Sabina Aliyeva, Commissioner for Human Rights (Ombudsman) of the Republic of Azerbaijan, has issued a statement on the occasion of March 31 – the Day of Genocide of Azerbaijanis.
The statement reads: “Throughout history, at different times, Azerbaijanis were deliberately subjected to ethnic cleansing and genocide by Armenians and were murdered on a massive scale on the basis of their ethnicity and religious background. Since the beginning of the 20th century, Armenians have committed systematic and brutal crimes against the Azerbaijani population in various parts of Azerbaijan, as well as in the present territory of Armenia.
The incidents that occurred in March–April 1918 were one of the manifestations of this most bloody and tragic policy and have been recorded in history as massacres of thousands of innocent people due to their ethnicity and religion.
These incidents left an indelible mark on the memories of our people. Massive killings in Baku, Shamakhi, Guba, Garabagh, Zangezur, Iravan, Nakhchivan, Lankaran, Ganja, Goychay, Sheki, Sabirabad, Salyan, Kurdamir, and other regions were an integral part of a policy intended to eliminate the historical existence of the Azerbaijani population inhabiting those areas.
During the March–April 1918 incidents, 110 villages in Shamakhi, over 150 in Garabagh, 115 in the Zangezur Uyezd, 98 in the Gars Governorate, and 167 in the Guba Uyezd were devastated and burned, and the peaceful and unarmed residents were massacred with unprecedented cruelty. The mass grave and multiple human remains discovered later in Guba city visually confirm the scope and brutality of the massacres committed during that period. These facts are clear evidence that the people were systematically targeted and largely murdered on the basis of their ethnic background, as they were Azerbaijanis.
The archival materials, historical documents, and other reliable sources verify these tragic incidents with indisputable proof. The testimonies of those who survived and other legal documents comprehensively describe the scope of the massacres, demonstrating that these incidents did not occur accidentally but were an integral part of a purposeful policy of ethnic cleansing. The investigations and legal analyses carried out in accordance with international law have substantiated that these crimes contain the elements of genocide.
Although the systematic killing of the civilian population during the March–April 1918 incidents was committed on the basis of their ethnic origin and religion, these crimes of genocide have unfortunately not yet been recognized at the international level.
National Leader Heydar Aliyev issued a Decree on March 26, 1998, declaring March 31 as the Day of Genocide of Azerbaijanis. Subsequently, measures were undertaken to ensure the political and legal evaluation of the facts of genocide, the investigation of the truth, and its dissemination to the international community.
International recognition of the crimes of genocide committed against Azerbaijanis and the restoration of justice are of key importance in preventing the recurrence of such crimes against humanity in the future.
International organizations and United Nations member states should take a firm position on the series of crimes of ethnic cleansing and genocide committed by Armenians against Azerbaijanis and recognize the criminal acts of 1918 as genocide.”
