Armenian Foreign Ministry issues statement on occasion of 36th  anniversary of Sumgayit pogroms

ArmInfo.The Armenian Foreign Ministry issued a statement on the occasion of the 36th anniversary of the Sumgayit pogroms.

As the press service of the Armenian Foreign Office reports, the  statement reads, in part:

"On February 27, 1988, at the initiative and with the full connivance  of the leadership of Soviet Azerbaijan, massacres of the Armenian  population of Sumgait commenced, accompanied by cases of violence,  brutality, enforced disappearances, deprivation of property, and  massive violations of human rights. Hundreds were killed, including  women, children and elderly, thousands were forcibly displaced. 

The Sumgait tragedy was followed by massacres of Armenians in  Kirovabad, Baku and other Armenian-populated settlements of  Azerbaijan. This chain of events, as well as the complete  annihilation of Armenians from Nakhijevan earlier, showed that the  mentioned crimes were not separate episodes of violence based on  national identity but regular manifestations of a state-orchestrated  and state-led policy of Armenophobia. This policy resulted in  forcible displacement of about 500.000 ethnic Armenians from Soviet  Azerbaijan.

It is noteworthy that these events targeted not only the Armenian  population: they were also accompanied by deliberate actions to  destroy the Armenian heritage and to erase the Armenian trace in  general.

Already in the 21st century, under the conditions of complete  impunity, Azerbaijan continued the same policy of ethnic cleansing by  terrorizing the native Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh, inhumane siege,  starving them to death and finally depopulating Nagorno- Karabakh  through the use of force: ethnic cleansing was completed even in  spite of the three legally binding decisions of the UN International  Court of Justice.

Today, as well, Azerbaijan continues the policy aimed at erasing the  Armenian trace in the territories under its control, desecrating,  vandalizing and destroying Armenian religious and historical and  cultural monuments. Today as well, the continuing xenophobic and  hostile policy towards the Republic of Armenia is accompanied by hate  speech, threats and aggressive rhetoric at the highest level, which  is an obstacle in the path of overcoming hostility between nations  and establishment of peace and stability in the region.

The international community must give an adequate assessment of the  committed mass crimes and use all available mechanisms to prevent the  recurrence of such crimes and to contribute to the genuine efforts of  Armenia to achieve a dignified and lasting peace in the South  Caucasus."