Canadian MP Emmanuella Lambropoulos commemorated in the Commons last week the 30th anniversary of pogroms committed against the Armenian population of Baku in Azerbaijan, thesuburban.com reported. 

“For seven days in January 1990, hundreds of Armenians were beaten, expelled from the city or killed,” the MP explained. “These crimes against the Armenians escalated and resulted in an almost complete ethnic cleansing of Armenians from the country. Close to 500,000 Armenians were deported and sought refuge in various countries around the world, including Canada.”

Lambropoulos said the 1990 pogrom was preceded by the Sumgait pogrom in 1988, “where Armenian civilians were targeted, being killed in their homes and in the streets.”

“The civil violence in Sumgait and the atrocities committed there shocked the entire world,” she added. “This anniversary reminds us of what a privilege it is to live in a country where diversity and inclusion make us strong and where various ethnic and religious communities can participate equally in our country's political life.”

Lambropoulos said that in commemorating the Armenian victims of the 1988 and 1990 pogroms, “we solemnly condemn all forms of racism, xenophobia and hatred.”