(Russian version — https://miaban.ru/themes/gen-in-azer/act-25-2-2018/)

On Sunday, February 25, 2018, an event was held in the Armenian community of St. Petersburg (Russia) dedicated to the state day in the Republics of Armenia and Artsakh — the Day of Memory of the victims of pogroms in the Azerbaijan and the protection of the rights of the deported Armenian population, as well as dedicated to the 30th anniversary of the genocidal acts from Azerbaijan in city Sumgait.

The organizers of the event were the Armenian Apostolic Church of St. Petersburg, the Consulate General of Armenia in St. Petersburg, the Regional Armenian national and cultural autonomy of St. Petersburg. The event was supported by activists of the youth organization “Nor Serund” (New generation).

After the memorial service in the Armenian church of St. Catherine, the laying of flowers to the khachkar (cross stone) near the church wall took place, in which the vicar of the head of the Russian and Novo-Nakhichevan Diocese of the Armenian church in St. Petersburg and the North-West region, hieromonk Pogos Vardanyan, Consul general of Armenia in St. Petersburg Hrayr Karapetyan, chairman of the Armenian autonomy Karen Mkrtchyan.

Further a meeting of community activists was held in the cultural center «Vernatun» of the Armenian community, which began with a minute of silence and prayer. The meeting was led by the secretary of autonomy Philip Davydov.

In the beginning, was shown one of the documentary films of the series «Ordinary Genocide» made by Marina Grigoryan. Philip Davydov also spoke about the contribution of Armenians to the city of Baku with slides from the website of www.baku.am made by the Museum-Institute of the Armenian Genocide.

The Consul General Hrayr Karapetyan addressed to meeting participants.

Then Vahan Babakhanyan informed the audience about the qualification of the crimes of Azerbaijan. He noted, in particular, the Decree of the Supreme Council of the Armenian SSR of February 13, 1990, in the text of which the clear legal qualification of crimes was done — the term Genocide was twice given in the text (this Decree was not repealed and has the force of the Law also for the Republic of Armenia)  https://www.facebook.com/groups/armpeterburg/permalink/1429458860498102/

written explanations from the Catholicosate of the Armenian Apostolic Church, from the Genocide Museum-Museum, about two hundred statements of 70 scientists, lawyers, eyewitnesses, public figures, publicists who, in the course of all the past 30 years after the outbreak of the atrocities of Azerbaijan, qualified these crimes precisely and not only the Armenian Genocide. Many of these people and refugee organizations have joined the new «Yerevan Group on the Legal Recognition of the Armenian Genocide in Azerbaijan» (in English, in Russian, in Armenian)  since 2017, regularly discuss this topic and make statements that find wide support of the public, in particular in the Facebook social network. (Russian/Armenian version, 7000 participants and so far limitted English version, 100 participants)

Vahan Babakhanyan presented a book with collection of statements and links to sources, as well as a poster with the names and photos of some of the authors.

The speaker recalled that on January 20 this year, the parliamentarian Foreign affairs Committee of the Republic of Artsakh issued an official statement on the recognition and condemnation of the Armenian Genocide in Azerbaijan.

The participants of the event were also informed about the 5-hour Hearings of 30 deputies and public figures held on February 22 in the National Assembly of Armenia and the Draft Resolution. At the same time Vahan Babakhanyan shared with his critical vision of these documents and about the topic in general and urged the community members to take a more active civic stand.

Further, he read out the draft Resolution of the Armenian autonomy of St. Petersburg on the recognition and condemnation of the Armenian Genocide in Azerbaijan.

The resolution was unanimously adopted (the text is below).

Video of Vahan Babakhanyan (in Russian)

After that, the writer Levon Adyan spoke.

Video of Levon Adyan (in Armenian).

Similar events on this and related topics are regularly held in the Armenian community of St. Petersburg. The act of adequate qualification of the crimes of Azerbaijan is very important in many ways. This is the first such act among the Armenian communities of Russia and the entire Diaspora. Now the turn is for other communities. This and related topics are circulated and discussed on a daily basis, in particular, through the group in the Facebook. The process is not easy and not fast, but, as the Chinese say, the longest road begins with the first step.

Resolution

of the meeting of the activists of the Armenian community of Sankt Petersburg (Russia) on February 25, 2018

Based on the irrefutable facts of historians and eyewitnesses of the crimes of Azerbaijan against the Armenian people from 1918 to 1992, based on numerous publications of scientists, lawyers, public figures (Appendix),

Paying tribute to the memory of innocent Armenians, who became victims of these crimes by Azerbaijan,

Considering these bloody crimes and genocide policy of the tandem of the two Turkish states (Turkey and Azerbaijan) – as a single process based on the national chauvinist racist ideology Pan-Turkism — one of the dangerous forms of the hatred ideology that harms the various peoples, including the peoples of Azerbaijan and Turkey,

we hereby state that:

— affirm that the aforementioned crimes, together with the continuous genocidal anti-Armenian policy of Azerbaijan in various forms continuing today, fully and unconditionally correspond to the legal formulation of the crime of genocide established by the UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide of 1948,

— note that the media, Internet resources, organizations of different countries that directly or indirectly ignore the truth, support, justify or replicate the genocidal policy, contribute to the distortion of history and reality, are in essence accomplices and allies of the above mentioned and continuing criminal processes,

— call upon international organizations, state and public structures, public figures and media from different countries to provide an adequate legal assessment of the repeated genocidal acts, the continuous and ongoing genocidal policy of Azerbaijan.