YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 28, ARMENPRESS. Speaker of Parliament of Artsakh Artur Tovmasyan issued a statement on the 34th anniversary of the Sumgait genocide, the Parliament of Artsakh said.

The statement reads:

“Dear compatriots.

34 years have passed since the Sumgait crime.

Many people, nations around the world have suffered and continue suffering from genocide, but for the Armenian people it is the past and the present, but never the future.

Azerbaijan, an artificial state born in the beginning of the 20th century, has assumed an anti-Armenian mission since its formation. The proof is the Sumgait massacres organized in 1988 and the regularly continuous wars.

The only goal and desire of Azerbaijan is the final occupation of Artsakh and the elimination of its ethnic people.

Impunity and intolerance led the Azerbaijani authorities to new genocidal acts.

The manifestation of Armenophobia reached its peak in September 2020 by the war unleashed by Azerbaijan, particularly in the form of inhuman treatment against the population of Artsakh, the Armenian captives, murders, torture and cultural genocide.

By strongly condemning the Sumgait crime and the continuous policy against the Artsakh-Armenians, we call on the civilized world to take practical steps to prevent the Azerbaijani genocidal policy against Armenians.

We must get out of this heavy situation, and demand our rights in our ancestral land.

My homage to the memory of all our compatriots who fell victim to the Azerbaijani violence and all those heroes fallen at all Artsakh wars”.