[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 38 (Wednesday, February 26, 2020)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E220-E221]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                REMEMBERING THE BAKU AND SUMGAIT POGROMS

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. PETE OLSON

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, February 26, 2020

  Mr. OLSON. Madam Speaker, I rise today to remember the atrocities 
committed against Armenian civilians during the pogroms in Sumgait and 
Baku, Azerbaijan that took the lives of many innocent people.
  From February 26 to March 1 of 1988, the Armenian population in 
Sumgait was the target of a horrendous massacre. Innocent Armenian 
civilians in this seaside town were beaten, raped and murdered in the 
streets and even in their own homes, simply because of their ethnicity.
  A similar atrocity occurred in Baku, Azerbaijan just two years later. 
A seven-day massacre of Armenian civilians saw them attacked, beaten 
and killed as perpetrators roamed the streets, committing arson and 
robberies. Many Armenians were expelled from the city, targeted, as 
before, for their ethnicity.

[[Page E221]]

  Madam Speaker, in order to combat atrocities such as these, we must 
first look to the past and ensure the victims of hate are never 
forgotten. We must educate ourselves and our neighbors on these events 
and all events like them to prevent further massacres in the future.
  We have a solemn duty to remember the devastation the Armenian people 
suffered--and demand a world where freedom can be found for all people, 
and where events like the Baku and Sumgait Pogroms are relegated to a 
dark and distant past.