RA MFA: Armenia firmly believes that lasting peace in the South  Caucasus can prevent crimes against humanity from recurring in the  future

ArmInfo.Armenia firmly believes that only lasting peace in the South Caucasus can prevent such crimes against humanity from recurring in the future, as stated by the RA Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the 35th anniversary of the massacres , ethnic cleansing and mass deportations in Baku.

As noted in the statement of the MFA, these days 35 years ago, within  a week, Azerbaijan organized groups, operating in an atmosphere of  complete impunity and with the undulgence and support of the  Azerbaijani authorities, as well as amid the total inaction of   Soviet authorities. The overwhelming majority of Armenians were  forced to leave their homes, despite the fact that the Armenian  community had played a significant role in the construction and  development of the industrial city of Baku since the mid-19th  century, and Armenian families and individuals had founded, owned and  operated large industrial enterprises, cultural and educational  institutions. As a result, the Armenians of Baku left behind property  and wealth worth billions, subsequently being deprived of any  opportunity to receive any compensation for their losses.  "The   January 1990 massacre of the Armenian population in Baku, which was  aimed at forcibly expelling the remnants of the once 250,000-strong  Armenian community, was preceded by larger-scale massacres in the  Azerbaijani cities of Sumgait and Kirovabad (now Ganja).  As a result  of the massacres of Armenians in Azerbaijan in the late 1980s and  early 1990s, approximately 400,000 Armenians were expelled from the  country. Moreover, the millennia-old Armenian traces in cities of  Azerbaijan were deliberately erased, and their rich history and  heritage were falsified.  Paying tribute to the memory of the victims  and survivors of the Baku massacres, Armenia firmly believes that  lasting peace in the South Caucasus is the only way to prevent such  crimes against humanity from recurring in the future," the RA MFA  statement notes.