His Holiness Karekin II issued a message remembering the Armenian victims of the 1988 Sumgait pogroms. In the message released on February 27, 2021–marking the 33rd year since the start of those atrocities–the Catholicos of All Armenians placed the Sumgait pogroms in a three-decade continuum of Azeri violence against Armenians, culminating in the Artsakh war of 2020.
Read an English translation below. To read the original Armenian message, click here.
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The Message of His Holiness Karekin II
In Commemoration of the Sumgait Pogroms of 1988
Dear Pious People,
Today, we are commemorating the victims of the pogroms in Sumgait, organized by the Azerbaijani authorities in 1988.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the republics of the union proclaimed their independence, and our people of Artsakh also declared their will to live independently with the right of self-determination.
Against this just decision, massacres and pogroms of Armenians were carried out in the whole territory of Azerbaijan.
Subsequently, the same forces that organized the Sumgait atrocities regularly attacked Artsakh and the border regions of Armenia with the purpose of executing a new genocide.
Then last year, Azerbaijan was joined by Turkey and terrorist groups in unleashing a large-scale military operation against the Republic of Artsakh, brutally shelling the territory of Artsakh.
Many of our children, civilians and defenders of our homeland, were killed; thousands of Armenians were displaced; spiritual and cultural monuments were destroyed. We lost a significant part of Artsakh, and there are still missing and captives.
We note with regret that even with the cessation of the war, violence and atrocities are still taking place; the rights of our country and people are still being violated.
These are the tragic realities of the horrors of the second Artsakh war. They prove that Artsakh cannot exist as part of Azerbaijan.
Beloved ones, despite the pain in our hearts due to the losses caused by the war, we must make a united effort to overcome the catastrophic consequences and trials, to strengthen our homeland, to accomplish new achievements and succeed in our lives.
Bowing before the blessed memory of our victims, we pray from the bottom of our hearts for the peace and tranquility of their souls.
We ask God to bestow His mercy, graces, and benevolence over our people and homeland, and keep us all under the protective care of His holy right hand. Amen.
Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin
February 27, 2021