Eighteen years ago the Armenian massacres started in Baku
14.01.2008 12:08

Tatul Hakobyan
"Radiolur"

Eighteen years ago on these days the Armenian districts of Baku became
a stage for the Armenian massacres. Different from other regions of
Azerbaijan, many Armenians still resided in Baku. Certainly, they could
have moved and saved their lives two year before, but they continued to
believe in the internationalism of Baku till the very end. Like
Sumgayit, the attacks were particularly cruel.

According to one of the former leaders of the Popular Front Zardusht
Alizade, a few days before the massacres of Baku posters on the walls
of the party building on Rashid Beibutov Street pointed to the houses
Armenians lived in: `the whole city had gathered at the meeting of the
Popular Front. Anti-Armenian calls could be heard during the whole
meeting. The last slogan called `Long live Baku without Armenians." The
Armenian massacres started during the demonstration,’ Alizade declared.

According to historian Arif Yunusov, 86 thousand Armenians were killed
between January 13 and 15. According to the data of the Armenian side,
the number exceeded 150 thousand. Thousands of Armenians found shelter
in `Shafag’ cinema. They were later moved to Baku port, from where they
could reach Krasnovodsk port of Turkmenistan and later to Yerevan.

The Soviet troops were brought to Baku only when the Armenian massacres
were over. On January 11 the Popular Front took some administrative
buildings in Baku by storm and seized the power in Lenkoran city.
Azerbaijan’s leader Abdurahman Vezirov declared on TV that it’s time
for decisive actions. Second Secretary of the Communist Party of
Azerbaijan Viktor Polyanichko negotiated with the leaders of the
Popular Front, as a result of which the National Defense Council was
formed. Four of the five members of the Council, Etibar Mamedov, Neymet
Panahov, Rahim Gaziyev and Abulfaz Elchibey, were from the radical
nationalist wing of the Popular Front. Panahov declared on Azeri
television that Baku was full of homeless refugees, while thousands of
Armenians still comfortably lived in their homes in Baku.

Two years ago, in response to the assertions of the reporter of the
`Moskovskiy Komsomolets’ saying troops were brought to Tbilisi,
Vilnius, and Baku, the first and last President of the Soviet Union
Mikhail Gorbachev declared that upon his order troops entered only the
capital of Azerbaijan.
`The events in Baku got out of control, the Supreme Council and the
Communist Party were paralyzed, the 200 km-long state border was
destroyed, local self-government bodies were being attacked. I
immediately sent Evgeny Primakov and Andrey Girenko to Baku. They
suggested to declare state of emergency and bring troops. Now I think
that we thus prevented a greater bloodshed.’

The presidency of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of The
Soviet Union and the Council of Ministers applied to the people of
Azerbaijan and Armenia, calling on `men and women, the elderly and the
young to listen to the voice of reason, restrain the extremists,
denounce the provokers, stop the aggressors,’ `to support the efforts
of the leadership of the country, the law-enforcement bodies, the
Ministry of Interior Affairs, the Soviet troops and frontier guards
directed at restoring peace and order.’

Sure, this was a cynical call, since only a few days before that the
Soviet leadership, the law-enforcement bodies, the Ministry of Interior
Affairs and the troops of the Soviet Army did not even try to prevent
the Armenian massacres.

As leader of Nakhijevan in early 1990s, late Heidar Aliyev was telling
American reporter Thomas Golts who were guilty for the `black January.’
`It was the State Security Committee of Moscow and that of Azerbaijan,
as well as the whole leadership of Azerbaijan. They all were involved
in the attacks against Armenians on January 12, 13 and 14.’