Embassy of the Republic of Azerbaijan to the People's Republic of China hosted an event to commemorate the 31st anniversary of the Khojaly genocide.

On February 24, 2023 the commemoration ceremony dedicated to the 31st anniversary of the Khojaly genocide was held at the Embassy of the Republic of Azerbaijan to the People’s Republic of China. The event was attended by the Embassy staff and the members of the Azerbaijani diaspora in Beijing.

At the beginning of the event, a wreath of flowers was laid in front of the “Xarı Bülbül” monument, symbolizing martyrs of Azerbaijan, within the Embassy. Then, event participants had a chance to view a photo gallery and books dedicated to the Khojaly genocide committed by Armenia.

Afterwards, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic Azerbaijan to the People’s Republic of China H.E. Mr. Akram Zeynalli invited the audience to observe a minute of silence to honor the memory of innocent people who lost their lives during the Khojaly genocide.

In his speech Ambassador gave broad information about the history of the Khojaly genocide, which he characterized as one of the most painful tragedies in the history of the Azerbaijani people. As a result of the massacre, 613 persons were killed, including 106 women, 63 children and 70 elderly people. 1275 people were taken hostage, while the fates of 150 persons remain unknown to this day. In the course of the tragedy, 487 inhabitants of Khojaly were severely wounded, including 76 children not yet of age. 6 families were completely wiped out, 26 children lost both of their parents, and 130 children lost one of their parents.

Ambassador informed the participants that at the initiative of National Leader Heydar Aliyev the country's Parliament gave a political and legal assessment to the Khojaly genocide, February 26 was declared "Khojaly genocide Day", and actions were launched for bringing the committed crime to the attention of the international community and the culprits to justice.
Ambassador A.Zeynalli emphasized that international campaign “Justice for Khojaly" conducted by the Heydar Aliyev Foundation for bringing the truth about Khojaly to the attention of international community plays a very important role in the recognition of the Khojaly genocide by the world community, and giving legal and political assessment to it and as a result of this action, the legislative bodies of 17 countries, as well as 24 states of the United States, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and the Organization of Turkic States, have adopted numerous resolutions and decisions condemning the massacre of civilians in Khojaly and evaluating it as an act of genocide and a crime against humanity.

At the end of the event, the documentary " Shame to humanity: the Genocide of Khojaly" dedicated to the Khojaly genocide was demonstrated.