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28.02.2018
Statement of the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia on the 30th Anniversary of Sumgait Pogrom

Acknowledging that 30 years ago the Sumgait pogroms were planned and perpetrated by the Azerbaijani authorities, and were yet another manifestation of Azerbaijan's consistent policy of extradition and extermination of the Armenian people from its cradle, which has commenced with the establishment of Azerbaijan in 1918 through the massacres of Armenians, particularly in Baku - 30,000 (1918) and Shushi - 20,000 (1920), then continued in the Soviet era through the forcible eviction of Armenians of Nakhijevan and other regions, as well as repressions against the Armenians of Artsakh; that this process gained momentum, particularly, with the massacres committed against the Armenians in Sumgait, Baku and Gandzak (Kirovabad) from 1988 to 1991, and, since 1991, with the large-scale aggression against Artsakh, involving thousands of mercenaries, closely related to the international terrorist organizations, the ethnic cleansings and deportations of 22 Armenian villages through “Koltso” (Ring) military operation in 1991, killings of elderly, women and children living in Maragha village of Artsakh in 1992, the occupation  and de-armenization of the Shahumyan region and part of Martakert region in 1992, killing of the population of the town of Khojaly near Aghdam committed by the Azerbaijani armed groups with the aim of using it for the internal power struggle in Azerbaijan and attributing it to the Armenians, the glorification of those who committed crimes against Armenians, disseminating of anti-Armenian hatred and intolerance, the annihilation of the Armenian historical-cultural heritage, falsification of history, violation of the 1994-1995 trilateral ceasefire agreements, which have no time limitation, and subversive penetrations, killing of peaceful population and the military personnel, targeted bombings of civilian infrastructure, the new large-scale aggression against Artsakh in April 2016, which was accompanied with the gross violations of the international humanitarian law, namely, killings of children, women and elderly, mutilation of corpses of soldiers, beheadings of captured Armenian soldiers in the style of terrorist groups,

Acknowledging the fact, that in response  to the peaceful demands of the people of Artsakh, who were under threat of ethnic cleansing, de-Armenization and physical extermination, to realise, in accordance with the norms and principles of international law and in line with the existing at that time legislation, one of the fundamental principles of international law, namely, the equality and self-determination of peoples, the Azerbaijani authorities perpetrated anti-Armenian violence, pogroms and deportations, accompanied with the extreme anti-Armenian state-sponsored propaganda, which has made the existence of Armenians in Azerbaijan impossible.

Stating that the Azerbaijani authorities, opposing the efforts of the international community and the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs, undermine the negotiation process on the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and continue to rely on the use of force and threat of force.

The National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia

Condemns the massive violence, murders and deportations of peaceful population by Azerbaijan, as well as the Armenophobic, racist policy and the aggressive military actions unleashed against Nagorno-Karabakh.

Commemorates the innocent victims of Azerbaijani crimes against Armenians.

Calls on the Parliaments and the Parliamentary Assemblies, the international organizations and human rights bodies:

- to condemn the committed and ongoing atrocities of Azerbaijan against the peaceful population as well as the violations of the humanitarian law which threaten not only the Armenian people, but also the security, stability and development of the whole region.

- to undertake practical steps to prevent them.


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