Sumgait Archives

30th anniversary of Armenian pogroms in Sumgait commemorated in Beirut

March 1, 2018 by administrator

Sumgait commemorated in Beirut

On February 25, Permanent Representative of the Republic of Artsakh to the Middle East Garo Kebabjian participated in the commemoration ceremony dedicated to the 30^th anniversary of the Armenian pogroms in Sumgait, held in the St. Nishan Church in Beirut.

Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Armenia to the Lebanese Republic Samvel Mkrtchyan and representatives of the Armenian community and the clergy of Lebanon were present at the event.

Then, the participants laid wreaths to the cross-stone monument of the Church to commemorate the victims of the Sumgait pogroms.

New York Time 1990 article clearly says what the #Azerbaijani nationalism looked like, Slaughter of Sumgait Armenians

January 17, 2018 by administrator

Sumgait massacre

Azerbaijan is no Lithuania. True, resurgent nationalism arouses people in the Caucasus just as it arouses the Baltic republics. But there the comparison ends – and the trouble for Moscow begins.

Nationalists in Lithuania are struggling to wrest independence from Moscow by nonviolent, political means. Nationalists in Azerbaijan also talk of independence, but their protest includes bloody pogroms against their Armenian neighbors. Nor do Azerbaijani nationalists limit their actions to Soviet Azerbaijan. They transgress the border with Iran to make common cause with Azerbaijanis there.

Mikhail Gorbachev seems prepared to bargain with Lithuania’s nationalists. But Azerbaijan’s violent nationalists leave him no choice but to send in the troops.

The nationalism now surging from Omsk to Tomsk is an understandable reaction to decades of forced assimilation. Stalin redrew borders, relocated populations and suppressed cultural and religious differences, all in the name of internationalism. But ancient national aspirations did not dis-appear.

This week’s massacre in Baku, of predominantly Christian Armenians by Muslim Azerbaijanis, shows nationalism at its nastiest. Generations of religious hatred erupted in spasmodic violence two years ago as armed Azerbaijanis rampaged through the town of Sumgait and slaughtered 32 people, mostly Armenians. After the 1988 earthquake that killed 25,000 Armenians, Azerbaijanis blocked railways to Armenia, holding up aid. Now the rivals vie for control of Nagorno-Karabakh, an Armenian enclave that Stalin incorporated into Azerbaijan in 1923.

The Armenians sought protection from Moscow. Mr. Gorbachev first resisted but renewed strife forced him to intervene. The Azerbaijanis added to his unease by declaring their interest in carving out a state on both sides of the national border. This was a clear threat to Iran’s territorial integrity and its warming relations with the Soviet Union. Teheran asked the Soviets to beef up border patrols.

Mr. Gorbachev and his reformist Kremlin allies are prepared to tolerate, even encourage, moderate nationalists who challenge central control and demand autonomy. But Moscow rightly feels that, in a polyglot country with 104 different nationalities, ethnic violence is beyond the pale.

Azerbaijan dramatizes Mr. Gorbachev’s larger dilemma. To generate economic thrust, he wants to shift power from Moscow’s stodgy bureaucracies to the regional republics. But how can he do this without unleashing nationalist hatreds and irredentism? The problem is illustrated by the struggle over Nagorno-Karabakh, a region as big as Long Island with a population of 160,000.

Putting either Azerbaijanis or Armenians in charge would leave one people at the mercy of the other. Moscow has to assume direct control. But that runs counter to Mr. Gorbachev’s desire for devolution. And the troops, once introduced, will be difficult to extricate. Nothing so challenges Mr. Gorbachev’s resourcefulness, and his fragile coalition of reformists and moderate nationalists, as the flow of blood in the Caucasus.

Source: http://www.nytimes.com/1990/01/19/opinion/nationalism-at-its-nastiest.html

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Romanian media reports: Pogroms of Armenians in Sumgait were embodiment of Azerbaijani leadership’s policy of xenophobia and ethnic cleansing

March 4, 2017 by administrator

It is endemic for the leadership of Azerbaijan to voice only their own interpretation of history in a way that easily resembles to the Goebbels-like ideology: “if you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it,” statement of the Embassy of Armenia in Romania reads.

Reportedly, since the waning years of the USSR, the people of the self-determined Nagorno-Karabakh have been fighting for the recognition of their status guaranteed by the international law. The lawful demands of the people of Artsakh to exercise their right to self-determination were met with anti-Armenian pogroms in the Azerbaijani city of Sumgait — 26 km away from Baku. Those events, carried out under the motto “Death to Armenians”, were the embodiment of Azerbaijani leadership’s policy of xenophobia, ethnic cleansing and deportation of Armenians.

Those atrocities were the very reason Andrei Sakharov, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, wrote “even if some doubted it before Sumgait, no one sees a moral opportunity to insist on territorial unity of NKAO and Azerbaijan after this tragedy happened.”

“If official Baku’s response to the aspiration of people of Nagorno-Karabakh to exercise its right to self-determination were pogroms and ethnic-cleansing of the Armenian population, the reaction to the implementation of that right in 1991, based on then existing USSR legislation and norms of international law was the large-scale war against the newly-independent Artsakh, accompanied by gross violations of the international humanitarian law,” the authors emphasize.

According to the statement, exactly 25 years ago Azerbaijani Armed Forces commenced the months-long shelling of the capital of Nagorno-Karabakh — Stepanakert, which at that time had become a shelter for the refugees fleeing the pogroms in Sumgait, Baku and other cities in Azerbaijan. On February 13 of 1992, in violation of international conventions, Azerbaijan started using BM-21 “Grad” multi rocket launchers on the residential areas of Stepanakert. Khojaly was one of the seven firebases, used for the shelling of Stepanakert. Even back in Soviet time Khojaly had an important strategic importance, as it was situated on the crossroad connecting Stepanakert to other regions of Nagorno-Karabakh. Moreover, in 1970s the only airport of Nagorno-Karabakh was built next to Khojaly, which during the Artsakh’s blockade was the single gate point to the outside world. Thus, by 1992 it became evident that the neutralization of Khojaly fire point was an imperative for the physical preservation of the population of both Stepanakert and Nagorno-Karabakh as a whole. The operation to neutralize the Khojaly fire point started on February 25, 1992.
For months, the Nagorno-Karabakh self-defense forces had been informing the Azerbaijani side through all the possible means about this operation, its objectives and the humanitarian corridor left for the evacuation from Khojaly.

“Azerbaijan continues to distort the facts surrounding the bloody events near the city of Aghdam, which they call the ‘Khojaly tragedy’. The mere facts of those events raise many questions, and the Azerbaijani leaderships, even after 25 years, still prefers to keep the answers behind seven locks,” the statement reads.
Ramiz Fataliev, Chair of the Committee Investigating the Events of Khojaly: “Four days left until the events of Khojaly. On February 22, in the presence of the President, the Prime Minister, the Head of the KGB and others, a National Security Council session took place at which a decision was taken not to evacuate people from Khojaly.”

Here’s an excerpt from the words of Azeri journalist Cingiz Mustafaev, a witness to the events: “On 29th [of February], when I was heading to Aghdam from another side, from the village of Umudlu, in a military helicopter, I saw that in 10 kilometers from Khojaly and approximately in 700 meters from our military post, dead bodies of our people were scattered on the ground. What horrified me the most was when I was filming these corpses, there were around 10 people from our side, strolling around easily in military uniforms. I was told that there were no corpses, it was impossible to get there, there were Armenians and there was shooting. But when we eventually landed there on our helicopters, three helicopters unexpectedly and immediately flew to Aghdam; those 10 people left, too. I still cannot understand why in 700 meters from our posts, where there were our soldiers roaming calmly, nobody was picking up these dead bodies?”
Mustafaev also speaks of the main crime committed during the Aghdam events — the mutilation of bodies, discovered couple of days after the events. “Who has done all this? I was filming here just yesterday, there was nothing like that there.”

It comes as no surprise that there is zero tolerance in Azerbaijan towards the doubt, suspicion or investigative journalism on the official version of those events. Those who dare to speak openly about these events, were either killed like Cingiz Mustafaev, or imprisoned like journalist Eynulla Fatullayev, or exiled like the first President of Azerbaijan Ayaz Mutallibov.

During the interview with Czech journalist Dana Mazalova published in April 1992 Mutallibov stated that the militia of the Azerbaijani National Front actively obstructed and actually prevented the evacuation of the local civilian population from the military operation zone through the mountain passages specifically left open by Karabakh Armenians. The hope and intention of the Azerbaijani opposition was to utilize civilian losses of such a magnitude to instigate a popular uprising against the Baku regime and seize the reins of power.
Besides, more than 700 residents of Khojaly did not leave the village and were taken to Stepanakert, where they were provided with food and medical aid. Two days later, they were transferred to the Azerbaijani side, without any preconditions

“The Azerbaijani leadership has not answered yet to those questions raised by Azerbaijanis themselves. Meanwhile it has almost mastered the art of distorting the abovementioned facts in order to blame others for their crimes and escape the responsibility, while attempting to create a fictional counterbalance to the massacres that it has perpetrated against Armenians in Sumgait, Baku, Kirovabad, Maragha,” the authors write.

The Sumgait events created a precedent of impunity and even of glorification for the killings of peaceful Armenian citizens, something we witnessed later on during Armenian massacres elsewhere in Azerbaijan. The leadership of Azerbaijan continues to inject hatred against Armenians. It encourages such crimes as the brutal murder of Gurgen Margaryan, who in 2004 was axed in his sleep by Ramil Safarov, when the two were enrolled in NATO training course in Budapest. The killer was later proclaimed a national hero of Azerbaijan.
Even recently, during the April 2016 aggression against Artsakh, the world witnessed the results of the state-run policy of Armenophobia in Azerbaijan. The ISIS-style beheading of Kyaram Sloyan and two other Nagorno-Karabakh serviceman, or the brutal murder and mutilation of elderly family in Talish village, as well as the decoration of the perpetrators of these war crimes by the President of Azerbaijan is abhorrent and should be condemned by the whole international community.

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, 27 Armenians 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 the Azerbaijani KGB. Executioners of Sumgait were subsequently declared as national heroes of Azerbaijan.

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

The residents of Khojaly, coming out through the humanitarian corridor the self-defense forces of the NKR had left open, freely passed more than 10 km and reached the Aghdam city controlled by the Azerbaijani troops. Later, dead bodies of the villagers were foundnot far from the positions of Azerbaijani troops. 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.

U.S. house Representative Adam Schiff Commemorates 29th Anniversary of Sumgait Pogrom

March 2, 2017 by administrator

Representative Adam Schiff (D-CA) on Wednesday released a statement commemorating the Sumgait Pogrom, Asbarez.com reports.
This year marks the 29th anniversary of the massacres of Armenians that took place on Feb. 27-29, 1988 in the predominantly Armenian-populated city of Sumgait in Azerbaijan, where Azeri OMON forces went door to door and hunted down Armenians only to barbarically murder and massacre them.
Rep. Schiff’s full statement is below:
Mr. Speaker, I rise to commemorate the 29th anniversary of the pogrom against the Armenian residents of the town of Sumgait, Azerbaijan. 29 years ago Azerbaijani mobs assaulted and killed their Armenian neighbors. When the violence finally subsided, hundreds of Armenian civilians had been brutally murdered and injured, women and young girls were raped, and victims were tortured and burned alive. Those that survived the carnage fled their homes and businesses, leaving behind everything they had in their desperation.
The pogroms were the culmination of years of vicious anti-Armenian propaganda, spread by the Azerbaijani authorities. The Azerbaijani authorities made little effort to punish those responsible, instead attempting to cover up the atrocities in Sumgait to this day, as well as denying the role of senior government officials in instigating the violence. Unsurprisingly, it was not the end of the violence, and was followed by additional attacks, including the 1990 pogrom in Baku.

The Sumgait massacre and the subsequent attacks on ethnic Armenians, resulted in the virtual disappearance of a once thriving population of 450,000 Armenians living in Azerbaijan, and culminating in the war launched against the people of Nagorno-Karabakh. That war resulted in thousands dead on both sides and created over one million refugees in both Armenia and Azerbaijan.
Time has not healed the wounds of those murdered in the pogroms in Sumgait, Kirovabad, and Baku. To the contrary, hatred of Armenians is celebrated in Azerbaijan, a situation most vividly exemplified by the case of Ramil Safarov, an Azerbaijani army captain who savagely murdered an Armenian army lieutenant, Gurgen Margaryan with an axe while he slept. The two were participating in a NATO Partnership for Peace exercise at the time in Hungary. In 2012, Safarov was sent home to Azerbaijan, purportedly to serve out the remainder of his sentence. Instead, he was pardoned, promoted, and paraded through the streets of Baku as a returning hero.
The assault on ethnic Armenian civilians in Sumgait helped touch off what would become a direct conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh. And today, Azerbaijan’s dangerous behavior on the Line of Contact threatens peace and stability in the region. Artillery and sniper fire across the Line of Contact has become a fact of daily life for civilians in the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, causing numerous casualties. In April of last year, Azerbaijan launched its most aggressive attack in many years, resulting in the loss of many lives over the course of three days of intense fighting.
Along with other Members of Congress, I have consistently called for a direct international response to Azerbaijan’s aggressive behavior through deployment of international monitors and technology to monitor ceasefire violations. Azerbaijan’s continued rejection of these simple steps speaks volumes, but I believe they should not prevent the installation of these technologies within Nagorno-Karabakh. The anniversary of Sumgait is a reminder of the consequences when aggression and hatred is allowed to grow unchecked.
Mr Speaker, this April we will mark the 102nd Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, an event the Turkish government, Azerbaijan’s closest ally, goes to great lengths to deny. We must not let such crimes against humanity go unrecognized, whether they occurred yesterday or 29 years ago or 100 years ago. Today, let us pause to remember the victims of the atrocities of the Sumgait pogroms. Mr Speaker, it is our moral obligation to condemn crimes of hatred and to remember the victims, in hope that history will not be repeated.”

Armenians of Argentina Rally to Remember Sumgait, Baku, and Kirovabad Pogroms

February 29, 2016 by administrator

BUENOS AIRES (Agencia Prensa Armenia) — During the night of February 26 a rally and demonstration was held outside the Embassy of Azerbaijan in Argentina to commemorate the 28th anniversary of the beginning of the massacres of Armenians in the Azeri cities of Sumgait, Baku and Kirovabad.

The demonstration was organized by Armenian Youth Federation of South America (AYF) and Armenian General Athletic Union and Scouts(Homenetmen). “The massacres of Sumgait, Baku and Kirovabad were the continuation of the plan of ethnic cleansing that began during the Armenian Genocide,” said Axel Costanian, member of AYF. “The denial and violation of human rights matrix on which both States were built remain today,” said Costanian in his speech.

“Today, Turkey and Azerbaijan fill their jails with journalists and activists. Azerbaijan threatens to resume war against the Republics of Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh. Turkey supports the Islamic State and hinders the peace process in Syria. Azerbaijan uses blacklists to prosecute those who challenge the authorities. Turkey harasses intellectuals with the infamous article 301 of the penal code, the same they used to condemn Hrant Dink. And we can not forget the persecution of Kurdish people, especially the Peoples’ Democratic Party,” concluded Costanian.

US House Rep Adam Schiff commemorates Sumgait pogroms

February 27, 2016 by administrator

Re-published from Asbarez
Rep Adam Schiff (D-CA) on Friday entered the following statement into the Congressional Record:
“Mr Speaker, I rise to commemorate the 28th anniversary of the pogrom against the Armenian residents of the town of Sumgait, Azerbaijan. On this day in 1988, and for three days following, Azerbaijani mobs assaulted and killed Armenians. When the violence finally subsided, hundreds of Armenian civilians had been brutally murdered and injured, women and young girls were raped, and victims were tortured and burned alive. Those that survived the carnage fled their homes and businesses, leaving behind everything they had in their desperation.

“The pogroms were not an accident. They were the culmination of years of vicious anti-Armenian propaganda, spread by the Azerbaijani authorities. The Azerbaijani authorities made little effort to punish those responsible, instead attempting to cover up the atrocities in Sumgait to this day, as well as denying the role of senior government officials in instigating the violence. Unsurprisingly, it was not the end of the violence, and was followed by additional attacks, including the 1990 pogrom in Baku.
“The Sumgait massacre and the subsequent attacks on ethnic Armenians, resulted in the virtual disappearance of a once thriving population of 450,000 Armenians living in Azerbaijan, and culminating in the war launched against the people of Nagorno Karabakh. That war resulted in thousands dead on both sides and created over one million refugees in both Armenia and Azerbaijan.
“Time has not healed the wounds of those murdered in the pogroms in Sumgait, Kirovabad, and Baku. To the contrary, hatred of Armenians is celebrated in in Azerbaijan, a situation most vividly exemplified by the case of Ramil Safarov, an Azerbaijani army captain who savagely murdered an Armenian army lieutenant, Gurgen Margaryan with an axe while he slept. The two were participating in a NATO Partnership for Peace exercise at the time in Hungary. In 2012, Safarov was sent home to Azerbaijan, purportedly to serve out the remainder of his sentence. Instead, he was pardoned, promoted, and paraded through the streets of Baku as a returning hero.
“The assault on ethnic Armenian civilians in Sumgait helped touch off what would become a direct conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over Nagorno Karbakh. And today, Azerbaijan’s dangerous behavior on the Line of Contact threatens peace and stability in the region. Artillery and sniper fire across the Line of Contact has become a fact of daily life for civilians in the Nagorno Karbakh Republic, causing numerous casualties. I have urged the OSCE Minsk Group to deescalate the situation by ending a policy that equates unprovoked attacks by the Azerbaijan with the defensive responses of Karbakh and Armenian troops, and by pressuring Azerbaijan to

accept the installation of technological monitoring devices along the border. The anniversary of Sumgait is a reminder of the consequences when aggression and hatred is allowed to grow unchecked.
“Mr Speaker, this April we will mark the 101st Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, an event the Turkish government, Azerbaijan’s closest ally, goes to great lengths to deny. We must not let such crimes against humanity go unrecognized, whether they occurred yesterday or 28 years ago or 100 years ago. Today, let us pause to remember the victims of the atrocities of the Sumgait pogroms. Mr. Speaker, it is our moral obligation to condemn crimes of hatred and to remember the victims, in hope that history will not be repeated.”

Azerbaijan: 28 years pass since Armenian pogroms in Sumgait

February 27, 2016 by administrator

In late February 1988, large-scale massacres because of ethnicity were committed in Sumgait, Azerbaijan.

On February 27 of that year, the situation went out of control in this town, which is just 25 kilometers from the Azerbaijani capital city of Baku.

Several thousand Azerbaijani nationalists started burning the homes of the local Armenian population and killing the homeowners.

According to official data alone, 32 Armenian residents of Sumgait were killed, and hundreds of others suffered severe injuries and became disabled.

The February 27-29, 1988 Sumgait pogroms, about which Azerbaijan is silent to this day, were the first harbingers of the Azerbaijani neo-fascism These massacres were followed by the Azerbaijanis’ pogroms of the Armenians in Kirovabad—today’s Ganja—and in Baku, deportation of the entire Armenian population in Shahumyan Region, and incitement to war, all in response to the Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh) people’s demand to exercise their right to self-determination.

Senate and House Members Condemn Sumgait, Baku Massacres

March 10, 2015 by administrator

Senator Gary Peters; Representatives Katherine Clark, Jim Costa, Robert Dold, Frank Pallone, Adam Schiff, and Brad Sherman are the Latest to Speak Out on Ongoing Azerbaijani Aggression Against Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh

WASHINGTON—Senator Gary Peters (D-MI) was joined by Congressional Armenian Caucus Co-Chairs Frank Pallone (D-NJ) and Robert Dold (R-IL) and Representatives Katherine Clark (D-MA), Jim Costa (D-CA), Adam Schiff (D-CA), and Brad Sherman (D-CA) in commemorating the brutal massacres of Armenians in the Azerbaijani cities of Baku, Sumgait and Kirovabad from 1988-1990 and condemning the ongoing violence and intimidation fostered by the government of President Ilham Aliyev, reported the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA). They add their voices to Rep. Judy Chu, who was the first to offer impassioned remarks on the topic on the House floor last week.

“Armenian Americans from Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, and California and across America thank these bold legislators for adding their voices to those of their Congressional colleagues in commemorating the Azerbaijani government fomented pogroms against the Armenian populations of Sumgait, Baku and Kirovabad,” stated ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian. “Their powerful words help commemorate the lives of those who were lost, while also helping to protect those who survived – by both condemning Azerbaijan’s ongoing aggression and supporting the freedom and security of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic.”

“I wish to recognize the victims of the mass murder of Armenians 27 years ago during the state-sponsored pogroms in Sumgait, Azerbaijan,” began Senator Peters. “True democracies must respect the rights of the minority, allow citizens to peacefully speak freely, and protect the human rights of all residents. The people of Nagorno Karabakh and the victims of this senseless massacre played a critical role in promoting a democracy movement which helped to end the Soviet Union.”

Congressman Pallone explained, “We have a shared responsibility to speak out when groups of people are targeted with oppression and violence just because of their ethnicity. Along with my colleagues on the Congressional Armenian Issues Caucus, I continue my efforts to try and shed light on these events so that those lives lost are not forgotten. We will continue to promote mutual understanding and security through the Caucasus region. It is my hope that we can all join together in condemning acts of violence in the past, and renew our commitment to vigilance in the future.”

In a statement shared with the ANCA, Rep. Dold noted, “The massacres that took place 27 years ago in Sumgait serve as a reminder of the struggle for freedom and liberty around the world. Today I stand in solidarity with the Armenian community and the people of Nagorno Karabakh who mourn the loss of friends and family. The United States must continue to work with the people of Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh to ensure their future safety and peace.”

Congressman Schiff reminded his colleagues of Pres. Ilham Aliyev’s pardon and praise for the killer of an innocent Armenian soldier in his sleep. “Time has not healed the wounds of those killed and hurt in the pogroms in Sumgait, Kirovabad, and Baku. To the contrary, hatred of Armenians is celebrated in Azeri society, a situation most vividly exemplified by the case of Ramil Safarov, an Azerbaijani army captain who savagely murdered an Armenian army lieutenant, Gurgen Margaryan with an axe while he slept. The two were participating in a NATO Partnership for Peace exercise at the time in Hungary. In 2012, Safarov was sent home to Azerbaijan, purportedly to serve out the remainder of his sentence. Instead, he was pardoned, promoted, and paraded through the streets of Baku in a sickening welcome home. And as we speak, Azerbaijan continues its dangerous and provocative behavior along its border with Armenia and in Karabakh.”

“I am proud to stand today with the Armenian-American community, including many of my constituents in Massachusetts, in remembrance and mourning of this unspeakable tragedy,” stated Rep. Clark. “Like the persecution of too many others before it, the lessons of the Sumgait Pogrom must not be forgotten. We have a moral obligation to promote tolerance and justice, and we have a duty to recognize the atrocities that have kept us from our common goal.”

Reminding colleagues of Azerbaijan’s ongoing attacks on Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh, Rep. Costa stated, “In November 2014, Azerbaijani armed forces shot down a Nagorno-Karabakh helicopter participating in a training exercise near the cease-fire line, killing the three crew members on board. This aggression is completely unacceptable and further hurts efforts to achieve a peaceful resolution. Today, I ask my colleagues to stand with the proud people of Nagorno Karabakh in recognizing the anniversary of these tragic events. Let today serve as a reminder for each and every one of us to continue advocating for human rights and democratic freedoms around the world.”

Congressman Sherman noted his meeting last month with Marat Khoudabakhshiev, “whose family barely survived pogroms perpetrated 27 years ago today against the Armenian residents of then-Soviet Azerbaijan. He recounted how Azerbaijanis who had lived alongside Armenians for generations suddenly turned violent against them, causing Armenian families like his to flee their homes for safety.” Rep. Sherman explained, “Recognizing the ethnic-cleansing of the Armenians from Azerbaijan is an important step. However, we need to do more–we need to demonstrate to Azerbaijan that the United States is committed to peace and to the protection of Artsakh from coercion. As the current government of Azerbaijan grows even more hostile towards Armenians, we must call for an end to all threats and acts of violence by Azerbaijan’s government against the Republic of Nagorno Karabakh. Congress should strengthen Section 907 of the FREEDOM Support Act by removing the President’s ability to waive U.S. law prohibiting aid to Azerbaijan because of its continuing blockade against Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh.”

Khoudabakhshiev was part of a delegation of survivors of anti-Armenian attacks in Baku, who travelled to Washington, DC last month to share their eye-witness accounts with legislators and speak out in support Artsakh independence. In addition to Congressional meetings, the delegation participated in the ANCA sponsored Capitol Hill program, titled: “Nagorno Karabakh – A Generation After Anti-Armenian Pogroms: The Challenge of Promoting Peace and Developing Democracy,” which featured powerful remarks by Anna Astvatsaturian Turcotte, a lawyer, lecturer, and author of ‘Nowhere, A Story of Exile,’ and Dr. Alina Dorian, an internationally respected public health expert and advocate who has worked for decades to strengthen and expand public health programs in Nagorno Karabakh.

The full text of statements submitted for the Congressional Record commemorating the Sumgait, Baku and Kirovabad pogroms are provided below.

Senator Gary Peters (D-MI): Madam President, I wish to recognize the victims of the mass murder of Armenians 27 years ago during the state-sponsored pogroms in Sumgait, Azerbaijan.

The citizens of Nagorno Karabakh peacefully petitioned to be reunited with Soviet Armenia and spoke out against the arbitrary borders established by Joseph Stalin and the Soviet Union. This democratic exercise of free speech expressing a natural desire for self-determination was met with 3 days of violence and brutality against Armenian civilians, who were hunted down in their homes. Security forces in Soviet Azerbaijan turned a blind eye, allowing the mass murder of Armenians in a futile attempt to defeat this movement. The massacres of Armenians did not stop in Sumgait but were followed in other Azerbaijani towns such as Kirovabad in November 1988 and the capital Baku in January 1990. The U.S. Congress strongly condemned these massacres at that time. Hundreds of thousands of Armenians fled Azerbaijan, many finding their home in my State of Michigan, where there is a monument to the victims of the Sumgait massacres.

True democracies must respect the rights of the minority, allow citizens to peacefully speak freely, and protect the human rights of all residents. The people of Nagorno Karabakh and the victims of this senseless massacre played a critical role in promoting a democracy movement which helped to end the Soviet Union.

Today, I remember the victims and ask my colleagues and the Americanpeople to join me in honoring their memories.

Rep. Judy Chu (D-CA): Mr. Speaker, Twenty-seven years ago, as the lines of the Soviet Union were fading, the people of Nagorno-Karabakh were united in a call for a say in their own futures and greater independence from Azerbaijan. This peaceful movement for self-determination and freedom was followed by premeditated and government-sponsored attacks.

Over the next two years, the Armenian population in the territory of Artsakh was repeatedly victim to brutal and racially motivated pogroms, darkly reminiscent of the days of the Armenian Genocide. Hundreds were murdered, thousands were displaced, and the Armenian community – both in Artsakh and in exile – continues to bear the scars from the brutal attacks in Sumgait, Kirovabad, and Baku.

When the people of Nagorno-Karabakh officially declared independence on December 10, 1991, they were met with full-scale war lasting until 1994. Even today, the people of Nagorno-Karabakh are still forced to live under constant ceasefire violations by Azerbaijan.

As we commemorate the somber anniversary marking the struggle of the Nagorno-Karabakh people, we wish for the peaceful resolution of this conflict and hope that its citizens will be free to determine their own future.

Rep. Catherine Clark (D-MA): Mr. Speaker, February 27 marked the 27th anniversary of harrowing violence against the Armenian community in Sumgait, Azerbaijan.

I am proud to stand today with the Armenian-American community, including many of my constituents in Massachusetts, in remembrance and mourning of this unspeakable tragedy.

In February of 1988, anti-Armenian rallies through Azerbaijan gave way to waves of ethnically-motivated violence, death and destruction. In the aftermath of these terrible events, Azerbaijan’s Armenian community all but disappeared, with thousands displaced, culminating in a war against the people of Nagorno Karabakh.

That war resulted in almost 30,000 dead on both sides. Hundreds of thousands of refugees were forced to flee their homes. And to this day, those who lost their lives or were displaced by this violence still seek resolution and justice.

Many displaced Armenian families have sought refuge in America, and are now making vital contributions in the Fifth District of Massachusetts. Proudly, our diverse District is home to one of the largest Armenian communities in the nation. Together, our community is a thriving example of strength and perseverance in the face of extreme adversity.

Like the persecution of too many others before it, the lessons of the Sumgait Pogrom must not be forgotten.

We have a moral obligation to promote tolerance and justice, and we have a duty to recognize the atrocities that have kept us from our common goal.

Rep. Jim Costa (D-CA): Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the twenty-seventh anniversary of the pogroms against people of Armenian descent in Sumgait, Azerbaijan. My district is home to thousands of Armenian-Americans, many who are the sons and daughters of survivors. As they know well, Azerbaijani rioters started a murderous rampage in response to peaceful protests on February 27, 1988, that forever changed Armenia. During those three days, scores of Armenians were killed, hundreds were wounded, and thousands were forced to leave their homes and livelihoods behind.

As we recognize this tragedy, we should also take this time to commend the people of Nagorno Karabakh on being the first to demand their right to freedom and self-governance from the Soviet Union. Although a small nation, Nagorno Karabakh sparked the democracy movement that ended decades of dictatorial rule in the USSR and eventually led to the fall of the Soviet Union.

Sadly, the Azerbaijani government continues to act as an aggressor today. In November 2014, Azerbaijani armed forces shot down a Nagorno-Karabakh helicopter participating in a training exercise near the cease-fire line, killing the three crew members on board. This aggression is completely unacceptable and further hurts efforts to achieve a peaceful resolution.

Today, I ask my colleagues to stand with the proud people of Nagorno Karabakh in recognizing the anniversary of these tragic events. Let today serve as a reminder for each and every one of us to continue advocating for human rights and democratic freedoms around the world.

Rep. Frank Pallone (D-NJ): Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commemorate the Sumgait pogroms–violent riots that resulted in the murder of hundreds of Armenians. This was perhaps one of the most gruesome atrocities in a series of hostile acts against the Armenian people. In 1988, Armenians living in the town of Sumgait in Azerbaijan were burned alive, thrown from windows and senselessly murdered by Azerbaijanis. Hundreds of people were killed, raped, and maimed simply because they were Armenians.

The police forces turned a blind eye towards the situation and allowed the crimes to continue for three days without intervention. Since then, Azerbaijan has sought to cover up these crimes and rewrite history.

As we prepare to observe 100 years since the Armenian Genocide, these more recent acts of violence against Armenians remind us that the work towards peace in the region continues.

Today, we recognize the anniversary of the Sumgait pogroms and to call attention to the work we have ahead of us. We have a shared responsibility to speak out when groups of people are targeted with oppression and violence just because of their ethnicity.
Along with my colleagues on the Congressional Armenian Issues Caucus, I continue my efforts to try and shed light on these events so that those lives lost are not forgotten. We will continue to promote mutual understanding and security through the Caucasus region.

It is my hope that we can all join together in condemning acts of violence in the past, and renew our commitment to vigilance in the future.

Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA): Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commemorate the 27th anniversary of the pogrom against the Armenian residents of the town of Sumgait, Azerbaijan. On this day in 1988, and for three days following, Azerbaijani mobs assaulted and killed Armenians. When the violence finally subsided, hundreds of Armenian civilians had been brutally murdered and injured, women and young girls were raped, and some victims were tortured and burned to death. Those that survived the carnage fled their homes and businesses, leaving behind all but the clothes on their backs. The Sumgait Pogroms came in the wake of a pattern of anti-Armenian rallies throughout Azerbaijan, aided and encouraged by high ranking officials in the Azeri government, and touched off a wave of violence culminating in the 1990 Pogroms in Baku.

In a pattern all too familiar to the Armenian people, the Azerbaijani authorities made little effort to punish those responsible, instead attempting to cover up the atrocities in Sumgait to this day, as well as denying the role of senior government officials in instigating the violence.

The Sumgait massacres led to wider reprisals against Azerbaijan’s Armenian ethnic minority, resulting in the virtual disappearance of a once thriving population of 450,000 Armenians living in Azerbaijan, and culminating in the war launched against the people of Nagorno Karabakh. That war resulted in thousands dead on both sides and created over one million refugees in both Armenia and Azerbaijan.

Time has not healed the wounds of those killed and hurt in the pogroms in Sumgait, Kirovabad, and Baku. To the contrary, hatred of Armenians is celebrated in Azeri society, a situation most vividly exemplified by the case of Ramil Safarov, an Azerbaijani army captain who savagely murdered an Armenian army lieutenant, Gurgen Margaryan with an axe while he slept. The two were participating in a NATO Partnership for Peace exercise at the time in Hungary. In 2012, Safarov was sent home to Azerbaijan, purportedly to serve out the remainder of his sentence. Instead, he was pardoned, promoted, and paraded through the streets of Baku in a sickening welcome home. And as we speak, Azerbaijan continues its dangerous and provocative behavior along its border with Armenia and in Karabakh.

Mr. Speaker, this April we will mark the 100th Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, an event the Turkish government, Azerbaijan’s closest ally, goes to great lengths to deny. We must not let such crimes against humanity go unrecognized, whether they occurred yesterday or 27 years ago or 100 years ago. Today, let us pause to remember the victims of the atrocities of the Sumgait pogroms. Mr. Speaker, it is our moral obligation to condemn crimes of hatred and to remember the victims, in hope that history will not be repeated.

Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA): Mr. Speaker, earlier this month I met with a constituent, Marat Khoudabakhshiev, whose family barely survived pogroms perpetrated 27 years ago today against the Armenian residents of then-Soviet Azerbaijan. He recounted how Azerbaijanis who had lived alongside Armenians for generations suddenly turned violent against them, causing Armenian families like his to flee their homes for safety.

Over three days, February 26th to 28th, 1988, a pogrom was perpetrated against the Armenian residents of Sumgait in then-Soviet Azerbaijan. Armenians were attacked and killed in their apartments and on the streets. Although official figures reported 30 deaths, it is believed that hundreds were murdered and injured as a result of the pogrom.

The violence against the Armenians in Sumgait was prompted by a vote, which took place one week prior by the Armenians of Nagorno Karabakh, to unify the region with Armenia–the beginning of the Karabakh movement. In the days immediately after this vote Azeri civilians and local officials in the city of Sumgait held rallies calling for “death to Armenians”.

On the night of February 27, 1988, Armenian residents in Sumgait were targeted and indiscriminately raped, mutilated and murdered. Calls for help from Armenians were ignored by local police and city officials. Journalists were shut out from the area. The violence raged on for three days before Soviet troops were able to put an end to the pogrom.

Witnesses of the horrific massacres later testified that the attacks were planned, as civilians had gathered weapons and the exits of the cities were blocked in advance to prevent Armenians from escaping. The homes of Armenians were marked so that the Azeri mobs could easily target them.

Unfortunately, the perpetrators of the pogrom succeeded in their ultimate goal–driving out Armenians. Fearing more violence, Armenian families fled Sumgait. Later that year, another anti-Armenian pogrom occurred in Kirovabad, Azerbaijan from November 21st to 27th, which also forced hundreds of Armenians to flee the region. In January of 1990 violent mobs targeted the Armenian community of Azerbaijan’s capital, Baku.

This year also marks the 100th anniversary of the commemoration of the first genocide of the 20th century, the Armenian Genocide. It is imperative that we honor the memory of Armenians killed in the pogroms of Sumgait, Kirovabad, and Baku, as well as the Armenian Genocide. If we hope to stop future massacres, we must acknowledge these horrific events and ensure they do not happen again.

Recognizing the ethnic-cleansing of the Armenians from Azerbaijan is an important step. However, we need to do more–we need to demonstrate to Azerbaijan that the United States is committed to peace and to the protection of Artsakh from coercion. As the current government of Azerbaijan grows even more hostile towards Armenians, we must call for an end to all threats and acts of violence by Azerbaijan’s government against the Republic of Nagorno Karabakh.

Congress should strengthen Section 907 of the FREEDOM Support Act by removing the President’s ability to waive U.S. law prohibiting aid to Azerbaijan because of its continuing blockade against Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh. In 1992, Congress prohibited aid to Azerbaijan because of its continuing blockade against Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh. However, in 2001, Congress approved a waiver to this provision, and administrations have used the waiver since then to provide aid to Baku. Azerbaijan should not be provided aid from the United States as long as they continue a policy of threats and blockades against Artsakh.

I urge the Administration to remove all barriers to broad-based U.S.-Nagorno Karabakh governmental and civil society communication, travel and cooperation.

Source: Asbarez

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Thousands of demonstrators in Stepanakert for 27 anniversary of the anti-Armenian pogroms in Sumgait

February 28, 2015 by administrator

protesters marched in the streets of Stepanakert Nagorno Karabakh)

Last February 28, thousands of protesters marched in the streets of Stepanakert (capital of the Republic of Nagorno Karabakh) to visit the memorial of the Armenian victims of Sumgait. Demonstrators wore many posters accusing Azerbaijan in its racist and anti-Armenian policy. Slogans such as “We demand justice! “,” Sumgait was genocide carried out by criminals, “or” Never again! “. In the crowd, many citizens of Nagorno Karabakh, MPs, government officials, President Bako Sahakyan and 1200 members of the ARF Dashnaktsutyun came from Yerevan. He is 27 years old, from 27 to 29 February 1988 in Sumgait (Azerbaijan) several hundred Armenians were victims of pogroms carried out by the Azerbaijani authorities to counter the uprising of Armenians in Karabakh.

Krikor Amirzayan

Today marks the 27th anniversary of the Sumgait Pogroms of Armenians by Azerbaijani forces

February 27, 2015 by administrator

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27th anniversary of the Sumgait massacre

WASHINGTON, DC – House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce (R-CA) was joined by fellow Committee colleague Brad Sherman (D-CA) and Representatives Tony Cardenas (D-CA), Anna Eshoo (D-CA) and Katherine Clark (D-MA) in commemorating the 26th anniversary of the Azerbaijani pogroms against the Armenian population of the Azerbaijani city of Sumgait, and condemning the ongoing violence and intimidation fostered by the government of President Ilham Aliyev, reported the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA).

“Twenty-six years ago, violent mobs surrounded the sea-side village in Sumgait, Soviet Azerbaijan and terrorized its inhabitants through a violent and brutal pogrom. In the following days, these roving bands systematically targeted ethnic Armenians on the streets and in their homes, viciously attacking and killing hundreds,” stated Chairman Royce. “On this tragic anniversary, when we mourn the loss of those innocent lives, we are mindful of the ongoing conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh and recurrent incidents of inciting rhetoric by Azeri political leaders and continued military clashes along the border. It is critical that Azerbaijan’s leaders refrain from provocative statements and commit to fruitful negotiations for a lasting peace in Nagorno-Karabakh.”

House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce (R-CA) Brad Sherman (D-CA) Tony Cardenas (D-CA), Anna Eshoo (D-CA) and Katherine Clark (D-MA

Rep. Sherman explained the imperative of commemorating the pogroms in Sumgait, Kirovabad, and Baku, stating, “If we hope to stop future massacres, we must acknowledge these horrific events and ensure they do not happen again.” Rep. Sherman went on to note, that “Recognizing the ethnic-cleansing of the Armenians from Azerbaijan is an important step. However, we need to do more–we need to demonstrate to Azerbaijan that the United States is committed to peace and to the protection of Artsakh from coercion.”

Rep. Cardenas noted that “the failure to act by the Azerbaijani authorities and our failure to compel action has resulted in a tidal wave of animosity towards the Armenians, which manifests itself in several ways. Azerbaijani forces east of Karabakh continue to disregard the ceasefire established after the Karabakh war in 1994. Ramil Safarov, who decapitated an Armenian Lieutenant while he slept during a NATO-sponsored training program in 2004, returned home as a hero and was held up as ‘an example of patriotism for the Azerbaijani youth’ by the Commissioner for Human Rights of Azerbaijan, Elmira Suleymanova. All the while, Ilham Aliyev continues his brazen rhetoric; consistently declaring Armenians as the national enemy in an effort to unite the Azeri public.”

Rep. Eshoo explained that “without our recognition and our forceful condemnation, the cycle of violence will continue. Even today, Christians and other minority groups are being driven from Syria by extremists, and the once large and diverse ethnic mosaic there is all but eradicated. Without our attention and action by the world community, there will be no end in sight.”

Rep. Clark noted that “like the persecution of too many peoples before it, the lessons of Sumgait must not be forgotten. As diverse families of the Commonwealth, and as Americans, we have a moral obligation to promote tolerance and justice, and we have a duty to recognise the atrocities that have kept us from our common goal.”
The complete statements by the Representatives are provided below.

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