32 years have passed since 20 January tragedy, which is the heroic page of our nation. 20 January tragedy is an honorable page of our nation’s struggle for independence and sovereignty.

The former administration of the USSR deployed Soviet troops to Baku on the night of 19 to 20 January 1990 to suppress the desire of independence, sovereignty and freedom of our nation, a massacre was committed against the civilians. As a result 147 Azerbaijani civilians were killed, 744 people were injured, 841 people were illegally arrested.

The next day after the tragedy, National Leader Heydar Aliyev, living in Moscow, came to the Permanent Mission of Azerbaijan in Moscow with his family members and made a sharp statement, condemning the Soviet leadership for this massacre and conveying the tragedy of our people to the world.

The attempt of the Soviet leadership to break the will of our people did not succeed, and soon Azerbaijan regained its independence. The tragedy of January 20 is forever engraved in the memory of our people as a path to independence, national pride, a day of national resistance. As the national leader Heydar Aliyev said with foresight about the January 20 tragedy, "the death of these martyrs is as sad for us, as a heavy loss, as an example of heroism for our people, as an example of our national wealth, our national pride."

This event played an important role in the formation of Azerbaijan's national identity and the restoration of state independence. Our martyrs who died during those events wrote a bright page in the history of Azerbaijan and will always be remembered by our people.

The staff of the Intellectual Property Agency and the subordinated organizations paid tribute the Alley of Martyrs in connection with the anniversary of tragedy, and laid flowers on martyrs’ graves.