New York State Senate adopts resolution proclaiming March 31 as remembrance day of Azerbaijanis subjected to genocide

Baku, June 24 (AzerTAc). As a result of efforts made by Azerbaijan Society of America and Azerbaijani-American Council (AAC), the New York State Senate has adopted a resolution J3784-2011 proclaiming March 31 as remembrance day of Azerbaijanis subjected to genocide in 1918. The resolution was presented by New York State Senator James Alesi. The document says every year since 1918, Azerbaijanis and many people around the globe observe March 31 as a day of remembrance, to honor the victims resulting from the fighting that began in March of 1918. It is the sense of this legislative body to memorialize Governor Andrew M. Cuomo to proclaim March 31, 2012 as Azerbaijani Remembrance Day in the State of New York. Ninety four years have passed since the genocide committed by the members of Armenian Dashnak party in concert with Bolsheviks against Azerbaijanis. The massacre of about 20,000 innocent people - elderly, women and children started at the night of March 30, 1918. Armenian Bolshevik troops led by Stepan Shaumyan massacred thousands of people, burnt Muslim shrines and confiscated the 400 million manats estate of Baku residents. Tezepir Mosque was bombed, and one of the magnificent architectural buildings, Ismailiyye was burnt. The genocide policy against Azerbaijanis was not limited to only Baku; Armenian dashnaks killed 8,027 Azerbaijanis, including 2,560 women and 1,277 children in 53 villages of Shamakhy on March 31 and 16,000 Azerbaijanis were murdered in 162 villages of Guba. Armenian Dashnaks burnt thousands of villages in Lenkeran, Mughan and Nagorno Karabakh and killed thousands of people. Special Investigation Commission set up by Azerbaijan Democratic Republic on July 15, 1918, gathered a great deal of documents and submitted them to the government. Azerbaijani parliament made a decision on marking March 31 as the day of Azerbaijani genocide in 1919. Though this date was forgotten during the Soviet period, a lot of investigations on the tragedies, committed on March 31 1918 were carried out and books were published after Azerbaijan regained its independence.