[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 11 (Thursday, January 22, 2015)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E106]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           RECOGNIZING THE 25TH ANNIVERSARY OF BLACK JANUARY

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. STEVE COHEN

                              of tennessee

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, January 22, 2015

  Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, few Americans have heard the term ``Black 
January,'' yet it is imbedded in the memory of all Azerbaijanis. Black 
January marks the evening of January 19, 1990, when at midnight Russian 
troops stormed the capital city of Baku. Armed with a state of 
emergency declared by the U.S.S.R. Supreme Soviet Presidium and signed 
by then President Mikhail Gorbachev, the invasion was intended to 
suppress a growing independence movement, but the result was the 
opposite. This violent incident inflamed Azerbaijani nationalism and 
contributed to the breakup of the Soviet Union.
  Leading up to Black January, the national independence movement had 
gained momentum with growing demonstrations for independence, 
sovereignty and territorial integrity. Emerging democratic groups were 
leading the political agenda and were projected to succeed in upcoming 
Parliamentary elections in March 1990. The Soviet Union sought to 
``restore order'' by indiscriminately firing on peaceful demonstrators 
in Baku, including women and children. The protesters were calling for 
independence from the Soviet Union and the removal of Communist 
officials. More than 130 people died that night and in subsequent 
violence, over 700 were injured, 841 were arrested, and 5 went missing.
  According to a report by Human Rights Watch entitled ``Black January 
in Azerbaijan,'' ``among the most heinous violations of human rights 
during the Baku incursion were the numerous attacks on medical 
personnel, ambulances and even hospitals.'' The report concluded that 
`indeed the violence used by the Soviet Army on the night of January 
19-20 constitutes an exercise in collective punishment. The punishment 
inflicted on Baku by Soviet soldiers may have been intended as a 
warning to nationalists, not only in Azerbaijan, but in other Republics 
of the Soviet Union.''
  In the days after the invasion, thousands of Azerbaijanis surrounded 
Communist Party headquarters demanding the resignation of the 
republic's leadership. The Baku City Council demanded that Soviet 
troops be withdrawn. The Soviet legislature in Azerbaijan condemned the 
occupation as ``unconstitutional'' and threatened to call a referendum 
on secession unless Soviet troops were withdrawn within 48 hours.
  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. 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.
  January 20 is the day on which Azerbaijani citizens stood up to 
Soviet soldiers and martyrs gave up their lives for freedom from 
communism and dictatorship. I ask my colleagues to join me in 
recognizing the tragic events of Black January that precipitated the 
independent Republic of Azerbaijan and the fall of the USSR.

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