Victims of 1918 March Genocide commemorated in Baku
By Nazrin Gadimova
Azerbaijan will commemorate one of the bloodiest pages in country’s history on March 31 – the Day of Genocide committed by Armenians in 1918.
A series of ceremonies, conferences, round tables and exhibitions dedicated to this massacre are being held in the country on these days.
Addressing one of these events, Sheikh-ul-Islam Allahshukur Pashazade, Chairman of the Caucasian Muslims Office said Azerbaijan’s economic and military power terrifies Armenia.
He said Armenians always try to put themselves offended in a bid to carry out their dirty plans wherever they live.
Touching upon issue of global terrorism, Pashazade said Azerbaijan is against this phenomenon and then urged the world to unite in the fight against terror.
“When the terrorist attacks occurred in France and Belgium, the world media wrote about it, while the attacks in Turkey and Pakistan were not covered so much,” Pashazade said, blaming double standards prevailing in the world.
Another event dedicated to the genocide was held at Baku State University.
University Rector Abel Maharramov, addressing the event, said that Armenians who have created their own state on the ancient Azerbaijani lands showed aggression against Azerbaijani people throughout history.
Maharramov recalled that the international community remains indifferent to the appeals of Muslim states on the elimination of Dashnaktsutiun, ASALA and other Armenian terrorist organizations.
Azerbaijan’s Armed Forces also commemorate the genocide victims, holding a series of events with the participation of veterans, scientists and historians.
In 1918, while the entire world was involved in World War I, the Armenian armed brigades, by using the prevailing anarchic situation in the region, attempted to exterminate the Azerbaijani nation. Armenian terrorists committed atrocities, to a degree of brutality and viciousness that words can begin to describe the horror of those days.
They executed about 15,000 innocent people in Shamakhi, Guba, Irevan, Zengezur, Karabakh, Nakhchivan and Kars.
Though this date was essentially forgotten during the Soviet times, relevant investigations on the tragedy were carried out and books were published after Azerbaijan gained independence from the USSR in 1991.
President Heydar Aliyev issued a decree on March 26, 1998 to commemorate March 31 as the Day of Azerbaijanis' Genocide.
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Nazrin Gadimova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @NazrinGadimova
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