[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 28 (Tuesday, February 13, 2024)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E141-E142]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         TRIBUTE TO THE INNOCENT VICTIMS OF THE SUMGAIT POGROM

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. ADAM B. SCHIFF

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, February 13, 2024

  Mr. SCHIFF. Mr. Speaker, I rise to commemorate the 36th anniversary 
of the pogrom

[[Page E142]]

against the Armenian residents of Sumgait, Azerbaijan. From February 27 
to 29, 1988, Azerbaijani mobs assaulted and killed Armenians, leaving 
dozens of Armenian civilians dead and hundreds injured. Women and girls 
were raped, and some victims were burned alive after being tortured and 
beaten. Those who survived the carnage fled their homes and businesses, 
leaving behind all but the clothes on their backs.
  In a pattern all too familiar to the Armenian people, the Azerbaijani 
authorities made little effort to punish those responsible, instead 
attempting to cover up the atrocities in Sumgait to this day, as well 
as denying the role of senior government officials in instigating the 
violence.
  In the years that followed this unspeakable massacre, Armenians 
living in Kirovabad, Baku, and Maragha suffered a similar fate. These 
pogroms were part of a pattern of hateful, racist anti-Armenian 
propaganda and activities occurring throughout Azerbaijan, dehumanizing 
its Armenian residents, and laying the groundwork for decades of 
aggression and mass violence. This brutality culminated when the 
Azerbaijani government initiated war against the people of Nagorno-
Karabakh, also known as Artsakh.
  Beginning on September 27, 2020, and over 44 days, Azerbaijani forces 
invaded and murdered innocent Armenians in Artsakh and displaced tens 
of thousands more. They continued to terrorize the people of Artsakh in 
subsequent military attacks, and by blocking the Lachin Corridor--which 
left 120,000 people without access to food, water, medical supplies and 
services, gas, and electricity for over 9 months. On September 19, 
2023, the Aliyev regime took full advantage of a people they had 
systematically starved, and launched a large-scale attack, further 
escalating their ethnic cleansing and genocidal campaign against the 
indigenous Armenian people of Artsakh. At least 200 people were killed, 
400 wounded, over 100,000 ethnic Armenians were forcibly displaced, and 
Azerbaijan now holds Artsakh's political and military leadership, 
civilians, and prisoners of war hostage. With no help from the 
international community to confront Azerbaijan's military aggression, 
Artsakh was forced to negotiate under duress and consequently agreed to 
dissolve their democratically elected government.
  There is also real and growing concern that Aliyev has his eyes set 
on land beyond Artsakh and will continue to seek further territory and 
concessions from Armenia by force. To this day, Azerbaijani forces 
remain present on sovereign Armenian land, in violation of Armenia's 
sovereignty and territorial integrity, and last month, President Aliyev 
made alarming remarks, including his refusal to remove troops from 
Armenian territory. These are the horrific consequences when aggression 
and hatred grow unchecked and when Aliyev's hostility is met with 
deafening silence, emboldening him to continue, and expand, his 
unprovoked attacks on the Armenian people, knowing there will be no 
repercussions.
  Azerbaijan's campaign of death and destruction against Armenians have 
been nothing short of deplorable, including the destruction of 
religious and cultural sites in Artsakh to erase or falsify history, 
and the torture, mutilation and killing of Armenian civilians, 
prisoners of war and soldiers. This February also marks 20 years of a 
horrific crime when Ramil Safarov, an Azerbaijani army captain savagely 
murdered an Armenian army lieutenant, Gurgen Margaryan with an axe 
while he slept. The two were participating in a NATO Partnership for 
Peace exercise at the time in Hungary. In 2012, Safarov was sent home 
to Azerbaijan, purportedly to serve out the remainder of his sentence. 
Instead, he was pardoned, promoted, and paraded through the streets of 
Baku as a returning hero. There is no more dramatic illustration of 
Azerbaijan's continued posture of hatred towards their Armenian 
neighbor than their celebration of a cold-blooded murderer.
  Though the United States and international partners have condemned 
Azerbaijan's aggression and military assault against Armenians, the 
time for strong statements alone has clearly long passed. Condemnation 
must be followed by real consequences. The United States must hold 
Azerbaijan and its leadership accountable and take concrete action and 
press Azerbaijan to return to compliance with international law and 
order. Crimes against humanity cannot be ignored and cannot go 
unanswered.
  The United States must use its immense bully pulpit to apply direct 
pressure to the Aliyev regime in Azerbaijan, by enforcing restrictions 
on additional military assistance to Baku pursuant to Section 907 and 
calling on Azerbaijan to immediately return all Armenian POWs, 
hostages, and other detainees, and provide information on the status of 
those still be detained or missing. Additionally, the Biden 
Administration should immediately implement sanctions under the 
Magnitsky Act against Azeri officials responsible for human rights 
abuses.
  The United States must also demand an immediate withdrawal of Azeri 
forces from the sovereign territory of the Republic of Armenia, provide 
security assistance to Armenia including expanding humanitarian aid to 
assist Artsakh refugees, and help ensure the safety and security of 
Armenians who seek to return to their homes in Artsakh. Finally, the 
U.S. Department of State must continue to call attention to the 
destruction and desecration of Armenian religious and cultural sites by 
Azerbaijan, and urge their safeguarding and preservation. Only by using 
every diplomatic tool at their disposal, including sanctions, against 
Azerbaijan can we help guarantee the safety, security and continued 
territorial integrity of Armenia.
  As we pause to remember the innocent victims of the pogroms, we are 
also reminded that despite the trials the Armenian people have faced, 
it has not broken their faith, determination, and their will to survive 
in the face of constant threats from Azerbaijan. Today, let us recommit 
ourselves to doing everything we can to bring peace and justice to our 
Armenian brothers and sisters abroad, once and for all.

                          ____________________