A series of events were held by the Ombudsman on March 31- Day of Genocide of Azerbaijanis

As every year, the Commissioner for Human Rights (Ombudsman) of the Republic of Azerbaijan Elmira Suleymanova organized events with respect to March 31, the Day of Genocide of Azerbaijanis, in Baku and regions, regional and resource centers of the Ombudsman. 

Such series of events were held by Ganja Regional Center in Gazakh and Aghstafa city schools, by Sheki Regional Center in villages and settlements of Balakan, Zagatala, Oghuz and Sheki, by Jalilabad Regional Center in Lankaran mixed-type children’s home, college and secondary schools in Jalilabad, by Guba Regional Center in schools of Shabran and Guba. Moreover, Guba Memorial Complex opened as the proof of mass murder of people and sign of respect for them, was visited. Blessed memory of the tragedy victims was commemorated with a minute of silence at the events.

Heads of the above-mentioned regional centers delivered speeches and gave broad information on the topic. It was noted that the bloody incidents of March 31 was regarded political assessment only 80 years later with signing of the Decree On the Genocide of Azerbaijanis by the President Heydar Aliyev dated March 26, 1998. March 31 was declared as the Day of Genocide of Azerbaijanis, which is marked in the country every year at the state level.

It was underlined that this genocide is one of the most bloody and horrible tragedies in Azerbaijani history. Atrocities committed by Armenians against Azerbaijanis in 1905-1907, as well as in 1918 with a dream of establishing “Great Armenia” state covered the Azerbaijani lands. In that year Armenian-bolshevik groups, armed dashnaks broke into houses and executed massacre of people which was proceeded on March 31 and April 1-2.

It was mentioned that the facts revealing massacre committed by Armenians during 1918 events were recently discovered in Guba. Innumerable human bones and other material evidences found there became obvious proofs of Armenian vandalism during those massacres. The Guba Genocide Memorial Complex was established to pay respect to the memory of dozens of thousands people murdered in our territories within the March events.

Commemorations regarding the Day of Genocide of Azerbaijanis were also organized in the Leadership School under the Resource Center of the Ombudsman on Child Rights, Azerbaijan Child and Youth Peace Network (ACYPN) and in the Resource Center for the Elderly. Scientist from the Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences Institute of History, PhD in history Raisa Jafarova, the staff members of the Ombudsman Office Faig Aghayev, Mugalib Mahmudov and a representative of the Resource Centre for the Elderly made speeches at the events informing broadly on the tragedy. Then questions of the children related to subject were responded comprehensively.

Events regarding the genocide were also managed at the schools, in which Hierarchic Child Rights Education project is exercised at the initiative of the Commissioner by staff members of the Office and regional centers.

The Statement of the Commissioner on March 31-Day of Genocide of Azerbaijanis was sounded in each of the organized events. It was emphasized that the Statement was addressed to the UN Secretary-General, UN Security Council, UN Office of High Commissioner for Human Rights, UN Office of High Commissioner for Refugees, UN Human Rights Council, to the heads of UNICEF, UNESCO, European Union, Council of Europe, OSCE, to International and European Ombudsman Institutes, Asian Ombudsman Association, OIC and the Ombudsman Association of its member states, European Network of Ombudsmen for Children, International Peace Bureau, ombudsmen of different countries, embassies of the Republic of Azerbaijan abroad and foreign embassies in our republic, the Azerbaijani Diaspora organizations.

The Statement of the Commissioner was also sounded and handled to the participants in the commemorative events and conferences arranged by Embassies of the Republic of Azerbaijan abroad and our Diaspora organizations. Likewise, this Statement was distributed to the attendees in the commemoration event organized by the Embassy of our country in Kuwait. As well as, the Statement of the Ombudsman was published on the website of Bulgarian Strategic Research Center (bghaber.org) on March 31, 2019.

Statements of the Commissioner are regarded in numerous events held by the Embassies of the Republic of Azerbaijan to Norway, Denmark, Indonesia, Malaysia, Iran, Bulgaria and Kuwait, distributed to the participants and submitted to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and diplomatic missions in some of those countries.