Azerbaijani propaganda events dedicated to 23rd anniversary of Aghdam events fail in Sweden
Intending to mark the 23rd anniversary of the events in Aghdam in 1992, Azerbaijan tried to hold propaganda events in Stockholm, Sweden; yet the events propagating the Azerbaijani version of the issue failed because of the absence of interest from both the local people and the Azerbaijani community members.
The visitors ignored the candlelight vigil in the memory of the victims, as well as the seminar at the ABF centre on 26 February. Judging by the photos taken by witnesses, no one joined the 5 organizers of the ceremony.
Some 20 people took part in the demonstration organized with the Turkish community in front of the Swedish Parliament building. The demonstration took place over the weekend and the speeches and slogans were made only in Azerbaijani. Meanwhile, several young representatives of the Swedish-Armenian community organized counteractions throughout the area of the planned demonstrations, distributing booklets and discs containing reliable information concerning the events in Aghdam, Baku and Sumgait massacres, as well as the current terrifying situation of the human rights violations in Azerbaijan.
On February 26, 1992, during the war in Karabakh, around 200 to 300 people (according to Human Rights 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 Khojaly, which was one of the firing points of 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 Khojaly coming out through the humanitarian corridor, which the self-defense forces of NKR had left open, freely passed more than 10 km and reached 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 in Aghdam city was dissolved by the order of Heydar Aliyev, the investigative materials are kept secret.