Former Member of the US House of Representatives.
Ed Whitfield: “On February 26, 1992 the Azerbaijani city of Khojaly was undergone aggression from the Armenian armed forces. During this bloody attack about 2 thousand people were cruelly killed, wounded and captured by the Armenian armed forces, among them mostly women, old men and children”. Source: trend.az
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Eight US Congressmen congratulated Azerbaijan
In connection with the recent 93-year anniversary of the declaration of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic 8 American congressmen — Bill Shuster (Pennsylvania republican), Den Boren (Oklahoma, dem.), Virginia Fox (Northern Carolina, republ.), Leann Woolsey (California, dem.), Shelley Capito (Western Virginia, republ.), Edolphus Towns (New York, dem.), Ad Pastor (Arizona, dem.), Ad Whitfield (Kentucky, republ.) have appeared before the House of Representatives of the US Congress with congratulatory statements.
As Vesti.Az was reported in the Embassy of Azerbaijan in the USA, Dan Boren, the co-chairman of the working group on Azerbaijan in the House of Representatives, has declared that Azerbaijan is a secular and democratic state which gave big support to the USA and NATO in Afghanistan and actively cooperates with the US on the issue of non-proliferation of nuclear weapon.
Leann Woolsey noted that ADR was the first democratic country in the Muslim world which granted women the electoral right before USA. Congressman also mentioned that there is wide freedom of conscience, political and economic stability in Azerbaijan, that it is a modern secular state which is a reliable ally of the USA. Shelley Capito characterized Azerbaijan as an evident example of religious and ethnic tolerance where influential Jewish and Christian communities freely work. A. Towns emphasized that close relations emerged between the USA and Azerbaijan and that Azerbaijan is one of key participants of global energy security. Also he noted that in 2009 25% of import of oil in Israel were the share of Azerbaijan and that Azerbaijan is one of the main potential sources for The Nabucco pipeline. Pastor noted that despite the recent global crisis Azerbaijan achieved considerable economic growth in the last 3 years and that the country underwent to military aggression by Armenia as a result of which Karabakh region is occupied. E. Whitfield pointed out that owing to its geographical location Azerbaijan serves as crossroad of ethnoses and religious trends, a kind of bridge between the East and the West which made a huge contribution to the culture of the South Caucasus.
Source: vesti.az
US Congressman Ed Whitfield urged everyone not to forget the tragedy in Khojaly
On the initiative of the chief coordinator on OIC Youth Forum for Dialogue and a Cooperation Leyla Aliyeva, the congressman of the US from the State of Kentucky Ad Whitfield has appeared before the House of Representatives of the Congress of the US on the 17-year anniversary of the tragedy in Khojaly.
In his speech the congressman reminded that as a result of invasion of the Armenian troops into the Azerbaijani city of Khojaly on February 26, 1992 about 2 thousand inhabitants were killed, wounded and taken hostage. Mainly they were old men, women, and children.
Whitfield characterized the Khojaly tragedy as a massacre of the largest scale of modern times which happened in the region of the Caucasus and the Caspian Basin. The American congressman, having referred to Human Rights Watch and the international organizations reported that the massacre in Khojaly was committed by ethnic Armenian armed forces with the help of 366th Russian motorized rifle regiment. This crime led to the death of 613 civilians (among them 106 women, 63 children and 70 men), 1275 were taken hostage, and the fate of more than 150 remains unknown.
According to E. Whitfield, during the war, Khojaly was the first example of such ruthless cruelty. Level of the atrocities and unprecedented crimes taking place in Khojaly became a model of destruction and ethnic cleansing that the Armenian troops held during the war. The congressman quoted the statements of Serge Sargsyan, the Minister of Defence of Armenia of that time, who said to a British journalist in an interview that “before Khojaly Azerbaijanis thought that Armenians are people who won’t be able “to raise a hand” against civilians. We broke this stereotype”.
The congressman reported about the campaign “Justice for Khojaly” initiated by L. Aliyeva and the website created within the framework of this campaign which provides all interested persons with all the necessary information on the massacre created in Khojaly.
Whitfield urged all to learn more about this past terrible event in order to avoid its repetition in the future.
Source: navigator.az