On April 2, commemorative event on the 26th anniversary of the occupation of Kalbajar region by Armenian armed forces was held at the State Committee on Deals of Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons.
The event was attended by the Chairman of the State Committee, deputy chairmen, heads of departments and divisions, intellectuals from Kalbajar region, Karabakh war veterans, social activists and a group of April veterans as well.
Memory of the martyrs who died for the sake of sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of Azerbaijan was commemorated with a minute of silence.
Chairman of the State Committee Rovshan Rzayev spoke about the military-political reasons for Kalbajar’s occupation by aggressive Armenia and noted that deep crisis occurred in all spheres of the country as a result of new and incompetent management of the persons leading Azerbaijan at that time. Even though local patriots heroically defended their native lands in such a situation, the Armenians receiving support from abroad were able to occupy the territory of the region after long battles. History of the Armenian aggression in Kalbajar began with a sudden attack on Aghdaban and Chaygovushan villages on the night of 7 to 8 April 1992. Here, the people were lynched and tortured. On March 27, 1993, Armenian armed forces launched a large-scale attack and completely occupied the region on April 2. 62 residents of Bashlibel village were besieged for more than three months after the occupation and found shelters in the mountains. Only 30 of them survived.
The UN Security Council adopted Resolution No. 822 on the occupation of Kalbajar. The resolution requires immediate withdrawal of all occupying forces from Kalbajar and other occupied regions of Azerbaijan. However, as the other 3 resolutions of the Security Council, this resolution was not implemented so far.
60 thousand people of Kalbajar are currently temporarily settled in 770 settlements of 56 regions of the republic. They are also covered with attention and care of our state. As a result of implementation of the tasks of the President Ilham Aliyev and First Vice President Mrs. Mehriban Aliyeva on the solution of social problems of internally displaced persons, housing-living condition and financial situation of the exiles from Kalbajar are improved. Intellectuals and social activists from Kalbajar spoke at the commemorative event and thanked the heads of our country for this.
Veterans, who participated in the commemorative event coinciding with the 3rd anniversary of the April’s victory of Azerbaijani Army, spoke about their courage in winning this victory together with their fellows in arms and said that our hero soldiers and officers who are waiting for the command of the Supreme Commander are ready to liberate our lands from occupation.
In the end, a film dedicated to Kalbajar was shown.
