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Head of the Azerbaijani national-cultural autonomy in Tatarstan opposed the activities related to the events taken place in 1992, in Aghdam, which the Azerbaijani call “Khojalu”. Instead the Azerbaijanis Tatar nationalists sponsored from Baku participated in the protest. They, however, were condemned by the leader of Azerbaijani Diaspora.

The agency “Tatar-Inform” reports that the night before, on the central pedestrian street Bauman, in Kazan, the activists of the Tatar Youth Union "Azatlyk" held a picket of solidarity and mourned with the people of Azerbaijan on the tragic events that took place 21 years ago.

Leader of the Union of Tatar Youth "Azatlyk" Nail Nabiullin told the news agency that the main aim of the event was to express condolences and support to the people of Azerbaijan. According to him, about a dozen of activists of youth union are going to stand with posters. However Nail Nabiullin confessed also that this event is their own initiative and was not discussed with the Azerbaijani Diaspora of Republic of Tatarstan.

In turn, the acting head of the Azerbaijani national-cultural autonomy of the Republic of Tatarstan Ahadzade Subhan Kamranogly was unpleasantly surprised by the event. He condemned these actions, and noted that he learnt about such an organization for the first time. “I heard about the organization for the first time and certainly did not know that such an event would be held. I am totally against it. No one consulted with us and all this is done incorrectly,” he stressed.

He also noted that in Tatarstan and Russia different people live in peace and these friendly relations should be preserved. “The events of Khojalu are our tragedy, but there is no need to hold events dedicated to it. I am totally against it. Russia is a multiethnic country, and problems of Azerbaijan and Armenia still remain the problems of Armenians and Azerbaijanis. But this is Russia and it should not be allowed here,” he stressed.

Note that in connection with the anniversary of the events that took place in Aghdam in 1992 Azerbaijan is trying to organize a variety of events throughout the world, however, even the Azerbaijani Diaspora organizations do not always support the campaign.
Back in April 2012 Russian media and “Km.ru” in particular wrote that Azerbaijan finances subversive activities of pan-turkists in Tatarstan. The article mentions about the national-separatists from Tatar Youth Union "Azatlyk" which became famous by a series of scandalous anti-Russian actions. “According to experts, representatives of youth organizations from Azerbaijan, similar to Tatar Youth Union, are directly involved in financing of subversion activities of the latter,” the article said.

On February 26, 1992, during the war in Karabakh, around 200 to 300 people (according to Human Right Watch, and 600 according to the version propagated by Azerbaijan) were killed in unknown circumstances near the city of Aghdam. They have been deliberately withheld by the Azerbaijani authorities in the midst of the military actions. Population of the village of Khojalu, which was one of the firing points shooting at the blockaded Stepanakert (among five others) was kept in the village for months by force and was not evacuated by the authorities of Azerbaijan deliberately, in order to use them as human shields later.

Residents of Khojalu coming out through the humanitarian corridor, that the self-defense forces of NKR had left open, freely passed more than 10 km and reached the Aghdam city controlled by the Azerbaijani troops. Later, not far from the positions of Azerbaijani troops dead bodies of the villagers were found. The exact death toll remains unknown as the official Baku publishes data contradicting each other. Parliamentary Commission investigating the tragic death of the civilians at Aghdam city was dissolved by the order of Heydar Aliyev, the investigative materials are kept secret.

Documentary: “Between hunger and fire. Power at the cost of lives”