A commemoration ceremony dedicated to the 31st anniversary of the January 20 tragedy, organized by the Council of Young Scientists and Specialists and an independent trade union, was held yesterday at the Institute of Chemistry of Additives of Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences. The event, held online on the Zoom platform, first of all honored the memory of the martyrs of January 20 and the Karabakh war with a minute of silence.
The chairman of the trade union of the institute, Ph.D., Associate Professor Elkhan Isakov said that the mass murder of innocent and unarmed people in the “Bloody January” of 1990, being the most serious crime against humanity, is at the same time inscribed in golden letters in the history of the heroism of our country over centuries. According to him, the capture of civilians fighting for the national freedom and territorial integrity of the country, the killing and wounding of hundreds of innocent people on the eve of the collapse of the totalitarian Soviet regime once again demonstrated to the world its criminal nature.
The chairman of the organization noted that the sons of the fatherland, who died on that terrible night, have written a bright page in the history of Azerbaijan, paved the way for national freedom and independence of the people. Isakov said that in these bloody events people from all layers of society, including pupils, students, teachers, scientists and other representatives of the intelligentsia were killed. He noted that professors Ibrahim Ibrahimov, Ismail Mursagulov and Svetlana Mammadova, who were considered the brightest representatives of Azerbaijani science, were killed, and other scientists Idris Akhmedov and Parlag Mammadova were seriously injured: “Perhaps it is a historical coincidence that Professor Idris Akhmedov, the leading researcher of our institute died on January 20, 2019. There is no doubt that his death was caused by the physical trauma he suffered at the time and, most importantly, his emotional trauma.”
Chairman of the Council of Young Scientists and Specialists of the Institute, Ph.D. Sabia Osmanova said that January 20 was not only a tragedy, but also the first peak on Azerbaijan’s path to independence, the day of awakening the striving of our national ideology for freedom: “Our victorious army, which gave us victory, liberating Nagorno-Karabakh and adjacent regions after 30 years Armenian occupation for 44 days last year, logically completed the awakening, the foundation of which was laid on January 20, 1990 and for the first time avenged our martyrs, and today we can visit the Martyrs’ Alley with a clear conscience.” She noted that today the Alley of Martyrs has become a sacred place of oath and sanctuary for every citizen of Azerbaijan: “Every year on January 20, thousands of people visit the Alley of Martyrs to honor the memory of Azerbaijani sons and daughters who died for freedom and sovereignty. So, despite the fact that generations have changed, the memory of the sons of the Fatherland will henceforth live forever in our hearts.”
The employees of the institute who spoke at the event shared their thoughts on the bloody tragedy of January 20.