Targeted News Service
Thursday 8:20 AM EST
Helsinki Commission Hastings Commemorates Anniversary of Sumgait Pogrom
WASHINGTON
The Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe issued the following statement by Helsinki Commission Chairman Alcee L. Hastings:
"Today we commemorate the victims of the Sumgait pogrom, part of the tragic human toll of inter-ethnic conflict that culminated in the Nagorno-Karabakh war and the stark division of Armenian and Azeri societies.
"On this day in 1988, an ethnically driven and violent campaign drove thousands of innocent Armenians out of Azerbaijan.
"I hope ongoing talks between the foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan will contribute to the effort to bind these wounds and serve the ultimate cause of peace and reconciliation."
The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan remains one of the world's most intractable and long-standing territorial and ethnic disputes. Its fragile no-peace, no-war situation poses a serious threat to stability in the South Caucasus region and beyond.