Paraguay’s Chamber of Deputies recognizes Khojaly genocide

Baku, December 22, AZERTAC Chamber of Deputies of the Republic of Paraguay has adopted a declaration condemning the massacre committed by the Armenian armed forces in Khojaly town of Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan in 1992, and expressed solidarity for commemoration of the massacre victims on the eve of the 26th anniversary of the tragedy. The document reads that the Khojaly massacre was the biggest attack civilians suffered during hostilities between Armenia and Azerbaijan. The ethnic massacre took lives of 613 Azerbaijanis, including 106 women, 63 children and 70 elderly, while 1,275 Khojaly residents were taken hostage and the fate of 150 of them remains unknown. Moreover, 487 residents of Khojaly, including 76 children, were left disabled, 130 children lost one parent and 26 lost both of them. The declaration notes that this fact is documented by various agencies of Azerbaijan and independent sources. The Paraguayan parliamentarians note in the declaration that many countries condemned this crime against humanity and the genocide committed by the Armenian armed forces against Azerbaijani civilians as well as the military occupation of Azerbaijani lands by Armenia. The countries expressed their respect for Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity, sovereignty, and inviolability of its internationally recognized borders. The document also reads that four resolutions of the UN Security Council adopted in 1993 urge to stop the occupation, to focus on the victims and a dialogue as a way to resolve the conflict that arose due to the occupation of Azerbaijani territories by Armenia. To this day, Armenia has not implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on immediate and unconditional withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding districts. The Chamber of Deputies of Paraguay condemned the genocide in Khojaly and expressed solidarity with Azerbaijani people in commemoration of the victims of this crime against humanity.