[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 19 (Tuesday, February 2, 2016)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E90]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  REMEMBERING THE LIVES LOST DURING ``BLACK JANUARY'' AND THE KHOJALY 
                         MASSACRE IN AZERBAIJAN

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. DONALD M. PAYNE, JR.

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, February 2, 2016

  Mr. PAYNE. Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues here in the House of 
Representatives to join me as I rise to honor those who were lost in 
Khojaly, Azerbaijan on February 25, 1992. On that day, 24 years ago, 
over 600 people were brutally murdered. They were mostly elderly men, 
women, and children--innocent victims that should have never been part 
of such a heartbreaking tragedy.
   I would also like to recognize the night of January 19, 1990, as 
``Black January.'' This event has been memorialized as ``Black 
January'' because of the invasion by 26,000 Soviet troops into the 
capital city Baku and surrounding areas. By the end of the following 
day, more than 130 people had died and over 600 people were missing.
   It is necessary to take the time every year to remember those who 
lost their lives during these two horrific events in Azerbaijan. Their 
unwilling sacrifice continues to serve as a reminder to hold fast to 
the principles of democracy.
   Mr. Speaker, Azerbaijan is a strong partner of the United States in 
a strategically crucial 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 as well as Black January.

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