ArmInfo. Congressmen Brad Sherman, Adam Schiff, and Frank Pallone expressed condolences to Armenian people in respect to anniversaries of Armenian pogroms in Azerbaijani cities of Sumgait, Baku and Kirovabad in 1988-1990.
"I would like to commemorate the Armenian victims of the Sumgait, Kirovabad, and Baku massacres, to honor the memory of the murdered, and to stop future bloodshed," said Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA), who serves as the Ranking Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific. "If we hope to stop future massacres, we must acknowledge these horrific events and ensure they do not happen again. We must urge Azerbaijan to cease all threats and acts of coercion against the Republic of Nagorno Karabakh. We should actively monitor and condemn Azerbaijan's violations of the ceasefire in Nagorno Karabakh."
Congressional Armenian Caucus Co-Chair Frank Pallone (D-NJ) concurred, noting that "If we do not condemn crimes against humanity and allow them to go unpunished and unrecognized we only strengthen the resolve of those seeking to perpetrate these crimes in the future. The Armenian people have known this for too long, as we prepare to commemorate the 102nd Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide in April." Rep. Pallone pledged to "continue to work with my colleagues on the Congressional Armenian Issues Caucus to remember the victims of the pogroms at Sumgait and to condemn all acts of violence against people who are targeted simply because of their existence." In a lengthy statement submitted for the Congressional Record, Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) reminded his colleagues that "The Sumgait massacre and the subsequent attacks on ethnic Armenians, resulted in the virtual disappearance of a once thriving population of 450,000 Armenians living in Azerbaijan, and culminating in the war launched against the people of Nagorno Karabakh." Highlighting Azerbaijan's ongoing aggression against Artsakh and Armenia, including the April, 2016, attacks that cost hundreds of lives, Rep. Schiff, once again, called for a "direct international response to Azerbaijan's aggressive behavior through deployment of international monitors and technology to monitor ceasefire violations. Azerbaijan's continued rejection of these simple steps speaks volumes, but I believe they should not prevent the installation of these technologies within Nagorno Karabakh. The anniversary of Sumgait is a reminder of the consequences when aggression and hatred is allowed to grow unchecked."
To mention, in the result of the state policy of Armenophobia implemented by Azerbaijan in 1988-1990 thousands of Armenians were killed and deported from Azerbaijani cities of Baku, Sumgait and Kirovabad. Pogroms were done with an ultimate cruelty and brutality - many children, old people and even pregnant women were killed.