[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 25 (Thursday, February 8, 2018)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E164]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   HONORING LIVES LOST IN AZERBAIJAN

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                       HON. DONALD M. PAYNE, JR.

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, February 8, 2018

  Mr. PAYNE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the lives lost in 
January 1990 when interethnic violence broke out in Baku, the capital 
of Azerbaijan. Dozens of people died. The flailing Soviet government 
ultimately sent troops into the city, killing more than a hundred 
people. Less than two years later, Azerbaijan would declare its 
independence, then the Soviet Union fell in December of 1991.
  Sadly, independence would not bring peace in former Soviet Republics. 
Violence and war broke out in Eastern Europe. Men and women died 
alongside soldiers in places like Khojaly. But when the dust settled, 
democracy emerged victorious in many countries.
  Mr. Speaker, Congress must not forget the cost of freedom. Across the 
planet, countless people died in fights for freedom. The men and women 
who died in post-Soviet wars should be memorialized. They paid the 
ultimate price for peace.
  As we enter a new era when it seems as if democracy is on the slide, 
the United States Congress must stand for freedom here at home and 
everywhere across our planet. The people who died in Azerbaijan, in 
Armenia, in the Balkans, and throughout the region should be honored 
and memorialized. Let us not forget that peace is preferable to war

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