[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 23 (Tuesday, February 28, 2006)]
[House]
[Pages H424-H425]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  2030
         MARKING THE 18TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE SUMGAIT MASSACRES

  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.

[[Page H425]]

  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.

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