Today - April 18 - marks another anniversary of the mass massacre committed by the Armenian armed forces against the civilian population in Bashlibel village during the occupation of Kalbajar. The incident occurred on April 18, 1993.
According to official information, on April 3, 1993, the Armenian armed forces launched an armed attack on Bashlibel village, massively looted and completely burned the houses belonging to the villagers. 62 people who could not leave the village took refuge in natural caves in a mountainous area called "Portda", located about 3 kilometers away, in the highest part of the village. Of those 62 people, 48 were residents of Bashlibel, 1 of Takhtabashi villages, 4 were residents of Lachin region, and 9 were military personnel defending the village.
The remains of 11 of Bashlibel's 27 civilian martyrs have still not been found. These are:
1. Agamirov Ganayat Ismayil oglu – 53 years old
2. Babayev Abbas Huseyn oglu – 65 years old
3. Aliyeva Tutu Mansim gyzy – 67 years old
4. Salahova Pari Abdurahim gyzy – 102 years old
5. Salahov Ahmad Fattah oglu – 64 years old
6. Fattahova Chichek Taghi gyzy – 58 years old
7. Isayev Abdulali Salim oglu – 103 years old
8. Isayeva Gizbas Fattah gyzy – 94 years old
9. Isayeva Hamayil Abdulali gyzy – 54 years old
10. Kazimova Naiba Alzaman gyzy – 26 years old
11. Huseynov Huseyn Salim oglu - 76 years old.
Despite the pleas and entreaties of those who escaped the siege 113 days after the occupation, the fate of 75-year-old Alasgar Kazimov, who remained alone in the cave, is unknown. There is no information about whether he was killed, taken hostage, or under what circumstances he died.
In a statement to Modern.az, Elxan Salahov, an investigative journalist from Bashlibel, said that the remains of two people believed to be missing have been brought to Baku for examination:
"A criminal case has been opened by the Prosecutor General's Office regarding the Bashlibel tragedy, and the investigation has already been completed. Investigations are being carried out by both the Prosecutor General's Office and the State Commission for Prisoners of War, Missing Persons and Hostages in the direction of searching for the missing. Currently, several locations where the 11 martyrs who have not yet been found are believed to be have been inspected. Even samples of remains believed to belong to two martyrs in the village have been brought to Baku. The remains are undergoing relevant examinations. There is currently no precise information as to whether these remains belong to the martyrs in question."
The journalist appealed to television channels and scientific centers to bring the Bashlibel tragedy and other war crimes to the attention of the international community:
"Work is also being done at the level of the Prosecutor General's Office to bring the Bashlibel tragedy to the attention of the international community. The state has done and is currently doing a lot of work. However, I must particularly emphasize that bringing the war crimes committed by Armenia against Azerbaijanis to the attention of the international community cannot be left solely to the state. Because any work done by the state will be interpreted and evaluated more as state policy. I must regretfully note that television channels and centers engaged in scientific research are not working at the required level in this direction.
In general, we do not do continuous work to bring the genocides against our people to the world. Looking at the issue as "we researched the information, shot a documentary, wrote a book, and thus the work is done" are incomplete approaches for our state and our noble goals. I want to appeal once again. These issues should be broadcast consistently and systematically, especially through television channels in foreign languages, and conveyed through short - 10-minute films. Even this information translated into English, French, German, Italian should then be documented by Non-Governmental Organizations, scientific centers and sent to international organizations, various structures of the UN. An official response should come to those letters and materials saying, "the materials have been received, we will investigate and inform you."
You know, everything is tied to formality. If you write an ordinary letter and indicate an address on it, it must be answered. This is especially true in cases of war crimes committed against unarmed, civilian, defenseless people. Therefore, as a citizen, an investigative journalist, an ordinary citizen affected by the war, I try to encourage my colleagues, our journalist friends, to be more active. Scientists and centers of ANAS have very wide opportunities, as do representatives of television and the press. In the modern era, ANAS, scientific centers, speak at international events, symposiums. Why shouldn't there be topics about war crimes among those speeches?! There should be research and investigation documents on such topics so that they can show them at such symposiums and international organizations: look, these are some of the genocide crimes committed by Armenia against peaceful Azerbaijani citizens.
I propose and request that scientific centers, civil society institutions and television companies realize their responsibility, both as citizens and as public organizations, regarding the fate of war victims considered missing."
