[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 1]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 959]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




             IN REMEMBRANCE OF BLACK JANUARY IN AZERBAIJAN

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. EDOLPHUS TOWNS

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, January 26, 2011

  Mr. TOWNS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today with the people of Azerbaijan in 
remembrance of the tragic events of Black January, when at midnight of 
January 19, 1990, 26,000 Soviet troops stormed the capital city of Baku 
with tanks and armored vehicles.
  That night the Soviet military machine intended to restore public 
order by bulldozing innocent people and firing on peaceful 
demonstrators, including on women and children. According to 
Azerbaijani records, as a result of this merciless act authorized by 
then President Mikhail Gorbachev, 130 people died, 611 were injured, 
841 were arrested, and 5 went missing.
  Human Rights groups have condemned the Baku incursion for its attacks 
on medical personnel, ambulances and even hospitals. The punishment 
inflicted by Soviet soldiers was intended as a warning to nationalists, 
not only in Azerbaijan, but in other Republics of the Soviet Union. The 
Soviet use of force in Baku was a desperate attempt to rescue the 
totalitarian regime. However, Black January had the opposite effect on 
Azerbaijan. It consolidated the rising independence movements in the 
country and united the Azerbaijani nation in their quest for freedom.
  Azerbaijan has developed into a thriving country and has become an 
essential partner of the United States in the region, collaborating on 
strengthening energy security and working together to counter terrorism 
and extremism. I would like to thank the Azerbaijani people for their 
friendship and share my thoughts and prayers with the families of those 
who gave their lives fighting for a better Azerbaijan. The United 
States will continue to work with Azerbaijan and other countries in the 
region to promote human rights, maintain stability, strengthen 
institutions, enhance the rule of law, and settle conflicts.

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