Federal Member John Alexander spoke in the Federation Chamber of Australia’s Parliament to commemorate the 28th anniversary of the Sumgait Pogroms of Armenians in this Azerbaijani town, reported the Armenian National Committee of Australia.

During his address, Alexander spoke of the oppressive history of the region towards Armenians, stemming from the Armenian Genocide of 1915-1923 by the former Ottoman Empire, to the anti-Armenian Sumgait Pogroms.

The Australian MP talked about the history of the Sumgait Pogroms and how peaceful demonstrations held by the Armenian people living in Azerbaijan and in the region of Nagorno-Karabakh to reunite with Armenia, turned sour as violence broke out “as an act of collective punishment.” 

He stressed that the crimes committed in Sumgait “were never adequately prosecuted by the then Soviet or Azerbaijani authorities” and led to his explanation of Azerbaijan’s poor human rights record. 

“This year the world will celebrate the 25th Anniversary of Independence of the Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh, and next month we will commemorate 101 years since the start of the Armenian Genocide,” stated John Alexander.