The Khojalu events

1. The Khojalu events A classical case of Azeri disinformation

2. The Storyboard Khojalu is a small village in Artsakh (formerly Nagorno-Karabakh) A fierce battle occurred there in winter 1992 during the Artsakh Liberation War between the Armenian Freedom Fighters and the Azeri occupation troops Khojalu was indeed one of the strategic places from which Stepanakert, the capital of Artsakh, was mercilessly bombed daily by the Azeri occupation troops A few days after its liberation by the Armenians Freedom Fighters, Azerbaijan disclosed pictures of dead civilians, supposedly killed in Khojalu

3. The Azeri propaganda machine These dead people were swiftly used by the Azeri Officials to give evidence of the �crimes� performed by the Freedom Fighters Countless versions of this black & white picture were especially used to testify the �atrocities� allegedly achieved by them The Azeri myth of the �Khojalu genocide� was born

4. A tribute to Stalin:Azeri Picture embezzlement The Heydar Aliev Foundation

5. A picture from Kosovo

6. Masquerade and Truth unveiled It was crop to let appear only scarce buildings purportedly as in Artsakh It was decolorized to enhance its dramatic aspect Cloths, color skins refute the Azeri myth of Khojalu This picture is indeed part of a set taken by Visar Kryeziu, an Associated Press photographer, near the village of Racak, 25km South of Pristina, Kosovo, on the 16th January 1999 It is referenced as such by many credible information sources: The New York Times BBC News The Independent

7. The Racak incident

8. Khojalu was inhabited by Azerbaijanis and Meskhetian Turks. During the Azeri aggression, it was transformed in an offensive bunker to lock Artsakh from the Airport and from the main roads The Armenian Freedom Fighters launched an attack on Khojalu on the 25th February 1992 to suppress this land-locking and the daily bombings on Stepanakert The government of Azerbaijan was informed of this offensive nearly two months before it started Armenian forces organized an humanitarian corridor to allow the evacuation of civilians, as testified even by the Azeri sources So, What�s about Khojalu?

9. To keep on a climate of hate and defiance � actually a genuine psychological warfare � toward Armenia with which it is supposed to have peace negotiations in order to avoid any concession. To divert the international community�s attention from its own testified war crimes such as the Soumga�t or Kirovabad pogroms against Armenians To act as a mechanism counteracting the International Recognition process of the Armenian Genocide, a genocide prolonged by Azeris in the Caucasus in the 1920�s The true reasons for a manipulation

10. Quotations - Verbatim �Khojalu was an important strategic position. Its loss meant the political fiasco of the Mutalibov regime. The Khojalu events which led to death of civilians were the exclusive result of political intrigues and struggles for power in Azerbaijan� � M. Safaroghli, Azeri Journalist - Nezavisimaia Gazeta, February 1993 �We knew that the corridor was dedicated to the evacuation of civilians� � Elman Mamedov, Mayor of Khojalu � Russian Thought, 03 March 1992 reprinted from the Baku Worker �A corridor was however opened by the Armenians. Then why should they have shot?� � Ayaz Mutalibov, then President of Azerbaijan � Nezavisimaia Gazeta, 02 April 1992