in Russian – https://aga-tribunal.info/baku_13-1-2020/

More detailed in Armenian (հայերեն) – https://aga-tribunal.info/hy/baku_13-1-2020_hy/

(Text was provided by the Consulate General of the Republic of Armenia in Sankt Petersburg, Russia)

None of the perpetrators and organizers of three Armenian pogroms in Baku in early and late 20th century was duly punished. Contemporary Azerbaijan is notorious for flourishing Armenophobia, distorting history of Baku, thus erasing the memory of the Armenian creative role and constructive contribution in the development of Baku.

Persecutions of the Armenian continue to this day. No Armenian, regardless his or her citizenship, can visit Azerbaijan without a threat to life. Any crime targeting Armenians is viewed as an act patriotism and heroism. This was the case with the murder of the Armenian officer Gurgen Margaryan, whose murderer was glorified by the leadership of Azerbaijan as a national hero.

In April 2016 Azerbaijani Army launched a four-day aggression against Artsakh, resulting in numerous deaths not only among servicemen of the Defense Army of Artsakh, but also among the country’s peaceful population. In Talish village an entire family, composed of elderly people, was tortured to death. Victims dead or alive were even beheaded, mutilated, treated unhumanely as it was the case during the pogroms in 1905, 1918, 1990. These facts emphasize the illegitimacy and impossibility of claiming jurisdiction by Azerbaijan over the people of Artsakh.

History of Armenian pogroms in Baku once again proves that impunity of crimes serves as a fertile soil for new, even more horrible crimes. Preventing the reoccurrence of such crimes, achieving sustainable development in the region is impossible without facing the past, restoring justice based on the norms and principles of international law, restoring rights of the victims of pogroms and their descendants. Guided by these very principles, Republics of Armenia and Artsakh call on the international community to condemn crimes committed against the Armenian people in Baku 30 years ago.