An event was held in connection with the 31st anniversary of the Khojaly tragedy at the Botanical Institute of the Ministry of Science and Education of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

At the event, the memory of the victims of the Khojaly tragedy was commemorated with a minute of silence.

The general director of the institute, doctor of biological sciences, professor Sayyara Ibadullayeva opened the event and spoke about the Khojaly genocide and the aggressive policy of Armenia against Azerbaijan. She noted that what happened in Khojaly was not only a genocide against the people of Azerbaijan but a bloody crime directed against the entire humanity. The upbringing of Armenians in the spirit of enmity against the people of Azerbaijan in the last hundred years, as a result, led to the Khojaly tragedy in front of the eyes of the civilized world at the end of the 20th century. Noting that the Khojaly genocide is an unforgettable page for every Azerbaijani, the scientist emphasized the importance of continuously informing the world community about this tragedy.

The executive director of the institute, doctor of biological sciences Shakir Gasimov, stated that the people of Azerbaijan have been harassed by our infamous neighbors from time to time, displaced from their ancestral lands, deported, and victims of bloody tragedies. The Armenians' historical policy of hostility has shown its limits to the world with the genocide committed in Khojaly. As a result of the genocide, hundreds of Khojaly women, men, old people, young people and babies died. Hundreds of people were wounded, injured, maimed, captured. Although the Armenians tried to cause such tragedies in other areas of Karabakh, they carried out the worst of them in Khojaly. The Khojaly massacre is a bloody trace of the inconceivable atrocities of the Armenian fascists in the history of the Azerbaijani people. Scientist said that despite the passing of 31 years, the pain and suffering of the Khojaly tragedy still lives in our hearts. Not forgetting this tragedy and conveying historical truths to the younger generations is the civic duty of everyone, including the employees of the Institute, and each of us must fulfill the mission assigned to us.

At the event, employees of the Institute, PhD in biology Sadiq Garayev, PhD in biology Parvana Karakhani, PhD in biology Rashad Salimov, PhD in biology Aygun Mammadov and young employee Mishel Guliyeva spoke and said that the Khojaly genocide was the most terrible tragedy recorded in the memory of the Azerbaijani people, and emphasized the importance of unifying efforts to make the perpetrators of the tragedy known to the world.

A video depicting the genocide was shown at the event.