Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry has issued a statement on March 31 - Day of Genocide of Azerbaijanis.
"Today, 31 March - Day of Genocide of Azerbaijanis - marks the 108th anniversary of the atrocities committed by radical Armenian groups against Azerbaijani people," the statement reads.
The ministry noted that the massacres perpetrated in March 1918 by armed units of the Baku Soviet, numbering approximately 6,000, together with around 4,000 members of the “Dashnaksutyun” party, constitute one of the gravest manifestations of ethnic cleansing.
It was noted that historical records, including the disclosures by Stepan Shaumyan, then Extraordinary Commissar of the Caucasus, attest that these acts, carried out under the pretext of “combating counter-revolutionary forces,” were in fact driven by ethnic hatred.
"Tens of thousands of Azerbaijanis were killed as a result of these crimes, which were carried out systematically in regions such as Baku, Shamakhi, Guba, Garabagh, Zangezur, Nakhchivan, Shirvan, and Iravan. In Quba alone, over 16,000 civilians were killed, and 167 settlements were destroyed. In addition to the mass killings of civilians, religious and cultural sites belonging to the Azerbaijani people, including mosques and historical monuments, were deliberately targeted and annihilated," the statement reads.
Although, following the establishment of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic special institutions were set up to investigate these events and raise awareness in the international community, and 31 March was observed as a day of national mourning, the fall of the Republic hindered the delivery of a political and legal assessment of these crimes.
According to the ministry, it was only after the restoration of Azerbaijan’s independence that a proper political and legal assessment was rendered at the state level, through the Decree on the “Genocide of Azerbaijanis” dated 26 March 1998, signed by National Leader Heydar Aliyev.
"This bloody policy of genocide at the beginning of the 20th century was continued in subsequent periods, and towards the end of the century it took on a systematic character with the mass deportation of Azerbaijanis from the territory of present-day Armenia, the massacres committed during the occupation of Azerbaijan’s territories, especially the Khojaly genocide, and other war crimes," the statement reads.
The ministry stressed that the people of Azerbaijan will never forget these tragic chapters of its history.
"On 31 March – Day of Genocide of Azerbaijanis, we commemorate with deep sadness the dear memory of all our compatriots who became victims of ethnic hatred and genocide" the statement reads.
Earlier, President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and First Vice-President of Azerbaijan Mehriban Aliyeva shared posts on their social media accounts on 31 March - the Day of Genocide of Azerbaijanis.
"I solemnly commemorate the bright memory of the victims of the genocide. May Allah rest the souls of all our martyrs in peace," Mehriban Aliyeva said.
