Associated Press Worldstream
January 20, 2007 Saturday 1:10 PM GMT

Azerbaijan marks 17th anniversary of clashes with Soviet Army

BAKU Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan on Saturday marked the 17th anniversary of clashes with
the Soviet Army, some of the most violent events surrounding the
Soviet Union’s breakup.

Tens of thousands of mourners, including President Ilham Aliev, filed
through the memorial to the dead, known as Martyrs’ Alley, laid red
carnations and wreaths on the tombs of the victims and the streets
where some of them died trying to prevent Soviet tanks from moving
in.

Some 134 people were killed and more than 770 wounded.

The violent protests came amid ethnic clashes between Azerbaijanis
and Armenians and followed a vote in neighboring Armenia to
effectively take control of Nagorno-Karabakh, a territory populated
by mostly ethnic Armenians which is inside Azerbaijan.

The Soviet government imposed a state of emergency in Baku and
deployed some 11,000 troops to crack down on the protesters who also
demanded the ouster of communist officials and independence from the
Soviet Union. International rights groups said the force used against
the demonstrators was excessive and disproportionate.

Azerbaijan gained independence in 1991 after the Soviet collapse.
Nagorno-Karabakh has been controlled along with some surrounding
areas by Karabakh and Armenian forces since 1994.

Meanwhile, hackers attacked the Web site of a foundation run by
former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, accusing him of brutally
suppressing the demonstration in Baku. The perpetrators posted
photographs of the rally on the Web site and published an open letter
to the former leader, blaming him for the deaths of the victims.

The Web site of the Gorbachev Foundation, which deals with
international issues including globalization, security, weapons of
mass destruction, environmental and natural resources and poverty,
was shut down Saturday. Nobody from the group was immediately
available for comment.