20 YEARS AFTER SUMGAYIT POGROMS
Tatul Hakobyan
"Radiolur"
27.02.2008 18:05
The 80 years’ history of the Soviet Union is full of bloody episodes,
but the Sumgayit pogroms were unprecedented. First, the massacres
occurred at a quite peaceful period. Second, the massacres were not
political, but of a different nature. Third, the central and republican
authorities of the Soviet Union did not organize the slaughter
themselves as it was the case in Tbilisi. With their inaction they
provided the opportunity to the working class to carry out massacres.
Sumgayit could become a "cruel lesson" for other peoples of the Soviet
Union, who also had their demands on national issues. On February
27, after midday the second secretary of the Political Council of
Sumgayit Bayramova addressed the participants of the demonstration:
"There is no need to kill Armenians. Gorbachev has said no one seizes
Karabakh, the territory has been and will remain with Azerbaijan. Allow
Armenians to leave Azerbaijan freely, give the opportunity to leave,"
Bayramova concluded.
In the morning of February 29, when massacres were under way in the
city of Sumgait, the Political Bureau was holding a sitting in Moscow,
presided over by Mikhail Gorbachev.
Gorbachev informed the Soviet political elite: "The measures we
undertook, including the messages to Armenia and Azerbaijan played
their role. Moments ago there were no less than half a million people
in the streets of Yerevan. In Karabakh a clash occurred between
Azerbaijanis and Armenians, two were killed. Leaflets distributed in
Yerevan were saying: Armenians, stop the meetings, take weapons and
oppress the Turks. We know there are extremist elements there. But
I should say that even when there were 500 thousand people in the
streets of Yerevan, the orderliness of Armenians was on a high level,
there was nothing anti-Soviet. The masses were marching, holding the
portraits of the Political Bureau. The topic of Karabakh’s joining
Armenia was touched upon in all speeches…"
Defense Minister Dmitri Yazov suggested announcing martial law
in Sumgait.
Mikhail Gorbachev informed the members of the Political Bureau that
there were already 14 victims in Sumgait, many were hospitalized:
"Now it is important to involve the working class in the fight against
those who breach public order."
On his return from Moscow on February 28, leader of the Communist Party
of Sumgait Jahangir Muslimzade assured the crown gathered in the centre
of the city that Karabakh will be never given to Armenia. However,
this assurance did not suffice the crowd. They told Muslimzade that
Armenians should be allowed to freely depart from Sumgait.
According to official data, 29 Armenians and 6 Azeris were killed as
a result of massacres in Sumgayit, about 400 Armenians were wounded,
18 thousand became refugees. Only a small part of Sumgait Armenians
moved to Karabakh or Armenia.
Official of the Central Committee Grigori Kharchenko was impressed
by one fact: most of the Sumgait Armenians were wishing to leave
for Russia.
"None of the Armenians we spoke to expressed the will to leave for
Armenia. All of them were asking to let them move to Krasnodar,
Stavropol or Rostov regions.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
