The January 20 tragedy marked the beginning of a new stage on Azerbaijan's path to independence

 

Dosent Vazeh Askarov

Member of the Board of the New Azerbaijan Party,

Acting Rector of Azerbaijan State Oil and Industry University.

         Today, the people of Azerbaijan commemorate the 35th anniversary of the "Black January" tragedy. On January 20, we honor our martyrs with pride and respect. Azerbaijan regained its independence in October 1991. However, like other former Soviet republics, this independence was not achieved easily, without losses, or without bloodshed. January 20 became a significant day in our history. Until recent years, we observed this day with sorrow and grief. Over the years, we have tried to understand how a Soviet soldier could open fire on a Soviet citizen. Both the generation that lived through that day and the current generation of Azerbaijanis take pride in the fact that, on January 20, there were brave sons and daughters who sacrificed their lives for Azerbaijan's independence. Today, this day stands as a glorious milestone in the history of the Azerbaijani people, a day won through their struggle for independence.

The end of the 20th century brought about two significant events that caused major changes in the world: the destruction of the Berlin Wall in 1989, which had served as a border fortification between the German Democratic Republic and West Berlin, and the collapse of the USSR in 1991. These events resulted in various changes, including the withdrawal of Soviet forces from conflict zones (such as Afghanistan and Africa) as well as from Germany, under the policies of reconstruction. The acceleration of the USSR's dissolution led to new points of conflict and wars among the peoples of the former Soviet republics, and the Soviet Union gave way to the formation of new independent states. This process also led to the transformation of the Soviet Union into the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).

During this period, the dissolution of the Soviet Union accelerated, and conflicts between the peoples of the former union began to flare up. This was reflected in the fragmentation of European countries (such as Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia), the eruption of new conflicts (such as the Balkans and Nagorno-Karabakh), and the consecutive declarations of independence by Azerbaijan and other former Soviet republics in October 1991. This marked the end of the Soviet era in history.

The people of Azerbaijan regained their independence in October 1991. However, like other Soviet republics, this independence did not come easily, without losses, or without bloodshed. A glorious day, January 20, was added to our history. Until recent years, we commemorated this day with sorrow and grief. Over the years, we have tried to understand how a Soviet soldier could be in a position to open fire on a Soviet citizen. The generation that lived through that day, as well as the current generation, takes pride in the fact that on January 20, there were sons and daughters who sacrificed their lives for Azerbaijan's independence. Today, this day stands as a glorious chapter in the history of the Azerbaijani people, a day won in the struggle for independence.

When analyzing the events of those years, it becomes clear that the path to independence for the people of Azerbaijan was far from easy. In Azerbaijan, Mikhail Gorbachev is officially regarded as "the enemy of the people." As the last General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (1985-1991) and the first and last President of the USSR, Gorbachev fell under the influence of the Armenian lobby, and the entire Azerbaijani population clearly remembers how he isolated Nagorno-Karabakh from Azerbaijan. From the late 1980s until September 2020, for 30 years, the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict was one of the frozen conflicts in the former USSR, alongside others such as the separatist regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia in Georgia and Transnistria Moldova. Starting from 1988, the events in Karabakh were no longer led by Azerbaijanis, but by Armenian separatists.

In March 1988, a special decision was made in the USSR regarding the socio-economic development of the Nagorno-Karabakh region. According to the decision, on January 12, 1989, the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR passed a resolution to remove Azerbaijan’s authority over the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region and replace it with a special form of administration, headed by a representative of the central government. This was effectively a step toward the separation of Nagorno-Karabakh from Azerbaijan. The Soviet administration gave special attention to this issue, attempting to create an appearance of normalization in the region. At the same time, it remained silent on the great tragedy of the Azerbaijani people and the first ethnic conflict that flared up in Karabakh.

During that period, the neutral stance of Azerbaijan’s leadership was one of the greatest betrayals of its own people. In February 1988, without the participation of Azerbaijani deputies, a meeting was held in the Soviet of the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region, where a decision was made to separate Nagorno-Karabakh from Azerbaijan and unite it with Armenia.

On December 1, 1989, the Supreme Soviet of the Armenian SSR issued a decree regarding the annexation of Nagorno-Karabakh. This decree was in violation of both the Soviet and Azerbaijani constitutions, as the territory of a Soviet republic could only be altered with the mutual consent of the respective republics. Moscow’s biased policies toward Azerbaijan sparked anger and mass protests. In response, Moscow chose military intervention to control the situation.

On the night of January 19-20, 1990, at 11:30 PM, without declaring a state of emergency, 26,000 Soviet troops were deployed to the country and entered Azerbaijan’s capital, Baku, from five different directions. Soviet soldiers opened fire on Soviet citizens from tanks and armored vehicles. As a result of these events, hundreds of civilians were killed, wounded, and went missing. The bloody statistics of that night, which became known as Bloody January in the memory of our people, are deeply tragic: 137 people were killed, 744 were injured, and 841 were illegally arrested. Of the 137 killed, 117 were Azerbaijanis, 6 were Russians, 3 were Jews, and 3 were Tatars.

From 1987 to 1991, as part of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, a policy of completely expelling the Azerbaijani population from Armenia was carried out, and nearly 200,000 Azerbaijanis were driven out of their ancestral lands. In the early 20th century, nearly half of what is now Armenia was populated by Azerbaijanis, but today, according to unofficial statistics, there are no Azerbaijanis left in Armenia, except for prisoners. Unofficial statistics suggest that the number of Armenians living in Azerbaijan exceeds 20,000.

From 1988 to 1994, a war broke out between Armenia and Azerbaijan over control of Nagorno-Karabakh, which lies within Azerbaijan's territory. The war ended with the occupation of Azerbaijani lands. The conflict reached its peak with the Khojaly massacre, which occurred from February 23-26, 1992, during which 613 people, including 106 women and 83 children, were killed.

It should be noted that the first official reaction to the January 20 events came from the National Leader of Azerbaijan, Heydar Aliyev, who was also the first to describe it as a tragedy against the Azerbaijani people. The day after the events, on January 21, 1990, despite the restrictions imposed by the Soviet regime on him, Heydar Aliyev risked his life and went to Azerbaijan's representative office in Moscow. There, he condemned those responsible for the tragedy and made a statement, emphasizing that the genocide committed against our people was contrary to humanitarian principles. The political and legal assessment of the January 20 tragedy at the state level is also linked to the name of Heydar Aliyev. On November 21, 1990, upon the initiative of Heydar Aliyev, the Supreme Assembly of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic was the first to give a political assessment of the January 20 tragedy and adopted a resolution.

In the Presidential Decree of the Republic of Azerbaijan "On the 4th anniversary of the January 20 tragedy" issued on January 5, 1994, the National Assembly of Azerbaijan was advised to hold a special session regarding the Bloody January events. On March 31, 1998, the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan signed a decree on the establishment of the honorary title "Martyr of January 20."

The Second Nagorno-Karabakh War, also known as the "Iron Fist" operation, went down in history for the liberation of Azerbaijani territories from occupation and the resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. On September 27, 2020, in response to the gross violation of the ceasefire regime by the Armenian Armed Forces, the Azerbaijani Armed Forces launched counteroffensive operations to prevent Armenian provocations. A state of martial law was declared, and partial mobilization was announced across the country.

On November 8, 2020, the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces, Ilham Aliyev, announced the liberation of Shusha. On November 10, a trilateral agreement was signed by the President of Azerbaijan, the Prime Minister of Armenia, and the President of Russia to cease all military operations in the conflict zone. Finally, after 30 years of conflict, Azerbaijan, in line with the demands of the four UN Security Council resolutions adopted since 1993 (No. 822, 853, 874, 884), restored its territorial integrity by putting an end to Armenia's occupation.

According to the agreement, on November 20, Agdam was liberated, on November 25, Kelbajar was freed, and on December 1, Lachin was liberated without a single shot being fired or any casualties. The agreement also included the construction of new transport corridors connecting the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic with the western regions of Azerbaijan through Armenian territory. Thus, Azerbaijan's military victory forced Armenia to sign a capitulation act on November 10, 2020.