Maragha tragedy proved Armenians and Azerbaijanis can’t live side by side

PanARMENIAN.Net - Political analyst Hrant Melik-Shahnazaryan said that Armenians and Azerbaijanis cannot live side by side.

This is the lesson that the Armenian people should learn from the massacre of Armenians in Maragha settlement of Nagorno Karabakh, Melik-Shahnazaryan told a press conference in Yerevan.

“During the war, the Azerbaijani army tried to annihilate everything that it met on its way and to eliminate traces of Armenians’ presence, what happened in Maragha settlement on April 10, 1992. Attacking the village, the Azerbaijani army massacred its population in an attempt to frighten Armenians,” the political analyst said.

Melik-Shahnazaryan added that modern Azerbaijan continues its old policy of terror towards Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh.

45 people were massacred in Maragha (Leninavan) settlement, Mardakert region, on April 10, 1992. 49 people were taken hostages, including 9 children and 18 women. The destiny of 19 people is still unknown. The slaughter continued on April 22-23, when the survived residents of Maraga returned to bury those dead. The data is confirmed by Helsinki Watch international human rights organization.

The Maragha tragedy is viewed as one of the most horrible examples of genocide and is considered among Azerbaijan's bloody crimes in Getashen, Martunashen, Buzluh, Erkej and other settlements in the north of Nagorno Karabakh Republic at the time of aggression in 1991-1992.