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ARTSAKH URGES INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY TO EXPRESS FIRM POSITION ON SUMGAIT POGROMS
10:37, 27 February, 2013
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 27, ARMENPRESS. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs
of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic issued a statement on the 25th
anniversary of the Sumgait pogroms. As reports "Armenpress" the
statement runs as follows:
"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, upon the silent agreement
of the authorities and complete inaction of the law enforcement
agencies people were being murdered, raped and maimed for the mere
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 beginning 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.
Unfortunately, the Sumgait massacre has not received an adequate
political and legal assessment of the international community yet.
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
and anything Armenian continuously and successively 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."
10:37, 27 February, 2013
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 27, ARMENPRESS. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs
of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic issued a statement on the 25th
anniversary of the Sumgait pogroms. As reports "Armenpress" the
statement runs as follows:
"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, upon the silent agreement
of the authorities and complete inaction of the law enforcement
agencies people were being murdered, raped and maimed for the mere
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 beginning 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.
Unfortunately, the Sumgait massacre has not received an adequate
political and legal assessment of the international community yet.
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
and anything Armenian continuously and successively 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."