Our people will never forget Bloody January...
19.01.2022 /"Our people will never forget this day. Because it was an attempt, aggression not against individuals, but aggression against the entire Azerbaijani people, the Azerbaijani nation, our country. Those killed as a result of this aggression are people's heroes, they are heroes of our nation".
Heydar Aliyev
National Leader
It has been 32 years since the events of 20 January 1990 that went down in history of the twentieth century as one of the most brutal and horrible crimes against humanity. On this historic day, the Azerbaijani people demonstrated to the world that they would not give up their pursuit of national freedom and independence and were ready to sacrifice their lives for this cause.
On January 19, 1990, Mikhail Gorbachev signed a decree declaring state of emergency in Baku, in flagrant violation of Article 71 of the USSR Constitution. However, the plan to detain civilians in Baku was carried out in secret, as the power generating unit of the Azerbaijan TV station was blown up. This operation was carried out by the Alpha group of the KGB of the USSR on January 19. At night, the troops ruthlessly massacred the population, who were unaware of the declaration of the state of emergency, resorting to atrocities unprecedented in the history of mankind.
The punitive measures carried out against the civilian population, who had shown solidarity in their yearning for independence, constituted a flagrant violation of the international declaration of human rights and other conventions adopted in this field. An unprecedented act of brutality was added to the crimes committed by the collapsing Soviet regime. On the night from 19 to 20 January, 1990, the armed units of the Soviet army stormed into Baku city and some other regions of Azerbaijan without any warning and brutally massacred the Azerbaijani people.
The population was informed about the declaration of the state of emergency in Baku on the republican radio on January, 20 at 7 in the morning. By that time hundreds of people had been killed and many had been hospitalized in a serious condition. As the result of the military aggression carried out in the capital, a large number of civilians were detained and hundreds of people were killed, wounded and missing. Among the victims were minors, women, the elderly and the disabled. In Baku and other regions of Azerbaijan 147 people were brutally killed, 744 people were wounded and more than 800 people were arrested, while the Azerbaijani leadership at the time displayed a brutal attitude towards the civilian population. And the then leadership of Azerbaijan showed indecision and cowardice.
The strongest statement against the Soviet regime, which had perpetrated a genocide against Azerbaijan, was made by the National Leader Heydar Aliyev. On the next day after the tragedy, January 21, the great leader held a press conference at the Permanent Mission of Azerbaijan in Moscow and made the first political assessment of the tragedy. With this statement, Heydar Aliyev condemned the genocide committed by the USSR leadership against the Azerbaijani people, calling it an act incompatible with humanity and humanism before representatives of international mass media and subjected M. Gorbachev to harsh criticism, demanding the withdrawal of troops from Baku.
After National Leader Heydar Aliyev returned to political power, an objective assessment was given to this terrible crime. It was at his initiative that steps were taken in 1994 to assess the events of January 20.
January 20 is remembered in the history of the Azerbaijani people not only with pain and bitterness, but also as a day of honor. On that day, the Azerbaijani people rallied against the Soviet army and showed their courage. These events proved that the Azerbaijani people are determined to fight for the restoration of their violated rights, sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Today, the souls of national leader Heydar Aliyev and all the martyrs who gave their lives for the independence and territorial integrity of our country rejoice. The glorious army of Azerbaijan led by our President, Supreme Commander-in-Chief Ilham Aliyev liberated our lands from the Armenian occupation, ending the 30-year sorrow of the Azerbaijani people. The tricolor of the Azerbaijani national flag is flying in these territories. Construction works have started in the territories liberated from the occupation and the IDPs are preparing to return to their homes.
The Azerbaijani people cherish the memory of the martyrs of January 20, and years later we always remember that bloody night. Every year, crowds of people visit the Alley of Martyrs on the anniversary of the tragedy. People lay carnations, the symbol of this tragedy, on the graves of those who selflessly sacrificed their lives in the fight for independence and honor their memory with pride.