Post-Soviet countries' people still suffer from results of Stalin's regime's crimes

Post-Soviet countries' people still feel results of the Stalin regime's crimes, member of the Azerbaijani delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), MP Ganira Pashayeva, said at the debate on PACE President Movlud Cavusoglu's report on the victims of Holodomor.

"First, I would like to thank rapporteur and chairman of the PACE Cavusoglu for his has preparation of a wide and varied report on this important subject. We, as citizens of the former Soviet Union, steel feel the results of crimes and massive human rights violations committed by Stalin's totalitarian communist regime. Today we are talking about the millions who perished during the Great Famine or Holodomor," Pashayeva said.

"Millions of people have been victims of Stalin's regime. Our debates are a protest against crimes, flagrant violations of human rights, cruelty and tragedy that have befallen the peoples of the Soviet Union," she said. "In addition to the main proposals contained in the report, which I support, I would like to point out that we must also condemn other crimes of totalitarian communist regimes, in particular Stalin's regime. For reference, I would like to note that thousands of intellectuals, scientists, writers and poets were killed in some countries of the USSR in 1937. These people spoke in defense of the national language, culture, history and represented the flower of the nation. Thousands of Azerbaijani scientists, writers were shot and their relatives were exiled to Siberia in those years."

"I would like to recall the entire nations that were deported in a few days and the millions of people whose rights were violated during Stalin's regime. A lot of people died during transport in the freight cars and the rest could not withstand the harsh conditions in places of exile. Hundreds of thousands of deportees died from hunger, cold and disease. The tragedy of the Crimean Tatars and Crimean Turks were still continuing. They still face challenges in the process of returning to their historic homeland. We must increase support to these people in dealing with the return to the Crimea. Another people deported from their homeland are the Meskhetians. Meskhetian Turks have the right to return to their hometowns and villages with the help of the CE. We must do everything possible to enable them to exercise this right. This would be the restoration of justice, "Pashayeva said.

She said the Azerbaijani people also have suffered from Stalin's repressions.

"In 1920, Azerbaijan's ancient region Zangezur was forcibly given to Armenia. Then only in 1948-1953 Stalin regime deported hundreds of thousands of Azerbaijanis from Armenia. The rights of these people, who lost their homes, property, livestock, have been widely violated. Results of the crimes committed during that period continue today. About 60 years have passed, but until now these people can not return to their homes and villages. Armenia prevents the restoration of justice. These people live and die with the hope of returning their lands. I call on you to support the recognition of right of return of Azerbaijanis deported from Armenia," Ganira Pashayeva said.

MP Rafael Huseynov also addressed at the discussions of the report.

He stressed that hunger and repression of the 1930's in the former Soviet Union are sad and unforgettable piece of history in most post-Soviet countries, which later gained independence. This part of biography is not only those who directly endured this tragedy, but also those who were born long after these events.

"I was born long after these events. As a researcher, I have studied that period in full on the documents of various Soviet archives. But studying from books and different sources did not give a complete picture of the horrors, both for me and for thousands of people like me. My parents' childhood was in those years. The people of that generation had a special love of bread, a feeling of respect. I have heard a lot from them that in the best cases they ate cotton cake envisaged for animals for months. And when they could not find it, they ate grass similar in composition to the bread for weeks," Rafael Huseynov said.

MP brought to the attention of his European colleagues that during the 1930's in Azerbaijan from hunger many people died, those who were arrested as kulaks were exiled to the cold territories of the USSR.

Noting that the report reflects full historical picture of that period, MP has expressed his regret over the fact that Azerbaijan's name is also among the above mentioned countries.

According to him, in the Azerbaijani language there is grace in memory of those painful years "May God not to try anyone with hunger".  

Rafael Huseynov stressed the need to prepare a separate report on this subject and the importance of fixing a certain day for the remembrance of these events.


/Trend/