Florida Turkish American Association

KHOJALY COMMEMORATION DAY

Wed, 02/08/2012 - 07:44 — FTAA
02/25/2012 7:00 pm
02/25/2012 10:00 pm
America/New York

A grave crime was committed against innocent Azerbaijani civilians by the Armenian army 20 years ago, on February 25-26, 1992, which became and remains the largest massacre of modern times in the region of South Caucasus and Caspian Basin. On that day, the military units of Armenia, seized the town of Khojaly, in the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan, and committed a massacre, which was the culmination of the Armenian aggression and occupation of Azerbaijan. On that day, the Armenian government's efforts to rid Nagorno-Karabakh of its ethnically Azerbaijani population, resulted in almost 2,000 of innocent civilians, mostly women, children, and elderly, being killed, wounded, or taken hostage by the Armenian military forces.

The crime against peaceful residents of Khojaly was condemned worldwide, including by the U.S. government, and broadly covered by national newspapers and magazines. Some of the American and Western journalists and groups who eye-witnessed or extensively covered the Khojaly massacre, were: Hugh Pope, Thomas Goltz, Tom DeWaal, and Human Rights Watch. Congressman Dan Burton (R-IN), a Ranking Member of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere, had the following appeal: "This is not the ringing condemnation that the survivors of Khojaly deserve, but it is an important first step by an international community that has too long been silent on this issue. Congress should take the next step and I hope my colleagues will join me in standing with Azerbaijanis as they commemorate the tragedy of Khojaly. The world should know and remember." Recently, parliaments of several U.S. states have commemorated the Khojaly Massacre, as did Mexico and Pakistan, along with OIC Foreign Ministers council. And Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan declared, that Turkey will do everything in its power to properly commemorate this genocidal act.
 
February 26, 2012, is a Memorial Day for the people of Azerbaijan. All Azerbaijani people will forever remember where they were on February 25-26, 1992, like all Americans will forever remember where they were on the tragic morning of September 11, 2001.  
 
In the wake of the 20th year anniversary of Khojali massacre, Florida Turkish American Assocoation (FTAA) and Azerbaijani-American Association (AACA) join in calling upon Congress to properly recognize and commemorate this tragedy and to pressure the Armenian government to accept its responsibility for this massacre and withdraw its troops from the occupied regions of Azerbaijan.
 
The commemoration of Khojaly Massacre will be actualized in Florida Turkish Center.
 
AGENDA
National Anthoms
Moment of Silence
Opening speech by Fuat Ornarli (President of Florida Turkish American Association)
Speech by Ms. Tohfa   (President of  Azerbaijan-American Assoc)
Presentation
Video presantation
Closing