YEREVAN (Aysor.am), March 1— Twenty-two years ago, on February 27, 1988 in the city of Sumgait, located 20 kilometers from Baku, a massive extermination of the Armenian population by the Azerbaijani leadership occurred, which was accompanied by plunder and the destruction of the property of Armenians.

In an atmosphere of silence of the Soviet leadership, as a result of the audits carried out during three days of ethnic cleansing, tens of people were injured, raped, tortured and abused. About 53 people were killed, and some of those killed were brutally mutilated and their bodies burned.

On February 29, the Soviet army entered Sumgait, which, however, virtually did nothing to protect the peaceful Armenian population. The Azerbaijani monster managed to do its dirty deed.

The massacre of the Armenian population of Sumgait was the first instance of ethnic cleansing in the modern history of the USSR and, on the whole, played a big role in the collapse of the Soviet Union and in the fomenting the war in Karabakh.

As a result of concealing the fact of genocide in Sumgait and because of the disinformation of the international community, the Azerbaijani side continued the aggressive anti-Armenian propaganda, which led to the ethnic cleansing in Baku in January 1990, the victims of which were hundreds of innocent Armenian civilians.

As a result of the massive ethnic cleansing of Armenians conducted by the Azerbaijani leadership in 1988-1990, the entire Armenian community in Azerbaijan (at least half a million people) was expelled.

The pogroms were nothing more than a response to the peaceful demonstrations of the Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh, which demanded the realization of their constitutional right to self-determination.

On July 7, 1988 the European Parliament adopted a resolution condemning the pogroms in Sumgait, which read in particular:

“Taking into account the fact that Nagorno Karabakh is historically a part of Armenia, that more than 80 percent of its population are Armenians, that the region was annexed by Azerbaijan in 1923, that in February 1988 Armenians suffered from the atrocities perpetrated in the Azerbaijani city of Sumgait,

Taking into account the fact that the deteriorating political situation, that led to the massive killings of Armenians in Sumgait and murder in Baku, is dangerous for Armenians living in Azerbaijan,

Condemns the atrocities and violence carried out against the Armenians who were expressing their disagreement in Azerbaijan.”

The Azerbaijani authorities have never condemned the massive pogroms in Sumgait, nor have they ever regretted having committed ethnic cleansing, including the killing of Armenians in Karabakh. On the contrary, Azerbaijan presents itself as a “victim,” representing the struggle of the Nagorno Karabakh people for survival as an “aggression,” grossly falsifying the facts. But the criminals who carried out the massacre against Armenians are still unpunished.

Translated from Russian by Yerevan Report

Photo credit: Armenians.com