Politics 17:52 20/01/2014

Large-scale project for 25th anniversary of Armenian pogroms in Baku will be initiated: Interview with Marina Grigoryan

“The bloody week, 13-19 January 1990, in Baku, as well as the events of 1988-1989 still remain as poorly explored pages of Nagorno Karabakh conflict.” Marina Grigoryan, the head of the project “Ordinary Genocide” said in an interview with Panorama.am.

“24 years passed after the Black January but still we don’t know enough about the realities of the third genocide of 20th century as well as about the persecution, repression, violence and deportation carried out towards the Armenians of Baku just after the events of the “Sumgait.” The pogroms of 13-19 January became the culmination of a chain of monstrous events that took place during the 2 years and that can be characterized as mass organized crime against the Armenian people of Azerbaijan.” Grigoryan said.

She stated that as a result of 1990 January tragedy and preceding events hundreds of thousands of Armenians of Azerbaijan were forcefully deported and expelled from the places where they lived for centuries. The Armenians lost their home and property, many of them lost their loved ones who became the victims of the genocide. Some of the refugees settled in Armenia, most of them had to move to other countries, many people migrated to the United States.

“The valuable testimony brought by eyewitnesses remains unclaimed, unexplored and unknown to the world. The only attempt to record the testimonies of the witnesses of Baku massacre was made by famous Baku journalist and writer Irina Mosisova in early 90s. The results are two books written by her, called “Vandalism in Baku” and “the Armenians in Baku: the existence and outcome.” These books include only the part of the evidence collected by her. Moreover, because of the objective reasons Mosisova could interview and write the stories from only the small part of the Armenians of Baku. Irina Mikhaelovna’s archive, as we know, has disappeared, while her books published in small editions became a bibliographical rarity. She herself died in 2008.” Marina Grigoryan noted.

According to the project leader, today, when already almost a quarter-century have passed, there is an urgent need to find more witnesses of the tragedy, to record their stories and present these records to the international community. This kind of work besides having historical and moral significance should also become an essential and undeniable argument of the Armenian side in the negotiation process of Nagorno Karabakh conflict.

“The significance of this project especially increases when we consider the fact that Azerbaijan has over all these years tended to distort the essence of Black January and bury the fact of genocide, pogroms and expulsion of many thousands Armenians as well as the representatives of other nations from Baku. Besides, in contrast to the “Sumgait”, no criminal case was initiated on the events in Baku, no investigation was carried out concerning the killings or other crimes, no trails were held. The remaining evidence is really scarce. It is possible that there is much evidence in the archives, but we don’t have access to them. The Soviet Center supported the leadership of Azerbaijan in its effort to hide the mass crime occurred, in spite of the fact that in those days of January many military servicemen belonging to different nationalities died and tens of thousands of their family members were deported from the city,” the head of the project said.

Marina Grigoryan informed us that in order to fill this gap a project called “After 25 years: Baku tragedy in eyewitnesses’ account” has been initiated. The project aims at the collection and video-recording of the testimonies and memories of former citizens of Baku, nowadays living in the U.S., as well as an edition and publication of the book to the similar well-known collection “Sumgait strategy in eyewitnesses’ account” translated into 9 languages. The screening of documentary movie is also envisaged for the near future.

“At present, the preliminary work on information collection and contact making is underway. We already found out in which states and cities of the U.S. former Baku citizens live and it is likely that in spring our team will leave for the Unites States to start video-recording.” Marina Grigoryan said.

The project leader also noted that the creation of the website karabakhrecords.info and the screening of the movie “Ordinary genocide: Baku, January 1990” made the former Baku citizens to appeal to the authors and express their willingness to share their stories about the events of 1988-1990 that took place in Azerbaijan. Some of these stories have already been videotaped and contain hitherto unknown details of the tragedy.

“All of this suggests that the implementation of such a project remains a relevant and important historical, political and informational propagandistic task for the Armenian side,” Grigoryan said.

She added that under the preparation framework of the 25th anniversary of Armenian Genocide in Baku, the books of Irina Mosesova will be reissued, while the book “The Armenians of Baku: the existence and outcome” will be translated into English.

Note that the project “Ordinary genocide” is being implemented by “Information and public relations center” under the administration of the RA president. The project produced a series of documentaries in five languages that tells about the events of Sumgait, Baku, Maragegh and the “Operation Ring”. The website Karabakrecords has been created as well as a number of books published and republished. 



Source Panorama.am
Share |
Տեքստում սխալ կամ վրիպակ նկատելու դեպքում, ուղարկեք խմբագրին հաղորդագրություն` նշելով տվյալ սխալը, այնուհետև սեղմելով Ctrl-Enter:

Newsfeed

15:05
Caretaker deputy justice minister sacked
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has signed a decree to dismiss Armenuhi Harutyunyan as Acting Deputy Minister of Justice....
14:35
Armenian parliament speaker confirms MP's resignation
National Assembly Speaker Alen Simonyan has issued a statement on the resignation of Narek Zeynalyan as an MP from Armenia’s ruling Civil...
14:06
Visa restricts media access to key event in Yerevan
Visa has restricted the media access to the Cashless Forum 2024 to be held in Yerevan for the first time on November 22. Only...
13:36
Orban says he will invite Netanyahu to Hungary after ICC warrant
Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on Friday he would invite Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to visit Hungary, saying he would guarantee...
13:11
Temps to plummet in Armenia
Clear weather is expected in Armenia's regions on Friday and over the weekend. Rain and snow are forecast for most parts of the country...
12:32
Alexis Ohanian showcases rare Armenian coin
Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian has showcased a rare Armenian coin from 95 BC featuring Tigranes the Great, a famous Armenian king....
12:16
German foreign minister criticizes Azerbaijan's human rights record
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock criticized the human rights record of Azerbaijan during her first appearance at the UN Climate Change...
12:06
Minister shares new images captured by Armenia's first satellite
Armenia's Minister of High-Tech Industry Mkhitar Hayrapetyan has shared new satellite images from orbit captured by ARMSAT-1,...
11:36
World Cadet Chess Championship passes its halfway mark
The 2024 World Cadet Chess Championship has passed its halfway mark in Montesilvano, Italy. After 6 rounds, in the Open 12 category CM...
11:15
Iran to launch 'new and advanced centrifuges' in response to IAEA censure
Iran said Friday it would launch a series of "new and advanced" centrifuges in response to a resolution adopted by the IAEA that...
11:00
Armenian, Iranian foreign ministers hold phone call
Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan on Thursday had a telephone conversation with his Iranian counterpart Seyed Abbas Araghchi....
17:07
Winter military draft starts in Armenia on November 25
The winter conscription for compulsory military service starts in Armenia on November 25 to run through January 31, 2025. The...
16:45
Russian spokeswoman told not to comment on ballistic missile strike live on air
Russia's foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova received a phone call during a live press briefing on Thursday telling her not to...
16:33
Belgian politicians call for immediate release of all Armenian prisoners held in Baku
In the backdrop of the COP29 currently taking place in Baku 20 members of the Belgian Federal Parliament, the Flemish Parliament, the Walloon...
16:06
Armenia thwarts large-scale drug smuggling attempt
Officers of Armenia’s State Revenue Committee (SRC) have foiled an attempt to smuggle some 1,600 grams of cocaine into the country as part...
15:33
Armenian government reduces financial aid for Artsakh refugees
The Armenian government on Thursday approved a decision to reduce financial aid for the displaced Artsakh Armenians. Starting from...
14:45
Percival Everett wins National Book Award
Percival Everett has won the $10,000 National Book Award for fiction, one of the US’s most prestigious literary prizes, for James, his...
14:35
Pyunik v West Armenia match canceled
An Armenian Premier League match between FC Pyunik and West Armenia has been canceled. The 17th round match was scheduled for November 21....
14:06
Armenian Foreign Ministry denies cooperation with Azerbaijan on water management
Armenia’s Foreign Ministry has denied claims of cooperation with Azerbaijan on transboundary water resources management. In a social...
13:36
No rain in sight for rest of the week
Clear weather is expected in Armenia's regions from Thursday to Sunday.  Rain and snow are forecast for most parts of the country...
13:06
Pashinyan thanks dismissed officials for cooperation
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan expressed gratitude to the dismissed top government officials for joint work and wished good luck to...
12:36
Armenian church marks Presentation of Virgin Mary
The Armenian Apostolic Church celebrates the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary on Thursday, November 21. According to tradition,...
12:15
Luxembourg's parliament demands immediate release of all unlawfully imprisoned persons in Azerbaijan
Luxembourg’s Chamber of Deputies has adopted a resolution condemning the Azerbaijani government’s sanctions against the freedom of...
12:00
Davit Khudatyan appointed minister of territorial administration
Armavir Governor Davit Khudatyan has been appointed Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure. Armenian President Vahagn...
11:45
Australia launches bill to ban social media for children under 16
Australia's centre-left government on Thursday introduced a bill in parliament that aims to ban social media for children under 16 and...
11:30
Armenia's Andranik Avetisyan wins gold at World Military Wrestling Championships
The 37th World Military Wrestling Championships kicked off in Yerevan, Armenia, on Wednesday, bringing together 400 participants...
11:10
Leopard missing for two years spotted in Armenia's Tavush
A leopard, that lost its front paw and disappered from Armenia's Vayots Dzor Province in December 2022, has been spotted in...
17:09
Armenian political analyst warns of risk of nuclear war
Political scientist Stepan Danielyan has warned of an imminent threat of nuclear war after the Russian nuclear doctrine change. President...
16:45
Rain, snow expected in parts of Armenia
Rain and snow are forecast for some parts of Armenia on Wednesday, overnight Thursday, late on Sunday and next Monday. Clear weather is...
16:22
GM Robert Hovhannisyan qualifies for FIDE World Cup
The European Individual Chess Championship 2024 has concluded. GM Aleksandar Indjic from Serbia became the champion, scoring 9 points...

Follow us and get updates!

Most popular articles

{"core.blocks.header.spell_message1":"Selected mistake: ","core.blocks.header.spell_message2":"Send a message about the mistake?"}