Over the years new data and details about the tragedy that took place on the outskirts of Aghdam in 1992 are coming to light. But the question is, what other force besides the People’s Front of Azerbaijan were, in reality, behind the carnage, which actually no one needed. This issue is still unrevealed.

News agency Panorama.am asked the director of the Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute Hayk Demoyan for commentary.

“Let’s call a spade a spade. Ankara may be blamed in Khojalu massacre; the Turkish secret service, to be more precise. Turkey was clearly not satisfied with the figure of Azerbaijani President Ayaz Mutalibov as a pro-Russian politician, which sought to ensure Azerbaijan’s membership in the CIS. During the first month after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Turkey supported by the West, especially the United States, actively sought to present itself as a visual model of state building. Turkish leaders in the face of the Popular Front of Azerbaijan found decent support in order to strengthen its influence in Azerbaijan. In this regard, publication of Turkish newspaper “Hurriyet” on 17 May 1992, i.e. 2 days after Mutalibov’s re-overthrow, can be considered a sensation. In the magazine one of the senior Turkish Foreign Ministry officials was quoted who in an outburst of joy said about Mutalibov: “Our boys have done it” the English translation of these words was the most interesting. It’s not hard to guess who these boys are,” Hayk Demoyan says.

Asked about the reasons for Turkey’s commitment in the commission of such a bloody act, director of the Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute said that apparently in this case Ankara killed not two but even several birds by one shot.

“First of all, after Armenia gained its independence, the Turkish side became concerned about the possible activation of Armenian Diaspora’s movement, as well as about the recognition of the Armenian Genocide by the independent Armenia and the prospective of possible compensation. From this point of view, the representation of the Armenians as people disposed on mass murders, played into Turkey’s hands, which could seek in Aghdam events a good reason for creating a counter image. One could even claim that it could be considered as a strategic task for Ankara.

Second, the pro-Russian Azerbaijani President Mutalibov was not convenient for Turkish authorities, who would prefer to see obviously pro-Turkish-minded leaders from Popular Front instead of him. Abulfaz Elchibey, APF leader, never concealed his sympathy to everything Turkish, and was constantly expressing himself in an aggressive pan-Turkic manner. Such a massacre was a discrediting evidence for any leader. As a result, we can see that this scenario worked. Mutalibov resigned, PFA in face of Elchibey came to power,” Hayk Demoyan notes.

According to the expert, the involvement of the Turkish agents in the operation of correcting the political administration of Azerbaijan has its own traditions which come since 1918, and February-May events that took place in 1992 can be considered the first successful and a well-planned attempt to recreate these traditions.

“Turkish security forces, who twice tried to remove Heydar Aliyev, didn’t approve of some of his actions after he came to power. The first attempt was so bold and open, that in 1995, during a visit to Baku, the Turkish Prime Minister Tansu Chiller personally apologized to the head of Azerbaijan. The second attempt took place a year later, in 1996, and this time the Azerbaijani special services managed to arrest some persons who were directly connected with the intelligence agencies of Turkey. Let’s add also the assassination attempts on presidents of Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan by Turkish intelligence agencies,” Hayk Demoyan says.

Hayk Demoyan notes that there is another interesting fact; on 25 February Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Velayati was in Baku on mediatory mission. The visit of Velayati was also planned to be held in Stepanakert and negotiations to be held with the official leadership of the NKR. In the morning of February 27 Velayati left for the capital city of Nagorno-Karabakh, but his plane landed in Aghdam. At a time when Khojalu was under the complete control of Armenian forces, Commander of the Defence Emergency headquarters of Shushi Rahim Gaziyev told by telephone that “the fight for Khojaly continues”. Then Gaziyev continued and said that “the decision of ceasefire (for Velayati’s security) in a situation where the Armenian side captured Khojalu was wrong and is unlikely to be kept.”

“It is not difficult to guess that this message contains obvious desire to disrupt A. Velayati’s mission by NFA and the Turkish secret services. The growing influence of Iran in Azerbaijan, especially its role as a mediator in the Karabakh problem, was obviously not within the interests of Ankara. By that time some Western leaders openly stated that the South Caucasus and Central Asia is a zone of Turkish influence, the main role of which according to them was combating the spread of Islamic fundamentalism and Iranian influence. But the most important thing, in my opinion, is the desire of the Turkish side to create grounds for accusing Armenians in crimes against humanity by organizing these mass exterminations,” Demoyan stated.

On February 26, 1992, during the war in Karabakh, around 200 to 300 people (according to Human Right Watch, and 600 according to the version propagated by Azerbaijan) were killed in unknown circumstances near the city of Aghdam. They have been deliberately withheld by the Azerbaijani authorities in the midst of the military actions. Population of the village of Khojalu, which was one of the firing points shooting at the blockaded Stepanakert (among five others) was kept in the village for months by force and was not evacuated by the authorities of Azerbaijan deliberately, in order to use them as human shields later.

Residents of Khojalu coming out through the humanitarian corridor, that the self-defense forces of NKR had left open, freely passed more than 10 km and reached the Aghdam city controlled by the Azerbaijani troops. Later, not far from the positions of Azerbaijani troops dead bodies of the villagers were found. The exact death toll remains unknown as the official Baku publishes data contradicting each other. Parliamentary Commission investigating the tragic death of the civilians at Aghdam city was dissolved by the order of Heydar Aliyev, the investigative materials are kept secret.

Twenty-five years ago, the seaside town of Sumgait in Azerbaijan, then part of the Soviet Union, became the scene of bloody anti-Armenian riots in which at least 32 ethnic Armenians were killed, according to the official estimates, although some sources say that the real figure is much higher, the article of The Voice of Russia reads.

Radio station says, that a week before the riots, on February 20, 1988, the parliament of the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region with the predominately Armenian population petitioned to Moscow to be allowed to reunite with Armenia. That was the beginning of the ongoing territorial dispute over Nagorno-Karabakh, which led to a full-scale war between Armenia and Azerbaijan in 1991-1994.

When the Sumgait pogroms broke out, the authorities first branded them as hooliganism and did not intervene. Troops were brought in only the following day but observed neutrality until they themselves were attacked by rioters. Tougher measures followed. The riots were quelled and a curfew imposed. Within days, however, anti-Armenian violence swept Baku, Kirovabad, Hanlar and other Azerbaijani cities. The conflict snowballed and in 1990 the Karabakh war began.

The article says that tens of thousands were killed and hundreds of thousands became refugees. In May 1994, an indefinite ceasefire was signed, putting an end to the bloodshed. A quarter of a century since, that ceasefire still holds.

The Sumgait events were the first symptoms of the looming collapse of the USSR, says Alexander Krylov, a Caucasus expert at the Institute of World Economy and International Relations. “The central government was in a deep crisis and losing control at all levels – republican, regional and nationwide. And bursting from beneath were destructive processes as nationalistic-minded forces sought to achieve their goals. In Azerbaijan, it led to violence in Sumgait and other cities.”

Political scientist Stanislav Tarasov thinks that Nagorno-Karabakh conflict can be resolved, though not in the near future. “There were other forces playing in the region and destabilizing the situation. And now a solution looks more promising than ever. The first scenario is that both sides will demonstrate good will and opt for peaceful coexistence. But the current policies of Armenia and Azerbaijan make that scenario unlikely. It is also possible that, given the geopolitical fragmentation of the region, the independence of Nagorno-Karabakh may, after all, eventually be recognized.”

The Voice of Russia says that the Sumgait tragedy was mentioned at a UN Security Council meeting this week. Top UN officials highlighted the need for joint efforts to protect civilian in armed conflicts. The Armenian side reaffirmed its commitment to settling the Karabakh conflict peacefully and in keeping with international law.

On 26-29 February 1988 in terms of actual complicity of local authorities and inaction of the USSR government mass pogroms of civilians were organized in Sumgait city of Azerbaijani SSR, accompanied with unprecedented brutal murders, violence and pillaging against the Armenian population of the city. Armenian pogroms in Sumgait were carefully organized. At the meetings, which began on February 26 in the central square, city leaders openly called for violence against the Armenians.

On February 27 protests which were attended by hundreds of rioters turned into violence. Armed with axes, knives, specially sharpened rebar, rocks and cans of gasoline and with the pre-compiled lists of apartments where Armenians lived the rioters broke into the houses, turning everything upside down there and killing the owners. In the same time, people were often taken out to the streets or to the courtyard for jeering at them publicly. After painful humiliations and torture the victims were doused with gasoline and burnt alive.

On February 29 army troops entered Sumgait but without an order to intervene. Only in the evening, when the mad crowd began to attack the soldiers the military units took up decisive steps.

The exact number of victims of Sumgait pogroms is still unknown. According to official data, 32 people were killed; however there is ample evidence that several hundred Armenians have been killed in the city in three days. There is also evidence that the riots were coordinated by KGB in Azerbaijan. Executioners of Sumgait were subsequently declared as national heroes of Azerbaijan.

16:41, 16 February, 2013

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 16, ARMENPRESS: It is noted in the report of “Committee to Protect Journalists” international monitoring organization (CPJ) that after detaining 49 journalists “Turkey is turning into world’s biggest jail”. In the “Risk list” of the organization, Turkey stands among Brazil, Ecuador, Iran, Pakistan, Russia and Vietnam. As reports Armenpress, referring to the web site of Turkish T24 channel, in accordance with the report, 43 journalists were killed when implementing their professional duties during 2012, which is for 43 percent more than during previous year.