BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 30. The Ministry of
Foreign Affairs issued a statement on March 31 – Day of Genocide of
Azerbaijanis, Trend
reports.

“31 March – Day of Genocide of Azerbaijanis, is a day of
commemoration of our innocent compatriots, who became victims of
racial discrimination and intolerance by radical Armenian groups,
and were subjected to systematic ethnic cleansing and genocide.

In March-April 1918, using all available means for ethnic
cleansing of Azerbaijanis from their ancestral territories
throughout history, radical Armenians committed savage atrocities
against our compatriots. Tens of thousands of Azerbaijanis living
in Baku, Shamakhi, Guba, Garabagh, Zangazur, Nakhchivan, Lankaran,
and other regions were brutally murdered, and numerous settlements,
religious and cultural monuments were destroyed. As a result of
massacres, more than 16,000 people were brutally killed and 167
villages were razed in Guba alone.

Massive atrocities committed against civilians, mass graves of
the victims of the massacre found in Guba region in 2007,
confession of Stephan Shaumyan, Extraordinary Commissioner of the
Caucasus, an ethnic Armenian, that 6,000 armed soldiers of the Baku
Soviet and 4,000 armed soldiers of the Dashnaksutyun Party took
part in the massacres, razed settlements, and cultural monuments
revealed the exact nature of the massacres.

Following the foundation of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic
(ADR), the Extraordinary Investigation Commission was established
to investigate the March events and to bring criminals to justice.
Based on the evidence revealed by the Commission, criminal
proceedings were filed against 194 persons accused of crimes
committed, 24 persons were arrested in Baku and about 100 in
Shamakhi. However, the collapse of the ADR interrupted the process
of conducting an in-depth investigation into the events occurred,
as well as the political and legal assessment of the March
massacres.

Only after the restoration of our independence, March events
were given an adequate political assessment with the Decree of the
National Leader Heydar Aliyev “On the Genocide of Azerbaijanis”
dated March 26, 1998, and 31 March was declared “Day of Genocide of
Azerbaijanis.”

Mass deportation of Azerbaijanis from Armenia, ethnic cleansing
and genocide crimes committed during the military aggression and
occupation of this country against Azerbaijan, war crimes against
civilians living far from the territories where military operations
were conducted during the 44-day Patriotic War demonstrated that
the policy of systematic ethnic hatred and intolerance towards
Azerbaijanis is still in place.

Learning from history, preventing the recurrence of such
horrible events, and putting an end to impunity of criminals are
critical for seizing the opportunities emerged for peace in the
region at the current post-conflict period. In this sense,
preventing the rise of revanchism in Armenia significantly depends
on the international community, along with the leadership of this
country.

On 31 March – Day of Genocide of Azerbaijanis, we commemorate
with deep grief and respect the memory of innocent Azerbaijanis who
were subjected to ethnic hatred and genocide”,” the ministry
says.