20 January tragedy victims have been commemorated in the State Statistical Committee

On January 18, a memorial ceremony dedicated to the 28th anniversary of 20 January tragedy victims has been held in the State Statistical Committee of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

The memory of the tragedy victims was reminiscent with a minute of silence.

Chairman of the State Statistical Committee Tahir Budagov said that the 20 January tragedy, which is considered as aggression against the national spirit of freedom, is not just a bloody page in the history of our country but also as a victory for Azerbaijan's independence, the terror which is perpetuated as a National Day of Mourning. He noted that despite the fact that the 20 January tragedy is a day of sorrow, it is also a heroic page in the history of our people. Tahir Budagov outlined that on January 21, 1990 national leader Heydar Aliyev went to Azerbaijan’s permanent representative office in Moscow and made a harshly-worded statement condemning the Soviet army massacre against civilian population, made condolence speech to our people. He mentioned that national leader Heydar Aliyev recalled the causes and consequences of the events of 20 January after returning to power at the request of the people in 1993, and recalled the tragedy as a full political and legal assessment of military aggression and crime. The participants of the ceremony were informed about measures taken under the leadership of President Ilham Aliyev such as bringing to the world public attention the reality of Azerbaijan and this bloody event, the perpetuation of memory of martyrs, and the state care for martyr families. 

Nemat Khuduzade, Head of Labor Statistics Department of the State Statistical Committee and others noted that the 20 January tragedy is perpetuated as a heroic and invincibility chronicle in the glorious history of our people. The speeches voiced the unprecedented atrocity against the Azerbaijani people in the Bloody January of 1990, the causes and historical roots of this tragedy and expressed conviction that this cruel crime against humanity would not be unpunished.

The event ended with a demonstration of the film about the 20 January  tragedy.