Sumgait 1988: most cruel Sunday in Roman Tovmasyan’s family

“I was only 5 years old when the Sumgait pogroms took place but I remember these events so far. I was a child but I remember it well and I am sure that these were planned crimes. As I looked out the window, I saw them bringing sharpened reinforcement rods,” former resident of Sumgait Roman Tovmasyan told reporters in Yerevan today.

Roman was at home with his family on February 28, 1988 when he heard noise from the yard.

“My father led us to the room and said that everything will be OK. I was a child but I felt that it won't be all right. I asked my father not to go there since they would kill him but he said he must go.”

Roman’s father never came back. Roman’s mother, Raya Tovmasyan, who survived by a miracle, told that a group of Azerbaijanis entered their house and while they were trying to call the police from their neighbor’s place, the Azeris burst in.

“We were defending ourselves with kitchen knives for nearly 9 hours. The police were late. I phoned but they asked us to wait. So, how can I forget these events?” the pogrom witness said.