[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 37 (Wednesday, March 5, 2014)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E307-E308]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           RECOGNIZING THE ANNIVERSARY OF THE KHOJALY TRAGEDY

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. BILL SHUSTER

                            of pennsylvania

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, March 5, 2014

  Mr. SHUSTER. Mr. Speaker, Azerbaijan is a key strategic partner of 
the United States, and I am honored to be Co-Chairman of the House 
Azerbaijan Caucus. Azerbaijan has been a key ally in a post 9/11 era, 
emerging as one of the first countries to offer strong support and 
assistance to the United States.
  I would like to take a moment to recognize the anniversary of the 
tragedy that took place in Khojaly, Azerbaijan, a town and townspeople 
that were destroyed on February 26, 1992.
  We just marked the 22nd 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

[[Page E308]]

never forget the tragedy that took place at Khojaly.
  At the time, the Khojaly tragedy was widely documented 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.

                          ____________________