Twenty-eight years have passed since bloody January. 20 January 1990 went down in the history of modern Azerbaijan as one of the most tragic and, at the same time, heroic dates for our people.

Twenty- eight years ago, on that horrific night, the courageous sons and daughters of Azerbaijan for whom the freedom, honor and dignity of their native country and people were above anything else, sacrificed their lives and became martyrs.

The deployment of a large military contingent against large masses of people protesting at the biased and pro-Armenian policies of the USSR leadership, its overt support for Armenia’s territorial claims for historically Azerbaijani lands and the treacherous stance of the then leaders of the republic led to an unseen tragedy in Azerbaijan, especially in Baku, and to the killing of many innocent people.

Nationwide leader of the Azerbaijani people Heydar Aliyev, who lived in Moscow at the time, put his own life at risk by going to Azerbaijan’s permanent representative office on the day following the tragedy, and made a harshly-worded statement condemning the perpetrators of the Bloody January events and informed the world of the atrocities unleashed on our people.  After nationwide leader Heydar Aliyev returned to power in Azerbaijan, a political and legal assessment of the 20 January events was given in 1994

Measures are being taken in this direction in our country, social welfare of families of martyrs and the disabled is further strengthening from year to year.The Order of the President on the reconstruction of the Alley of Martyrs is another example of respect for the memory of our martyrs. On January 19, 2006 the head of state issued a decree “on founding of pension of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan” for families of the 20 January martyrs. In recent years, individual and dwelling housed are built in the country at the expense of the state to improve housing of the disabled and families of martyrs.