[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 27 (Friday, February 17, 2012)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E227]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      KHOJALY, AZERBAIJAN TRAGEDY

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. BILL SHUSTER

                            of pennsylvania

                    in the house of representatives

                       Friday, February 17, 2012

  Mr. SHUSTER. Mr. Speaker, as the Co-Chairman of the House Azerbaijan 
Caucus, I rise today to bring attention to the tragedy that took place 
in Khojaly, Azerbaijan, a town and townspeople that were destroyed on 
February 26, 1992.
  This month we will mark the 20th anniversary of that devastating and 
heartbreaking day. Sadly, today there is little attention or interest 
paid to the plight of Khojaly outside of Azerbaijan. However, one of 
our greatest strengths as elected officials is the opportunity to bring 
to light truths that are little known and command recognition. As a 
friend of Azerbaijan, I am proud to remind my colleagues that we must 
never forget the tragedy that took place at Khojaly.
  At the time, the Khojaly tragedy was widely covered by the 
international media, including the Boston Globe, Washington Post, New 
York Times, Financial Times, and many other European and Russian news 
agencies.
  Khojaly, a town in the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan, now 
under the control of Armenian forces, was the site of the largest 
killing of ethnic Azerbaijani civilians. With a population of 
approximately 7,000, Khojaly was one of the largest urban settlements 
of the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan.
  According to Human Rights Watch and other international observers the 
massacre was committed by the ethnic Armenian armed forces, reportedly 
with the help of the Russian 366th Motor Rifle Regiment. Human Rights 
Watch described the Khojaly Massacre as ``the largest massacre to date 
in the conflict'' over Nagorna-Karabakh. In a 1993 report, the watchdog 
group stated ``there are no exact figures for the number of Azeri 
civilians killed because Karabakh Armenian forces gained control of the 
area after the massacre'' and ``while it is widely accepted that 200 
Azeris were murdered, as many as 500--1,000 may have died.''
  Azerbaijan has been a strong strategic partner and friend of the 
United States. The tragedy of Khojaly was a crime against humanity and 
I urge my colleagues to join me in standing with Azerbaijanis as they 
commemorate this tragedy.

                          ____________________