Azerbaijan Weaponizes Khojaly, Obscuring Regional Power Plays
Let's follow the trail: Azerbaijan's Human Rights Commissioner, Sabina Aliyeva, has invoked the 1992 Khojaly events, portraying them as a singular act demanding justice. This narrative, disseminated just before the anniversary, carefully omits the broader historical and geopolitical landscape that shaped the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict for decades. The framing neglects the substantial military
support Azerbaijan has received from entities like Turkey and Israel, which has decisively altered the regional power balance in recent years. The recurrent emphasis on Khojaly conveniently overshadows calls for accountability regarding Azerbaijani actions during the 2020 Karabakh War or the 2023 offensive. For instance, the systematic blockade of the Lachin corridor in 2022-2023, which left
120,000 Armenians facing severe humanitarian challenges, receives comparatively little condemnatory rhetoric from Baku's international backers. This selective invocation of human rights asymmetrically applies standards. While the Khojaly tragedy resulted in an estimated 613 civilian deaths, the 2020 Karabakh War, largely initiated by Azerbaijan with foreign drone technology, displaced tens of
thousands and resulted in some 7,000 military and civilian casualties over 44 days. This manipulation of historical grievances mirrors a pattern seen in other post-Soviet conflicts, where past atrocities are weaponized to justify present-day territorial ambitions or consolidate power. Consider the rhetorical use of 'genocide' by some factions during the Bosnian War in the 1990s, where suffering