KHOJALY GENOCIDE COMMEMORATED AT UNIVERSITY, WHERE ONE OF TRAGEDY ORGANIZERS ONCE STUDIED

Baku, 23 February (AzerTAc) An event was held at the University of Berkeley in the frame of campaign launched by USA Azerbaijanis on the anniversary of Khojaly genocide.

The event organized by Azerbaijani-American Council, Turkish-speaking Students
Association of Berkeley University and Northern California Cultural Center was
attended by University tutors and students, representatives of Azerbaijani Diaspora.
Chairman of Azerbaijani-American Council Javid Huseynov and president of
Turkish-Speaking Students Association Ulduz Berenjfurush addressed the gathering.
Javid Huseynov and Ulduz Berenjfurush said the ceremony of the public campaign
aiming to inform the world community about Khojaly genocide is held on the
initiative of Leyla Aliyeva, coordinator on intercultural dialogue of OIC Youth
Forum on February 26, 2009. The events will be held in large American cities,
including Houston, New York, Washington and Los Angeles.
As stated, the University of Berkeley commemorates the victims of Khojaly genocide
for the second time. Terrorist, who committed savageries against civilians in
Khojaly Monte Melkonian, once studied at this university.
Shafag Akifgizi, special correspondent of AzerTAc in Washington, said the massacre
committed by Armenian militants in Khojaly was so insidious and terrible that on the
day of tragedy and later during a month the leading world media, including
newspapers Washington Post, Washington Times, Independent, magazine Newsweek, BBC TV
have consecutively reported about the tragedy. On those days, the foreign
journalists were writing about unprecedented savageries of Armenian terrorists.
Representative of Strategic Research Center under Azerbaijani President Rashad
Karimov said the Khojaly tragedy is a war crime and the culprits have to be
punished.
Azerbaijani MPs Havva Mammadova and Asim Mollazade, renowned American writer and
journalist Mr. Thomas Goltz, who informed the international community about Khojaly
genocide, representative of Strategic Research Center under Azerbaijani President
Rashad Karimov and journalist Shafag Akifgizi addressed the event.
They underlined the importance of informing the world community about Khojaly truths
and bring the perpetrators to response in the International Court of Justice. They
also discussed legal aspects of Khojaly genocide and called the perpetrators of the
tragedy war criminals.
Then, a book on the victims of Khojaly genocide was presented. The author, Member of
Parliament Havva Mammadova, said the book was written on the base of researches she
has made since 1992.
Following this, documentary film about Khojaly genocide made by Heydar Aliyev
Foundation and the report prepared by Shafag Akifgizi for CNN in 1997 were
demonstrated.
Khojaly genocide victims were commemorated by a minute silence.

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