On September 29, the State Committee for Refugees and IDPs held a commemoration event on the 26th anniversary of the occupation of Khojavand region by the Armenian armed forces. The Chairman, Deputy Chairmen, heads of divisions and departments of the State Committee, members of “Karabakh War Disabled, Veterans and Families of Martyrs” public union, intelligentsia of Khojavand region, students of “SABAH” group from Khojavand and Van Kim, the son of Kim Chang Gyun, the Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to Azerbaijan attended the event. Our martyrs who died for the freedom and territorial integrity of our lands were commemorated with a minute of silence. Noting that the painful pages of our history will never be forgotten, the Chairman of the State Committee Rovshan Rzayev spoke about the factors that caused the occupation of Khojavand region and said that during the first years of independence, there was a socio-political crisis in Azerbaijan, and then the incompetent and unstable power could not protect the territory and population of the country. Although the heroic residents of the villages of Khojavand region inhabited by the Azerbaijani people resisted the enemy for a long time by building self-defense forces, Armenian armed forces occupied the region on October 2, 1992. The massacre committed by them in Garadaghli village in February 1992 has been engraved forever in memories as the first genocide against our people in Karabakh and has not yet received its legal recognition by the world community. Emphasizing that the people displaced from Khojavand have been provided with the attention and care after the return of the Great Leader Heydar Aliyev to the political power, the Chairman of the Committee said that the government of our independent state becoming strong and powerful by the leadership of the President Ilham Aliyev is taking consistent and effective measures to address the problems of internally displaced persons as well as liberation of our lands from the occupation. It was noted that the two military parades on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the liberation of Azerbaijan Democratic Republic and Baku from the occupation held this year once again demonstrated the strength of our country and determination of our state and proved that we have all opportunities for the restoration of our territorial integrity. Nevertheless, Azerbaijan supports the peaceful settlement of the conflict and endeavors to achieve a peace agreement and ensure the return of internally displaced persons to their homeland. It was also stated that the First Vice President Mrs. Mehriban Aliyeva personally keeps the issue of providing the people from Khojavand with normal living conditions, as with other IDPs, under control, and takes necessary measures for this purpose. Participants were also informed about the project implemented by the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Azerbaijan to ensure the employment of internally displaced persons in Khojavand settlement located in Beylagan region. It was stated that a group of Khojavand residents had been given the opportunity to be engaged in beekeeping within the framework of the project called “Bee is my business”, and honey production had been started in that beekeeping farm from this year. At the commemoration event, the first product of beekeepers from Khojavand was demonstrated and confidence was expressed that soon this farm would be relocated to the territories of the region that will be liberated from the occupation. The Chairman of the State Committee Rovshan Rzayev expressed his gratitude to Van Kim for his active participation in the establishment of the beekeeping farm and presented him a commemorative diploma. Van Kim spoke about the hospitality in Azerbaijan as a member of the family of diplomats and expressed his satisfaction with the outcome of the successful joint work with the hardworking and skilled Khojavand people. The Chairman of Khojavand branch of “Karabakh War Disabled, Veterans and Families of Martyrs” public union, representatives of region intelligentsia, students of “SABAH” group from Khojavand region made speeches at the event, and they said that they have a great hope for the purposeful and consistent policy of the government of Azerbaijan for the liberation of our lands to have a positive outcome and soon our people will celebrate the victory. At the end, a film about the occupation of Khojavand region was demonstrated.