[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 27 (Friday, February 17, 2012)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E225]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 REMEMBERING THE ARMENIAN VICTIMS OF THE SUMGAIT, KIROVABAD, AND BAKU 
                                POGROMS

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. GARY C. PETERS

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                       Friday, February 17, 2012

  Mr. PETERS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to remember the Armenian 
victims of the Sumgait, Kirovabad, and Baku pogroms who were killed in 
Azerbaijan in the late 1980s and early 1990s. As the United States 
stood as a beacon for freedom around the world, the Soviet Union 
suffered from ethnic strife and internal unrest. Communist ideology and 
a command economy could not hold together the Soviet republics and 
their diverse ethnic groups. The Soviet Union--despite its rhetoric--
failed to protect and ensure the rights of its ethnic minorities, 
especially the ethnic Armenians who were targeted in pogroms in 
Azerbaijan.
  In February 1988 hundreds of Armenians were singled out, driven from 
their homes, and murdered by Azerbaijani rioters. Despite Sumgait's 
proximity to security forces in the capital city, the riots and 
destruction continued for three days unabated. Credible sources report 
that hundreds of Armenians were killed or wounded; Soviet officials at 
the time acknowledged 30 deaths and 200 injured.
  This tragedy did not go unrecognized at the time. Several U.S. 
Senators rose to speak out against this violence. They sent letters to 
the government of the Soviet Union. The Senate unanimously passed an 
amendment urging the Soviet government to respect the aspirations of 
the Armenian people and urging it to discontinue its serious violations 
of human rights.
  In Kirovabad later that same year Armenians were once again targeted. 
My friend and colleague from Michigan, Representative Sander Levin, 
joined 11 other members of the House and Senate to write to Soviet 
Premier Mikhail Gorbachev in advance of his historic trip to the United 
States urging him to protect the Armenians living in Azerbaijan.
  Unfortunately, in January 1990 in the Azerbaijani capital of Baku, 
Armenians were once again targeted in a weeklong pogrom. Civil society 
called upon the Azerbaijan government to respect the rights of, and 
prevent crimes against, its Armenian minority population.
  Today, I rise to remember the victims and honor their memories. 
America has always stood for democratic freedom and human rights--
whether then during the Cold War--or today during the historic 
transition in the Middle East. Democracies cannot flourish without 
respecting the rights of the minority. Twenty-four years later it is 
important that we not forget the victims of Sumgait, Kirovabad, and 
Baku. I call upon the countries in the region to respect the human 
rights of all residents--whether majority or minority--and to ensure 
that these events never happen again.

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