In memory: Cemetery of Black January martyrs in Baku, Azerbaijan. (Courtesy of Embassy of Azerbaijan Jakarta/Yuri Vendelin)

Azerbaijanis living in Indonesia are commemorating this week the 29th anniversary of Black January by lowering the Azerbaijani national flag to half-mast at the Embassy of Azerbaijan and holding a mass prayer in Jakarta.

On the night of Jan.19 and 20, Soviet Union troops invaded Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, as part of “Operation Strike” and brutally massacred innocent and unarmed people. At that time Azerbaijan was part of the Soviet Union.

“According to official reports, the invasion led to the death of 132 people, injured 612 and destroyed many hundreds of buildings,” the Embassy of Azerbaijan’s charge d’affaires Ruslan Nasibov told The Jakarta Post.

Unofficial sources put the death toll at around 300 people. The invasion was called Black January and every year Azerbaijani people all over the world commemorate the incident and pay homage to their fallen heroes.

According to Ruslan, the main purpose of the Soviet invasion of Baku was to suppress the independence movement of the Azerbaijanis.

“The sacrifices made by our heroes did not go in vain. The Soviet Union, under the leadership of Mikhail Gorbachev, failed to stop the freedom movement of the Azerbaijani people. Finally, Azerbaijan separated from the Soviet Union and became a free nation in 1991,” Ruslan said.

Azerbaijan, an oil-rich country from South Caucasus region, has cordial and close relations with Indonesia.

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