Berlin hosts procession to commemorate Armenian pogroms in SumgaitFebruary 28, 2011 - 18:04 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - On February 27, a rally and procession to commemorate the Sumgait pogroms was held in Berlin. The rally was held by NKR Permanent Representative to Germany Harutyun Grigoryan in cooperation with the Central Council of Armenians of Germany through the assistance of the Armenian Apostolic Church. The NKR Permanent Representative and activists of the Armenian Diaspora of Germany urged the European community to condemn the cruel actions and aggressive policy of the Azerbaijani leadership and not to turn aside from the Sumgait tragedy. Participants of the event disseminated leaflets in German, English and Russian languages among European citizens. Later, participants of the event attended a liturgy served in memory of Armenians killed in Sumgait. The Sumgait Pogrom The Sumgait Pogrom was the Azeri-led pogrom that targeted the Armenian population living in the Azerbaijani seaside town of Sumgait in February 1988. On February 27, 1988, large mobs made up of Azeris formed into groups that went on to attack and kill Armenians in both on the streets and in their apartments; widespread looting and a general lack of concern from police officers allowed the situation to worsen. The violent acts in Sumgait were unprecedented in scope in the Soviet Union and attracted a great deal of attention from the media in the West. The massacre came in light of the Nagorno-Karabakh movement that was gaining traction in the neighbouring Armenia SSR. Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | Russia warns Armenia against “falling into West’s trap” Zakharova maintained, however, that anything that will benefit the people of Armenia can only be welcomed. CSTO: Armenia has not participated in secretariat’s work recently Recently Armenia has not participated in the work of the secretariat of the CSTO, Imangali Tasmagambetov said. Meeting with U.S., EU not against third parties, says Armenia The meeting scheduled for April 5 is dedicated to strengthening of the Armenia-EU-US cooperation, Yerevan added. Ucom launches network modernization efforts in few regions of Armenia In particular, on March 28, the legacy Mobile Switching Subsystem will be replaced with a new one. |