[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 11 (Wednesday, January 26, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E131-E132]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             IN REMEMBRANCE OF BLACK JANUARY IN AZERBAIJAN

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. EDOLPHUS TOWNS-

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, January 26, 2011

  Mr. TOWNS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today with the people of Azerbaijan in 
remembrance of the tragic events of Black January, when at midnight of 
January 19, 1990, 26,000 Soviet troops stormed the capital city of Baku 
with tanks and armored vehicles.
  That night the Soviet military machine intended to restore public 
order by bulldozing innocent people and firing on peaceful 
demonstrators, including on women and children. According to 
Azerbaijani records, as a result of this merciless act authorized by 
then President Mikhail Gorbachev, 130 people died, 611 were injured, 
841 were arrested, and 5 went missing.
  Human Rights groups have condemned the Baku incursion for its attacks 
on medical personnel, ambulances and even hospitals. The punishment 
inflicted by Soviet soldiers was intended as a warning to nationalists, 
not only in Azerbaijan, but in other Republics of the Soviet Union. The 
Soviet use of force in Baku was a desperate attempt to rescue the 
totalitarian regime. However, Black January had the opposite effect on 
Azerbaijan. It consolidated the rising independence movements in the 
country and united the Azerbaijani nation in their quest for freedom.
  Azerbaijan has developed into a thriving country and has become an 
essential partner of the United States in the region, collaborating on 
strengthening energy security and working together to counter terrorism 
and extremism. I would like to thank the Azerbaijani

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people for their friendship and share my thoughts and prayers with the 
families of those who gave their lives fighting for a better 
Azerbaijan. The United States will continue to work with Azerbaijan and 
other countries in the region to promote human rights, maintain 
stability, strengthen institutions, enhance the rule of law, and settle 
conflicts.

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