Day of Remembrance of Victims of Pogroms in Sumgait, Baku and Kirovabad
Description:
“No half-measures can appease people, no talk of the friendship of peoples. If someone could doubt this before Sumgait, then after this tragedy, no one has any moral opportunity to insist on preserving the territorial affiliation of the NKAO to Azerbaijan.
Academician A.D. Sakharov
Academician A.D. Sakharov
Pogroms, beatings and murders of Armenians in Sumgait, located half an hour from Baku, were committed in broad daylight in plain sight of a large number of onlookers and passers-by. The peak of these crimes committed by Azerbaijani pogromists occurred on February 27-29, 1988.
The rioters broke into the apartments (having on their hands pre-composed lists of Armenians living there), armed with rods and stones. There were also axes, bottles and canisters of gasoline.
As a result, at least 53 people died (death certificates and facts about beatings are recorded), some of whom were burned alive, as well as thousands of wounded, disabled and refugees.
February 28 was proclaimed the Day of Remembrance of Armenians who died as a result of Azerbaijani pogroms, as well as the Day of Protection of the Rights of IDPs from Azerbaijan.