Today, the Institute of Chemistry of Additives of Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences hosted an event dedicated to the 32nd anniversary of the January 20 tragedy, organized by the New Azerbaijan Party Territorial Organization, the Council of Young Scientists and Specialists and the Free Trade Union Committee. At the event, which began with a minute of silence in memory of the martyrs on January 20 and the Karabakh war, the director general of the institute, academician Vagif Farzaliyev, said that along with the fact that the massacre of innocent people in “bloody January” 1990 was the gravest crime against humanity, it written in the heroic history of our country for centuries in golden letters. According to him, the arrest of civilians fighting for national liberation, killing and wounding of hundreds of innocent people on the eve of the collapse of the totalitarian Soviet regime once again demonstrated to the whole world its criminal nature. The academician noted that innocent people including schoolchildren, students, teachers – died in the bloody event: “Despite the fact that 3-4 days passed after the massacre, among those killed on January 24 were Azerbaijani chemists, professors Ibrahim Ibrahimov, Ismayil Mursagulov and Svetlana Mammadova, and other scientists Idris Ahmedov and Parlag Mammadova were seriously injured. It may be a historical coincidence that three years ago, on January 20, 2019, the leading researcher of our institute, Professor Idris Akhmedov, died. Undoubtedly, his death was caused by the bodily injuries suffered at that time and, most importantly, emotional upheavals.
The report “January 20 National Day of Mourning” was made by the Deputy Chairman of the Territorial Organization of New Azerbaijan Party PhD Sabiya Osmanova. She noted that January 20 was not only a tragedy, but also the first peak on Azerbaijan’s path to independence, the day of the awakening of our national ideology’s desire for freedom: “Last year, our victorious army, which achieved the liberation of Nagorno-Karabakh and adjacent territories after 30 years of Armenian occupation during 44 day war, logically completed the awakening, the foundation of which was laid on January 20, 1990, and for the first time our martyrs were avenged and today we can proudly visit the Alley of Martyrs. She noted that today the Alley of Martyrs has become a sacred place of oath and a refuge for every citizen of Azerbaijan: “Every year on January 20, thousands of people visit the Alley of Martyrs to honor the memory of Azerbaijan’s sons and daughters who died for freedom and sovereignty. So, even if generations change, the memory of the sons of the Fatherland will live forever in our hearts.”
Then, speaking at the event, the chairman of the trade union of the institute, Ph.D., Associate Professor Elkhan Isakov and the leading researcher, Ph.D., Associate Professor Nusrat Aliyev spoke about their memories related to the tragedy of January 20.
