Armenian MPs observe moment of silence honoring memory of 1920 Shushi pogroms victims

YEREVAN, MARCH 22, ARMENPRESS. Members of Parliament held a moment of silence in honor of the memory of the victims of the 1920 Shushi pogroms, where thousands of Armenians were killed.

“I suggest that we hold a moment of silence to honor the memory of the victims of the pogroms committed by Turkish-Azerbaijani groups in Shushi in 1920,” MP Hayk Mamijanyan from Pativ Unem bloc said at the plenary session.

“Around 20,000 of our compatriots died as a result of the pogroms which lasted 4-5 days. I think that in the context of the present-day developments and the signals coming from Artsakh yesterday, it is necessary for the world to see that we remember our history very well,” Mamijanyan said.

In 1920, Armed units of the first republic of Azerbaijan attempted to resolve the Karabakh issue which had been already on the international agenda, by using force and mass killing of the civilian population.

As a result, the Armenian town of Shushi, a major economic, spiritual and cultural center of the region, was set on a fire and destroyed. This atrocity, committed by unprecedented cruelty, was led by Khosrov bey Sultanov, who later, during World War II, actively participated in the formation of Azerbaijani legion in the ranks of the Nazi troops.