Marking the 18th Anniversary of the Sumgait Massacres

MARKING THE 18TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE SUMGAIT MASSACRES -- (House of Representatives - February 28, 2006)

The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Conaway). Under a previous order of the House, the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pallone) is recognized for 5 minutes.

Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, today marks a tragic anniversary for Armenians around the world. In late February of 1988, in the town of Sumgait, Azerbaijan, an organized attack on the Armenians of the town was carried out by Azerbaijani nationals. This 3-day rampage left dozens dead and hundreds injured.

Mr. Speaker, I stand today to recognize the massacres in Sumgait, Azerbaijan, and the continued Turkish and Azeri aggression against the Armenian people.

This massacre left dozens of Armenians dead, a majority of whom were set on fire alive after being beaten and tortured. Hundreds of innocent people received injuries of different severity and became physically impaired. Women, among them minors, were abused. More than 200 apartments were robbed, dozens of cars were destroyed and burned, dozens of art and crafts studios, shops and kiosks were demolished, and thousands of people became refugees.

Mr. Speaker, these crimes were never adequately prosecuted by the Government of Azerbaijan, and most of its organizers and executors were simply set free. Despite the attempt by the Government of Azerbaijan to cover up these crimes, enough brave witnesses came forward to give an accurate account of the offenses.

The Sumgait massacres are just another in a long line of Azerbaijan's aggressions against the Armenian people. The events in Sumgait were preceded by a wave of Anti-Armenian rallies that shook the city in February 1988. Almost the entire territory of the city, with a population of 250,000, became an arena for mass violence against its Armenian population.

The attacks also marked the beginning of the violent Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict, which claimed nearly 30,000 lives and left over 1 million refugees. The continued hostilities in Azerbaijan and the military aggression against the Armenians of Nagorno Karabakh in 1992 through 1994 led to the disappearance of a 450,000-strong Armenian community in Azerbaijan within a span of just a few years.

Mr. Speaker, today many Armenians marked the anniversary of the Sumgait massacre by organizing a march here in Washington from the embassy of Turkey to the embassy of Azerbaijan in order to highlight the continued Turkish and Azeri aggression toward the Armenian people.

The aggression I speak of, however, is still happening in a number of ways even today. There continues to be an organized effort to destroy historically sacred Armenian sites by the Government of Azerbaijan. Recently, there has been a documented video, evidencing the systematic destruction of a more than 1,000-year-old cemetery and historic carved stone crosses in the southern Nakhichevan region of Djulfa.

There are also continued attempts by Turkey and Azerbaijan to strangle Armenia's economy and its people's ability to survive through economic aggressions. The over 10-year blockade of Armenia by Turkey and Azerbaijan cuts off a valuable trade route through the country and further isolates Armenia. These blockades have been denounced by the United States, the United Nations and the European Union, but they still exist as a way to starve the Armenian economy. The United States should do more to encourage the Turkish and Azerbaijani Governments to stop their illegal blockade of Armenia.

Mr. Speaker, today, as the protesters walk the cold route from the Turkish embassy to the Azerbaijani embassy, the message should be heard loud and clear. It is time for the United States to do all that it can and to flex its geopolitical muscle in order to send a message that ethnically charged genocides, illegal blockades of sovereign nations and the constant harassment of the Armenian people will not be tolerated.

This anniversary reminds us yet again of the historical injustice the Armenian people have faced, unfortunately, throughout their history.

http://thomas.loc.gov