James Warlick: We also remember Somgait

“We also remember Somgait. Both Armenia and Azerbaijan should support people-to-people programs to develop tolerance and trust, “ the U.S. Co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group Ambassador James Warlick wrote on Twitter, commenting on the Sumgait tragic events.

The Sumgait events were a pogrom that targeted the Armenian population of the seaside town of Sumgait in Soviet Azerbaijan during February 1988. On February 27, 1988, mobs made up largely of ethnic Azeris formed into groups that went on to attack and kill Armenians both on the streets and in their apartments; widespread looting and a general lack of concern from police officers allowed the situation to worsen. The violence in Sumgait was unprecedented in scope in the Soviet Union and received heavy coverage in the Western media. A number of international and Soviet sources described the events as genocide of the Armenian population.

The pogrom took place during the early stages of the Karabakh movement. The official death toll released by the Procurator General of the USSR (tallies were compiled based on lists of named victims) was 32 people (26 Armenians and 6 Azerbaijanis), although some have revised this figure up into the tens and hundreds.