Korea Post: Former Soviet leadership directly responsible for crime committed against Azerbaijanis in 1990

The former Soviet leadership is directly responsible for the crime committed against Azerbaijanis on January 20, 1990 that went down in the history of modern Azerbaijan as “Black January,” reads an article published by the Korea Post.

Although 33 years passed since the January 20, 1990 events, which were a gross violation of the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and other international legal documents, and one of the serious crimes of the 20th century by its essence and scope, it had not received an international political and legal assessment.

"According to international law, the events of January 20 must be described as a crime against humanity, and its initiators and perpetrators must be brought to justice," reads the article.

The reason for the killing of so many peaceful Azerbaijanis was to prevent the national movement and break the will of the Azerbaijani people for independence. The groundless territorial claims of Armenia against Azerbaijan in the late 1980s, as well as the violent and brutal deportation of hundreds of thousands of Azerbaijanis from Armenia spurred the expansion of the movement against the Soviet Government in Azerbaijan.

On the night of January 19 to 20, 1990, by order of the USSR leadership, 26,000 Soviet troops invaded Baku and Sumgait, as well as other cities of Azerbaijan. As a result of this military intervention, 147 civilians were killed and 744 were seriously injured. At a special session of the Milli Majlis (Parliament) of the Republic of Azerbaijan in February 1994, the brutal murder of innocent people on January 20, 1990 was regarded as military aggression and crime.

Today, the souls of Azerbaijan's heroic martyrs including of “Black January” who gave their lives for the independence of Azerbaijan, and for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country, have finally found peace. Under the leadership of the Victorious Supreme Commander-in-Chief, the brave Army of Azerbaijan liberated the country's territories from occupation, thereby restoring the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan.