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February 28, 2014 Friday
Washington: SPEECH OF HON. TONY CÁRDENAS OF CALIFORNIA IN THE HOUSE OF
REPRESENTATIVES THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2014
Washington
The Library of Congress, The Government of USA has issued the following Speech:
Mr. CÁRDENAS. Mr. Speaker, today I recognize the twenty-sixth
anniversary of pogroms against people of Armenian descent in Sumgait,
Azerbaijan, and call for long-overdue justice.
On February 27th 1988, Sumgait was the scene for organised
anti-Armenian violence, leading to the death of more than thirty
Armenians, with hundreds more gravely injured. Armenians were attacked
and maimed for three days. Despite Baku's 30-minute proximity to
Sumgait, police failed to react, allowing the brutality to continue.
This brutality took many forms and was well-documented. On May 22nd
1988, The New York Times reported Armenians being ``hunted'' down and
gave an account of a pregnant Armenian woman who had been
disembowelled so that the unborn baby could be mutilated. Two months
earlier, The Washington Post gave accounts of an Armenian skinned
alive and a woman being raped and murdered after her breasts were cut
off. These atrocities were highlighted by the Members of Congress at
the time, who condemned this state-sponsored massacre against Armenian
civilians.
The failure to act by the Azerbaijani authorities and our failure to
compel action has resulted in a tidal wave of animosity towards the
Armenians, which manifests itself in several ways. Azerbaijani forces
east of Karabagh continue to disregard the ceasefire established after
the Karabagh war in 1994. Ramil Safarov, who decapitated an Armenian
Lieutenant while he slept during a NATO-sponsored training program in
2004, returned home as a hero and was held up as ``an example of
patriotism for the Azerbaijani youth'' by the Commissioner for Human
Rights of Azerbaijan, Elmira Suleymanova. All the while, Ilham Aliyev
continues his brazen rhetoric; consistently declaring Armenians as the
national enemy in an effort to unite the Azeri public.
The hatred towards the Armenians is unrelenting, even at the expense
of the freedom of their own people. When 75 year old Alcram
Ayslisi--one of Azerbaijan's most celebrated writers--had the temerity
to consider the conflict from an unbiased perspective, he was
subjected to a witch hunt that would not have looked out of place in
medieval Europe. His books were burnt. He was stripped of his national
literary awards, and, most worryingly, a high ranking politician had
promised $13,000 to anyone who could cut off his ear.
I call upon all of my colleagues and fellow Americans to join me in
condemning the continued violence and injustice, and continue efforts
to ensure that these atrocities never repeat themselves.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
February 28, 2014 Friday
Washington: SPEECH OF HON. TONY CÁRDENAS OF CALIFORNIA IN THE HOUSE OF
REPRESENTATIVES THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2014
Washington
The Library of Congress, The Government of USA has issued the following Speech:
Mr. CÁRDENAS. Mr. Speaker, today I recognize the twenty-sixth
anniversary of pogroms against people of Armenian descent in Sumgait,
Azerbaijan, and call for long-overdue justice.
On February 27th 1988, Sumgait was the scene for organised
anti-Armenian violence, leading to the death of more than thirty
Armenians, with hundreds more gravely injured. Armenians were attacked
and maimed for three days. Despite Baku's 30-minute proximity to
Sumgait, police failed to react, allowing the brutality to continue.
This brutality took many forms and was well-documented. On May 22nd
1988, The New York Times reported Armenians being ``hunted'' down and
gave an account of a pregnant Armenian woman who had been
disembowelled so that the unborn baby could be mutilated. Two months
earlier, The Washington Post gave accounts of an Armenian skinned
alive and a woman being raped and murdered after her breasts were cut
off. These atrocities were highlighted by the Members of Congress at
the time, who condemned this state-sponsored massacre against Armenian
civilians.
The failure to act by the Azerbaijani authorities and our failure to
compel action has resulted in a tidal wave of animosity towards the
Armenians, which manifests itself in several ways. Azerbaijani forces
east of Karabagh continue to disregard the ceasefire established after
the Karabagh war in 1994. Ramil Safarov, who decapitated an Armenian
Lieutenant while he slept during a NATO-sponsored training program in
2004, returned home as a hero and was held up as ``an example of
patriotism for the Azerbaijani youth'' by the Commissioner for Human
Rights of Azerbaijan, Elmira Suleymanova. All the while, Ilham Aliyev
continues his brazen rhetoric; consistently declaring Armenians as the
national enemy in an effort to unite the Azeri public.
The hatred towards the Armenians is unrelenting, even at the expense
of the freedom of their own people. When 75 year old Alcram
Ayslisi--one of Azerbaijan's most celebrated writers--had the temerity
to consider the conflict from an unbiased perspective, he was
subjected to a witch hunt that would not have looked out of place in
medieval Europe. His books were burnt. He was stripped of his national
literary awards, and, most worryingly, a high ranking politician had
promised $13,000 to anyone who could cut off his ear.
I call upon all of my colleagues and fellow Americans to join me in
condemning the continued violence and injustice, and continue efforts
to ensure that these atrocities never repeat themselves.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress