[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 10 (Tuesday, January 24, 2012)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E64-E65]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                             BLACK JANUARY

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. HENRY CUELLAR

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, January 24, 2012

  Mr. CUELLAR. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize a landmark event 
in history known as ``Black January''. This was a day when Azerbaijani 
citizens stood up to the Soviet government and gave up their lives for 
freedom from communism and dictatorship. Indeed, January 20, 1990, in 
Baku, Azerbaijan, has become a symbol of when the Soviet empire lapsed.
  At midnight, on January 19, 1990, twenty-six thousand Russian troops 
flooded the capital city of Baku with tanks. Armed with a state of 
emergency declared by the U.S.S.R. Supreme Soviet Presidium and signed 
by then President Mikhail Gorbachev, the incursion was intended to 
suppress a growing independence movement. The end result was the 
opposite as the incident inflamed Azerbaijani nationalism and 
contributed to the breakup of the Soviet Union.

[[Page E65]]

  The national independence movement had reached a remarkable momentum 
with hundreds of thousands demonstrating for independence, sovereignty 
and territorial integrity. The emerging democratic groups and 
protesters called for independence from the Soviet Union and removal of 
Communists officials. On the night of January 19-20, more than 130 
people died, 611 were injured, 841 were arrested and 5 went missing. In 
the days after the invasion, thousands of Azerbaijanis surrounded 
Communist Party headquarters demanding the resignation of the 
republic's leadership. Soviet troops were eventually withdrawn from 
Baku, but political control was maintained for almost another 2 years 
until Azerbaijan's parliament declared independence in October 1991. 
The Republic of Azerbaijan has maintained its independence for more 
than 17 years.
  Today, Azerbaijan has developed into a thriving country with double 
digit growth, in large part due to a freely elected president and 
parliament, free market reforms led by the energy sector, and, most 
importantly, no foreign troops on its soil.
  Mr. Speaker, let us remember those who sacrificed their lives and 
those who stood against communism and dictatorship on the monumental 
``Black January'' day on January 20, 1990.

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