Karabakh conflict emerged from Sumgait ethnic cleansingJanuary 10, 2008 - 13:40 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - The ethnic cleansing in Sumgait marked the beginning of the Karabakh conflict, Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian told a news conference in Yerevan.Reminding about the 20th anniversary of Sumgait pogroms, the Minister said, "Ethnic cleansings were carried out in all Armenian-inhabited regions of Azerbaijan. The events in Sumgait proved the necessity of Karabakhi people's struggle for independence. We should remind the international community about February of 1988." February 27-29, 1988 Azerbaijan, taking advantage of the USSR leadership's indifference, committed mass pogroms in the town of Sumgait. By official data, 32 Armenians were killed, hundreds wounded. The survivors fled to Armenia. Some 20 thousand Armenians used to live in Sumgait before the pogroms. Top stories The Cabinet of Ministers decided on Thursday, November 9 to allocated AMD 120 million to arrange the gathering. Michael Roth believes sanctions must be put on the table after Baku‘s ethnic cleansing in Nagorno-Karabakh. The Yerevan City Council has elected Tigran Avniyan from the ruling Civil Contract as the mayor of the Armenian capital. The Armenian Parliament on Tuesday, October 3 voted to ratify the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. Partner news | Pasadena to host Armenian Genocide commemoration event The Pasadena Armenian Coalition will host its community-wide Armenian Genocide Commemorative Event. Armenia: Opposition activist transferred to Investigative Committee Activist Samvel Vardanyan has been accused of insulting the lawmaker Hakob Aslanyan from the ruling Civil Contract party. Russia confirms start of withdrawal of peacekeepers from Karabakh The Kremlin has confirmed reports about the start of the withdrawal of Russian peacekeeping forces in Karabakh. France recalls its ambassador to Azerbaijan France on April 16 said it had recalled for consultations the French ambassador to Azerbaijan. |