The Armenian nation was shocked by the cases of beheadings of Armenian army soldiers by Azerbaijani forces in the four-day war in April, but actually, this barbaric prototype is more than age-old. Said RA First Ombudsman, human rights defender Larisa Alaverdyan, recently, at the “Henaran” press club, referring to massacre and displacement of Armenians in the Azerbaijani city of Sumgait on February 27-29, 1988. She said that the methods by which the Armenians were tortured and killed were not presented to the international community. “On April 2, when we saw the feast of those who beheaded our soldier, many people in Armenia were shocked. I have to say that it was an unprecedented case. It has already happened in Sumgait and described by witnesses’ testimonies. It is a regress from civilization to barbarism and which is typical of the genocidal policy-makers,” noted Larisa Alaverdyan
In her words, there are many documentary materials saying that the same barbaric methods against Armenians were used since the times of the Armenian Genocide. Mrs. Alaverdyan draws the attention of the government on one question for already 29 years: “Isn’t it obvious that the families of the aggrieved in Sumgait should have a special status? They are the first victims of the national liberation movement but their families do not have a special status to provide their social problems.”
Note, during Sumgait events (1988) Armenians were targeted. According to official statistics up to 32 people were killed during those events, but some sources state the number of losses is up to hundreds.
