‘In these days we honor the memory of hundreds of Armenians who were killed’ – statement by Foreign Ministry on 38th anniversary of genocide in Sumgait

Armenia’s Foreign Ministry has issued a statement marking the 38th anniversary of the acts of genocide against Armenians in the Azerbaijani city of Sumgait.

“In these days of remembrance of the victims of the 1988 Sumgait massacres orchestrated by Azerbaijani SSR forces, we honor the memory of hundreds of Armenians who were killed. Around half a million were forcibly displaced.

Remembrance is not only about reflecting on the past. It is a reaffirmation of our shared responsibility to uphold human rights, reject hatred and hate speech in all its forms, while working steadfastly toward reconciliation and lasting peace,” the statement reads.

The lack of proper legal assessment of the mass crime committed against the Armenian population in Sumgait on February 27–29, 1988, fostered a false sense of impunity among the Azerbaijani authorities. A few months later, portraits of the Sumgait killers appeared at rallies in Baku with slogans such as “Long live the heroes of Sumgait!” This lack of accountability led to terrorism against the Armenian population spreading on a large scale throughout Azerbaijan. As a result of the wave of Armenian pogroms and acts of genocide that swept across the Azerbaijani SSR between 1988 and 1991, hundreds of Armenians were killed, tens of thousands were forcibly displaced, and more than 500,000 became refugees.