VIDEO: What Happened in Sumgait is Genocide That Laid the Groundwork for New Atrocities

What occurred in Sumgait constitutes genocide, which has yet to receive any legal or political evaluation, and this has provided a basis for the commission of new military crimes. This is the belief of Hovik Avanesyan, head of the Center for Caucasian Studies at Mesrop Mashtots University.

“Our research team has conducted a number of studies. By applying a special calculation methodology, we have determined that the number of victims in Sumgait is around 3,000...,” he stated.

Since 1988, the genocidal actions carried out by Azerbaijan have been periodic in nature. The Sumgait massacres were the first part of this chain; similar actions followed in other areas of Azerbaijan, in the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region, and after independence, also within the territory of the Republic of Artsakh.

“All this is part of an overall chain that is interconnected...,” he noted.

Commenting on the Sumgait massacre, Hovik Avanesyan emphasizes that it was a clearly organized genocide, characterized by specific roles, directed actions, and targeted victims. He considers it essential to showcase all this to the international community.

“Unfortunately, we remember Sumgait, Baku, and the massacres in Maragha on the eve of those events...,” Avanesyan has said.

The genocide of Sumgait should not be discussed just once a year, but rather every day. According to Hovik Avanesyan, it is necessary to show that the genocidal practices of the Turkish perpetrator remain unchanged, and as long as the international community does not condemn such atrocities, the threat of their recurrence will persist.