AZG Armenian Daily #098, 31/05/2005

Opinion

‘A TRAP WAS PREPARED FOR MUTALIBOV IN KHOJALU’

Rahim Ghaziev Tells about ‘Other Awful Actions’ of Azeris, about
Treason of Shushi

Rahim Ghaziev, one of the former Azeri defense ministers jailed for
10 years on charge of state treason. Particularly, he was accused
of leaving Shushi to Armenians. He was released only two months
ago. Ghaziev said in the interview to that a trap
was prepared for Mutalibov in Khojalu to remove him.

Ghaziev said that he received information about the attack of the
Armenian forces against Khojalu on February 16, 1992. “On February 25,
I again received information about the preparations of the attack,”
Ghaziev said. He added that the Azeri Armed Forces had enough arms to
help the Khojalu people and stop the Armenians. Those days, the Azeri
defense minister said that it was possible to avert the disaster and
keep their positions.

The journalist that recently visited Nagorno Karabakh, asked Ghaziev
the following question, “They showed me the humanitarian corridor
provided by the Armenians in Askeran that was used by the majority
of the people living there. The corridor stretches along the Karkar
River. Is it true and whether the activists of the People’s Front
misled the Khojalu people?”

“I also heard about that and about other awful things that our
people did. But you should understand that I was blamed so much that
now I am afraid to be condemned again. Eldar Baghirov, an activist of
People’s Front in Aghdam told me of the instructions that he received
from the leaders of the People’s Front. He began telling but soon he
stopped. He was about to lose his mind when he was telling about the
treason of the soldiers of the People’s Front,” Ghaziev said.

The journalist said that when he was in Shushi, the Armenians showed
him the restored church, adding that it was filled with ammunition
when they arrived in the city. Ghaziev said that there were about 12
thousand shells. “I swear to God that I didn’t receive a single gun
from the state. The whole ammunition was gathered by volunteers. And
they left all that in Shushi,” Ghaziev said. There were 4 tanks,
9 armored vehicles, 2 Grad mounts and 20 mortars. “Most of this
ammunition was not used during the defense of the city,” the former
Azeri defense minister said.