March 31 Genocide: Memory of the Victims and Historical Justice

The investigation of the genocides and bloody tragedies committed by Armenians against our people, and bringing the truth to the world, is associated with the name of Great Leader Heydar Aliyev.

When we look at the chronology of the calamities inflicted upon our people over the last two centuries and investigate them, we encounter the same scenario, the same goal, and the same intent. Although during the Soviet era, like many other areas, attempts were made to erase the blood memory of our people, and the traces of events that occurred over time were lost, leading to major distortions. One point in this matter draws particular attention. Namely, at the heart of the insidious plans carried out against our people, our hateful neighbors – the Armenians – stood every time. Based on the results of the Russia-Iran wars that took place in the early 19th century, the resettlement of tens of thousands of Armenian families from the territory of present-day Iran to the historical Azerbaijani lands of Karabakh, Zangazur, and Goycha formed the basis of the vile policy we mentioned.

Inspired by the help of their “backers” who supported this vile policy, the malevolent community successively carried out tragedies, genocides, and ethnic cleansing policies against our people, and this vile policy continued for more than a hundred years. March 31 – the Day of Genocide of Azerbaijanis, which is part of that scenario – is a bloody page in our history, the blood memory of our people. Horrific massacres and genocides were carried out in almost all regions of our country. What happened in Nakhchivan, Zangazur, Guba, Shamakhi, Baku, Ganja, Lankaran, Salyan-Neftchala region, Karabakh, and finally in Khojaly, all historical Azerbaijani lands, are great crimes against humanity. If we only look at the March 1918 events, we witness the brutal murder of 10,068 innocent Azerbaijanis in Zangazur district, 135,000 in Iravan Governorate, 8,000 in Shamakhi, and thousands more in other territories. As a result of the genocide, hundreds of villages were destroyed, tens of thousands of people became refugees, and countless historical monuments were annihilated. One of the bloodiest massacres of 1918 occurred in the Guba district.

Here, 167 villages, along with their inhabitants, were completely destroyed. The investigation of the genocides and bloody tragedies committed by Armenians against our people, and bringing the truth to the world, is associated with the name of Great Leader Heydar Aliyev. With the Decree signed by the National Leader on March 26, 1998, March 31 was declared the Day of Genocide of Azerbaijanis. Thus, the National Leader once again gave political and legal assessment to the historical document adopted by the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic 80 years prior. It was only after this that research began to be conducted, works were written, and special efforts were made to inform the international community about the genocide events. On January 18, 2018, a Decree “On the 100th Anniversary of the 1918 Genocide of Azerbaijanis” was signed by the worthy successor of the Great Leader's political course, Victorious Supreme Commander-in-Chief Mr. Ilham Aliyev.

It is a source of pride that today our Victorious President Mr. Ilham Aliyev, benefiting from the ideas of Great Leader Heydar Aliyev, has achieved Azerbaijan's territorial integrity and sovereignty through his successful domestic and foreign policy. It can be confidently stated that the souls of the children of the homeland, who were killed as a result of genocides, massacres, and terrorist acts, are joyful today. The Azerbaijani people today live and create with pride as citizens of a Victorious country in the world.

Tamella Hummatova;
Neftchala district