KHOJALI “GENOCIDE” BAKU FABRICATION
Keghart.com
Editorial Board, 1 March 2012
People following the Armenian/Azerbaijan conflict in the past few
months couldn’t have missed the Azerbaijani campaign to convince the
world that the three-and-a-half hour midnight attack on Feb. 25, 1992
by Artsakh Self-Defense Forces on Azeri-held village of Khojalu was
genocide. The charge is so ridiculous that a well-informed person would
be tempted to dismiss it out of hand. But in these days of true lies,
blatant invasions depicted as peace-making humanitarian missions,
and the tiresome deception that “in 1915 Armenians were transported
to Syria for their protection,” we are forced to assert the truth
again and again. It’s a Sisyphean task, but there’s no alternative.
This is what happened in Khojalu. For most of 1991 and early 1992 the
Azeri OMON (Special Purpose Militia Detachment) had systematically
shelled Armenian civilian targets, using rockets. The Azeris had also
blockaded the nearby airport. As a result of Azeri attacks, Armenians
had suffered many civilian casualties, hundreds had been kidnapped
and thousands of cattle had been driven away. The blockade had also
resulted in lack of food, fuel and medical supplies, especially in
Stepanakert, the capital of Artsakh. Armenian forces had to neutralize
Azeri fire in Khojalu and terminate the blockade. It was also obvious
to the Armenians that the Azeris were planning to attack the Armenian
centre of Askeran before moving on to the capital.
Using loudspeakers, for ten days the Armenian forces announced to
Khojalu inhabitants (mostly Meskhetian Turks who had been settled in
the village during Soviet times) and forces that an Armenian attack was
imminent. The announcements also informed Azeris that Armenians had
dedicated a corridor for the safe passage of civilians to Azeri-held
areas. But the Azeri authorities did nothing to facilitate the
evacuation of their people. On Feb. 25, at 11:30 p.m. the Armenian
self-defense forces attacked Khojalu. A number of Azeri civilians
tried to flee through the corridor. However, Azeri forces fired at
the column, killing an unknown number. Although the Armenians were
successful in neutralizing the Azeri fire power, Khojalu remained in
Azeri hands for many months.
Soon after the attack, Azeri authorities claimed that Armenians had
committed not only genocide by firing at the fleeing Azeris but had
also mutilated the bodies of the dead. Although there was not a shred
of evidence for their allegation, Azerbaijan repeated the charge. In
recent months, Azeris decided to turn the Khojalu operation into
the focus of their full court anti-Armenian campaign. As a result,
Baku has achieved a number of propaganda and political victories.
–A few weeks ago US Congressmen Bill Shuster and Dan Boren urged
fellow politicians to honor the memory of the Khojalu “genocide”
victims.
–A member of the Texas House of Representatives has proposed a
resolution to commemorate the Khojalu “massacre.”
–An Azeri woman has sent a highly-publicized open letter to the
presidents of Armenia and of France, claiming–falsely–that
Armenians had killed 613 civilians and taken 1,275 prisoners.
–Azeri diplomats are seeking international recognition of the Khojalu
“genocide.”
–Pakistan has recognized the Khojalu “genocide” and Mexico might
do also.
–Azerbaijan may use its current seat at the UN to spotlight the
“genocide” by Armenians.
–Members of the Azeri Diaspora have been busy in Europe and in North
America appealing for the recognition of the Armenian operation as
genocide. Latvian Azeris are collecting signatures to protest the
Khojalu “genocide.” A petition will be sent to the French Senate, the
Latvian Parliament and the European Parliament to demand recognition
of the “genocide.”
–Five Turkish universities and a technical college are commemorating
the Khojalu “genocide.”
–A few days ago a Khojalu “genocide” public commemoration was held
at the central square of Bursa, Turkey.
–Azeri embassies are holding commemorations and are inviting diplomats
from various countries to join in the recognition of the “genocide.”
–Photographs of Khojalu casualties will be exhibited in Europe,
and a submission will be made to the International Court.
–Baku has launched an Internet war with daily updates on “genocide”
recognition successes.
The above is by no means a comprehensive list of the Azeri propaganda
campaign. While Baku is marketing its false genocide by deploying
baseless “evidence,” Armenia/Artsakh, which have a ton of information
discounting the Azeri allegation have remained silent in the face of
this new Baku threat.
The Diaspora likewise.
Several weeks ago Armenia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs sent a letter
to Armenians around the world requesting that they distribute an
accompanying press release. While the press release made a convincing
case against the veracity of the Khojalu “genocide,” it is a failure as
a communication tool: its language is pure bureaucratese and it’s an
incredible 286 lines long! Why would Yerevan bureaucrats imagine that
in these days of Tweets, people would plod through a densely-written
“booklet” on the Internet?
That informative news release could have been far more effective had
it been packaged as ten sharply focused news releases, as an Internet
clip, a YouTube expose.
There are so many facts which disprove Baku’s allegations that one
doesn’t know where to begin. Space restrictions limit us from giving
chapter and verse of the evidence against Baku’s allegations.
Even the most cursory research reveals that the Azeri charges are
utterly baseless.
-Azeri photographer Chingiz Mustafaev photographed the Azeri corpses
immediately after the fight and two days later. His latter photos show
that the position of the casualties had been changed and their injuries
had strikingly become more brutal. During both of his assignments,
the territory was still controlled by the Azeris.
Shortly after, President Ayaz Mutalibov said to the photographer,
“Chengiz, do not tell anybody about what you have noticed. Or,
you’ll be killed.” Undeterred, Mustafaev began to investigate on
his own. But after his findings were made public by the DR-Press
Information Agency in Moscow that the Azeri forces had participated
in crimes against Khojalu inhabitants, the journalist was killed not
far from Aghdam. His death remains a mystery.
–After visiting Khojalu immediately after the fight, Czech journalist
Dana Mazalova reported that he hadn’t seen any trace of barbarity on
the corpses.
–Azeri human rights activist Arif Yunusof wrote in “Zercalo”
Azerbaijani newspaper (July 1992), “The town and its citizens were
deliberately sacrificed to the political goal.” He was referring to
the quarrel between President Mutalubov and his enemies. The latter,
who wanted to topple the president, ordered the killing of their own
citizens to portray Mutalibov as incompetent.
–Tamerlan Karaev, chairman of the Supreme Soviet of the Azerbaijan
Republic, said in “Mukhalifat” Azeri newspaper (April 28, 1992):
“The tragedy was committed by Azerbaijan authorities, specifically
by a top official.”
–Vagif Guseynov, former Azeri minister of national security,
said shortly before his arrest that the January 1990 Baku doings
[the pogroms of Armenians] and the events of Khojalu are the doing
of the same people [Azeri authorities].
–A month after his resignation, Mutalibov told Mazalova in
“Nezavisimaya Gazeta” that according to the “Khojalu inhabitants who
escaped, all this was organized to dismiss me. Some forces acted to
discredit the president. I don’t think that the Armenians, strictly and
professionally treating similar situation, could let the Azerbaijanis
gain any documents” which would incriminate them. He also said that
he couldn’t believe Armenians would provide a safe corridor and then
shoot at the escaping civilians.
–Eynulla Fatullaev of “Monitoring” Azeri magazine wrote that Khojalu
refugees in Naftalan had told her that a few days before the attack,
Armenians, with loudspeakers, kept warning the population of the
scheduled operation, suggesting civilians to leave the settlement
and break out of the encirclement via the humanitarian corridor.
These refugees also told Fatullaev that they had taken advantage of
the corridor and the Armenian forces had not fired at them. A few days
after the report was published, the magazine’s editor [Elmar Guseyov]
was shot (March 2, 2000) by a stranger at the entrance to his house
in Baku.
–The former Khojalu mayor told “Megapolis-Express” of Moscow that
he had asked for helicopters to evacuate Khojalu residents, but no
assistance was provided.
–The number of Khojalu victims Azeri claim increases from year to
year. Immediately after the attack, Azeris reported their casualties
as 100. A week later that was inflated to 1,234 [the population
of the village was 2,000 to 2,500]. In 1992 Azeri journalists Ilya
Balakhanov and Vugar Khaliov presented to the Memorial Human Rights
Centre in Moscow a video cassette they had shot from a helicopter. It
showed that Khojalu civilian casualties did not exceed 60 people.
Armenian forces reported 11 Azeri civilian casualties. Armenians
handed over all civilians to Azeri authorities.
–According to the RoA (Republic of Armenia), barbaric mutilations
of bodies took place near Aghdam (some seven miles from Khojalu),
on territory controlled by Azeri forces.
The above is just a sampling of evidence Armenian authorities in
Armenia and in Artsakh have at their disposal. They also have audio,
photographic and video evidence.
So despite the lame evidence of genocide, why does Baku invest so
much effort to prove that Armenians committed genocide?
To distract the Azeri populace from the shortcomings of the corrupt
and incompetent Aliev regime.
To prove the failings of their predecessor government.
To succeed in the information war when they have failed on the
battlefield.
To distract world attention from the Genocide of Armenians. As junior
partners in the Turkbeijan axis, Azeris have to support their Big
Brother.
To pre-empt talk of Azeri pogroms of Armenians in Sumgait, Baku
and Maragha, the ethnic purges in Nakhichevan, Kirovabad, and the
indiscriminate killing of civilians in Stepanakert.
To cover up their pre-Feb. 25 crimes around Khojalu: Azeri forces had
killed Armenian civilians in the surrounding region through the use of
highly-lethal weapons; they didn’t evacuate Khojalu civilians despite
numerous warnings from Armenians; they slew their civilians who had
opted for the humanitarian corridor; to transform Armenians into ogres,
Azeri authorities mutilated their own people. They doctored photos
of casualties, using Photoshop and other technical means. Photos of
the casualties in the Kosovo War and the Kurdish conflict have been
depicted as Azeri casualties. There’s extensive forensic proof of
this in Armenian hands.
The current Baku leadership had a hand in the Khojalu killings. They
did so to show to Azeris that Mutalibov is incompetent. Blaming
Armenians is an effective way to silence the suspicions of Azeri
citizens.
Although Azeris have stepped up their diplomatic efforts into
intensive international initiatives, Armenians have done practically
nothing to counter the Azeri propaganda onslaught. Armenia says
that Azerbaijan is using Khojalu as a speculative political capital
against Armenia.
While Diaspora Armenians realize that an information war is a novelty
to their brothers and sisters in Armenia, they themselves haven’t done
anything to challenge the Azeri propaganda machine. A few days ago
political scientist Alexander Manasyan of Yerevan said, “We are lions
in the battlefield, whereas we are peaceful and indifferent when at
peace…We must flood the Internet with documents…Armenians should
sue Azerbaijan for disinformation…We thought the truth can win,
but it cannot, unless true facts are protected.” While Armenians of
Armenia are novices in the information war, the Diaspora doesn’t have
that excuse. Why HAVE Armenian organizations and media in the Diaspora
been silent about the Khojalu “genocide” fabrications? Don’t they
realize that the firefight can gain the same weight as the Genocide
of Armenians in the minds of an uninformed non-Armenian public? Don’t
they realize that Turkbeijan is using the false Khojalu genocide to
deflate the impact of the horrific crimes of Turkey in 1915?
We eagerly wait for a speedy Armenia and Diaspora joint campaign to
refute the Turkbeijan mythinformation. Although it’s easier to “sell”
the truth than to turn lies into truth, we still have to know how to
disseminate that truth: it’s not a job for amateurs: Turkbeijan has
hired international public relations firms to spread the Baku-Ankara
lies. Let’s get our act together; let’s get communication-savvy
Armenians to come up with a campaign which will send the liars back
to Baku with their tails between their legs.
Let’s show them that we can win the war on the battlefield and in
the hearts and minds of people.