Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 13
By Ilhama Isabalayeva – Trend:
Reconstruction work on the Guba Genocide Memorial Complex and burial of the human remains are carried out in order to express a respect of Azerbaijani society to the deceased, vice-president of the National Academy of Sciences of Azerbaijan and a member of the investigation committee of the Guba Genocide Memorial Complex academician Isa Habibbeyli told Trend.
According to the scientist, the committee, created by the order of the head of Presidential Administration, reviewed the actual issues, held a meeting with participation of local executive authorities and assessed the situation in regard to research of the Guba burial site and preparation of proposals a year ago. The proposals were presented to the Presidential Administration.
One of the proposals suggested burying remains from the mass graves according to the national and religious traditions, Habibbeyli said.
“Brutally killing people, Armenians had thrown their bodies to the wells. They were not buried according to the national and religious traditions, that’s why now they have to be interred to graves and, I believe, both religious traditions and scientific principles are to be complied with in such case,” the scientist said.
Representatives of different nations are among the buried, the academician said.
He added, that most of the killed are Azerbaijanis, but there were Jews, Lezgins and peoples of other ethnic groups.
The human remains have already been buried in separate graves according to the national and religious traditions, Habibbeyli said.
“Reconstruction work is ongoing at the burial site. The burial demonstrates Armenian atrocities against Azerbaijanis and some remains have been kept open to show this brutality,” the scientist said.
Guba mass burial site raised due to the genocide committed by Armenians against Azerbaijanis in May 1918 was discovered on April 1, 2007 during construction work carried out on the area and serves as an evidence of the events.
Two wells and two aryks (small aqueducts) filled with human remains were found during the work on the area of 514 square meters. One of the wells came down in 2007—2008.
On December 30, 2009, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev signed a decree on the establishment of the Guba memorial complex to the victims of genocide in Guba region.