A round table entitled "January 20 is a heroic page in the history of the Azerbaijani people" dedicated to January 20 - National Day of Mourning was held at the Institute of the Caucasus Studies of ANAS

On January 17, a round table entitled "January 20 is a heroic page in the history of the Azerbaijani people" was held at the Institute of Caucasus Studies of ANAS, dedicated to January 20 - the National Day of Mourning. The round table was opened with an introductory speech by Ramila Dadashova, Doctor of Political Sciences, Associate Professor, and Acting Director of the Institute. She noted that the night of January 19-20, 1990, entered the history of the Azerbaijani people as both a tragic day and a symbol of the heroic chronicle of our people, their struggle for national independence, freedom, and invincible will. Today, the souls of our martyrs are happy. Under the leadership of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Supreme Commander-in-Chief Ilham Aliyev, the territorial integrity and sovereignty of our state have been restored. The dear memory of our martyrs who died in the struggle for the independence, territorial integrity, and sovereignty of Azerbaijan was commemorated with a minute of silence. Then, a video clip about the January 20 tragedy was shown. The head of the department, Phd in Philosophy, Associate Professor Vahid Omarov, gave a report entitled "January 20 is the path to freedom." He noted that the next mass deportation of Azerbaijanis from Western Azerbaijan - their historical lands - and Russia's support for Armenian separatism, which arose in the mountainous part of Karabakh as a result of Armenia's military aggression, had exhausted the people's patience. Thousands of people gathered in Freedom Square, demanding their rights. Instead of preventing tension, the Soviet leadership committed terrible crimes against the Azerbaijani people. On the night of January 19-20, 1990, by order of Mikhail Gorbachev, General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, troops of the USSR Ministry of Defense, State Security Committee, and Ministry of Internal Affairs were deployed to Baku and several regions of Azerbaijan, and civilians were killed en masse by being fired upon with heavy equipment and various types of weapons. This historical event had a decisive impact on the formation of Azerbaijani national identity and became a turning point in the restoration of state independence. It was after this tragedy that the national liberation movement became a full political reality. The head of the department, Phd in History, Associate Professor Elnur Kalbizade, gave a report entitled "The Role of Great Leader Heydar Aliyev in Conveying the Truths of January 20 to the World." He noted that immediately after the January 20 tragedy, on January 21, 1990, National Leader Heydar Aliyev, together with his family members, came to the permanent representation of Azerbaijan in Moscow to demonstrate solidarity with his native people and expressed his strong protest against this bloody operation committed by the USSR leadership. On November 21 of that year, at the first session of the Supreme Assembly of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, a decision was adopted entitled "On giving a political assessment to the Baku events committed in January 1990", prepared by the National Leader Heydar Aliyev. On November 21 of that year, at the first session of the Supreme Assembly of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, a decision was adopted entitled "On giving a political assessment to the Baku events committed in January 1990", prepared by the National Leader Heydar Aliyev. The resolution assessed the massacres as an attack on the sovereign rights of the Azerbaijan SSR, democratic processes, and violence and aggression against the civilian population. The resolution emphasized the great guilt of the USSR leadership in the commission of the incident and demanded that the perpetrators be held criminally liable. It was decided to celebrate January 20th as a National Day of Mourning in the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic every year, and the Supreme Soviet of the Republic of Azerbaijan was requested to celebrate this day at the republican level. With this decision, the January 20 tragedy was given a political-legal assessment for the first time. Yegana Bakhshiyeva, PhD in political science and chairwoman of the Institute's Trade Union, delivered a report titled "January 20 as the Beginning of a New Era in the Modern History of Azerbaijan's Independence." She noted that January 20 is not only a tragic day in the history of the Azerbaijani people, but also a chronicle of the heroism of our compatriots who sacrificed their lives for the freedom and territorial integrity of the Motherland. On December 29, 1998, by the Decree of the Great Leader Heydar Aliyev, the honorary title "Martyr of January 20" was established. As a result of President Ilham Aliyev's successful social policy, a reliable social protection system has been formed for people with disabilities and families of martyrs in connection with the January 20 events. According to the Decree of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan “On the Establishment of a Pension of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan for the Families of the January 20 Martyrs” dated January 19, 2006, a monthly pension is provided to the families of martyrs in order to increase state care. In conclusion, the acting director of the institute, Doctor of Political Sciences, Associate Professor Ramila Dadashova, said that the Azerbaijani people are a nation that raises heroes and never forget their historical heroes and martyrs, hold the souls of their martyrs high, and despite the passage of 35 years, our people remember the January 20 tragedy with the same sense of sadness.