Issue of Armenians of Azerbaijan is cornerstone of Karabakh conflict settlement

February 26, 2010 - 20:02 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net -
Draft assessment of events in Sumgait is on the agenda of the Armenian Parliament, and is supported in international bodies, Gregory Ayvazyan , head of "Assembly of Azerbaijani-Armenians" told a news conference in Yerevan.

"First and foremost, we must recognize as Genocide the events in Sumgait, and then submit the draft to the international community," Ayvazyan said.

"Azerbaijan is not a rival to Armenia, it is an implacable enemy," Ayvazyan said.

If Azerbaijan is ready to provide guarantees of international security to Armenian refugees, the Armenians of Azerbaijan are ready to return. "But this does not happen, we will accept a one-way return of Azerbaijani refugees to the region without resolving of our problems," Ayvazyan said. "The question of Armenians in Azerbaijan is not only the issue of refugees, but the cornerstone of Karabakh conflict settlement", Ayvazyan said.

The conflict between Nagorno Karabakh and Azerbaijan

The conflict between Nagorno Karabakh and Azerbaijan broke out as result of the ethnic cleansing launched by the Azeri authorities in the final years of the Soviet Union. The Karabakh War was fought from 1991 (when the Nagorno Karabakh Republic was proclaimed) to 1994 (when a ceasefire was sealed by Armenia, NKR and Azerbaijan). Most of Nagorno Karabakh and a security zone consisting of 7 regions are now under control of NKR defense army. Armenia and Azerbaijan are holding peace talks mediated by the OSCE Minsk Group up till now.

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.