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NKR FOREIGN MINISTRY: SUMGAIT ARMENIANS FIRST VICTIMS OF AZERI HATRED
February 27, 2013 - 13:45 AMT
PanARMENIAN.Net - Mass murders and pogroms of Armenians took place
from 27 to 29 February, 1988 in Sumgait, a city located less than 30
kilometers away from the Azeri capital Baku. For three days, with
the tacit consent of the authorities and complete inaction of the
law enforcement agencies people were being murdered, raped and maimed
for the sole reason of being Armenian. Dozens of killed, hundreds of
maimed and thousands of Armenians expelled from Sumgait became the
first victims of Azerbaijan's policy of terror aimed at the Armenians
of Karabakh who in the preceding week had officially declared their
intention to exercise their right to self-determination. In spite of
the peaceful and legitimate nature of those manifestations in Nagorno
Karabakh, Azerbaijan from the very onset rejected dialogue, resorted to
the language of threats and intimidation and pursued policy of violent
oppression of the free will of the people of Artsakh, the Nagorno
Karabakh Republic Foreign Ministry statement said. "Unfortunately,
the Sumgait massacre hasn't yet received an adequate political and
legal assessment of the international community. Moreover, silencing
the truth about the Sumgait tragedy, concealing its true causes,
and the impunity granted to its masterminds paved the way for ethnic
cleansing carried out throughout Azerbaijan. It reached its climax
during the bloody massacres and mass deportations of Armenians of Baku
in January 1990, which later led to a full-scale military aggression
against the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic. The tragic events in Sumgait
laid the fertile ground and contributed to the further development
of the zealous hatred towards Armenians continuously implanted
in Azerbaijan and its society. In today's Azerbaijan, despite the
international community's calls to prepare its population for peace
instead of war, xenophobia, intolerance and belligerence are being
spread. Anyone in Azerbaijan, who stands for building any bridges to
Armenians is severely intimidated and ostracized by the Government. At
the same time, the Azeri officer, who was convicted in Hungary to a
life sentence for the brutal Sumgait-type murder of the fellow Armenian
classmate, is being glorified as a national hero and role model for
youth. 25 years later we pay tribute to the innocent victims of the
Sumgait tragedy, and call on the international community to express
its firm and unambiguous position in relation to that crime against
humanity. A clear and unequivocal assessment of those mass murders
and pogroms and condemnation of the forces behind them will both
prevent the recurrence of such crimes and contribute to the moral
improvement of the Azeri society," the statement said.
February 27, 2013 - 13:45 AMT
PanARMENIAN.Net - Mass murders and pogroms of Armenians took place
from 27 to 29 February, 1988 in Sumgait, a city located less than 30
kilometers away from the Azeri capital Baku. For three days, with
the tacit consent of the authorities and complete inaction of the
law enforcement agencies people were being murdered, raped and maimed
for the sole reason of being Armenian. Dozens of killed, hundreds of
maimed and thousands of Armenians expelled from Sumgait became the
first victims of Azerbaijan's policy of terror aimed at the Armenians
of Karabakh who in the preceding week had officially declared their
intention to exercise their right to self-determination. In spite of
the peaceful and legitimate nature of those manifestations in Nagorno
Karabakh, Azerbaijan from the very onset rejected dialogue, resorted to
the language of threats and intimidation and pursued policy of violent
oppression of the free will of the people of Artsakh, the Nagorno
Karabakh Republic Foreign Ministry statement said. "Unfortunately,
the Sumgait massacre hasn't yet received an adequate political and
legal assessment of the international community. Moreover, silencing
the truth about the Sumgait tragedy, concealing its true causes,
and the impunity granted to its masterminds paved the way for ethnic
cleansing carried out throughout Azerbaijan. It reached its climax
during the bloody massacres and mass deportations of Armenians of Baku
in January 1990, which later led to a full-scale military aggression
against the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic. The tragic events in Sumgait
laid the fertile ground and contributed to the further development
of the zealous hatred towards Armenians continuously implanted
in Azerbaijan and its society. In today's Azerbaijan, despite the
international community's calls to prepare its population for peace
instead of war, xenophobia, intolerance and belligerence are being
spread. Anyone in Azerbaijan, who stands for building any bridges to
Armenians is severely intimidated and ostracized by the Government. At
the same time, the Azeri officer, who was convicted in Hungary to a
life sentence for the brutal Sumgait-type murder of the fellow Armenian
classmate, is being glorified as a national hero and role model for
youth. 25 years later we pay tribute to the innocent victims of the
Sumgait tragedy, and call on the international community to express
its firm and unambiguous position in relation to that crime against
humanity. A clear and unequivocal assessment of those mass murders
and pogroms and condemnation of the forces behind them will both
prevent the recurrence of such crimes and contribute to the moral
improvement of the Azeri society," the statement said.