February 12, 2020 - Issue: Vol. 166, No. 29 — Daily Edition116th Congress (2019 - 2020) - 2nd Session

[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E171]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          RECOGNIZING THE 30TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE BAKU POGROMS

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                        HON. RAJA KRISHNAMOORTHI

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, February 12, 2020

  Mr. KRISHNAMOORTHI. Madam Speaker, today I rise to condemn the 
violence inflicted upon Armenians on the 30th anniversary of the Baku 
Pogroms in Azerbaijan. I believe that condemning these actions today 
will help prevent renewed aggression against citizens of Armenian 
descent who continue to live in Azerbaijan, while bringing attention to 
efforts to erase these atrocities from our collective memory. Further, 
I reaffirm our nation's commitment to an enduring, peaceful, and 
democratic resolution of the Artsakh conflict.
   From 1988 to 1990, the Armenian population in Soviet Azerbaijan was 
the target of ethnically targeted pogroms in the cities of Sumgait, 
Kirovabad, and Baku. Beginning on February 27, 1988 in Sumgait, 
Armenian Christians were indiscriminately murdered, raped, and maimed 
by mobs of criminals and thugs. According to independent reporting, 
police in Baku allowed the pogroms to continue for 3 days, during which 
time hundreds are estimated to have been murdered in cold blood.
   Despite vocal U.S. and international protests over the Sumgait 
pogroms, renewed anti-Armenian pogroms were launched in Kirovabad on 
November 21, 1988 that lasted for seven days. Fourteen months later in 
the capital, Baku, another pogrom was launched against its Armenian 
minority. These vicious attacks against unarmed civilians led to the 
displacement of thousands of Armenian families fleeing systematic 
violence as refugees.
   Madam Speaker, on this 30th anniversary of the Baku pogroms, I want 
to emphasize the importance of remembering these crimes against 
humanity. I call on the Azerbaijani government to acknowledge that 
these atrocities occurred, and that it seeks justice for the victims by 
prosecuting those who committed these horrific acts of violence. I also 
call upon the government of Azerbaijan to take all appropriate action 
to prevent further tragedies of this nature, and to do whatever is 
necessary to begin the healing process for the families of the victims. 
I call on the Azerbaijani government to respect the rights of all 
minorities living within its borders.

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