The February 20, 1988
decision of the Council of People's Deputies of the Nagorno Karabakh Autonomous
Oblast to combat through peaceful means for the right to life of the Armenians
of Artsakh, and their right to live free in dignity and security in their own
homeland, few days later found its response in the city of Sumgait, located in
the distance of 27 kms from Baku. On February 27-29, at the direct provocation
of the Azerbaijani authorities and organized by them, the Armenian population
of the city was subjected to torture, mutilation, arson of people (both alive
or after death), gang rape, while their property was destroyed and looted.
As a result of the
massacres committed on the grounds of nationality the rights of the 20.000
Armenian residents of Sumgait, to life, to be free from torture and
discrimination, to freedom and security, to private property, to fair trial,
other rights were directly and irrevocably threatened.
Although the Sumgait
massacres were documented by the relevant Soviet authorities, the perpetrators
and the organizers of the crime have not been brought to justice.
The anti-Armenian
massacres of Sumgait instigated a series of crimes against humanity committed
by Azerbaijan- a practice which continues to this day. Within the context of
this consistent policy during the period of 1988-1991, thousands of Armenians
were killed, while another 500,000 thousand were forcibly displaced from the
cities of Gandzak (Kirovabad), Baku, and other cities in Azerbaijan, as well as
in the Nagorno Karabakh Autonomous Oblast.
Aiming to forcibly
suppress the right to self-determination of the population of Artsakh, and to
annihilate them, Azerbaijan launched a war against the Armenian
population lasted 1991-1994, during which the vivid evidence of the genocidal
actions of the Azerbaijani authorities is the massacre of the Armenian
population in the village of Maragha in the region of Martakert in April 1992,
as a result of which more than 50 peaceful civilians were killed and
Armenians were completely annihilated from the village.
The Republic of
Azerbaijan fully inherited, further improved the policy of Armenophobia of
Soviet Azerbaijan, aimed at the forceful displacement of Armenians from
Artsakh, and the annihilation of the Armenian people in its cradle. The
practice of glorifying murders purely on ethnic grounds, which was instigated
with the Sumgait massacres, became the signature of the Azerbaijani
authorities. As a result, the region “was enriched” with “heroes” such as
Ramil Safarov, Mubariz Ibrahimov, and others who were taking revenge against
the civilian population during the April war of 2016 and were beheading and
dismembering Armenian servicemen in the style of terrorist organizations, and
as a result were encouraged at the highest levels of the Azerbaijani
state.
The Armenophobia
disseminated in the Azerbaijani society by their authorities over the years got
its worst manifestation during the September 2020 war unleashed by Azerbaijani
against Artsakh, during which the peaceful civilians, kindergartens, schools
and hospitals became the primary targets of Azerbaijani army.
The war crimes committed
by Azerbaijan during the 44-day aggression, the gross violations of
international humanitarian law and human rights are documented in the reports of
the Human Rights Defenders of Armenia and Artsakh, in the reports of several
human rights organizations, and have been raised by the representatives of
various international organizations.
Impunity breads and
perpetrates new crimes based on ethnic hatred.
The Armenophobia of the
Azerbaijani authorities does not bypass Armenian cultural and religious
heritage: An attempt is made to apply the methodology of complete
displacement of Armenians and the destruction of the medieval Armenian heritage
of Nakhichevan in the regions of Artsakh that have fallen under Azerbaijani
control. A working group has even been officially set up with the clear aim of
destroying Armenian religious, historical and cultural monuments and falsifying
their identities.
Armenophobia, the
evidence of which is growing daily, is being implemented by the authorities of
Baku as a method to form the collective identity of the Azerbaijani population.
However, history has repeatedly demonstrated that an identity based on hatred
on ethnic and national ground firstly destroys its bearers, it threatens the
normal, peaceful and secure life of the people of the region and disrupts the
development and progress of societies.
As a first step to
quit this policy, we call on the Azerbaijani authorities to show political
will, to assess with credibility the anti-Armenian massacres in Sumgait,
Gandzak (Kirovabad), Baku, and other places, and to refrain from a policy of
denial; to bring to justice those who committed violations during and after the
44-day war against the civilian population, and those who committed and
organized the torture and mutilations of captured and killed Armenian
servicemen, to release immediately the Armenian POWs and other captives still
held in Azerbaijan, and to stop the acts of vandalism committed against the
Armenian historical and cultural heritage of Artsakh.
We call on the
international community to give a proper legal assessment of the violence
committed in Sumgait in February 1988, based on fundamental principles of international
law and international norms, as well as take effective measures to assess and
stop the continued policy of Armenophobia in Azerbaijan.
We pay tribute to the
memory of the innocent victims of the massacres of Sumgait and
other settlements, and stress that impunity for commitment of human
rights violations and crimes leads to new and more heinous crimes.
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