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A dead office dedicated to the victims of Sumgait massacre, that took place in 1988, on February 27-29, was held in Armenian St. Hakob church of Geneva. At the cross stone (khachkar) that is installed in the churchyard ceremony of wreath installment has been taken place. Representatives of Swiss-Armenian community have attended the event.

According to the RA MFA press and information department the documentary “Ordinary Genocide” has been presented before which father of St. Hakob Church Ter Hayrik HOvhannisyan and RA envoy and Minister Plenipotentiary Satenik Abgaryan made speech.

Satenik Abgaryan has noticed in her speech that the Sumgait pogroms were the continuation of ethnic cleansing that have been implemented by the Azerbaijani authorities for years. Violence was shown over the self-determination right of NKR people which, however, didn’t break the will of the people who decided to stand for their independence. Development and prosperity of NKR is a tribute to victims of Sumgait massacre.

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, 32 people 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 KGB in Azerbaijan. Executioners of Sumgait were subsequently declared as national heroes of Azerbaijan.

Documentary “Ordinary Genocide: Sumgait 1988”