ANAS PRESIDENT MAHMUD KARIMOV: ENGLISH SOURCES SAY SOME OF 26 BAKU COMMISSARS WERE TAKEN TO INDIA

Azeri Press Agency

Jan 30 2009
Azerbaijan

Baku. Kamal Guliyeva – APA. President of Azerbaijan National Academy
of Sciences (ANAS) Mahmud Karimov interviewed by APA

-There exist various views on 23 bodies, which have been found in the
cemetery while transferring 26 Baku commissars from Sahil Park. What
is the academy’s official position on this issue?

-Investigations should be carried out there in order to
express official position. We do not know yet whom these bodies
belong. Unfortunately, the majority of the archival documents were
lost during the Soviet times. But despite this search will be needed
again. Finding 23 bodies causes doubts. And where are the bodies of
the other three? This is the subject of a very strong research. I
have already gave instructions to the Institute of History to carry
out research. We have to know who were buried in Sahil park, whose
bodies we transferred.

-Some say that there were 14 commissars.

-Indeed there were 14 commissars. I do not know how it occurred to be
26. They say they were shot in Turkmenistan and their bodies were later
taken to Baku. It was the propaganda of the Soviet state. Historical
documents, materials show only 14 commissars.

-When will the research begin?

-The late academician Ziya Bunyadov began the research in this
field. HE wrote several articles on this issue. I think that they
are very valuable works. He raised archival documents and clarified
a number of issues. But these are a small part of the archival
documents. The main archival documents are possibly kept in the places
we do not know. Their search is very important for us. They even say
Anastas Mikoyan took most of those documents from Baku. He came to
Baku and abusing his power took most of the documents. Those documents
should be searched. We will engage in this issue this year. The issue
also ends into India.

-Will ANAS participate in the examination?

-This is the work of forensic experts. In order to know whom the
bodies belong, their heirs should be found, DNA testing made, the
results should be compared. The main job of the historians is to
expose the truth basing on archival documents.

-The majority of the commissars were not Azerbaijanis. It will probably
be difficult to find their heirs.

– If I am not wrong, there were only two Azerbaijanis among them:
Vazirov and Azizbayov. I guess Vazirov was not even the commissar
and Azizbayov was a member of other organization named "Uezd
Commissarov". It was not specified yet their bodies among the
remains were found in the Sahil (Seaside) Park or not. It should
be researched seriously. Who of their heirs is alive, who is here,
who is abroad? All these should be researched. I consider that it is
a right decision to take out their bodies from the Sahil Park and to
bury in other place. This issue is discussed not only in Azerbaijan,
but outside the country as well and not accepted synonymously.

-Stepan Shaumyan’s granddaughter Tatyana Shaumyan called the reports
about her grandfather’s escape to India a legend created as a result
of Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict. What do Azerbaijani scientists know
about it?

-A version of that some of the commissars were moved out to India
existed before the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict. These ideas were
formed on the basis of documents and event there were reports in the
British sources about that. The British sources denied the fact of
execution of commissars. There is an area in Delhi named as Videl
Garden and there are nearly 20 unknown graves. For some reason only
Armenian tourists are visiting those graves. It is an interesting fact.

– It seems it is necessary to sent fact-finding missions to abroad.

-It will be interesting to send a mission to England at first. British
officials fixed and archived the events accurately in that
time. Recently Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences issued a
book about the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic based on the archive
materials found in Britain. We aim to research the materials about
26 Baku Commissars now. Certainly it will be possible to get some
information from the English archives. India is also on agenda as a
target of researches. Russian and Azerbaijani archive will also be
researched. We want to learn the truth to answer our questions and
to reply those who raise uproar over this issue.

-What do you think, what goal do the uproar-raisers follow?

– The main goal is to disgrace us. They know well that most of the
commissars were not Azerbaijanis. They know well that most of the
commissars were Armenians. Therefore they think that we are taking
revenge. Russians also discord over Lenin. Some of them demand to take
the Lenin’s body out of the mausoleum and to bury. Communists insist
that Lenin’s body should remain in the mausoleum. Armenians’ sharp
reaction is related only to ideology. They claim that we disrespect
the commissars. It was absolutely right decision to bury them in
other place.