Day War’ that occurred in April of 2016. As a result of that aggression more Azeri blood has been spilt. Finally, with the world living with the fresh memory of other regional conflicts, our time has come to bring stability to our region and put an end to this foreign aggression.
Perhaps the most significant and deplorable act of barbarity occurred during the Nagorno-Karabakh war. On 26th February 1992, the Khojaly massacre stunned and shocked Azerbaijan. The massacre which robbed over 600 Azerbaijani civilians, including over 200 women and children, of their lives will forever exist as a reminder to Azerbaijan and the world of their suffering. This was once of the worst war crimes committed on European soil since the end of the Second World War. Human Rights Watch, who placed total responsibility on the Armenian military, attested this view. When the town of Khojaly came under Armenian bombardment the civilians naturally fled and tried to evacuate. As they did this they were mercilessly gunned down by the troops. This was not an unavoidable consequence of war; this was a targeted and premeditated policy of brutality and criminality against civilian populations. It is well documented that in 2000, the architect of this massacre Serzh Sargsyan, who later became President of Armenia, told the British journalist Tom de Waal that prior to Khojaly, “the Azerbaijanis thought that...the Armenians were people who could not raise their hands against the civilian population. We needed to put a stop to all that. And that’s what happened”.
The crimes of that regime and terrorist groups linked to it must come to an end. The world must pay attention. It is notable that Western politicians and world leaders have not been active enough. We are fighting against the powerful Armenian lobby in the West. By drawing attention to the historical facts and the evidence of terrorism against the people of Azerbaijan and aggression against our sovereign nation we will bring justice to those who have fallen, even if it takes generations.
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