Residents of Azerbaijan commemorate victims of "Black January" (+video)

A memory action of the victims of the events of January 1990 was held today in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan. Its participants told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent that the responsibility for the deaths lies primarily on the then Soviet leadership.

At night on January 20, 1990, under the order of the Soviet leadership, a 35,000-strong army corps invaded Baku. As a result of the operation, 137 civilians were killed and over 744 others were wounded. These events are recorded in the history of Azerbaijan as "Black January". The casualties are buried in the Alley of Martyrs (Alley of Fallen Heroes) in the Upland Park of Baku.

Today, since morning, a mass procession made its way to the Alley of Martyrs to commemorate the victims of the "Black January". The march continued throughout the day; there were so many participants that the memorial was literally covered with red carnations, the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent reports.

Vurgun Seyidov, one of the participants of the action, told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent that the responsibility for the deaths of innocent people lies on the former Soviet leadership.

"The Soviet army was sent here to prevent the separation of Azerbaijan from the USSR. Thus, they arranged a bloodbath here. The blood of the dead is on the conscience of the Soviet leadership headed by Gorbachov and Primakov," Seyidov is sure.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.