Azerbaijani Commissioner for Human Rights (ombudsperson) Sabina Aliyeva has stated on March 31- Day of Genocide of Azerbaijanis.

The statement reads: “March 31 - Genocide of Azerbaijanis should be particularly emphasized due to its large scale among the other acts of genocide committed by the Armenian nationalists against our people as a part of their policy of occupation, ethnic cleansing and genocides throughout the history. The Armenian vandals committed inhuman crimes as a result of bloody acts that started with the first shootings of Muslims by Dashnak groups gathered near the Armenian church in Baku on March 30, 1918, and the attacks on the “Kerpichkhana” (Brick houses), “Mammadli” and other dwelling neighbourhoods of Azerbaijanis by the Bolshevik-Dashnak groups committed a day after.

The Armenians committed acts of genocide also in Guba, Shamakhi, Kurdamir, Salyan and Lenkaran provinces along with Baku. As a whole, on March 31 and April 1-2, 1918, massacres in Baku, as well as other cities and provinces, which were included in the Baku governorate, occurred on a large scale, where Armenian groups killed more than 50,000 civilians. During those bloody events, the demolishing and burning of 110 villages in Shamakhi, 167 in Guba, over 150 in Karabakh, 115 in Zangazur provinces, and 98 in Kars oblast, plundering of numerous homes, killing of hundreds of innocent people, including women and children, are concrete facts and truth of bitter history that reflect the policy of the Armenian nationalists against our people. 199 villages in and around the Iravan city, as a part of the historical lands of Azerbaijan, have been ruined; 132,000 Azerbaijanis have been mercilessly murdered.

About 16,000 people were killed only in the Guba district. The presence of numerous facts related to physical violence on the human remains in the mass grave discovered in 2007 during excavations for construction works in the town of Guba confirms the fact of genocide and inhuman actions committed by Armenians against our people in 1918.

It is necessary to note that genocide crimes committed against Azerbaijanis in different periods of history, including the March 31 genocide, are proven by facts with time. An example is the recent discovery of remains of people tortured and killed in various forms in mass graves in Edilli village of Khojavand district, the cities of Aghdam and Shusha, as well as in Khojaly and other lands liberated from occupation.

The genocide crimes were based on a centuries-old policy of acute hatred towards Azerbaijanis and unjustified territorial claims. These claims escalated at the end of the last century, as a result of which hundreds of thousands of our compatriots were deported from the territory of present-day Armenia, and this country occupied twenty percent of internationally recognized Azerbaijani lands.

As a result of the II Karabakh War that started on September 27, 2020, and lasted 44 days, as well as anti-terrorist measures of local character carried out in September 2023, the Azerbaijani lands that Armenia kept under occupation for almost thirty years were liberated, the territorial integrity and sovereignty of our country were fully restored, and historical justice was re-established.

Bringing the facts of the brutal events of genocide committed by Armenian nationalists against Azerbaijanis at the beginning of the last century to the attention of the world and giving political and legal assessment to this issue became possible after the return to power of the Nationwide leader of our people, Heydar Aliyev.

On March 31, 1998, by the decree of National Leader Heydar Aliyev "On the Genocide of Azerbaijanis" dated March 26, 1998, the date "March 31" was declared as the Day of the Genocide of Azerbaijanis, a political and legal assessment of the acts of genocide, an impetus was given to conduct relevant studies and increase efforts to identify the facts.

Unfortunately, there is still no fair position on the genocide events committed throughout history with special cruelty towards our compatriots on ethnic grounds.

The world community and international organizations should recognize this terrible crime against Azerbaijanis committed in 1918 as an act of genocide at the international level and should not remain indifferent to the crimes committed against our compatriots throughout history so that such events are not repeated in the future," the statement reads.

More about: