Armenian youth rally for Artsakh on anniversary of Sumgait and Baku massacres

2026-02-26 - 23:14

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Washington D.C. “Ani” Chapter of the Armenian Youth Federation – Youth Organization of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (AYF-YOARF) will hold a protest outside the Embassy of Azerbaijan on Saturday, Feb. 28 at 1:00 p.m. at 2741 34th Street N.W., Washington, D.C. 20008. The action demands justice for the Sumgait and Baku pogroms — the first in a series of government-sanctioned anti-Armenian massacres between 1988 and 1990 that ultimately led to the genocidal ethnic cleansing of Artsakh in 2023. On the evening of Feb. 27, 1988, organized anti-Armenian violence erupted in Sumgait, then part of Soviet Azerbaijan. For three days, Armenian civilians were murdered, raped and maimed while police stood down. Credible accounts place the death toll in the hundreds, though Soviet authorities — who barred journalists from the area — acknowledged only a fraction. The pogroms in Sumgait were followed by further massacres in Kirovabad in November 1988, Baku in January 1990 and Maragha in 1992. Together, they drove hundreds of thousands of Armenians from their homes, continued decades of Azerbaijani aggression and culminated in the 2023 genocidal ethnic cleansing of Artsakh. “What happened in Sumgait, Baku, Kirovabad, Maragha and across Soviet Azerbaijan was as organized and intentional as the aggression that followed against Artsakh — through the 1990s and more recently in the form of the genocidal blockade and aggression that emptied Artsakh of its indigenous Armenian population. 38 years later, not one perpetrator of this three-decade-long campaign of violence has faced real justice — and, as a result, Azerbaijan’s leaders have never stopped. We gather at their embassy to make clear: we have not forgotten, and we will hold them accountable,” stated AYF D.C. “Ani” treasurer, Arpa Shahnazarian. 38 years on, the pattern of impunity continues. In February 2026, a Baku military court issued fabricated “verdicts” against the former leadership of Artsakh and other Armenian hostages — the most recent chapter in Azerbaijan’s campaign to criminalize Armenian self-determination and erase Artsakh’s legacy. The sham proceedings were held as Aliyev and Armenia’s Prime Minister Pashinyan accepted a peace award in Abu Dhabi — a ceremony that offered Baku a veneer of diplomacy while Armenian hostages remained in its jails. “While Armenian leaders were being sentenced in a Baku courtroom on fabricated charges, Aliyev was in Abu Dhabi accepting a peace prize. That is not peace; that is the world rewarding genocide. Azerbaijan has never stopped its war against the Armenian people,” stated Shahnazarian. Saturday’s protesters will gather in solidarity with the victims of Sumgait, Baku and all Azerbaijani atrocities against the Armenian people — and in support of four core demands: that Azerbaijan immediately and unconditionally release all Armenian hostages and political prisoners; protect Artsakh’s Christian churches, monasteries and holy sites from destruction; end its military occupation of sovereign Armenian territory; and guarantee the collective, safe right of return for the more than 150,000 Armenians forcibly expelled from Artsakh in September 2023. The rally comes as the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) is leading a community charge to secure Congressional passage of the ARMENIA Security Partnership Act (H.R.6840), which would strengthen U.S.–Armenia defense ties and cut off U.S. assistance to Azerbaijan until Baku releases Armenian prisoners, withdraws from sovereign Armenian territory and recognizes the right of return for Artsakh’s displaced Armenians. The ANCA is also driving support for the Azerbaijan Sanctions Review Act (H.R.5369), which calls for targeted Global Magnitsky Act sanctions against Azerbaijani war criminals, and demands enforcement of Section 907 of the FREEDOM Support Act, along with an end to all U.S. military aid to Baku. The AYF Eastern Region and AYF Western Region are teaming up with the ANCA for the annual Rising Leaders program in March, when university students from across the U.S. will gather in Washington, D.C. to urge immediate Congressional action on these and other pro-Armenian legislation. To participate in the Rising Leaders program, visit anca.org/risingleaders. “We come to the Azerbaijani Embassy not just to remember — but to demand. To make clear to Aliyev and the American people that any peace must be a fair peace, one that respects Artsakh’s rights and Armenia’s sovereignty,” stated AYF D.C. “Ani” chairperson, Vartkaes Pamboukian. The AYF-YOARF D.C. “Ani” Chapter is issuing the call for all who can to join the protest at the Azerbaijani Embassy, 2741 34th Street N.W., Washington, D.C. 20008, on Saturday, Feb. 28 at 1:00 p.m. Armenian Americans are also urged to contact their representatives in support of the ARMENIA Security Partnership Act and the Azerbaijan Sanctions Review Act at anca.org/action.