Politics 13:47 04/03/2017 Region

Romanian media reports: Pogroms of Armenians in Sumgait were embodiment of Azerbaijani leadership's policy of xenophobia and ethnic cleansing

It is endemic for the leadership of Azerbaijan to voice only their own interpretation of history in a way that easily resembles to the Goebbels-like ideology: “if you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it,” statement of the Embassy of Armenia in Romania reads. 

Reportedly, since the waning years of the USSR, the people of the self-determined Nagorno-Karabakh have been fighting for the recognition of their status guaranteed by the international law. The lawful demands of the people of Artsakh to exercise their right to self-determination were met with anti-Armenian pogroms in the Azerbaijani city of Sumgait — 26 km away from Baku. Those events, carried out under the motto “Death to Armenians”, were the embodiment of Azerbaijani leadership's policy of xenophobia, ethnic cleansing and deportation of Armenians.

Those atrocities were the very reason Andrei Sakharov, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, wrote “even if some doubted it before Sumgait, no one sees a moral opportunity to insist on territorial unity of NKAO and Azerbaijan after this tragedy happened.”

“If official Baku's response to the aspiration of people of Nagorno-Karabakh to exercise its right to self-determination were pogroms and ethnic-cleansing of the Armenian population, the reaction to the implementation of that right in 1991, based on then existing USSR legislation and norms of international law was the large-scale war against the newly-independent Artsakh, accompanied by gross violations of the international humanitarian law,” the authors emphasize.

According to the statement, exactly 25 years ago Azerbaijani Armed Forces commenced the months-long shelling of the capital of Nagorno-Karabakh — Stepanakert, which at that time had become a shelter for the refugees fleeing the pogroms in Sumgait, Baku and other cities in Azerbaijan. On February 13 of 1992, in violation of international conventions, Azerbaijan started using BM-21 “Grad” multi rocket launchers on the residential areas of Stepanakert. Khojaly was one of the seven firebases, used for the shelling of Stepanakert. Even back in Soviet time Khojaly had an important strategic importance, as it was situated on the crossroad connecting Stepanakert to other regions of Nagorno-Karabakh. Moreover, in 1970s the only airport of Nagorno-Karabakh was built next to Khojaly, which during the Artsakh's blockade was the single gate point to the outside world. Thus, by 1992 it became evident that the neutralization of Khojaly fire point was an imperative for the physical preservation of the population of both Stepanakert and Nagorno-Karabakh as a whole. The operation to neutralize the Khojaly fire point started on February 25, 1992.
For months, the Nagorno-Karabakh self-defense forces had been informing the Azerbaijani side through all the possible means about this operation, its objectives and the humanitarian corridor left for the evacuation from Khojaly.

“Azerbaijan continues to distort the facts surrounding the bloody events near the city of Aghdam, which they call the 'Khojaly tragedy'. The mere facts of those events raise many questions, and the Azerbaijani leaderships, even after 25 years, still prefers to keep the answers behind seven locks,” the statement reads.
Ramiz Fataliev, Chair of the Committee Investigating the Events of Khojaly: “Four days left until the events of Khojaly. On February 22, in the presence of the President, the Prime Minister, the Head of the KGB and others, a National Security Council session took place at which a decision was taken not to evacuate people from Khojaly.” 

Here's an excerpt from the words of Azeri journalist Cingiz Mustafaev, a witness to the events: “On 29th [of February], when I was heading to Aghdam from another side, from the village of Umudlu, in a military helicopter, I saw that in 10 kilometers from Khojaly and approximately in 700 meters from our military post, dead bodies of our people were scattered on the ground. What horrified me the most was when I was filming these corpses, there were around 10 people from our side, strolling around easily in military uniforms. I was told that there were no corpses, it was impossible to get there, there were Armenians and there was shooting. But when we eventually landed there on our helicopters, three helicopters unexpectedly and immediately flew to Aghdam; those 10 people left, too. I still cannot understand why in 700 meters from our posts, where there were our soldiers roaming calmly, nobody was picking up these dead bodies?” 
Mustafaev also speaks of the main crime committed during the Aghdam events — the mutilation of bodies, discovered couple of days after the events. “Who has done all this? I was filming here just yesterday, there was nothing like that there.”

It comes as no surprise that there is zero tolerance in Azerbaijan towards the doubt, suspicion or investigative journalism on the official version of those events. Those who dare to speak openly about these events, were either killed like Cingiz Mustafaev, or imprisoned like journalist Eynulla Fatullayev, or exiled like the first President of Azerbaijan Ayaz Mutallibov.

During the interview with Czech journalist Dana Mazalova published in April 1992 Mutallibov stated that the militia of the Azerbaijani National Front actively obstructed and actually prevented the evacuation of the local civilian population from the military operation zone through the mountain passages specifically left open by Karabakh Armenians. The hope and intention of the Azerbaijani opposition was to utilize civilian losses of such a magnitude to instigate a popular uprising against the Baku regime and seize the reins of power.
Besides, more than 700 residents of Khojaly did not leave the village and were taken to Stepanakert, where they were provided with food and medical aid. Two days later, they were transferred to the Azerbaijani side, without any preconditions

“The Azerbaijani leadership has not answered yet to those questions raised by Azerbaijanis themselves. Meanwhile it has almost mastered the art of distorting the abovementioned facts in order to blame others for their crimes and escape the responsibility, while attempting to create a fictional counterbalance to the massacres that it has perpetrated against Armenians in Sumgait, Baku, Kirovabad, Maragha,” the authors write.

The Sumgait events created a precedent of impunity and even of glorification for the killings of peaceful Armenian citizens, something we witnessed later on during Armenian massacres elsewhere in Azerbaijan. The leadership of Azerbaijan continues to inject hatred against Armenians. It encourages such crimes as the brutal murder of Gurgen Margaryan, who in 2004 was axed in his sleep by Ramil Safarov, when the two were enrolled in NATO training course in Budapest. The killer was later proclaimed a national hero of Azerbaijan.
Even recently, during the April 2016 aggression against Artsakh, the world witnessed the results of the state-run policy of Armenophobia in Azerbaijan. The ISIS-style beheading of Kyaram Sloyan and two other Nagorno-Karabakh serviceman, or the brutal murder and mutilation of elderly family in Talish village, as well as the decoration of the perpetrators of these war crimes by the President of Azerbaijan is abhorrent and should be condemned by the whole international community.

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, 27 Armenians 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 the Azerbaijani KGB. Executioners of Sumgait were subsequently declared as national heroes of Azerbaijan.

On February 26, 1992, during the Karabakh war, around 200 to 300 people (according to Human Rights Watch, and 600 according to the version propagated by Azerbaijan) were killed in unknown circumstances near the city of Aghdam. They were deliberately withheld by the Azerbaijani authorities in the midst of the military actions. The authorities of Azerbaijan intentionally kept the population in the village for months by force and did not evacuate them in order to use them as human shields later as the village was one of the firing points for shooting at the blockaded Stepanakert (among five others).

The residents of Khojaly, coming out through the humanitarian corridor the self-defense forces of the NKR had left open, freely passed more than 10 km and reached the Aghdam city controlled by the Azerbaijani troops. Later, dead bodies of the villagers were foundnot far from the positions of Azerbaijani troops. The exact death toll remains unknown as the official Baku publishes data contradicting each other. Parliamentary Commission investigating the tragic death of the civilians at Aghdam city was dissolved by the order of Heydar Aliyev, the investigative materials are kept secret.



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

Newsfeed

17:02
Footballer killed by lightning strike at match in Peru
A football player in Peru has died and more have suffered injuries after being struck by lightning during a match on Sunday afternoon, the Daily...
16:46
On the trail of a post about Lori shared by Georgian president
Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili shared on Facebook a post by a Georgian travel agency offering tours to Armenia’s Lori Province on...
16:05
Parliament speaker names ruling party's candidate for Gyumri mayor
Armenia’s ruling Civil Contract party has picked Karen Sarukhanyan, a former governor of Shirak Province, as its candidate for the next...
15:42
Pashinyan criticized for failure to congratulate Moldova's president on re-election
Artur Sakunts, a human rights activist who heads the Helsinki Citizens' Assembly-Vanadzor, on Monday criticized Prime Minister Nikol...
15:07
Car crash in Armenia leaves one dead, three wounded
A tragic car crash in Armenia’s Aragatsotn Province on Monday left one person killed and three others injured. The Rescue Service...
14:36
Yerevan mayor says his 'good looks' could make him a target for corruption rumors
Yerevan Mayor Tigran Avinyan denied allegations of corrupt practices involving him as defamation.  “I guess my good looks...
14:14
Putin to accept credentials from new Armenian envoy on Tuesday
Russian President Vladimir Putin will receive the letters of credence from 28 newly arrived foreign ambassadors, including Armenian...
13:45
Legendary music producer Quincy Jones dies at 91
Quincy Jones, a titan of American entertainment who worked with stars from Frank Sinatra to Michael Jackson and Will Smith, has died aged...
13:30
Rain expected in some parts of Armenia on Monday
Rain is forecast for some parts of Armenia on Monday, with snow set to hit the country’s mountainous areas. Clear weather is expected...
13:04
At least 10 killed after volcano erupts in Indonesia
At least 10 people have been killed after a volcano erupted in eastern Indonesia in the early hours of Monday, BBC News reports, citing local...
12:46
ICRC visits Armenian prisoners held in Azerbaijan
Employees of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) visited Armenian prisoners held in Azerbaijan in October this year....
12:26
Spanish king pelted with eggs in flood-hit Valencia
Angry residents booed and threw eggs at Spain’s King Felipe and Queen Letizia as they visited the Valencia region, where more than 200...
12:10
Political analyst: Azerbaijan sitting on the twine
Political analyst Stepan Danielyan has weighed in on the latest developments regarding the Ukraine conflict. In a social media post on...
11:35
Tatoyan Foundation working to expose Azerbaijan's lies about Artsakh
Specialists of the Tatoyan Foundation are doing extensive work to expose the false Azerbaijani narratives about Armenia and Artsakh...
11:16
Maia Sandu wins second term in Moldovan presidential election
Moldova's pro-Western incumbent president Maia Sandu has won a second term in a pivotal presidential runoff against a Russia-friendly...
11:00
Trump reiterates support for Artsakh Armenians in phone call with Catholicos Aram I
Republican presidential candidate and former President Donald Trump on Friday phoned His Holiness Aram I, Catholicos of the Great House of...
17:13
Public figure accuses Armenian authorities of attempting to intimidate him
Public figure Hovhannes Avetisyan, an expert in public finance management, accused the Armenian authorities of repression and crackdown on their...
16:34
Iran's supreme leader threatens Israel and US with 'crushing response'
Iran’s supreme leader on Saturday threatened Israel and the U.S. with “a crushing response” over attacks on Iran and its...
16:15
Armenia offers condolences to Serbia over tragic collapse at railway station
Armenia has extended condolences to Serbia following the tragic collapse at a railway station, which killed at least 14 people and...
16:00
Armenian lifter Alexander Lazaryan crowned junior European champion
Armenian weightlifter Alexander Lazaryan bagged a gold medal at the European Junior and U23 Championships being held in Raszyn, Poland, from...
15:36
Spiritual leaders urged to raise awareness on injustice against Artsakh Armenians ahead of COP29
His Holiness Catholicos Aram I of the Holy See of Cilicia, His Beatitude Catholicos-Patriarch Raphaël Bedros XXI of the Armenian Catholic...
15:00
Showers possible in Yerevan on Sunday
Clear weather is expected in Armenia on Saturday and later next week. Rain is forecast for some parts of the country on Sunday and Monday,...
14:35
Catholicos Aram I, Ocampo discuss issues related to Artsakh
Luis Moreno Ocampo, the first prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), on Friday contacted His Holiness Catholicos Aram I by...
13:53
Islam Makhachev vs. Arman Tsarukyan reportedly targeted for UFC 311 on January 18
Islam Makhachev vs. Arman Tsarukyan rematch is the only fight that makes sense in the lightweight division at the moment. The champ is running...
13:27
Armenian Genocide denial risks new tragedies, MP warns
Opposition lawmaker Tigran Abrahamyan blasted Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan’s latest genocide remarks as dangerous for Armenia’s...
12:46
Urgent action needed to safeguard integrity of COP29 as fossil fuel influence looms large in Baku, report warns
We are days away from the start of COP29 in Azerbaijan. After previous hosts Egypt and the UAE, many had hoped for a more promising (and less...
12:30
Armenian church marks Feast of All Saints
The Armenian Apostolic Church on Saturday celebrates the Feast of All Saints, also called All Saints' Day. The day...
12:01
Paris Masters: Khachanov through to semi-finals
Russian-Armenian Karen Khachanov won against Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov, the No 8 seed, 6-2, 6-3 to move into the last four of Paris Masters at...
11:30
Analysis: Aliyev's daughters reportedly control business empire worth over $13 billion
Michael Rubin, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and director of policy analysis at the Middle East...
11:00
Armenia's Milena Khachatryan wins silver at U23 European Championships
Armenian weightlifter Milena Khachatryan grabbed a silver medal at the European Junior and U23 Championships being held in Raszyn, Poland, from...

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?"}