30 years have passed since the January 20, 1990, which entered the history of the Azerbaijani people as a bloody January tragedy. The people who died in that terrible night wrote a brilliant page in the history of Azerbaijan, paving the way for national freedom and independence of the people. January 20 is marked not only as a National Day of Mourning, but also as a day of heroism and national pride.

On January 17, an event dedicated to the 30th anniversary of the January 20 tragedy was held at Sumgayit State University.

The academic and student staff laid flowers in front of the monument to the memory of our martyrs who died for the freedom and independence of our country in the courtyard of the university.

Opening the event, rector of the university, Professor Elkhan Huseynov spoke about the history of bloody events in Azerbaijan on the night of January 19-20, 1990 and the martyrs, who sacrificed their lives for the independence, sovereignty and freedom of our country. He noted: “The national liberation, the devastation of the peaceful population struggling for the territorial integrity of the country, the killing and wounding of hundreds of innocent people as a result of mass terror once again demonstrated the criminal nature of Soviet regime to the whole world on the eve of the collapse of the totalitarian regime. The day after the tragedy of January 20, Heydar Aliyev"s visit to the Embassy of Azerbaijan in Moscow was a source of support and comfort to our people at that time. People felt helpless in those difficult days. Heydar Aliyev, who for many years was the first secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Azerbaijan, the first deputy chairman of the USSR Council of Ministers, a member of the political bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, was forced to retire, but in spite of all the deprivations, he was in solidarity with his people in those hard times. Heydar Aliyev, in fact, assessed the processes going on in Azerbaijan. Following the advent of the National Leader to political power in 1993, important steps were taken to investigate the causes of the January 20 tragedy and bring those responsible to justice. The rector also said that the memory of the martyrs for the freedom of Azerbaijan is always honored and their families and relatives are always covered by the state care. Also, the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has always paid attention to the social protection of disabled people who lost their health in the events of January 20. Regular measures are being taken to ensure the social protection of family members and invalids of the January 20 martyrs, and the social security of the families of the martyrs and disabled has been strengthened year by year”.

Afterwards the following persons delivered speech: head of the Department of History and its teaching methods, associate professor Sona Maharramova-"January 20 is the peak of the Azerbaijani people"s struggle for independence", senior lecturer of the Department of Azerbaijani and Eastern European nations’ history Parviz Jafarov – “The way leading Azerbaijani people to national unity passes through January 20”, IV course student of the Faculty of Philology Qamar Mahmudova – “January 20 in our poetry”. They said that January 20 is a page written in blood in the history of Azerbaijan, but it is not only a tragedy, but also the first peak of Azerbaijan"s independence path, the day of awakening of our national ideology. It is a glorious history that has long been the voice of freedom for the people of the Soviet empire, and the courage to fight for its sovereignty. The speakers highlighted the role of the January 20 events in patriotic upbringing of young people and the development of independent statehood traditions. They stressed the need to further increase the activity of young people in the study of the history of Azerbaijan, in bringing the truth to the world community.

At the event, students performed poems dedicated to the "Bloody January events" in the spirit of patriotism.

After the speeches, a documentary titled “January 20-our bloody memory” was displayed.

Later, the rector of Sumgayit State University Professor Elkhan Huseynov received families of martyrs. He was interested in their material and moral problems, and families of martyrs were provided with financial assistance.

Speaking on behalf of the families of martyrs, Saadat Adiyeva, sister of Hamza Adiyev, said that the memory of the victims of the January 20 tragedy is always honored by our people and every year the anniversary is marked with great respect at the state level. Saadat Adiyeva thanked President Ilham Aliyev and the university administration for the attention and care.