AZERBAIJANIS BURNT ARMENIANS AND TORTURED TO DEATH

A1Plus.am
13/01/10

Twenty years ago, on January 13, massacres and violence against
Armenians which were later qualified as genocide in different circles
started in Baku.

"It was real genocide accompanied with forced displacement, deliberate,
severe and planned murders," Robert Khachatryan, President of
Compatriots’ Union of Baku told a press conference on January 13.

Replying to A1+, Mr. Khachatryan noted that the government doesn’t
pay proper attention to refugees. "Have you ever heard Armenian
authorities talking about us or raising our issue during the talks
on Karabakh? Unlike our authorities, Azerbaijan is constantly raising
the issue of its refugees. One gets the impression that there are no
refugees in Armenia."

Robert Khachatryan remembers Robert Kocharyan saying "there are no
refugees in Armenia" when answering a journalist in Slovakia. "These
are people who have returned to their historic homeland," said
Kocharyan.

Robert Khachatryan wonders why the Armenian authorities persuade
the refugees to obtain Armenian citizenship since the factor of 1,
5 million refugees can be used in the negotiation process.

Eleanora Avanesova, a survival of the Baku massacres, says they
aren’t included in any social category on the ground that they haven’t
lived in Karabakh. "It seems that only Karbakhi people have a right
to privileges."

Mrs. Avanesova’s 16-year-old brother was brutally killed in Baku on
December 26. If we came to Armenia earlier, my brother would fight
for his country and sacrifice for Armenia," she said.

Refugee Edita Harutyunova announced that the massacres had been
perpetrated by Azerbaijani authorities after Karabakh started a move
for signature to join Armenia.

Before that, local Armenians had never had conflicts with Azerbaijanis,
said the guests at the Armat Club.

"The events were more horrifying than a war and more frightening than
the earthquake of 1988. Azerbaijanis threw Armenians out of buses,
windows, balconies, burnt them and tortured with metal poles, knives
and axes," recalled Robert Khachatryan.

According to official Azerbaijan, 56 people died as a result of the
clashes from January 13 to 20, while Armenians say 270 people fell
victim to Azerbaijani vandalism in Baku.

Over 200 000 Armenians lived in Baku then and none of them could
expect such brutality by Azerbaijanis.