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Statement on 30th anniv. of Sumgait massacre circulates in OSCE

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Sumgait massacre

Sumgait massacre

A statement by the Nagorno Karabakh (Artsakh) National Assembly on the 30th anniversary of the massacre of the Armenian population of the town of Sumgait was disseminated as an official document in the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) on March 2.

The move was achieved through the efforts of the Karabakh (Artsakh) foreign ministry.

The tragic event, which commenced on the eve of February 28th, 1988, resulted in the death of 200 Armenian men, women, and children and is considered to be the start of the Karabakh War.

Azeris planned and orchestrated the brutal massacres which targeted Armenians solely for their heritage following their peaceful protest calling for historic Armenian lands to be liberated.

Urge your Representative to make a statement on the Sumgait pogrom

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Sumgait massacre

Sumgait massacre

It was exactly 30 years ago today that Azerbaijan committed pogroms against its Armenian population. We urge you to ask your Representative to issue a statement condemning these crimes, as well as Azerbaijan’s ongoing cease-fire violations.

In the Azerbaijani town of Sumgait, longtime peaceful Christian Armenian residents were brutally targeted on the basis of their ethnicity and subjected to unspeakable crimes. In March 1988, The Economist magazine reported the atrocities, and documented the murder and mutilation of pregnant Armenian women and newborn babies in a maternity hospital. Other reports speak of gangs of young Azerbaijanis hunting down Armenian families and committing murder, rape, and robbery. The Azeri government was never held accountable for these atrocities. 
The Sumgait pogrom committed on February 28, 1988 was the beginning of the escalation of violence against the Armenian minority across Azerbaijan and against the residents of Artsakh (also known as Nagorno Karabakh), culminating in the violent expulsion of 390,000 Armenians.
The Sumgait pogrom was widely reported and roundly condemned, but the violence was never contained. Increasingly, anti-Armenian forces acted with impunity and the pogroms spread across Azerbaijan, leading to the military campaigns of the late 1980s to 1994 to deport the Armenians of Artsakh, until a cease-fire agreement was signed by Azerbaijan, Artsakh, and Armenia. Since then, the cease-fire agreement has been violated on a daily basis, and in April 2016 Azerbaijan resumed full-scale warfare for four days before it was prevailed upon to halt its aggression.

Australian Parliamentarian Condemns Sumgait Massacre of Armenians by Azerbaijan VIDEO

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Australian parliamentarian John Alexander

Australian parliamentarian John Alexander

CANBERRA — On Wednesday, 16 March, the Federal Member for Bennelong, John Alexander, spoke in the Federation Chamber of Australia’s Parliament to commemorate the 28th anniversary of the Sumgait Pogroms that took place in February 1988.

During his address, Alexander spoke of the oppressive history of the region towards Armenians, stemming from the Armenian Genocide of 1915-1923 by the former Ottoman Empire, to the anti-Armenian Sumgait Pogroms, and how Azerbaijan’s poor human rights record has continued today.

Alexander talked about the history of the Sumgait Pogroms and how peaceful demonstrations held by the Armenian people living in Azerbaijan and in the region of Nagorno-Karabakh to re-unite with Armenia, turned sour as violence broke out “as an act of collective punishment.” He then went on to mention the manner of which destruction was brought about by Azerbaijani mobs, through systematic attacks and assaults on the Armenians of Sumgait, as well as brutal murders, tortures, burning, and rape of women and young girls.

Alexander stressed that the crimes committed in Sumgait “were never adequately prosecuted by the then Soviet or Azerbaijani authorities” and led to his explanation of Azerbaijan’s poor human rights record, and specifically mentioning the case of Ramil Safarov.

“This year the world will celebrate the 25th Anniversary of Independence of the Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh, and next month we will commemorate 101 years since the start of the Armenian Genocide,” stated Alexander.

In the conclusion of his speech, Alexander mentioned the lack of attention these cases have had in the media, in Parliament and in the history classes of schools. He then commented on how Armenians have been able to “flourish” and have been able to “proudly celebrate their cultural traditions”.

ANC Australia’s Executive Administrator, Arin Markarian said: “We thank Mr. Alexander for the heartfelt speech he made, remembering the innocent Armenian victims of the Sumgait Pogroms, while highlighting the chain effect that has occurred as a result of not condemning human rights violations and anti-Armenian behavior by the Azerbaijani government.”

Here is the video to Alexander’s speech: