Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences

On January 16, a scientific session was held at the National Museum of Azerbaijani Literature on the theme "Tragedy of January 20 in our Motherland".

At the event dedicated to the 30th anniversary of the January 20 tragedy, museum director academician Rafael Huseynov delivered a lecture entitled “The Path that Leads from Saturday Night to Independence Morning”.

Academician Rafael Huseynov said that on the basis of the tragedy of January 20, there was a struggle for a 70-year-old thirst for the independence of the Azerbaijani people. Understanding this, the Soviet leadership deployed Soviet troops and heavy equipment in the city on January 19-20, 1990, to prevent the outbreak of independence for the Soviet republics from spreading and undermining the independence of our people and commit bloody crimes against civilians.

The scientist said that 146 people were killed and 744 were injured as a result of the tragedy, 841 were illegally arrested and many went missing and families were destroyed. Recalling that the energy block of Azerbaijani television exploded in order to prevent people from getting full information, R. Huseynov said that the great leader Heydar Aliyev conveyed the voice of our people to the world. It was noted that the day after the massacre, the brilliant leader, who arrived at the Permanent Mission of Azerbaijan in Moscow, sharply criticized the Soviet government for the massacre in Baku and called for the immediate punishment of those responsible for the tragedy. At the initiative of the great leader, in 1994 political events were evaluated at the state level, and the Milli Majlis of the Republic of Azerbaijan adopted a special resolution.

R. Huseynov said that the memory of martyrs who gave their lives on the path to independence is always highly respected by our people. The speaker noted that the works of the national poet Bakhtiyar Vahabzadeh, writer and publicist Rafig Samander and others, dedicated to the memory of martyrs on January 20, are of particular importance.

Speaking at the meeting, People’s Artist Vasif Babayev, Honored Journalist Rafig Samandar, Honored Artist Masma Aslangizi, chairman of the “January 20” society Soltan Azimov, family representative martyr Elkhan Allakhverdiyev and others, shared their thoughts on the bloody tragedy and spoke about the importance of educating young people in patriotic spirit.

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