[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 24 (Tuesday, February 14, 2012)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E191]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


       COMMEMORATING THE 20TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE KHOJALY MASSACRE

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                            HON. STEVE COHEN

                              of tennessee

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, February 14, 2012

  Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise to commemorate the 20th anniversary of 
the Khojaly massacre by Armenian armed forces on February 25-26, 1992 
in the town of Khojaly in the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan. 
Khojaly, now under the occupation of Armenian armed forces, was the 
site of the largest killing of ethnic Azerbaijani civilians in the 
course of the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict.
  Khojaly, once the home to 7,000 people, was completely destroyed. Six 
hundred thirteen people were killed, of which 106 were women, 83 were 
children and 56 were purported to have been killed with extreme cruelty 
and torture. In addition, 1,275 people were taken hostage, 150 went 
missing and 487 people became disabled. Also in the records maintained, 
76 of the victims were teenagers, 8 families were wiped out and 25 
children lost both of their parents while 130 lost one of their 
parents. According to Human Rights Watch and other international 
observers, the Armenian armed forces were reportedly aided by the 
Russian 366th Motor Rifle Regiment.
  At the time, Newsweek magazine reported: ``Azerbaijan was a charnel 
house again last week: a place of mourning refugees and dozens of 
mangled corpses dragged to a makeshift morgue behind the mosque. They 
were ordinary Azerbaijani men, women and children of Khojaly, a small 
village in war-torn Nagorno-Karabakh overrun by Armenian forces on 25-
26 February. Many were killed at close range while trying to flee; some 
had their faces mutilated, others were scalped.''
  As part of the Khojaly population that tried to escape, they 
encountered violent ambushes that led to abuses, torture, mutilation 
and death. The Russian organization, Memorial, stated that 200 
Azerbaijani corpses were brought from Khojaly to Agdam within four 
days.
  Time magazine published the following description: ``While the 
details are argued, this much is plain: something grim and 
unconscionable happened in the Azerbaijani town of Khojaly 2 weeks ago. 
So far, some 200 dead Azerbaijanis, many of them mutilated, have been 
transported out of the town tucked inside the Armenian-dominated 
enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh for burial in neighboring Azerbaijan. The 
total number of deaths--the Azerbaijanis claim 1,324 civilians have 
been slaughtered, most of them women and children--is unknown.''
  The extent of the cruelty of this massacre against women, children 
and the elderly was unfathomable. This anniversary reminds us of the 
need to redouble efforts to help resolve the Armenia-Azerbaijan 
conflict. The United States as a Co-Chair of the OSCE Minsk Group 
should continue to stay engaged in the resolution of this protracted 
conflict.
  Mr. Speaker, Azerbaijan is a strong ally of the United States in a 
strategically important and complex region of the world. I ask my 
colleagues to join me and our Azerbaijani friends in commemorating the 
tragedy that occurred in the town of Khojaly.

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