Turkish-Azerbaijani group makes statement on 1918 genocide
Istanbul`s Turkey-Azerbaijan Circle has made a statement on March 31 - the Day of Genocide of Azerbaijanis.
March 31 - the day of Genocide of Azerbaijanis and February 26 - Khojaly genocide should be commemorated in all organizations in Turkey, the circle`s chairman Safar Karakoyunlu said.
Karakoyunlu added the responsible ones for this violent act should be punished according to the rules of the international law.
The statement says: "Thousands of Azerbaijanis were killed just
for their ethnic identity, houses were set on fire, the people were
burnt alive. Architectural monuments, schools, hospitals, mosques
and other buildings were destroyed, most of Baku turned into ruins.
Genocide of Azerbaijanis was carried out in Baku, Shamakhi, Guba,
Karabakh, Zangazur, Nakhchivan, Lankaran and other places with
medieval barbarity. In February and March 1918, Armenians killed
about 50,000 people in Baku, Shamakhi, Guba, Mugan, Lankaran and
other cities of Azerbaijan."
"Their homes were robbed, and tens of thousands of people were
forced out of their homes. Only in Baku, about 30,000 people were
mercilessly killed. Fifty-eight villages were burnt in Shamakhi,
150 villages in Karabakh, 115 in Zangazur, 211 in Iravan Province
and 92 Azerbaijani villages in Kars were completely destroyed,
people were punished ruthlessly regardless of their gender and
age.
Right after the end of the World War II, mass resettlement of
Armenians was started. Around 509,000 Armenians were shifted from
Syria, Greece, Lebanon, Iran, Bulgaria, Romania, France, USA,
Greece and Palestine to Armenia.
The pictures and videos of the Quba mass graveyard were uploaded to
the official webpage of the circle.