The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan issued a statement regarding the Day of Genocide of Azerbaijanis

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan (MFA of AR) issued a statement regarding the Day of Genocide of Azerbaijanis - March 31.

This was reported by BAKU.WS with reference to the press service of the foreign policy department of AR.

"Today marks the 107th anniversary of the March genocide of 1918, one of the largest genocides committed by radical Armenian groups against peaceful Azerbaijanis in the last century, when thousands of our compatriots were brutally killed on ethnic and religious grounds. On this day, we honor the memory of the innocent victims of these tragic events with deep respect and reverence.

These mass killings, which are part of a systematic policy of ethnic cleansing and genocide against Azerbaijanis, were planned and carried out by 6,000 armed soldiers of the Baku Soviet and 4,000 soldiers of the "Dashnaktsutyun" party under the pretext of "fighting counter-revolutionaries." This is evidenced by the admission of Stepan Shaumyan himself, the extraordinary commissioner of the Caucasus and an Armenian by nationality. Mass killings of peaceful Azerbaijanis with particular cruelty were committed in a number of regions, including Baku, Shamakhi, Guba, Karabakh, Zangezur, Nakhchivan, Shirvan, and Irevan. As a result of the massacre, more than 16,000 people were brutally killed in Guba alone, and 167 villages were destroyed," the statement says.

The ministry emphasized that the vandalism and destruction of cultural and religious monuments, mosques, and cemeteries belonging to Azerbaijanis are evidence that what happened was a crime based on ethnic hatred and intolerance.

The Foreign Ministry recalled that after the establishment of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic, special departments were created to investigate the events of March 31, 1918, and to further spread the realities to the world. In addition, March 31 was declared a national day of mourning. However, the fall of the ADR did not allow for a political and legal assessment of this crime.

"After the restoration of our independence and the return to power of national leader Heydar Aliyev, the decree 'On the Genocide of Azerbaijanis,' signed on March 26, 1998, gave a political assessment to what happened," the Foreign Ministry noted.

"The policy of ethnic hatred and intolerance that underlies the mass killings committed at the beginning of the 20th century continued at the end of the century with the mass deportation of Azerbaijanis from the territories of present-day Armenia, crimes against humanity such as mass killings of Azerbaijanis during the conflict and occupation, the Khojaly genocide, as well as war crimes against civilians during the 44-day Patriotic War in 2020," the statement says.