President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva, and their family members participated in the opening ceremony of the Khojaly Genocide Memorial in Khojaly town on February 26.

Axar.az reports that President Ilham Aliyev laid a wreath at the Memorial.

Assistant to the President Anar Alakbarov informed the head of state and the First Lady about the Memorial.

The Khojaly Genocide Memorial was established pursuant to the Order signed by President Ilham Aliyev in February 2025, with the aim of eternally commemorating the memory of the victims of the Khojaly tragedy, conveying historical truths to future generations, and preserving national memory.

The project was implemented based on the concept prepared by the Heydar Aliyev Foundation.

The monolithic structure surrounding the Memorial on four sides is designed in the form of symbolic hands protecting Khojaly residents from genocide.

As a sign of respect for the memory of the victims of the Khojaly genocide, almond trees, which bloom at the end of winter and herald spring, have been planted in the courtyard of the Memorial. Over the years, the almond blossom has been chosen as the symbol of the “Justice for Khojaly!” campaign, and this is no coincidence. The almond blossom reflects the demand for justice regarding the genocide committed in Khojaly in February 1992.

The Memorial consists of four sections. The first two sections feature an exhibition hall preserving the memory of the victims of the Khojaly genocide.

The exhibition greets visitors with the “Face of the Tragedy” installation. Authored by Rashad Alakbarov and Azer Rustamov, the installation depicts the victims of the genocide that occurred on the night of February 25-26, 1992 – innocent civilians killed and families destroyed.

Models of doves flying along the ceiling of the Memorial are a tribute to the memory of the innocent residents of Khojaly who were killed during the tragedy while wishing peace to the whole world.

The exhibition dedicated to the Khojaly genocide – one of the most horrific crimes against humanity in the 20th century – presents the historical roots of the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict, the policy of occupation, and the consequences of Armenian terrorism on Azerbaijani lands based on documents, maps, and facts. Exhibitions titled “Khojaly – Traces of Ancient Civilization,” “Khojaly Genocide is a Crime Against Humanity,” and “Do Not Forget Khojaly!” provide information about Khojaly's history, the geography of the occupation, the chronology of the conflict, violations of international law norms, the Khojaly genocide as one of the bloodiest crimes against humanity, and the political and legal assessment given by National Leader Heydar Aliyev.

In the exhibition hall, information about the horrors experienced on the day of the tragedy is presented interactively via a Khojaly model.

In the second exhibition hall, Sarkhan Hajiyev's installation “Houses Silenced in One Night” and the fates of eight families completely destroyed during the tragedy – lives interrupted in one night, unfulfilled dreams, silenced children's laughter as a result of the crime against humanity – are presented through an AI-generated video.

The exhibition hall reflects President Ilham Aliyev's consistent policy to promote Khojaly truths at the international level, the activities of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation under the initiative and leadership of its President Mehriban Aliyeva to preserve the memory of Khojaly genocide victims and establish justice, publications and informational materials in various languages, as well as the work carried out within the framework of the international “Justice for Khojaly!” campaign initiated by Vice President of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation Leyla Aliyeva and her active participation in related events.

Models of monuments erected in several countries in memory of the genocide victims within the “Justice for Khojaly!” international campaign are also displayed here.

The exhibition concludes with information on the 44-day Patriotic War and the restoration of state sovereignty, embodying the ideas of the “Great Return” and “Devastated Khojaly will revive again.”

Another section of the Memorial features an assembly hall intended for official events and commemoration ceremonies.

The Khojaly Genocide Memorial serves as a space dedicated to preserving national memory in architectural and conceptual terms.

On the night of February 25-26, 1992, Armenian military units, with the participation of the 366th motorized rifle regiment of the former Soviet army stationed in Khankendi, committed a horrific genocide in Khojaly. During the tragedy, 613 people were killed. Among them were 63 children, 106 women, and 70 elderly people. As a result of the military aggression, 8 families were completely wiped out, 25 children lost both parents, and 132 children lost one parent.

The Memorial erected in liberated Khojaly will eternally preserve the memory of the genocide victims and convey historical truths to every visitor.

Today, the Azerbaijani people commemorate the memory of the victims of the Khojaly genocide, one of the most horrific massacres of the 20th century, as a victorious country and a victorious people. The souls of the Khojaly victims are at peace today. As the Victorious Supreme Commander-in-Chief said, their blood was not shed in vain; their revenge was taken on the battlefield during the Patriotic War.

President Ilham Aliyev then signed the Memorial's guest book.

Afterward, the head of state, the First Lady, and their family members toured the Memorial and met with representatives of the Khojaly district community.

The head of state delivered a speech at the meeting.

Speech by President Ilham Aliyev

- Two years ago, the foundation of the Khojaly Genocide Memorial Complex was laid with my participation. Today, we are gathered for the opening of this Memorial Complex.

The Khojaly genocide is a bloody war crime committed by the Armenian state, by Armenian fascists, against the Azerbaijanis — against humanity; it is a war crime against humanity. The Armenian state bears full responsibility for this. In just one night, more than 600 innocent civilians, 106 of whom were women and 63 were children, were brutally murdered by Armenian fascists. 150 people went missing, and it is clear that they were also killed by the Armenians. The remains of some of them were found after the occupation and buried.

This is the greatest tragedy for the Azerbaijani people. In order to convey this tragedy to the world and to present our just cause to the world community, the state of Azerbaijan, public organizations, non-governmental organizations, and many institutions have been working hard. I would like to specifically mention the activities of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation here today. Immediately after its establishment, the Foundation launched a large-scale campaign, “Justice for Khojaly!” This initiative was implemented by the Vice-President of the Foundation, Leyla Aliyeva. Over the past 20 years, many events, presentations, symposiums, and conferences have been held in a number of countries around the world on its initiative. Many books, brochures, and booklets have been published. Because the Armenian state, Armenians of the world, and the states behind world Armenianism and the Armenian state tried to hush up this bloody tragedy, Armenian propagandists even tried to blame Azerbaijan for it. If we had not raised our rightful voice, perhaps there would be no accurate information about the Khojaly genocide in the world today. It is precisely as a result of our persistent efforts that about 20 countries have officially recognized the Khojaly genocide as an act of genocide, and this process is continuing.

The impact of the “Justice for Khojaly!” campaign has been enormous. Let me repeat that we demanded justice. Unfortunately, however, international organizations and leading countries of the world remained indifferent to our tragedy. I want to state again that they were trying to cover up this bloody crime perpetrated by the Armenian state. But we were moving towards justice step by step. The fact that the Khojaly genocide has been officially recognized by about 20 countries was one step; the Patriotic War and our glorious Victory were the second step, and the liberation of the city of Khojaly two and a half years ago was one of the last steps. Finally, the last step was the recent trial of war criminals in Baku. The thugs who committed the Khojaly genocide and whose hands were soaked in the blood of the Azerbaijani people had to be held to account in court.

As a result of the Patriotic War and the anti-terrorist operation, some of the war criminals were eliminated by the Armed Forces of Azerbaijan, while others, especially those considered to be the leaders of the separatists, were detained at different times and brought to justice. This is a complete triumph of justice. We have secured justice ourselves; our people, united like a fist, demonstrated tremendous heroism both in 2020 and 2023. We secured justice ourselves through the professionalism, dedication, and courage of our Armed Forces. Of course, bringing war criminals to justice and organizing a fair trial was, I repeat, the final manifestation of justice.

There are not too many countries in the world that would win a complete and absolute victory in a just war and ensure their territorial integrity and sovereignty by liberating every inch of land, and then bring war criminals to justice. We did this — the state of Azerbaijan did. Our determination, I can actually say, our unbending resolve ensured this. The people of Azerbaijan know perfectly well how much pressure and threats we were subjected to during the occupation. During the occupation, we were often given signals that we should come to terms with that reality, that Azerbaijan would not be able to liberate its lands, that the great powers, the patrons of Armenia, would not allow this to happen, and that the Azerbaijan Army would not be able to win on the battlefield. Such far-fetched speculation was spread in the broad information space and was conveyed to the leadership of Azerbaijan through various channels. But there was no force that could influence our determination, and we had repeatedly stated this. During the occupation, I stated both from authoritative international platforms and during numerous meetings with the then displaced persons that we would not put up with the occupation and that if the issue was not resolved through negotiations, we would restore our territorial integrity by military means — and that is exactly what happened.

After I was elected President for the first time, I stated in my speech at the swearing-in ceremony that this was the key issue for us and that our territorial integrity must be fully restored. The period of preparation took a long time, and this was only natural. Because we had to gather strength, we had to grow stronger. We had to confirm our rightful cause on the international level, including the need to convey information about the war crimes of the Armenian state. We had to convey the truth about the Khojaly genocide, and we did convey it. In recent years, many international organizations have had to adopt decisions and resolutions in support of our position — our just position. This formed the legal framework for resolving the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict. We have established close bilateral relations with a number of countries; we have strategic partnership relations with many countries. This has created an opportunity to communicate the realities of Azerbaijan, the realities of the Garabagh conflict, on the international level. We have built a strong economy that is independent of anyone. We have built a strong army — we have enhanced the professionalism of our army, and, at the same time, we have purchased weapons, ammunition, and equipment with the revenues we have received. In other words, with every day and every month, we were moving towards Victory, and I had said this many times during the occupation — every day we had to bring Victory closer, and so we did. In a matter of 44 days, we defeated the enemy, the enemy surrendered, signed the act of capitulation, and we stopped the war. Today, the history of the last two and a half years shows how correct and thoughtful this was. It is true Khojaly, Khankendi, and some other settlements had not yet been liberated from occupation at the time, but I knew, and I am sure that the people of Azerbaijan also knew, that this day was not far off. As a result of the anti-terrorist operation that lasted only a few hours in 2023, the illegal junta was eliminated, the occupiers were expelled from our lands, and the 15,000-strong Armenian army illegally settled in our lands was disarmed and surrendered. This was the final nail in the coffin of Armenian separatism. It was at that time that justice for Khojaly was secured.

Today, the opening of this Memorial Complex in Khojaly is a celebration of justice. Because I said this two years ago at the groundbreaking ceremony, together with the people of Khojaly, we laid the foundation of this complex. At that time, I said that this project had been prepared by the Heydar Aliyev Foundation and was ready for a long time — it was planned exactly the way it is, a place was also chosen in Baku, and only a final decision was needed on my part for us to start building it. But something stopped me from doing this every time. Then I understood what it was. It was the belief that the day would come and we would build this Memorial Complex in Khojaly itself — and so we did. This Complex will be the embodiment of indelible memory. We must never forget the Khojaly genocide. We must never forget the atrocities of the Armenian state. We must never forget our history. We must be vigilant, and we must always be strong. The enemy must always be afraid of us, just as they are today. It is as a result of this fear that the people of Azerbaijan live in peace today.

Unfortunately, the Patriotic War did not teach the Armenian state a lesson. However, after the Victory of 2020, we repeatedly conveyed our position to the Armenian leadership in various ways — not to trust anyone or rely on anyone. Foreign military personnel were temporarily stationed on our land with our permission. If anyone thinks that this will somehow deter us, they are wrong. We have repeatedly sent messages to the Armenian side asking them to put an end to separatism, to remove the illegal junta regime, and for the Armenians living in Garabagh to take Azerbaijani citizenship. We had repeatedly stated this. We even initiated a reintegration program via the Internet, but we did not receive an adequate response. On the contrary, the separatists and the forces behind them became even more impudent. From the Victory of 2020 to the anti-terrorist operation of 2023, representatives of foreign states repeatedly came here illegally. I do not want to mention the names of those countries at today's ceremony. They gave advice, they sent weapons, they sent mines in order to encourage the separatists, to incite them against us again, and to disregard the state of Azerbaijan and its statehood. They believed that the contingent of a foreign state stationed here would somehow deter us. It could not deter us from anything, and the anti-terrorist operation that lasted for several hours showed this to the whole world. Anyone in the way of our determination will be crushed.

Residents of Khojaly are attending the opening of this Memorial Complex today. Almost every one of them has lost their loved ones, family members, and relatives, and has lived with this pain and sorrow for many years. Those who lost their loved ones and those who lost their land and were displaced from their homeland must have had tremendous willpower to endure all this — and they truly did. Because what kept them going was faith, faith in justice, faith in the state, and faith in our army.

Today, this Memorial Complex is an embodiment of the unbending spirit of the Azerbaijani people. Because for such a long time — i.e., the Khojaly genocide was one of the bloodiest crimes of the 20th century and our people were subjected to it — our people, despite facing injustice for 30 years, preserved their identity, preserved their dignity, and preserved their faith. As we are gathered for the opening of this Memorial Complex, we say again that the state of Azerbaijan is so strong today that no one should even think of committing any provocation against us. Azerbaijan is no longer what it used to be in 1992. Our state is a strong state today; it is a state capable of defending itself. Over the past 80 years, there has not been another state in the world that would have achieved such a complete and absolute victory as we did. Today, we live in peace, and the guarantor of this is the state of Azerbaijan and our policy.

I said during the Patriotic War, when our cities and villages were being bombed by the Armenian state, that we are Azerbaijanis, that we are waging and will continue to wage war based on the rules of war. Unlike the Armenians, we never waged war against innocent and unarmed civilians, and this has made our people even greater. Today, the respect for our people and state stems, among other things, precisely from this. At that time, I said that we would exact our revenge on the battlefield — and we did. The blood of all martyrs has been avenged, and this is at least a certain consolation for their relatives and loved ones. May Allah rest the souls of all our martyrs in peace! We will cherish their dear memory in our hearts forever. We will never forget the Khojaly genocide or other war crimes committed against us by the Armenian state. We must and will always be strong so that such tragedies do not happen again.

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The event concluded with commemorative photos.