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The Shushi Pogroms or Shushi Massacre were anti-Armenian pogroms during a war which resulted in more than 20,000 Armenian deaths and the destruction of Shushi.
Name
Mostly known as the Shushi massacre and sometimes the Shushi pogroms, see below for the usage of 'genocide'.
According to Chairman of the parliamentary Commission for Foreign Relations of Karabakh, Vahram Atanesyan:
The massacre of Armenians in Shushi in 1920 is nothing but a genocide, Chairman of the parliamentary Commission for Foreign Relations of Karabakh, Vahram Atanesyan, said at a press-conference today. He said the massacre was perpetrated by Azerbaijan with the support of the Turkish expeditionary corps. Atanesyan stressed that Karabakh has never been a part of Azerbaijan and was de facto independent at that moment, its status being recognized by Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan.
Background
In 1918, during the course of the Turkish-German territorial expansion in the Caucasus, the occupying powers created the puppet pro-Turkish unit of "Azerbaijan" which claimed historical Armenian lands, including Karabakh.
Between 1918-20, the Karabakh Armenians–led by the local Armenian National Council–had to defend their land from the invaders. Despite the unequal forces and numerous victims, the Karabakh people were successful.
The fate of the Capital–Shoushi–was especially tragic. At the time–Shoushi was the fifth most populated city in the Caucasus. On the nights of March 22 and 23–1920–the Turkish-Azeri troops and Kurdish bands–headed by Musavat General Sultanov attacked Shoushi–and burned down a large portion of the Armenian district. More than 20 thousand of the 30,000 Armenian population of Shoushi was lost. Thousands of Armenians–including women and children–were taken prisoners; others were ruthlessly killed.
Shoushi's has endured many other tragic periods over the last 80 years. Soviet Azerbaijan continued the anti-Armenian policy by conducting organized ethnic cleansing. In 1988–the remaining Armenian population of the historic citadel of Nagorno-Karabakh was deported from the town. Since the autumn of 1991–the Nagorno Karabakh Republic's Capital Stepanakert was systematically shelled by artillery from Shoushi which is situated much higher than Stepanakert. Complete destruction threatened Stepanakert. On May 9–1992–the Karabakh self-defense forces liberated the town by storm.
Today the deported population–including refugees from Baku–Sumgait and other towns and regions of the former AzSSR–is returning to Shoushi. The town is being restored–the economic sphere is being regulated–and social conditions are being improved.
In connection with the 80th anniversary of the Armenian pogroms of Shoushi–a number of events have taken place in Karabakh–in accordance with the resolution of the government.
In particular–a memorial stone was erected in Shoushi on March 20. The government submitted a proposal to the Republic's National Assembly to set up March 23 as the Memorial Day for the victims of the Armenian massacres committed in Shoushi in 1920.
A special exposition was opened on March 23 in the Nagorno Karabakh Museum of Regional Studies. Minister of Foreign Affairs Naira Melkoumian and Minister of Culture–Youth and Sport Affairs Armen Sargssian participated in the opening ceremony.
In her speech–Melkoumian estimated the opening of the exposition as a significant step in presenting Shoushi's tragedy on the state level. "Restoration of Shoushi and its Armenian spirit means restoration of the defiled national dignity," stressed Melkoumian. The Minister expressed readiness to support the museum in the implementation of the envisaged plans–and made a few specific proposals.
1919
On June 4-5, 1919, an armed Armenian-Turkish clash takes place in Shushi, organized and incited by Governor-General Sultanov. The town was isolated and blockaded, and the Armenian population found itself in acute need of food. The barracks in Khankendi (Stepanakert) were filled with soldiers of the Azeri army, and only a single unit of the English army was located in the town, which comprised of Sipayis (?), Muslim Indians. The Armenian part of Shushi was under a siege imposed by the armed Turks. The Armenian forces were not only scarce, but had no weapon cartridges.
The attempts to subjugate Karabakh to Azerbaijan kept failing. The Armenian National Council of Karabakh remained unflinching. Sultanov’s goal was bring Karabagh to its knees through massacres, violence and terror, and he was going to start from Shushi. The shootings of June 4-5 left casualties on both sides. The English mission in Shushi presented to the Armenian side Sultanov’s condition for a ceasefire: removal of the Armenian National Council members from the town. On June 5, three members of the Council left Shushi. The ceasefire was reached partially due to the interference of the English soldiers. But a new wave of violence swept through the neighboring villages of Ghaibalishen, Pahlul and Krkzhan, which were pillaged June 5-7. About 700 people, mostly innocent civilians, were killed in Ghaibalishen.
The gang activities were led by the brother of the Governor-General.
Massacres in Shushi on March 22-26, 1920
From the very start of 1920, Governor Sultanov, breaking the terms of the temporary agreement of August 22, 1919, tightened the blockade around Karabagh, not only through accumulation of armed forces in the strategically important locations, but also by arming the Turkish population, preparing the latter for guerrilla fights.
In the winter and spring of 1920, Sultanov, as always, was well aware of the degree of the Armenian population’s armament in Karabakh, which in fact was much worse than that of the Turks. One of his dispatches reads: “I think this is the most suitable moment for the final resolution of the Nagorno Karabagh issue, since they have few cartridges available.
Armenians were also aware of Sultanov’s preparations and tried to resist them.
In the early morning of March 23, 1920, when the Turkish population of Shushi was celebrating Novruz Bairam, a small Armenian detachment entered Shushi and tried to take over the barrack in accordance with an uprising program developed by the Karabakh self-defense commanders.
This started an exchange of fire, which served as a signal for Shushi’s armed Turkish population, the Azeri army soldiers and Kurdish gangs abounding in the town to attack the Armenian district, plunder, set everything on fire and start a horrible massacre of the Armenian population.
There is another version of what exactly started the massacre, according to which a Turkish officer tried to disarm a young Armenian and insulted the honor of the Armenian’s wife in the guy’s presence. The young man killed the officer, and then his whole family was slaughtered by the Turks accompanying the officer. While the shooting was going on, the Turks called for help from their companions-in-arms and brothers in faith.
The Turkish part of Shushi, the army located in the town, the “guerrilla” gangs that had arrived from other locations, seized by the rage of killing and plundering, ceaselessly and mercilessly slaughtered, destroyed, burnt and looted the Armenian part of the town for three days.
Nobody did or could have counted the number of victims and those who miraculously survived the ordeal. Let us mention again that, according to the 1914 data, more than 22 thousand Armenians lived in Shushi, whereas in 1921 their number was about 300.
The documented records provide more than sufficient evidence for stating that the massacre of the Armenians in Shushi was thoroughly prepared by the Azerbaijanian authorities, under the command of experienced Turkish emissaries (Khalil pasha). Otherwise it would be hard to believe that the peaceful population that was amid sending its prayers to God could in a wink of an eye, without arms, rush out for an attack upon hearing the shooting noise, and start the beastly destruction of everybody and everything.
On February 29, 1920 Sultanov sent a telegram to the Minister of Azerbaijan’s home affairs regarding the askyars’ dream: “They cherish an unfaltering dream of conquering Karabakh”.
The part of the dream that relates to Shushi was fulfilled.
“Ermenistan that you have seen is now burnt down, just about five or ten houses were left…“ “After killing the prominent Armenians, their severed heads were carried and displayed during rounds made at the marketplaces…” “You will see no more Armenians in our area; neither will you meet a Turk who has brought less than one hundred thousand’s worth of loot”. (Excerpts from the originals of Ottoman letters written in Arabic letters).
See also
References
- Armenia in Crisis: The 1988 Earthquake - Page 6 by Pierre Verluise
- Why IDPs Matter in the Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict by Seepan V. Parseghian, p.5
- Historic Maps of Armenia: The Cartographic Heritage - Page 7 by Rouben Galichian
- Chairman of the parliamentary Commission for Foreign Relations of Karabakh, Vahram Atanesyan, at a press-conference