[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 33 (Thursday, February 27, 2014)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E272]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  RECOGNITION OF THE 26TH ANNIVERSARY OF POGROMS AGAINST ARMENIANS IN 
                                SUMGAIT

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. TONY CARDENAS

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, February 27, 2014

  Mr. CARDENAS. Mr. Speaker, today I recognize the twenty-sixth 
anniversary of pogroms against people of Armenian descent in Sumgait, 
Azerbaijan, and call for long-overdue justice.
  On February 27th 1988, Sumgait was the scene for organised anti-
Armenian violence, leading to the death of more than thirty Armenians, 
with hundreds more gravely injured. Armenians were attacked and maimed 
for three days. Despite Baku's 30-minute proximity to Sumgait, police 
failed to react, allowing the brutality to continue.
  This brutality took many forms and was well-documented. On May 22nd 
1988, The New York Times reported Armenians being ``hunted'' down and 
gave an account of a pregnant Armenian woman who had been disembowelled 
so that the unborn baby could be mutilated. Two months earlier, The 
Washington Post gave accounts of an Armenian skinned alive and a woman 
being raped and murdered after her breasts were cut off. These 
atrocities were highlighted by the Members of Congress at the time, who 
condemned this state-sponsored massacre against Armenian civilians.
  The failure to act by the Azerbaijani authorities and our failure to 
compel action has resulted in a tidal wave of animosity towards the 
Armenians, which manifests itself in several ways. Azerbaijani forces 
east of Karabagh continue to disregard the ceasefire established after 
the Karabagh war in 1994. Ramil Safarov, who decapitated an Armenian 
Lieutenant while he slept during a NATO-sponsored training program in 
2004, returned home as a hero and was held up as ``an example of 
patriotism for the Azerbaijani youth'' by the Commissioner for Human 
Rights of Azerbaijan, Elmira Suleymanova. All the while, Ilham Aliyev 
continues his brazen rhetoric; consistently declaring Armenians as the 
national enemy in an effort to unite the Azeri public.
  The hatred towards the Armenians is unrelenting, even at the expense 
of the freedom of their own people. When 75 year old Alcram Ayslisi--
one of Azerbaijan's most celebrated writers--had the temerity to 
consider the conflict from an unbiased perspective, he was subjected to 
a witch hunt that would not have looked out of place in medieval 
Europe. His books were burnt. He was stripped of his national literary 
awards, and, most worryingly, a high ranking politician had promised 
$13,000 to anyone who could cut off his ear.
  I call upon all of my colleagues and fellow Americans to join me in 
condemning the continued violence and injustice, and continue efforts 
to ensure that these atrocities never repeat themselves.