President Ilham Aliyev and his spouse Mehriban Aliyeva attended opening of Guba Genocide Memorial Complex - PHOTOS

President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva, on September 18 attended the opening of the Genocide Memorial Complex built in the north-eastern town of Guba to honor victims of massacres committed in the area by Armenian and Bolshevik forces in 1918.
The President was informed about construction work at the complex.

Last years a lot has been done to bring the Azerbaijani realities to the world community. Along with the Azerbaijani State, the Heydar Aliyev Foundation does much to popularize today`s achievements the country gained in development of economic, political and humanitarian spheres, as well as the historical realities. The Foundation realizes significant projects both in the country and abroad, initiating many humanitarian, educational and cultural projects.

Guba mass burial site caused by the genocide committed by Armenians against Azerbaijanis was discovered on April 1, 2007. The employees of Archeology and Ethnography Institute of Azerbaijan National

Academy of Sciences found out the bones of more than 400 people. More than 50 of the remains belonged to children, 100 to women, the rest to the old men. Along with Azerbaijanis, Lezgins, Jews, Tats and representatives of other ethnic groups killed by Armenians were buried there.

Tens of thousands of Muslims as well as local Jews were killed by joint Armenian and Bolshevik forces in Baku and the regions, including Guba, Shamakhi, Goychay, Karabakh and Lankaran regions between March and September 1918. Nearly 167 villages were destroyed in Guba region alone.

On December 30, 2009, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev signed a decree on the establishment of the Guba memorial complex to the victims of genocide in Guba region.

Supported by the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, the construction of the memorial started. Also books and booklets were published in three languages providing detailed information about the massacres.

The memorial complex was built near a mass grave of some of the victims discovered in the town of Guba. The mass grave, unearthed during construction of a stadium in 2007, contains remains of hundreds of victims.

The memorial complex consists of an entrance and an exit shaped like pointed knives, and a main chamber containing a black stone. The entire complex has been built of concrete and no decoration was used to symbolize grief.

The complex also includes a museum containing pictures and archive documents about life in five regions of the then Baku province - Shamakhi, Guba, Javad and Goychay - between March and July 1918.

President Ilham Aliyev and First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva planted trees outside the memorial.

The Head of State, addressing the public, spoke about acts of genocide committed against Azerbaijani people in the 20th century, historical facts related to this tragic massacre and the successful development of today`s Azerbaijan.