Recognizing the 26th Anniversary of ``Black January''

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the 26th anniversary of ``Black January'' in Azerbaijan. Imbedded in the memory of all Azerbaijanis regardless of where they live, Black January commemorates Azerbaijan's stand against Soviet soldiers for independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity over all lands under Azerbaijani jurisdiction, and freedom from communism and dictatorship. On the evening of January 19, 1990, the U.S.S.R. Supreme Soviet Presidium backed by then-President Mikhail Gorbachev, declared a state of emergency in response to the growing national independence movement in Azerbaijan, which led to Russian troops storming the Azerbaijani capital city of Baku. In an attempt to suppress the movement and ``restore order,'' Soviet invaders indiscriminately fired on peaceful demonstrators, including women and children. That night, more than 130 people died, over 700 people were injured, 841 were arrested and 5 went missing. The invasion, however, focused not just on peaceful protestors but also on critical infrastructure and workers. According to a report by Human Rights Watch entitled Black January in Azerbaijan, ``among the most heinous violations of human rights during the Baku incursion were the numerous attacks on medical personnel, ambulances and even hospitals.'' Additionally, the attack was an act of intimidation for all then-Soviet countries with independence ambitions. The Human Rights Watch report concluded that, ``indeed the violence used by the Soviet Army on the night of January 19-20 constitutes an exercise in collective punishment. The punishment inflicted on Baku by Soviet soldiers may have been intended as a warning to nationalists, not only in Azerbaijan, but in other Republics of the Soviet Union.'' Azerbaijani citizens, however, refused to succumb to Soviet aggression. Instead, the invasion inflamed Azerbaijani nationalism. In the days after the invasion, thousands of Azerbaijanis surrounded Communist Party headquarters demanding the resignation of the republic's leadership, the Baku City Council demanded that Soviet troops be withdrawn and the Soviet legislature in Azerbaijan threatened to call a referendum on secession unless Soviet troops were withdrawn within 48 hours. Soviet troops were eventually withdrawn and January 20th became known as ``the Day of the Nationwide Sorrow.'' It would not be for nearly two years, however, before Azerbaijan gained political control from the Soviet Union. In October 1991, Azerbaijan's parliament--the National Assembly--declared its independence. Today, Azerbaijan has developed into a thriving country with double digit growth, in large part due to a freely elected president and parliament, free market reforms led by the energy sector, and, most importantly, no foreign troops on its soil. I ask my colleagues to join me in recognizing the tragic events of Black January that precipitated the independent Republic of Azerbaijan and the fall of the USSR.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source