[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 35 (Tuesday, February 28, 2017)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E243-E244]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        RECOGNIZING THE 25TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE KHOJALY MASSACRE

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. STEVE COHEN

                              of tennessee

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, February 28, 2017

  Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, this week marks the 25th Anniversary of the 
massacre of hundreds of people in the town of Khojaly in what was the 
largest killing of ethnic Azerbaijani civilians in the course of the 
Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict. Khojaly, which is located in the Nagorno-
Karabakh region of Azerbaijan, was once home to 7,000 people. That was 
before Armenian armed forces descended on the town in a final attempt 
to take over the city on February 26, 1992. Armenian armed forces 
massacred over 600 unarmed people, including 106 women and 83 children, 
and left less than 2,000 survivors. Hundreds more became disabled due 
to their horrific injuries. More than one hundred children lost a 
parent and 25 children lost both parents. At least 8 families were 
completely killed.
   Even though a ceasefire went into effect over two decades ago, more 
than 20 percent of Azerbaijan's territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh 
and seven surrounding districts, remain occupied and more than 1 
million Azerbaijanis remain refugees unable to return to their home 
villages. Ongoing violence along the line of contact surrounding 
occupied Azerbaijani territory reinforces the urgency of robust 
American participation in the Organization for Security and Co-
operation in Europe's (OSCE) Minsk Group as it works toward a peaceful 
resolution of the Azerbaijan-Armenia conflict.
   Azerbaijan is the only country that borders both Russia and Iran, 
and yet Azerbaijan has been a strong partner of the United States and 
its allies in security and energy matters. This cooperation has 
included: playing a leadership role in nonproliferation issues; 
providing troops to serve shoulder-to-shoulder with U.S. forces in 
Kosovo, Iraq, and Afghanistan; allowing transit of non-lethal equipment 
used by coalition forces through Azerbaijan to Afghanistan; 
construction of the Southern Gas Corridor from the Caspian Sea to 
Italy, thereby providing Europe with an alternative to Russian energy 
sources; and supplying 40 percent of Israel's oil. Azerbaijan also has 
a thriving Jewish community and has outstanding relations with Israel.
   I invite my colleagues to join me and our Azerbaijani friends in 
recognizing and remembering the horrible events that occurred during

[[Page E244]]

the Khojaly Massacre twenty-five years ago. As Azerbaijanis in all 
parts of the world commemorate the massacre and continue to grieve the 
loss of loved ones, let us commit ourselves to supporting non-violent 
efforts to resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and of reforms that 
promote peace and stability throughout the Southern Caucasus region.

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