Armenian public figures demanded from authorities to treat pogroms in Baku as genocide

The pogroms of Armenians in Baku 32 years ago became the third act of massacres of Armenians in the 20th century, Arman Tatoyan, the Armenian Ombudsperson, has stated. Armenian authorities should recognize the Baku pogroms as genocide and convey to the world community that this tragedy caused the Karabakh conflict, the Armenian public figures, Grigory Aivazyan and Larisa Alaverdyan, have stated.

"Pogroms of Armenians in Baku were organized by the Popular Front of Azerbaijan (PFA) with the assistance of the authorities. On January 11, 1990, at a PFA rally, calls were made for the mass expulsion of Armenians from Baku to Karabakh ... There are numerous testimonies of atrocities and murders committed with exceptional cruelty," Arman Tatoyan, the Armenian Ombudsperson, wrote on the Facebook on the occasion of the 32nd anniversary of the pogroms.

The recognition by Armenian authorities of the pogroms of Armenians in Baku as genocide will justify the impossibility of joint coexistence of Karabakh Armenians within Azerbaijan, Grigory Aivazyan, the head of the Assembly of Azerbaijani Armenians, believes.

The mass pogroms of Armenians in Baku were the culmination of the policy of ethnic cleansings and forced deportation of the Armenian population of Azerbaijan; as a result, about half a million Armenians became refugees, the Armenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) said in its statement.