22nd anniversary of Black January
BayBak, Azerbaijan | 490 days ago | Friday, 20th January , 2012 , 02:10 [am] | Azerbaijan
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. | Late at night on January 19, 1990, 26,000 Soviet troops stormed Baku in order to crush the Popular Front. In the course of the storming, the troops attacked the protesters, firing in the crowds. The shooting continued for three days. They acted pursuant to a state of emergency (which continued on for more than 4 months) declared by the USSR Supreme Soviet Presidium, signed by President Gorbachev. |
Black Saturday or the January Massacre was a violent crackdown of Azerbaijani independence movement in Baku on January 19-20, 1990, pursuant to a state of emergency during the dissolution of the Soviet Union. The protesters were condemning the occupation of Azerbaijani territories and handing it over to Armenians.
Late at night on January 19, 1990, 26,000 Soviet troops stormed Baku in order to crush the Popular Front. In the course of the storming, the troops attacked the protesters, firing in the crowds. The shooting continued for three days. They acted pursuant to a state of emergency (which continued on for more than 4 months) declared by the USSR Supreme Soviet Presidium, signed by President Gorbachev.
The Helsinki Watch and Memorial Society found compelling evidence that the imposition of a state of emergency led to the unwarranted breach of civil liberties and that the Soviet troops used unjustified force resulting in many deaths. This includes the usage of armoured vehicles, bayonets and firing on clearly marked ambulances. In the resolution of January 22, 1990 the Supreme Soviet of the Azerbaijan SSR declared that the decree of the Presidium of USSR Supreme Soviet of January 19, used to impose emergency rule in Baku and military deployment, constituted an act of agression. Black January is seen as the rebirth of the Azerbaijan Republic.
During the Black January crackdown, the Soviets managed to suppress all efforts to disseminate news from Azerbaijan to the local population and the international community. On the eve of the Soviet military invasion in Baku, an energy supply source to Azerbaijani TV and State Radio was blown up by intelligence officers in order to cut off the population from any source of information.
Interestingly, none of those who ordered and carried out the violence been put in trial yet. And president Gorbachev who was personally responsible for the attack and events afterward is named as a democrat leader by western authorities!media
, Voice of a Nation[1] Print
- 16/01/2010 20th anniversary of Black January
- 19/01/2011 21st anniversary of Black January
- 20/01/2013 23rd anniversary of Black January
- 20/01/2010 Azerbaijan commemorates 20th anniversary of January 20 tragedy
- 19/01/2013 RECOGNIZE BLACK JANUARY 1990 IN AZERBAIJAN, The 23rd anniversary of the brutal Soviet crackdown
- 21/01/2010 Black January (20 January) remembered in Stockholm (Photo)
- 11/01/2008 Head of Azerbaijan Presidential Administration asserts actions plan on 18th anniversary of 20 January tragedy
- 21/01/2008 Enemy of the Azerbaijani people – Axmed Shahidov (ÆhmÉ™d Åžahidov)
- 16/01/2008 Azerbaijani embassy in Turkey to hold various events on anniversary of 20 January tragedy
- 22/01/2007 Azerbaijan mourns Black January Martyrs
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azeribaybak[at]gmail.comURLs used in the text:
[1] Print : http://en.baybak.com/21nd-anniversary-of-black-january.azr?print=1