A tree was planted in memory of the 63 children who perished in Khojaly.
On February 26, within the framework of the "Justice for Khojaly" international campaign, a tree-planting event was held organized by the IDEA Public Union and the State Committee for Family, Women and Children Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan, with the support of the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources and the Sabunchu District Executive Authority.
Leyla Aliyeva, Vice President of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation and founder and head of the IDEA Public Union, attended the event.
Nearly 120 participants of the IV National Forum of Azerbaijani Children, including foreign children studying and living in our country, joined the action aimed at commemorating the victims of the Khojaly genocide, ensuring these events remain in memory, and especially preventing them from being forgotten by the younger generation.
First, the memory of the tragic victims who perished during the Khojaly genocide on the night of February 25–26, 1992, was honored with a minute of silence. Then, accompanied by a wind instrument orchestra consisting of students from Boarding School No. 2, the participants performed the State Anthem of Azerbaijan.
After participants expressed slogans and brief statements on the topic "Children and War" in various languages, 63 evergreen cypress trees were planted to immortalize the memory of the 63 children who were martyred during the Khojaly genocide. Subsequently, plaques displaying the names, surnames, and ages of the children who perished in the genocide were hung on the trees in their memory.
It should be noted that the "Justice for Khojaly" international awareness campaign was launched in 2008 on the initiative of Leyla Aliyeva. The campaign aims to increase international awareness about the Khojaly genocide, the historical causes and consequences of the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict, and the necessity of the unconditional and immediate withdrawal of Armenian armed forces from the occupied territories of Azerbaijan.
At the end of the event, the youth visited the “Mother’s Cry” monument erected in memory of the victims of the Khojaly genocide and laid flowers before it.
