SUMGAIT VICTIMS REMEMBERED IN KARABAGH

[MosJan]

SUMGAIT VICTIMS REMEMBERED IN KARABAGH

 

Karabaghi president Arkady Ghuasian, senior officials of executive and legislative government of Karabagh and other public figures visited the Monument dedicated to the 1988 Sumgait tragic events’ victims and paid homage to the memory of the victims.

 

A divine liturgy was also served by the participation of senior clergymen.

 

 

© Copyright AZG

 

Anti-Armenian Violence

Sumgait: The vigorous but mainly peaceful political activity in Artsax and Yerevan was accompanied by a resumption of killings. On February 27, fanatical Azeri-Turks went on a three day rampage in Sumgait, a new industrial town 20 miles from Baku, murdering members of the town's large Armenian minority and destroying their property. According to the official Soviet account 32 died, but eyewitness reports stfongly suggest the true figure runs into the hundreds. Marina Pogosyan, a young survivor of the Sumgait massacre, testified:

"On the twenty-sixth, a Friday, a friend of mine warned me to stay inside over the weekend. Still, I went to work - I taught in a nursery schood - and walked home at noon. That afternoon, there was another Azerbaijani rally, in downtown Sumgait, and then crowds of people went through the shopping area where Armenians worked, and broke windows and smashed things. I heard cries of 'Death to Armenians! Blood for blood!' It was mostly young people, and the police didn't stop thepn. Late that night, after we had gone to bed, we heard yelling on the street, and through the window I saw thousands of people in a mob marching through the street, most dressed in black, carrying clubs and Turkish flags with the half-moon. They were yelling, 'Get out! Armenians are killing our people and you're sitting here! We must purge our city! The next day, we went to a neighbor's in the building for. her birthday party. We talked about what we had seen, but we thought it was just young hooligans, fhen a neighbor boy came in, looking pale. We asked him what was happening, and he said: 'You don't know? They're killing and burning people out there, breaking into people's apartments.' We called the police, and they said: 'Stay where you are. You're not the only ones. We can't help you.' A Russian neighbor came to us and invited us to wait in her apartment. There were about three families with her - fifteen people. We spent the whole night there. The mob came and knocked on our door, and she went outside and told them that we were not there - that we'd moved a week ago. A few times after that, they passed by and broke into neighbors' apartments. By that time, no Armenians were home. So there were no killings (in her building-ed.), but there was a lot of destruction. They threw the chairs and the dishes out of the window. I had absolutely no hope that we'd survive. I figured they'd kill us all sooner or later. The mob came again, but on Monday soldiers came in tanks and took us to the Party committee building." (Cullen, 1991, pp. 66-7)

 

Marina Pogosyan and her family were allowed to collect money and a few possessions before being flown to Yerevan. Most of Sumgait's Armenian community survived the attacks. Many, like Miss Pogosyan, were sheltered by brave Russian and Azeri-Turk neighbours. But the fate of those who fell into the hands of the mob was cruel. Lola Avakyan, a 37-year-old Armenian resident of Sumgait was one of the unfortunate. Seized by an Azeri-Turk crowd, she was stripped and forced to dance before having her breasts slashed and body burned with cigarettes. She was raped and then killed. Several AzeriTurks were arrested and convicted for their involvement in the mayhem.

 

Sumgait postscript: On March 2, 1993, the Office of Azerbaijani Procurator announced that it had recommended that President Eichibey grant an amnesty to those convicted of violent offenses against Armenians during the Sumgait pogrom. The Procurator's Office reported that it expected the President to act according to its recommendation. On the same day, a proposal for the amnesty to be announced on May 28, 1993 - the 74th anniversary of the founding of the first Republic of Az.

 

[ February 28, 2002, 11:52 AM: Message edited by: PandukhT ]

[MosJan]

From Armenians.com

 

Website dedicated to 1988 Events of Sumgait will be on line soon.

 

we have been working on this project for some 2 moths new, it's so interesting to find that it's a big cover-up by a Soviets, it was documented by soviets that only 39 Armenian have died result of the events, but some stress are showing over 75. soviets have cover-up for azeri fanatics, end way 39 only ? ehhh

 

if any of you have information on Sumgait events, photos, articles, or if you know of anyone that has suffered in this events pleas send me a PM

Thank you

 

Movses

[MosJan]

The Sumgait Tragedy Volume I

edited by Samuel Shahmuratian

Caratzas

 

pp. 343

reviewed by Vaughn Hovanessian

 

The Sumgait Tragedy Volume I is the first of a three volume series to document the massacre of Armenians in 1988 in Soviet Azerbaijan. The first two volumes include the personal testimonies of survivors of the attack. The third volume will contain related records of court proceedings, including indictments and sentences, as well as photos and articles from the press. Soviet journalist Samuel Shahmuratian is the editor. Yelena Bronner and Girair Libiridian provide comments.

Sumgait is a town near Baku, Azerbaijan. Hundreds of thousands of Armenians lived in that region in 1988 as they have since ancient times. In February and March of 1988 there were attacks and killings by Azeris on a massivie scale, a pogrom. Sadly, this was nothing new and, in fact, the attacks continue to this day. What's special about this particular massacre was its size, the massive evidence of the Azeri government's complicity, and the indifference and callousness of the Gorbachev regime.

The 1988 events in Sumgait and Nagorno Karabagh, an Armenian region of Azerbaijan, were a part of a long series of efforts by the Azeris to grab Armenian lands and drive out Armenians to live in their own shrunken republic. Previously Armenians had been forced out of Nakhichevan as well as other regions they traditionally held. As well, Armenians suffered pogroms before in Baku in 1918 and Shusha in 1920.

At rallies and on television, leaders of the Communist Party of Azerbaijan and various Azeri and Muslim groups exhorted mobs into a frenzy for slaughter. Many well educated and well respected Azeri leaders infuriated their followers with ludicrous stories of Armenians butchering Azeris in Nagorno Karabagh. These assertions were completely unfounded.

From that point on thousands joined mobs to hunt for Armenians at their homes. The fact that the Azeris were supplied with the addresses of so many Armenians and the fact that, on a local level, nothing was done to discourage or halt the pogrom attests to the Azeri government's complicity. As well, trucks delivered ample supplies of vodka, drugs, and weapons to the crowds.

In Sumgait gangs roamed from building to building forcing their way into Armenian homes. Houseware, pianos and personal belongings, etc, were stolen or destroyed. Armenian men were pounded with hammers, young girls were carved up in front of their parents then thrown off balconies. Axes, knives, and crowbars were commonly used. Then the gangs would often return to Armenian homes see if they missed anything and would just wreck more havoc.

Systematically groups of men as well as teenagers checked cars and buses. Demanding identification they would pull suspected Armenians out onto the street, club them senseless with machine armature shafts or stone them to death.

Armenians had no time to flee or to organize self-defense. Yet families armed and protected themselves as best they could, often converting household materials into improvised weapons.

In one case a father and son combined electrical wiring, a metal bed frame with metal parts of their apartment's doorway to create an electrified barrier. When, from inside, they heard a gang try to batter down their door the Armenians poured water onto the bed frame. The result would have made Thomas Edison proud!

The evidence in the Sumgait Tragedy shows that many Azeris protected their Armenian neighbors. While there were always those who would finger the apartments owned by Armenians many hid or physically defended women and children. Soviet soldiers who did bravely protect the Armenians were often stoned severely by hysterical crowds.

In the hospitals, literally adding insult to injury, Armenians who had been severely beaten or raped often faced hateful Azeri doctors and nurses. When anesthetics were available they were often denied Armenians on the operating table. Others died needlessly after prolonged delays in medical care. But again, there were also those medical personnel who were sympathetic and looked out for their Armenian charges.

Were the pogroms against the Armenians in Azerbaijan just the result of old ethnic rivalries or a civil war? That was the view of Gorbachev, the US press, and many in the Armenian community here at the time. Not true! Numerous Azeri intellectuals, the Armenian witnesses in our book, as well as some Western journalists who dug a little deeper come together on one point that this situation was at least partly created as a way to divert attention from economic mismanagement.

Gorbachev's response was that there was no genocide; that shameless drunken youth were responsible for 'a few dozen deaths of people from different nationalities..' Did Gorbachev also collude in this massacre? According to the Armenians interviewed, the Soviets had full knowledge that something would occur in Baku and Sumgait. A major Soviet garrison stationed a mere 10 miles from Sumgait; yet, they were never fully deployed to protect Armenians.

This compelling account reads as though it was written by dozens of Ann Franks It's not simply a collection of horror stories. Through the oral history we get a glimpse into the lives and hearts of our Armenian brothers and sisters:

"I haven't yet talked about Aunt Maria. They took her outside the apartment along with Papa, and stripped her naked. They beat her and her brother at the same time, she told me about it later. On the stairway they ordered them to put their hands behind their heads and go downstairs. Suddenly at the entryway they start beating both of them on the head with armature shafts.

Papa and Aunt Maria fell down and the attackers start beating them with whatever they can find, kicking them in the stomach, in the sides, everyway possible. ...later they poured something all over him and burned him. He struggled and contorted , groaned, cried in a terrible voice, and burned alive. "

[Arturian]

WE WILL NEVER FORGET, WE WILL NEVER FORGVIE!!!!!!!!!!

[THOTH]

quote:

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Originally posted by ARTURian:

WE WILL NEVER FORGET, WE WILL NEVER FORGVIE!!!!!!!!!! <img border="0" alt="[angryfire]" title="" src="smilies/angryfire.gif" />

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I agree that we should never forget - but should we not (as Christians...or otherwise) forgive? Certainly these horrific events - and those of earlier Genocides and masscres must not be forgotten by our people - but at some point I think we must forgive and move on - attempt to achieve some justice/recognition and (perhaps)punishment (of the perpetrators)...but if we can never forgive then what is our hope for the future? Is a contined cycle of violence our legacy for future generations? Do we aspire to Palestine? I think we must be aware and consider this and how we can properly honor the memories of our fallen as well as maintain the moral high ground that I believe we possess.

[MosJan]

forget or forgive

 

who i'm i? to forgive

Let the victoms FORGIVE

 

- i do not know -

 

What i know is way would you reside in a city populated by azeris in azerbejan if only 50 years prayer to that azeris war killing Armenians in Baku and in karabagh, this Armenian have forgiven azeris and have resided in sumgayit and the have payed teh highest price, I think we can learn, I think we should learn, if we are going to forgive, than we should never forget what happened and learn from the passed, we should alleyways remember the intentions of our neighbors, so the next time when we are "Brothers" we should keep a shorter leash.

 

even thug some of us have good azeri or turkish friend and yes their are good people, we should not forget their governments or religious leaders and most of all their intentions. because this will never end, they would never give up the idea of wiping of Armenia or Armenians from the face of the earth.

 

MOvses