[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 11 (Friday, January 20, 2017)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E73]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         RECOGNIZING THE 27TH ANNIVERSARY OF ``BLACK JANUARY''

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                            HON. STEVE COHEN

                              of tennessee

                    in the house of representatives

                        Friday, January 20, 2017

  Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the 27th 
anniversary of ``Black January'' in Azerbaijan, a day that commemorates 
Azerbaijan's stand against Soviet soldiers for independence, 
sovereignty, territorial integrity over all lands under Azerbaijani 
jurisdiction, and freedom from communism and dictatorship.
  On the evening of January 19, 1990, the U.S.S.R. Supreme Soviet 
Presidium backed by then-President Mikhail Gorbachev declared a state 
of emergency in response to the growing national independence movement 
in Azerbaijan. In response to the Azeri people's stand against Soviet 
aggression, Soviet troops stormed the Azerbaijani capital city of Baku 
and indiscriminately fired on peaceful demonstrators, including women 
and children. That night, more than 130 people died with over 700 
injured, 841 arrested and five going missing.
  While Soviet invaders attacked peaceful protestors, they also 
targeted critical infrastructure and workers. 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.'' Additionally, the Soviet attack served as an act of 
intimidation for all then-Soviet countries with independence ambitions. 
The Human Rights Watch 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.''
  Azerbaijani citizens, however, refused to succumb to Soviet 
aggression. Instead, the invasion gave new life to their nationalism 
and fight for true independence. 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 withdraw from Azeri territories and 
the legislature in Azerbaijan threatened to call a referendum on 
secession unless Soviet troops were withdrawn within 48 hours.
  Soviet troops eventually withdrew and January 20th became known as 
``the Day of the Nationwide Sorrow.'' It would not be for nearly two 
years, however, before Azerbaijan gained political control from the 
Soviet Union. In October 1991, Azerbaijan's parliament--the National 
Assembly--declared its independence.
  While Azerbaijan still faces challenges from its neighbors, today, 
Azerbaijan has developed into a thriving country with double-digit 
growth, in large part due to a freely elected president and parliament, 
and free market reforms led by the energy sector that helps support 
energy security in Israel and Europe. 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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