BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 31. Commemorative events on 31 March—the Day of the Genocide of Azerbaijanis—were held in the Azerbaijan Army under the instruction of the Azerbaijan Defense Minister, Colonel General Zakir Hasanov, TurkicWorld reports via the Ministry of Defense.
At the commemorative ceremonies, the memory of the National Leader Heydar Aliyev and martyrs, who sacrificed their lives for the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, as well as the victims of the 31 March Genocide, was honored with observing a minute of silence. The national anthem of the Republic of Azerbaijan was performed.
“It was noted that in 1918, between March 30 and April 3, Azerbaijanis were brutally killed by the Baku Soviet and Dashnak Armenian armed detachments in Baku city and various regions of Baku governorate, as well as in Shamakhi, Guba, Khachmaz, Lankaran, Hajigabul, Salyan, Zangazur, Karabakh, Nakhchivan, and other territories.
It was emphasized that by the Decree of the Great Leader Heydar Aliyev dated March 26, 1998, every year March 31 is marked as the Day of Genocide of Azerbaijanis at the state level.
The speakers noted the importance of purposeful measures taken by the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Ilham Aliyev, as well as the Heydar Aliyev Foundation in order to deliver to the world community the horrors of the genocide committed by Armenians against the Azerbaijani civilians.
At commemorative events, literary and artistic compositions by the Army Ideological and Cultural Center named after Hazi Aslanov were presented, photo exhibitions and documentaries were shown, and lectures on the topic were read in sociopolitical classes.
The servicemen visited the monuments of the victims of the genocide and graves of the martyrs who sacrificed their lives for the territorial integrity of the Motherland," the ministry added.
