20th of January - Bloody memory There are tragic moments and also heroic pages in the history of every nation. Very rarely these two issues coincide. The people of Azerbaijan lived the bloody January of 1990 as a tragedy as well as a heroic epic. Azerbaijani people were tested in that terrible night. National heroes in the nation appeared, as well as the identity of the leaders became clear. In 1988 the Armenian separatism giving the go-ahead in Nagorno-Karabakh supported by the Kremlin leadership, taking the control of the administrative organs in the autonomous region gradually by the decision of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR in 1989, thanks to a biased position of the Special Committee established on Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region against Azerbaijan, the deportation of Azerbaijanis from their historical lands in Armenia, instead of punishing Armenian separatists in Moscow, to obstacle people had been run out the patience of the nation. At the end of 1989 the Popular Front captured administration in some regions, border fences between Nakchivan and İran ripped down, the radical wing of the Peoples Movement organized by National Defence Council took control into their own hands, committed Armenian pogroms by the State Security Committee in Sumgait on January 13-15, 1990 gave an opportunity toMoscow to punish the people of Azerbaijan. Finally, in early 1990, the Kremlin committed the bloody January massacre in order to punish the people of Azerbaijan protesting against the annex of Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia. Since the summer of 1989 for additional troops to Baki by Moscow, encrypted telephograms were sent to the heads of government of the USSR signed by the first secretary of the Communist Party Abdurahman Vezirov, the Chairman of the Council of Ministers Ayaz Mutallibov, the second secretary of the Central Committee of the KP Victor Polyanitchko, the first Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs of the USSR Viktor Barannikov. Investigation uncovered that in mid-January 1990, the Ministry of Defense and Internal Affairs of the USSR as well as other military units and more than 66 thousand soldiers and officers were brought to Baku and they were placed in Gala and Nasos aerondroms, Republic stadium, Salyan barracks. The composition of the army sent to Azerbaijan were the Armenian officers and soldiers deployed from Stavropol, Rostov, Krasnodor and Armenian Students studying at military schools. The provision of the military forces in the country and more than 300 high-ranking officers and generals with food, transport and fuel were paid by country budget. On 15 January 1990, the Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR approved the decree signed by M. Gorbachev to declare state of emergency in Baku and some other places in the Azerbaijani SSR, including imposing of curfew in Baku, Ganja and other settlements and offered taking all appropriate measures in paragraph 7 of very decree to the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR. However, despite this, the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, in contrast to the above-mentioned decree on 19January 1990, the illegal decree of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR based on the forge decision of 15January, a decree issued about the state of emergency in the city of Baki, from 12 o’clock, on 20 January. It was determined that the head of the Soviet Union Mikhail Gorbachev grossly violated the article 119 of the Constitution of the USSR and the article 71 of the Constitution of the Azerbaijan SSR by signing this order. On January 19, the KGBs Alpha group and as a result of the operation by the Republican leadership of the KGB the central television station was destroyed in order not to deliver the official information to the population about the declaration of a state of emergency in Baku and entering the Soviet troops into the city. However, at that time pickets and barricades in 26 places were set up, 34 of the 60 troops, including the entrance and exit of Salyan barracks was closed. Some of the leaders of the Popular Front encouraged the population to resist, while the others adviced to disperse. Despite the state of emergency applied at 12 a.m on January 20, Soviet troops entered the city from Turkan-Gala at 09 p.m on January 19. Baku operation was carried out by the Minister of the Defense of the USSR Dmitry Yazov, the Minister of Internal Affairs of USSR Bakatin Vadim, Deputy Chairman of the KGB, Philip Babkov. The troops sent to Baku were kept in closed camps. They were not allowed to communicate with the public not to be aware of the fact that the population were bare-handed. Soldiers and officers sent to Baku said that Islamic fundamentalists, panturkists seized the control of Soviet, that is why they needed to destroy them. The soldiers and officers namely customized with hatred against Azerbaijanis and being aroused by alchohol, indiscriminately opened fire to the women, elderly, infants, even drivers of ambulances and doctors, killed them brutally. Tanks and BTR-s crushed the cars with full of people. In order to not to provide the wounded with medical aid they cut the lights of hospitals It was determined that due to the first item of the international act of 1966 “About civil and political rights” since the decree signed, the population of Baki must be informed officially beforehand about application and duration of emergency situation. But it has not been fulfilled after massacare of the population-that is in 1990, 20th of January at 5:30 p.m. The comendant of Baki city V.Dubinyak informed officially about appliciation of emergency situation by means of radio. Whereas starting from the 20th of January at 21:20 a.m., there had been used tanks, and different armored battle machinery, landing troops belonging to the Caspian military fleet of ships were landed to the city. The act of violence against Azerbaijani people and diversions resulting with plundering have been realized stage by stage in the city. After proclaiming emergency situation on 20th of January and during the next days 57 persons have been killed. In the regions where the emergency situation was not proclaimed 2 persons on 25th of January in Neftchala and 6 persons on 25th of January in Lankaran were killed. So, at the result of illegal attack of troops, 147 persons were killed, 744 persons were wounded in Baki, 841 persons were arrested illegally, 112 out of them have been sent to the different cities of USSR and detained in prisons. 200 houses and flats, 80 automobiles, as well as ambulances have been destroyed, at the result of fires committed by fire guns, a lot of state and personal properties have been ruined by military servants. This beforehand planed action of aggressiveness had the purpose of prevent the struggle of Azerbaijan people for democracy and national independence and impact mentally the nation insulting it. But all these didn’t threaten our nation, even contrary to this multiplied the hate of the nation towards the Soviet empire. The people in spite of bayonets of the submachine guns and tank scrolls targeting them didn’t afraid of gathering the martyrs from the roads and squares. In spite of that the guns and cannon guns fixed on each street and every corner and appointed emergency regime on 22 of January people took the martyrs across the Azadlig square for the funeral ceremony in Martyrs’ avenue. Nowhere else was observed such a crowd as on the funeral ceremony of the 20th January martyrs. During 40 days Azerbaijan people kept mourning. People bared the famine but announced and the protest action as the sign of objection. Bloody crime of Soviet army against the people had no end. The ships of the “Baku Oil Fleet” coming to the Baki bay in order to express their disagreement were encircled and fired by Soviet warships. Tens of sailors were arrested. The ship “Sabit Orucov” announces to the whole the world about the tragedy by “SOS” signal. For preventing the attack of the enemies from the sea, Azerbaijan sailors gathered all the ships in Baki bay on the cost of their own lives. On 21st of January at 20:30 sailors began barehanded struggle with the armed bandits on gaining information about two warships come for taking unknown load. As the result of fire opened from the Soviet warships the ships “Neftqaz-18” , “ Neftqaz - 64”, “Aktau”, “Shirvan -2”, “Jeleken -1”, “Atlet - 21”, “Vodoley - 4” were hurt seriously. Hero sailors were undergone the mass repression after bloody January. After 20 January massacre people was in panic. The nation was insulted, humiliated and cover with its own blood. Heydar Aliyev who was on pension at that period, went to the Azerbaijan’s permanent representation in Moscow on 21st of January and made a speech on the crowded meeting held there. He expressed his solidarity with Azerbaijan nation on these hard days. He exposed massacre of the barehanded people which is surely against the law, democracy and humanity , as a rude political mistake of the official Moscow and the then republic leaders. Most political and state leaders didn’t take part in the emergency session of the Supreme Soviet of Azerbaijan SSR, called by the demand of the people and by the attempt of a group of deputies. The absence of the leaders at the session showed their indifference to the fate of the people and it proved that they also took part in this committed crime to some extend The emergency session adopted a decree to establish a deputy investigation commission to investigate the tragic events committed in Baku. But this commission finished its work by announcing the dead and the wounded, collected information about the damaged caused by the crime instead of giving the legal political assessment to the 20 January tragedy. In the late 24th to 25th January night Azerbaijan central committee of the communist party held a plenary session dedicated to the organizing issue. In the plenary session there was created a commission to investigate the reasons of the declaration of state emergency. But the Supreme Body of Republican communists didn’t give the real political assessment even they didn’t make a statement. As time goes by the truth is found out the dark pages Black January become clear. For the first time in the history our national leader Heydar Aliyev valued 20 January tragedy politicaly and juriticaly on the state level. Upon the recommendation of Heydar Aliyev special session of National Assembly was held in February 1994. On January 20, 1990 Soviet armed forces was sent onto Baki and other several regions of the republic, as a result army of Totalitar Communist regime committed a horrible crime and displayed particular cruelty against Azerbaijan anarmed people, and it was proclaimed as military aggression and crime in this session. It was also noted that for strugling national movement Soviet Union Communist Party, Soviet state, government officials, specially Mikhail Gorbochov committed a horrible crime against Azerbaijan nation. At the same time State officials of that period (Abdurrahman Vazirov, Ayaz Mutallibov, Viktor Polyanichko, Vagif Huseynov) were responsible for this tragedy and they betrayed to Azerbaijani people. 20 January tragedy was included Azerbaijan history not only as a national tragedy, but also the highest level of National Liberty Movement of our nation for its independence, liberty and freedom. National leader Heydar Aliyev said, this aggression shocked our nation morally and many people were killed but it couldn’t degrade our nation and it was written in its heroism chronicle as a new page.
Posted on: Mon, 19 Jan 2015 07:31:03 +0000
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