Genocides of Sumgait, Kirovabad, Baku and Maragha

[Federate]

(picture from Armeniapedia)

This thread is dedicated to the genocides "Azerbaijan" committed against Armenians in Sumgait, Kirovabad, Baku, Maragha and other forgotten villages and towns that it cleansed and bombed indiscriminately during the Artsakh liberation war, also known as the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

Armenians often forget about these atrocities and others simply don't know anything about them. In our information war with "Azerbaijan", we have FAILED to publicize these events to ourselves and to the world while they have successfully created a myth called "Khojaly massacre" and spread it. Everytime those dimwits to the east of us yell and scream about Khojaly, shove these events to their faces. Everyone's welcome to post material on these events so that we may learn more about them and not forget them.

[Federate]

Re: Genocides of Sumgait, Kirovabad, Baku and Maragha

SUMGAIT GENOCIDE




Date: February 1988
Perpetrator(s): Azerbaijan
Death toll: Reports differ due to USSR clampdown on media. Eye witness reports speak of at least 200 Armenians killed

The Sumgait pogrom (also known as the Sumgait Massacre or February Events) was an Azeri-led pogrom that targeted the Armenian population of the seaside town of Sumgait (Azerbaijani: Sumqayıt) in Soviet Azerbaijan during February 1988. On February 27, 1988, large mobs made up of ethnic Azeris formed into groups that went on to attack and kill Armenians both on the streets and in their apartments; widespread looting and a general lack of concern from police officers allowed the situation to worsen. The violent acts in Sumgait were unprecedented in scope in the Soviet Union and attracted a great deal of attention from the media in the West. The massacre came in light of the Nagorno-Karabakh movement that was gaining traction in the neighboring Armenia SSR. The official death toll released by the Procurator General (tallies were compiled based on lists of named victims) was 32 people (26 Armenians and 6 Azeris). However, eyewitnesses reported a much larger number. Many insist that at least 200, not 30, people were killed.

On February 28, a small contingent of relatively unarmed Soviet MVD troops entered the city and unsuccessfully attempted to quell the rioting. The situation was finally defused when more professional military units entered with tanks and other armored vehicles one day later. The forces sent by the government imposed a state of martial law in Sumgait, established a curfew, and brought the crisis to an end.

The event was remarked with astonishment in both Armenia and the rest of the Soviet Union since ethnic feuds in the country were largely suppressed and officially nonexistent. Policies such as internationalism and Soviet patriotism had been constantly promoted in the republics to avert such conflicts. The massacre, together with the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, would present a major challenge to the reforms being implemented by then General Secretary of the Soviet Union, Mikhail Gorbachev. Gorbachev was criticized to what was perceived as his slow reaction to the crisis and numerous conspiracy theories rose after the event.

More details here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sumgait_pogrom

http://www.armeniapedia.org/index.php?title=Sumgait_Pogrom

[Federate]

Re: Genocides of Sumgait, Kirovabad, Baku and Maragha

Incomplete list of innocent victims of Sumgait (with pictures)

Lola Avagyan, born in 1961
Place of residence: Sumgait, block 45, 10/13, apt. 37
On February 29th, 1988 after her apartment was attacked, Avagyan was undressed and taken to the street. They made her dance, stabbed her with knives, cut her breast, stuck her body with lit cigarettes, and raped her. After death the body was mutilated; relatives recognized her by the little finger. Her father, Pavel Manvelyan said he had been in three morgues in Sumgait, Baku and Mardakyans (20 km away from Baku), and found body of his daughter in Mardakyans; she was number 71 among other corpses. Pavel Manvelyan testified in Moscow and signed the testimony. He has seen more than 100 piled dead bodies in three morgues. L. Avagyan’s husband, Alexander Avagyan was beaten within an inch of his life.

Yury Avagyan, born in 1936 in the village of Mohrenes, Hadrut region, Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous District
Place of residence: Sumgait, 3 micro district, 5/2, apt. 47
“Cerebral and ventricle hemorrhage, calvarium fracture, head wounds, burns all over the body” (After his apartment was attacked, Avagyan was taken to the street, beaten, cut up, burnt in the fire).

Albert Avanesyan, born in 1955
Address: Sumgait, block 5, 19/28, apt. 1
Acute hemorrhage, left lung and intercostal artery injury, penetrating stab and cut wounds on left side of the thorax. Albert was murdered with his brother Valery in the street.

Valery Avanesyan, born in 1957
Place of residence: Sumgait, block 5, 19/28, apt. 1
Cerebral and ventricle hemorrhage, compound wound of left zygomatic region, rib fracture, penetrating stab and cut wound of abdomen, mesentery injury. Valery was murdered with his brother Albert in the street.

Misha Ambartsumyan, born in 1941 in the village of Zamzur, Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous District.
Place of residence: Sumgait, 4 micro district, 18/24, apt. 2
Murdered in the street. “Burn shock, third-degree burn of 2/3 of body surface, comminuted fracture of cranial bones, cerebral hemorrhage”

Artash Arakelyan, born in 1937 in the village of Chardakhlu, Shamkhor region, Azerbaijani SSR.
Place of residence: Sumgait, block 41A, 5A, apt. 9
“Cerebral hemorrhage, fracture of cranial bones and ribs, lung injury. Blunt trauma. Charred corpse”.

Armo Aramyan, born in 1928 in the village of Kyatuk, Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous District.
Place of residence: Sumgait, 3 micro district, 6/2, apt. 21
“Cerebral membrane and ventricle hemorrhage, fracture of cranial bones”. Was murdered together with his son Arthur; his wife was saved by a miracle.

Arthur Aramyan, born in 1963 in the village of Kyatuk, Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous District.
Place of residence: Sumgait, 3 micro district, 6/2, apt. 21
“Cerebral membrane and ventricle hemorrhage, fracture of cranial bones”. Was murdered together with his father; his mother was saved by a miracle.

Vladimir Arushanyan, born in 1936 in the village of Arjadzor, Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous District.
Place of residence: Sumgait, 3 micro district, 6/2, apt. 16
“Cerebral soft membrane and ventricle hemorrhage”. His wife, R. Arushanyan (officially recorded as missing), was also killed.

Razmella Arushanyan, born in 1939 in the village of Chldran, Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous District.
Place of residence: Sumgait, 3 micro district, 6/2, apt. 16

EXTRACT FROM AN APPEAL: COMRADES! On 28.02.88 about 24:00 citizen Razmella Arushanyan, born in 1939, left the central checkpoint of the tube-rolling mill; she is missing. Last time she was seen naked among an outrageous crowd of people on Mir Street near the railway crossing.
INVESTIGATORS:
PAVLOVSKY S.
KOZLENKO A.

Arshak Babayan, born in 1931 in the village of Akaku, Hadrut region of the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous District.
Place of residence: Sumgait, 4 block, 27A, apt. 12
He was killed at home. “Cerebral soft membrane and ventricle hemorrhage, fracture of cranial bones and left ribs, blunt trauma of the body”.

Yelena Babayan, born in 1932 in the village of Metsashen, Martakert region of the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous District.
Place of residence: Sumgait, 12 micro district, 29, apt. 52
According to her husband Artyusha Babayan, she was beaten on February 28th on her way home from work. She lied at home motionlessly until March 16th. The ambulance refused to take her to hospital. Yelena Babayan died on March 16th.

Alexander Gambaryan, born in 1926 in the village of Verkhny Chaylu, Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous District.
Place of residence: Sumgait, 3 micro district, 17, apt. 40
Was killed at home by a crowbar blow. Craniocerebral injury.

Emma Grigoryan, born in 1930 in the village of Armyanskie Borisy, Shahumyan region.
Place of residence: Sumgait, 3 micro district, 5/2, apt. 45
Naked, she was taken to the street from the 4th floor and set on a bench in front of the doorway. They burnt cigarettes on her body, raped her, smashed her head, broke the ribs, stuck a metal pipe into her vagina.
“Shock, hemorrhage, rupture of posterior wall of vagina, rectum wall injury, retroperitoneal haematoma, fracture of II – VI right bones and X thoracic vertebra”.

Nikolay Danielyan, born in 1939 in the village of Badara, Askerna region, Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous District.
Place of residence: Sumgait, 3 micro district, 4/2, apt. 25
Was taken to the street together with his wife and son. His wife was also killed; son was badly wounded.
“Cerebral membrane and ventricle hemorrhage, cranial bones fracture, blunt head trauma”.

Seda Danielyan, born in 1938.
Place of residence: Sumgait, 3 micro district, 4/2, apt. 25
Was taken to the street together with her husband and son; was killed after malicious insults. “Cerebral membrane and ventricle hemorrhage, cranial bones fracture, blunt head trauma”.

Garry Martirosov, born in 1954.
Place of residence: Baku, Lenin Ave, 43, apt 16
“Cerebral hemorrhage, cranial bones fracture, 3rd- and 4th-degree burns all over the body. On 29.02.88 in 15:30 – 16:30 was taken out of a ”RAF” or “UAZ” minibus near the railway crossing; was beaten; then burnt.

Soghomon Melkumyan, born in 1931 in the village of Jilan, Hadrut region, Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous District
Place of residence: Sumgait, block 41A, 26, apt. 21
Was killed with his wife and three children. “Burn of the body, open penetrating craniocerebral injury”.

Raisa Melkumyan, born in 1934 in the village of Jilan, Hadrut region, Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous District
Place of residence: Sumgait, block 41A, 26, apt. 21
Was killed with her husband and three children. Was taken naked to the doorway. After the murder the teenagers scoffed at the body. “Acute hemorrhage, chopped calvarium wound, rectum wound with hemorrhage, fracture of 5th right rib, grazes and bruises over the body”.

Igor Melkumyan, born in 1957 in the village of Jilan, Hadrut region, Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous District
Place of residence: Sumgait, block 41A, 26, apt. 21
Was killed with his mother, father, sister and brother. After being beaten was burnt alive. “Burn shock, 2nd and 3rd degree burns of the body. Carbon monoxide gassing. Compound occiput wound.”

Irina Melkumyan, born in 1961 in the village of Jilan, Hadrut region, Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous District
Place of residence: Sumgait, block 41A, 26, apt. 21
Was killed with four other members of her family – mother, father, and two brothers. Was raped, then taken naked to the street. Was burnt after being mocked at and beaten. “Cerebral membrane and ventricle hemorrhage, chopped head wound, fractures of calvarium and skull base, charred corpse”.

Eduard Melkumyan, born in 1960 in the village of Jilan, Hadrut region, Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous District
Place of residence: Sumgait, block 41A , 26, apt. 21
Was killed with his mother, father, sister and brother. Accomplished his military service in the Soviet Army in Afghanistan. “Cerebral membrane and ventricle hemorrhage, cranial bones fracture. (Was burnt and mutilated so much that his body was recognized by the shoes.)

Phiruza Melkumyan, 70 year old
Was born in the village of Garnakar, Martakert region of Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous District
Place of residence: Sumgait, 17 micro district, 51, apt. 59
Was killed at home on February 29 at 16:00. She was beaten, then her body was cut by numerous axe blows. Her screams were heard throughout the whole 17 micro district; no one came for help.

Yersilya Movsesova, born in 1902 in Martuni region of Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous District.
Lived in Baku, was killed in Sumgait, 3 micro district, 6/2A, apt 18.
“Cerebral hemorrhage, fracture of cranial bones, multiple rib fracture, blunt head and body trauma”. Among other wounds 31 knife wounds were recorded.

Shahen Sarkisyan, born in 1927 in the village of Karakend, Martuni region, of Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous District.
Place of residence: Sumgait, block 5, 14, apt. 16
“Radial fracture of occipital bone, fracture of sternum and 6 ribs…Death was caused a severe craniocerebral injury”, thus 62-year old carpenter Shahen Sarkisyan was dying, being thrown out by the outrageous mob from his car on Mir street (STREET OF PEACE) in Sumgait (Moskovskie Novosti, N 21, 22.05.88)

Rafik Tovmasyan, born in 1956 in the village of Vank, Martakert region, of Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous District.
Place of residence: Sumgait, 3 micro district, 6/2, apt. 8
Acute hemorrhage. (Was defending himself during 8 hours with his father-in-law at their neighbours’ place, the Trdatovs. Azeri gangsters tried to get into the apartment through the broken partition of the neighbouring apartment, the balcony of the upper floor and then with the help of the ladder of the fire engine that came to help. Was killed in the unequal fight.)

Gabriel Trdatov, born in 1925 in the village of Kerkenj, Shemakhi region, Azeri SSR.
Place of residence: Sumgait, 3 micro district, 6/2, apt. 6
Was defending himself with his son, wife and two neighbours (Hrant Adamyan and his son-in-law – Rafik Tovmasyan) during 8 hours from gangster Azeris who tried to get into the apartment through the door, the broken partition of the neighbouring apartment, the balcony of the upper floor and then with the help of the ladder of the fire-engine that came to help. He got 3 knife wounds, two axe blows, his left eardrum burst from a stone blow. He died in the hospital on March 4 night.

Tamara Mekhtieva, 70-75 year old
Was born in the town of Sisian, Armenian SSR.
Place of residence: Sumgait, 3 micro district, 16, apt. 49
A single woman with no relatives. Was killed and thrown out to the hallway. A neighbour saw her dead body.

Arusyak Sayan, born in 1914 in Fizuli.
Place of residence: Sumgait, block 14, Azizbekov Str. 38/5, apt. 8
On February 29 Sayan’s state of health deteriorated abruptly due to events happening in the city. She was refused emergency medical aid; the refusal motivation was: “Armenians should have it more”. She died the same day. Arusyak Sayan’s body was buried on March 1st without her daughter’s and relatives’ participation; they could not leave the city committee building where troops evacuated the Armenian population of Sumgait.

A several month old infant
Died in the building of Vurgun club, where troops evacuated part of the Armenian population of Sumgait. The baby died on the hands of Badasyan Zaven. There were no wounds or bruises on his body, but the chaos, insanitariness, and absolutely absence of medical care during the first days allow to consider the baby a victim of Sumgait tragedy. On March 6th, after the baby’s death all the Armenians were forced to leave the club building due to the reason that any moment dysentery and typhus epidemic may burst out in the club.

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Re: Genocides of Sumgait, Kirovabad, Baku and Maragha

Sumgait genocide videos

Brave Turk Wolves attack innocent old Armenians BAKU SUMGAIT

Sumgait Massacre

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Re: Genocides of Sumgait, Kirovabad, Baku and Maragha

A Genocide Gone Unpunished
Pogroms of Armenians in Sumgait (February 1988)
NKR report on the Sumgait genocide

"No half-measures or arguments about friendship of nations can calm down the people. Even if some doubted it before Simgait, no one sees a moral opportunity to insist on territorial unity of NKAO and Azerbaijan after the tragedy happened".

Andrei Sakharov, renown Soviet physicist and human rights activist

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
20 Years of the Sumgait Pogroms: Intolerance and Violence as a State Policy

Speech by H.E. Dr. Vahe Gabrielyan
at a commemorative meeting held at the House of Lords Committee Room 3.
27 February, 2008,

[Federate]

Re: Genocides of Sumgait, Kirovabad, Baku and Maragha

KIROVABAD GENOCIDE

Date: November 1988
Perpetrator(s): Azerbaijan
Death toll: More than 130 Armenians killed and 200 wounded
Notable mention: Three Soviet soldiers killed trying to defend Armenians.

The Kirovabad pogrom was an Azeri-led pogrom that targeted Armenians living in the city of Kirovabad (today called Ganja) in Soviet Azerbaijan during November 1988.

The Kirovabad pogrom was succeed by the appearing of extremist slogans like "Glory to the heroes of Sumgait". An unidentified Armenian press editor said the commander of the Soviet troops asked the Interior Ministry in Moscow for permission to evacuate some of the city's Armenian population of 100,000. However, attempts by Soviet troops to defend Armenians during the pogrom were to no avail. The conflict intensified in the fall of 1988, as the Armenians of Kirovabad and the surrounding countryside were driven from their homes and forced to seek haven in Armenia.

On November 23, an attempt of pogrom against the building of the city's Executive committee took place. During the clashes between the aggressive crowd and the armed forces who tried to keep the order and to defend the Armenian citizens three soldiers were killed, and 67 people were wounded. Hooligans burned down and damaged the military machines.

At the time, Soviet human rights activist Andrei Sakharov, in Massachusetts during the unrest, said he had received reports from the Soviet Union that more than 130 Armenians were killed and more than 200 wounded in the violence. In 1990, Yuri Rost mentions forty deaths, one third of whom were ethnic Azeris killed in clashes with the Soviet troops, however in the same year Sakharov admitted in his memoirs that releasing the figures about the numbers of Armenian causalities was a deplorable mistake. He writes:
“ During this time Armenian – Azerbaijani problems aggravated again. Pogroms and violence started in Kirovabad. The situation there was terrible – hundreds of women and children were hiding in a church, which with much difficulty was protected by soldiers, who (as reports claimed) were armed only with mine shovels. Soldiers indeed were having a hard time, and they behaved heroically. There were casualties among them. Soon we received information that a large number of Armenians was killed. As it turned out later, the reports came from one person, who let’s say was not quite accurate and responsible. But they reached Moscow through various channels and appeared to be independent and trustworthy. Lusya, who trusted these reports (and it was hard not to trust them) transmitted them to me in the USA by telephone, and I used the received figures in a telephone message to Mitterrand (he just arrived to Moscow with an official visit, and I called by night to the French embassy) and in a public statement. This was one of the deplorable mistakes that I have made in the recent years. Of course, I should not have at least used the concrete figures. ”

According to the high ranked KGB officers who were involved in these events, pogroms and violence were prevented due to the efforts of the Soviet army and local authorities, and there were no casualties among the civil population.
“ Soviet soldiers have blocked dozens of Azerbaijani attempts to massacre Armenians in their homes in the continuing communal violence in the southern Soviet republic of Azerbaijan, a senior military commander there said Saturday

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kirovabad_pogrom

http://www.hayastan.com/armenia/history/armenia/index12.php

[Armanen]

Re: Genocides of Sumgait, Kirovabad, Baku and Maragha

Good thread enker!

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Re: Genocides of Sumgait, Kirovabad, Baku and Maragha

BLACK JANUARY: BAKU GENOCIDE

Date: January 13-19, 1990
Perpetrator(s): Azerbaijan
Death toll: 120 to 300 Armenians were murdered by Azeris, tens of thousands were raped and tortured.

The Pogrom of Armenians in Baku is referred to the anti-Armenian pogrom directed against the Armenian inhabitants of Baku, Azerbaijani SSR. Since the January 13, 1990 seven-day pogroms broke out against Armenians in the Baku, with a death toll of 48 or 66. Most of the deaths were caused by beatings and knife wounds; there were no gunshot wounds. There were also many raids on apartments and robberies. According to the Human Rights Watch reporter Robert Kushen, "the action was not entirely (or perhaps not at all) spontaneous, as the attackers had lists of Armenians and their addresses".

By January 1990, Azerbaijan was in turmoil. Large rallies by the Azerbaijani Popular Front took place in Baku.

The rhetoric of some Popular Front leaders, which included calls for the deportation of Armenians from Azerbaidzhan, was at least harmful to the relations with Armenian population; that rhetoric was not significantly toned down during the pogroms.

Central authorities also did little to stop the violence.

As no state of emergency was declared in Baku - the pogrom activity started to subside: Azerbaijani Popular Front activists began a blockade of military barracks. Thomas de Waal was called this pogrom the first part of "Black January" tragedy with about 90 Armenian victims. According to him, at first a big boodle collected in the Lenin Square of Baku, and at nightfall different groups separated from the Azerbaijani Popular Front demonstrants, and started to attack Armenians. As in Sumgait, their activities were distinguished by sophisticated cruelty: the area around the Armenian quarter became an arena of mass killings. During the "pogroms in Baku, Armenian homes were set on fire and looted while many Armenians were killed or injured". Several eyewitnesses told Helsinki Watch/Memorial that they "approached militiamen on the street to report nearby attacks on Armenians, but the militiamen did nothing".

Francis X. Clines, who was in Baku after the events, in his report for "The New York Times" wrote:

Here and there, boarded windows or soot-blackened walls mark an apartment where Armenians were driven out by mobs and their belongings set afire on the balcony.
The Armenian Orthodox Church, whose congregation has been depleted over the past two years by an emigration based on fear, is now a charred ruin. A neighbor said firefighters and the police watched without intervening as vandals destroyed the building at the beginning of the year.

Aftermath

In 1990, an "Open Letter on Anti-Armenian Pogroms in the Soviet Union" was iniciated by the Helsinki Treaty Watchdog Committee of France and intellectuals from the College International de Philosophie, Paris:

"As recently as January 1990, the pogroms continued in Baku and other parts of Azerbaijan. The mere fact that these pogroms were repeated and the fact that they followed the same pattern lead us to think that these tragic events are not accidents or spontaneous outbursts."

In January 1990, Soviet troops intervened in Baku, declared a state of martial law. The Soviet forces not only failed to stem anti-Armenian attacks, but also raised serious doubts about whether the Soviets wished to stem that violence. The action resulted in over one hundred civilian, mostly Azeri, deaths because of the unjustified and excessive use of force. The action even did not achieve its official goal: most Armenians fled Baku. The World Chess Champion Garry Kasparov and his family was among the evacuees.

http://sumgait.info/baku/baku-eng/baku-1990-eng.htm

http://www.regnum.ru/news/393726.html (Russian)

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Re: Genocides of Sumgait, Kirovabad, Baku and Maragha

Black January: Armenian experts say pogroms in Baku have to be recognized as genocide


By Marina Grigoryan
ArmeniaNow reporter
Published: 16 January, 2009
Every January the Armenian community commemorates the victims of 1990 Baku pogroms- one of the cruelest and bloodiest pages in the history of the Karabakh conflict.

For six days, January 13-19, the Azerbaijani capital became a slaughter zone as a result of which, according to different estimates, from 120 to 300 Armenians were murdered by Azeris, tens of thousands were raped and tortured. Those who survived were banished from their historic home. (Until 1988 470-480,000 Armenians lived in Azerbaijan, 260-270,000 out of whom were residents of Baku. By January of 1990 the remaining 25-30,000 Armenians of Baku were banished from the country.)

Meanwhile many think that the Baku pogroms did get either legal or political assessment they deserved inside Armenia itself.

Now, 19 years after the tragic events, on the initiative of Assembly of Azerbaijani Armenians NGO, Heritage parliament faction is drafting a statement on “Recognition of actions taken in 1988-1992 by the Azeri authorities towards the local Armenian population in numerous settlements across the Azerbaijani SSR and the Autonomous Region of Nagorno Karabakh (later the Republic of Nagorno Karabakh) as genocide”

The Assembly Chairman Grigori Ayvazyan says they have turned not only to the National Assembly of Armenia with their initiative, but also to several NGOs and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia (MFA), the OSCE Minks Group and the embassies of its co-chairing countries, as well as to a number of other structures.

“In our appeal to OSCE we pointed out that in the negotiation process it’s illegitimate to raise the question of return of only Azeri refugees to their former domiciles. Return can either be reciprocal or none at all. The French Embassy in Armenia (France being one of OSCE Minsk group co-chairing countries) has responded saying that the issue of Armenian refugees is key in the negotiation process and that the interests of all the sides involved have to be taken into consideration in order to guarantee the establishment of long-term peace in the conflict zone. Besides that, we have positive responses from several deputies and the Foreign Ministry,” Ayvazyan told ArmeniaNow.

Heritage faction’s statement provides grounds why Armenia has to recognize the above-mentioned events as genocide and has a package of relevant documentation attached to the statement.

“It’s absolutely obvious that we are not dealing with accidental actions or mass disorder, but with a purposeful, deliberate and long-term policy of Azerbaijan. It’s extremely important to emphasize that both legal and political realities following the pogroms completely exclude the return of Armenians to Baku. So in this case people are deprived of their right to return to their historic homes,” says Larisa Alaverdyan, Heritage faction MP.

By the Assembly’s request the Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute has drawn a reference-paper stating how the actions against the Armenians of Azerbaijan correspond to 1984 UN Convention on prevention and punishment for the crime of genocide.

“To my mind, we are late not only with such a statement but on the whole with collection of related information and making a file on Armenian pogroms in Baku,” Hayk Demoyan, director of the Genocide Museum, told ArmeniaNow. “Our reference shows according to which parameters the 1988-1992 events against the Armenians in Azerbaijan correspond to the UN Convention provisions on genocide.”

According to many experts and observers, the issue of compensation to Armenian refuges who left a huge amount of both movable and immovable property in Azerbaijan, has never found an adequate reflection in the course of the negotiation process.

“In my opinion, the first step in this direction has to be taken by the Republic of Nagorno Karabakh which, after its declaration of independence, must have taken up the state and legal responsibility for those Armenians banished from Azerbaijan,” says professor Alexander Manasyan, head of Academy of Political Studies NGO, who also says that the statement has to be adopted.

Armenian pogroms in Baku took place in Soviet times and were condoned by not only the authorities and law-enforcement bodies of Soviet Azerbaijan, but also the Moscow Central Government. The troops interfered only on January 19 when practically no Armenians were left in the city. At the same time thousands of Russian and xxxish families were also forced to leave the city.

“The adoption of the statement will enable us to finally turn that tragic page of Armenia’s modern history,” says Alaverdyan. “The lack of official assessment on the part of the Armenian State means that such crime can be repeated, and the present hostile rhetoric of the leader of Azerbaijan serves as proof to that.”

The statement drafted by the Heritage faction is currently being studied by the Legal department of the National Assembly of Armenia.

http://www.armenianow.com/?action=viewArticle&AID=3500&CID=3367&IID=1218&lng=eng

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Re: Genocides of Sumgait, Kirovabad, Baku and Maragha

MARAGHAR GENOCIDE





Date: April 10, 1992
Perpetrator(s): Azerbaijan
Death toll: 52 Armenians chopped to pieces, 100 Armenian women and children kidnapped and still missing.
Notable mention: "Azeris" claim this was a revenge attack for the bogus "Khojaly massacre"

The Maraghar Massacre was the April 10, 1992 killing of ethinc Armenian civil population of the village Maraghar by Azerbaijani troops during the Nagorno-Karabakh War, a war in which both the Armenian and Azeri forces involved are alleged to have committed acts of ethnic cleansing upon civilian populations. According to Caroline Cox, who observed the damage and interviewed eyewitnesses, Azerbaijani forces attacked the Armenian town of Maraghar, decapitated about forty five villagers, burned and looted much of the town, and kidnapped about one hundred women and children. The inhabitants of Maraghar who were driven out after the attack were unable to return to their village after the cease-fire of 1994, as the area was still under Azeri control.

“Maraghar: the name of this village is associated with a massacre which never reached the world’s headlines, although at least 45 Armenians died cruel deaths. During the CSI mission to Nagorno Karabakh in April, news came through that a village in the north, in Martakert region, had been overrun by Azeri-Turks on April 10 and there had been a number of civilians killed. A group went to obtain evidence and found a village with survivors in a state of shock, their burn-out homes still smoldering, charred remains of corpses and vertebrae still on the ground, where people had their heads sawn off, and their bodies burnt in front of their families. 45 people had been massacred and 100 were missing, possibly suffering a fate worse than death. In order to verify the stories, the delegation asked the villagers if they would exhume the bodies which they had already buried. In great anguish, they did so, allowing photographs to be taken of the decapitated, charred bodies. Later when asked about publicizing the tragedy, they replied they were reluctant to do so as ‘ we Armenians are not very good at showing our grief to the world’.

According to Gevorg Petrossian, Chairman of the Parliament of Nagorno-Karabakh, fifty-three civilians were killed during the attack on Maraga.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maraghar_Massacre