[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 38 (Monday, March 5, 2018)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E260]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             ON THE 30TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE SUMGAIT POGROMS

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. ADAM B. SCHIFF

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, March 5, 2018

  Mr. SCHIFF. Mr. Speaker, I rise to commemorate the 30th anniversary 
of the pogrom against the Armenian residents of the town of Sumgait, 
Azerbaijan. On February 27, 1988, and for three days following, 
Azerbaijani mobs assaulted and killed Armenians. The violence left 
hundreds of Armenian civilians dead and injured, women and girls were 
raped, and some victims were burned alive. Thousands were forced to 
flee their homes, leaving behind their belonging.
   The pogroms came about as the result of years of vicious, racist 
anti-Armenian propaganda by Azerbaijani authorities, dehumanizing 
Armenians. Azerbaijan authorities made little effort to punish those 
responsible, instead attempting to cover up the atrocities in Sumgait 
to this day, and denying the government role in instigating the 
killings. Indeed, even today, racist propaganda against Armenia and 
Armenians is prevalent in Azerbaijan.
   The assault on ethnic Armenian civilians in Sumgait helped touch off 
what would become a direct conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan 
which took thousands of lives and dislocated millions more. The 
anniversary of Sumgait is a reminder of the consequences when 
aggression and hatred grow unchecked.
   Mr. Speaker, this April we will mark the 103rd anniversary of the 
Armenian Genocide, an event the Turkish government, Azerbaijan's 
closest ally, goes to great lengths to deny. We must not let such 
crimes against humanity go unrecognized, whether they occurred 
yesterday or 30 years ago or 100 years ago. Today, let us pause to 
remember the victims of the atrocities of the Sumgait pogroms. Mr. 
Speaker, it is our moral obligation to condemn crimes of hatred and to 
remember the victims, in hope that history will not be repeated.

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