Heydar Aliyev behind “Black January” of 1990

PanARMENIAN.Net - Again and again there are told chilling stories about how Azeri children were killed in Armenia, houses were burnt down, and the like. We shall not repeat this nonsense, as it is good only for the Azerbaijani people, who proved unable to step into the civilized family of nations. And for this “success” this people must be grateful to the Aliyev clan, first the father, then the son. By and large, neither Armenia nor the world community must be surprised at this animal hatred fostered in Azerbaijan. Statements about the entire world “mourning the sorrowful date of entry of the Soviet troops into Baku” are ridiculous, but God save us from laughing at other people’s sorrow. It is just interesting how long Ilham Aliyev will be able to hold power on hatred towards the Armenians; after all, the period of every dictator is limited. Taking into account that almost everyone is now laughing at the success reports about the unprecedented economic miracle called Azerbaijan, Aliyev’s future seems quite problematic. Oil is good only for civilized countries, whereas for the East it corrupts, breeds monsters and dictators that keep people in constant fear and humiliation. All this fully applies to Azerbaijan, which lost the war, and now begs the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs to resolve the Karabakh conflict in her favor, rejecting any possibility of a compromise.

Events of January 1990 were predetermined and, unfortunately, inevitable. For this, we too, must say special “thanks” to Heydar Aliyev, who acted in the best traditions of the KGB. Only he was unable to teach his son to adequately respond to the changing situation in the world. Probably he tried but failed; Ilham is more drawn to green cloth, rather than to state cares.

Now a little bit of history, not invented by the cronies of the Aliyev clan. In fact, behind the “Black January” of 1990 stood Heydar Aliyev, who sought power by any means, even through the bloodshed of his own people. Escalation of tension, mass riots and introduction of troops into Baku were favorable for Aliyev.

Here’s what Kirill Stolyarov wrote about the role of Heydar Aliyev: “Aliyev played a special role in organizing and carrying out the pogroms in Baku. He was then an honorable Soviet pensioner living in Moscow. Despite his 66 years of age, this retired politician remained a figure strongly influencing the minds of the Azerbaijani people. It is common knowledge that in those January days Aliyev was the very person with whom Gorbachev consulted, worrying not about the excessive amount of Armenian blood shed in Baku but about the fact that the Popular Front was rather successfully heading for power in Azerbaijan.” In his book “Collapse”, in the chapter “Behind the Scenes of the Tragedy”, Stolyarov gives a conversation between Aliyev and N. Panakhov, one of the best-known leading rioters of the Popular Front. The conversation took place after Moscow decided to introduce troops in Baku. Panakhov testifies that in response to the question whether or not they will have to pay too high a price for the attempt of the Popular Front to seize power, Aliyev says” “What must be will be.” And then asks: “Are you scared of corpses?”, adding with a warm sadness: “The blood of innocent victims will do good to the Azerbaijani people.”

Let us also quote Zardusht Alizade: “After the Jalilabad pogrom and cancellation of the discussion of the draft electoral law by the Supreme Council of Azerbaijan, there was sensed another note of imminent tragedy: members of Nakhichevan branch of the Azerbaijani Popular Front destroyed the USSR border. At the conference of 6-7 January 1990, Member of the Administration Board Nemat Panakhov gave as a souvenir to individual delegates 15-centimeter pieces of barbed wire cut on the border of the USSR, symbolizing the end of the regime of the “Russian Empire” that had disconnected the two parts of one nation. He tried to assign to himself the whole merit of this heroic act, but I knew that because all these processes were taking place under the leadership of the CPSU Central Committee and the KGB, the coordination and direct control of them could not but be performed by Heydar Aliyev, with the help of his agents. I also knew that his chief man in the Popular Front was Abulfaz Aliyev (later - Abulfaz Elchibey). I knew that Nemat Panakhov was only a water boy in this story. Nemat could never be the chief performer of a major operation that was of key importance for implementation of the “Tbilisi-model” in Azerbaijan.

Well, and at the end let us give accounts of eyewitnesses. “Maddened crowds beat at least 25 people on Sunday night in the Armenian quarter of Baku, capital of the Soviet Republic of Azerbaijan.” “Groups of hooligans committed crimes,” reports the Soviet news agency TACC, describing the attacks as “pogroms” aimed at the Armenian minority in Azerbaijan. According to preliminary information, the number of victims reached 25.

Lenin Street, one of the central streets in Baku, was covered in blood. Russians living in the Azerbaijani capital recalled with terror the scene of Azeri mobs dealing with their neighbors, by shooting them point blank, throwing out of balconies, burning alive, and even dismembering.

“Here we saw the most ruthless killers,” in a telephone conversation said veteran journalist based in Baku, “They attacked men and women, young and old just because they were Armenians. To be an Armenian in Azerbaijan meant to be pre-sentenced to death.”