[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 38 (Wednesday, March 2, 2022)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E207-E208]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 COMMEMORATING THE SUMGAIT POGROMS OF 1988 AND THE BAKU POGROMS OF 1990

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. TED LIEU

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, March 2, 2022

  Mr. LIEU. Madam Speaker, I rise today to commemorate the anniversary 
of the Sumgait pogroms of 1988 and the Baku pogroms of 1990, and to 
remember the innocent Armenians who tragically lost their lives during 
these horrific events,

[[Page E208]]

  From February 27-29, 1988, hundreds of Armenians living in Sumgait, 
Azerbaijan were targeted in violent, ethnically motivated attacks. 
Armenians were beaten, murdered, raped, burned alive, and driven out of 
their homes. Mass violence against Armenians continued in other 
Azerbaijani cities in the following years, including in Baku in 1990, 
and thousands of Armenians were displaced. At the time, Members of the 
U.S. Congress, both Democrat and Republican, urged Azerbaijan to stop 
these atrocious events and take steps to protect these Armenian 
communities.
  Many believe that these pogroms occurred in response to peaceful 
protests led by ethnic Armenians in Artsakh, or Nagorno-Karabakh, who 
were demanding independence from Azerbaijan and calling for democracy. 
Throughout the dispute over Artsakh, anti-Armenian hatred and 
propaganda spread rapidly throughout Azerbaijan. It was this hatred and 
propaganda that fueled the Sumgait and Baku pogroms.
  We must be vocal in rejecting hatred, violence, and discrimination--
and work tirelessly to ensure that history does not repeat itself. I 
ask that my colleagues join me in honoring the memory of those lost in 
the Sumgait and Baku pogroms. And I will continue to work with the 
Congressional Armenian Issues Caucus to reaffirm our commitment to 
combatting human rights abuses around the world.

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