Azerbaijan, Baku, March 26/Trend, I.Izzat/
On March 22, 2013, New Jersey State Assembly issued a commemorative resolution that recognizes March 31 as Azerbaijani Remembrance Day marking the 95th anniversary of the Azerbaijani Genocide, Azerbaijan Society of America (ASA) said on Tuesday.
The resolution signed by the Assembly Speaker was personally presented by State Assemblyman and Deputy Democratic Majority Leader, Thomas P. Giblin (D-NJ) to the President of Azerbaijan Society of America (ASA), Tomris Azeri.
The resolution highlights that the genocide of March 1918, in which more than 20,000 innocent Azerbaijani people lost their lives was an event that represents one of the most condemnable atrocities in the history of the world.
From March 30 to April 3, 1918, armed groups of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (Dashnak Party) with support of Soviet Bolsheviks massacred Azerbaijanis and other Muslims in the city of Baku and its surroundings. March Days were part of a larger campaign of extermination carried out by Armenian nationalists seeking to create a mono-ethnic state in Eastern Anatolia and the Caucasus. These atrocities resulted in deaths and deportations of over 2.5 million Turks, Azeris, Kurds and other Muslims in early 20th century.
In March 2012, New York became the first state ever to recognize Azerbaijani Genocide at a legislative level by Senate Resolution 3784 that designated March 31 as the Azerbaijani Remembrance Day. Ahead of the 95th anniversary and beyond, the Pax Turcica Institute will continue its efforts raising awareness and seeking recognition of the Azerbaijani Genocide.