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The Artsakh National Assembly hosted on Monday a discussion dedicated to the 30th anniversary of the pogroms of Armenians in Baku. The keynote speaker was American-Armenian writer, lecturer, PhD, member of Westbrook City Council and survivor of the Baku massacre Anna Astvatsaturian Turcotte.

Deputy Speaker Vahram Balayan, heads and responsibles of the standing committees and factions, representatives of the state system and survivors of the Baku pogroms participated in the discussion, the Artsakh parliament said in a press release.

Opening the discussion, Speaker of the National Assembly Ashot Ghulyan touched upon the special sitting of the Inter-Parliamentary Committee on Cooperation between the Armenian and Artsakh parliaments dedicated to the 30th anniversary of the pogroms and the statement adopted by the Committee, underlining its importance in reiterating and condemning the Baku massacres.

Anna Astvatsaturian Turcotte, speaking about the pogroms in Baku, presented all the issues that refugees have been facing and are dealing with to this day.

“My relatives have been scattered by the massacre and now live in different countries, and we do not know each other. That is our misfortune. I feel like a refugee everywhere,” she said.

The speaker also noted that, unfortunately, there has been no comprehensive state approach to this issue so far, and the sitting of the Inter-Parliamentary Committee held in Armenia a few days ago was the first step towards that.

Professor Alexander Manasyan also delivered a speech on the topic, emphasizing the importance of seeking and organizing ways of publicizing and promoting information about the Baku massacres. Speaking about the events in Baku, he noted that in the history of Armenians both the victim and the perpetrator are always the same.

“Genocide is a national policy,” Manasyan said, referring to Azerbaijan's anti-Armenian propaganda.

The participants posed questions to the speakers and made speeches.

Summing up the meeting, the National Assembly speaker noted that a package on the events of 1988-90 should be prepared in both Armenia and Artsakh, which would be the most appropriate justification for why Artsakh cannot be part of Azerbaijan in terms of both sovereignty and jurisdiction.

At the end of the meeting, the participants observed a minute of silence to commemorate the victims of the Baku pogroms.