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{{POV|date=December 2010}}
{{POV|date=December 2010}}
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[[Image:MaragharMassacre.jpg|thumb|right|Azeri armored vehicles approaching Maraghar on April 10, 1992]]
[[Image:MaragharMassacre.jpg|thumb|right|Azeri armored vehicles approaching Maraghar on April 10, 1992]]
[[File:Nor Maragha004.JPG|thumb|right|A monument for victims in Maraghar Massacre. Nor Maragha village.]]
[[File:Nor Maragha004.JPG|thumb|right|A monument for victims in Maraghar Massacre. Nor Maragha village.]]
[[File:Nor Maragha006.JPG|thumb|right|A monument in honor of defenders of the Maragha during the Maraghar Massacre. Nor Maragha village.]]
[[File:Nor Maragha006.JPG|thumb|right|A monument in honor of defenders of the Maragha during the Maraghar Massacre. Nor Maragha village.]]


The '''Maraghar Massacre'''<ref>De Waal, Thomas, ''The Caucasus: An Introduction'', (Oxford University Press, 2010), 120.</ref> was the April 10, 1992 killing of the ethnic [[Armenians|Armenians]] in the village of [[Maraga, Azerbaijan|Maraga]] allegedly<ref name="hrw92">{{cite book |title=Bloodshed in the Caucasus: escalation of the armed conflict in Nagorno Karabakh |last=Denber |first=Rachel |authorlink= |coauthors=Goldman, Robert K. |year=1992 |publisher= |location= |isbn=1564320812 |page=29 |pages= |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=ywAU3VomIpkC&pg=PA29 |accessdate=}}</ref> by [[Azerbaijani Armed Forces|Azerbaijani forces]]<ref>De Waal, Thomas, 120.</ref> during the [[Nagorno-Karabakh War]].<ref name="AI">Amnesty International. "[http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/EUR55/008/1993/en/ffa2b3d0-ecc8-11dd-85fd-99a1fce0c9ec/eur550081993en.pdf Azerbaydzhan: Hostages in the Karabakh conflict: Civilians Continue to Pay the Price]." Amnesty International April 1993 (POL 10/01/93), p. 9</ref>{{dubious|date=December 2010}}<ref>{{ru icon}} "[http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/russian/news/newsid_3681000/3681079.stm Хронология Карабахского конфликта, 1992 год] ("The Chronology of the Karabakh Conflict, 1992")." ''[[BBC News|BBC Russian]]''. Last updated August 29, 2005. Retrieved December 20, 2010.</ref><ref name="Black176-177">[[Thomas de Waal|De Waal, Thomas]]. ''Black Garden: Armenia and Azerbaijan Through War and Peace''. New York: New York University Press, 2003, pp. 176-177.</ref>
The '''Maraghar Massacre'''<ref>De Waal, Thomas, ''The Caucasus: An Introduction'', (Oxford University Press, 2010), 120.</ref> was the April 10, 1992 killing of the ethnic [[Armenians|Armenians]] during the capture of [[Maraga, Azerbaijan|Maraga]] by [[Azerbaijani Armed Forces|Azerbaijani troops]]<ref>De Waal, Thomas, 120.</ref> or [[Azeris]]<ref>''The Parliament Debates'' (Hansard), House of Lords, Vol. 589, H.M.S.O., 1999, [http://books.google.com.tr/books?id=x5cNAQAAIAAJ&q=%22Azeris+perpetrated+a+massacre%22&dq=%22Azeris+perpetrated+a+massacre%22&hl=tr&ei=jjkSTZb3GoyHcc_KgKsK&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CCUQ6AEwAA Azeris perpetrated a massacre in the Armenian village of Maraghar, sawing off the heads of 45 villagers, burning others and carrying out numerous atrocities.]</ref> during the [[Nagorno-Karabakh War]].<ref name="AI">Amnesty International. "[http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/EUR55/008/1993/en/ffa2b3d0-ecc8-11dd-85fd-99a1fce0c9ec/eur550081993en.pdf Azerbaydzhan: Hostages in the Karabakh conflict: Civilians Continue to Pay the Price]." Amnesty International April 1993 (POL 10/01/93), p. 9</ref>{{dubious|date=December 2010}}<ref>{{ru icon}} "[http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/russian/news/newsid_3681000/3681079.stm Хронология Карабахского конфликта, 1992 год] ("The Chronology of the Karabakh Conflict, 1992")." ''[[BBC News|BBC Russian]]''. Last updated August 29, 2005. Retrieved December 20, 2010.</ref><ref name="Black176-177">[[Thomas de Waal|De Waal, Thomas]]. ''Black Garden: Armenia and Azerbaijan Through War and Peace''. New York: New York University Press, 2003, pp. 176-177.</ref>


According to [[Human Rights Watch]]/Helsinki (HRW), in [[1992]], the organization received information that "fifty ethnic Armenians from the village of Maraga were captured by Azerbaijani forces in an attack on April 10, 1992." The Armenian source informing HRW further claimed that many of those captured people were still missing<ref>{{cite book |title=Azerbaijan: Seven years of conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh |last=Human Rights Watch/Helsinki |first= |authorlink= |coauthors= |year=1994 |publisher= |location= |isbn=1564321428 |page=92 |pages= |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=4ipKwifQaNIC&pg=PA92 |accessdate=}}</ref><ref>Brown, Cynthia G. and Farhad Karim. ''Playing the "Communal Card": Communal Violence and Human Rights''. New York: Human Rights Watch, 1995, p. 151.</ref>.
According to [[Human Rights Watch]]/Helsinki (HRW), in [[1992]], the organization received information that "fifty ethnic Armenians from the village of Maraga were captured by Azerbaijani forces in an attack on April 10, 1992." The Armenian source informing HRW further claimed that many of those captured people were still missing<ref>{{cite book |title=Azerbaijan: Seven years of conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh |last=Human Rights Watch/Helsinki |first= |authorlink= |coauthors= |year=1994 |publisher= |location= |isbn=1564321428 |page=92 |pages= |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=4ipKwifQaNIC&pg=PA92 |accessdate=}}</ref><ref>Brown, Cynthia G. and Farhad Karim. ''Playing the "Communal Card": Communal Violence and Human Rights''. New York: Human Rights Watch, 1995, p. 151.</ref>.


==Attack on the village==
==Attack on the village==
According to HRW Helsinki Watch, the only eyewitness of an Azerbaijani attack on Maraga<ref name="Black176-177"/> available to them was the Armenian person who participated in village's self-defense and military activities that day<ref name="hrw92" />. Based on his account, prior to Azerbaijani capture, most of village inhabitants left Maraga after hearing that Armenian self-defense will be unable to hold their posts<ref name="hrw92" />. Those who remained were captured as hostages or murdered in the attack based on what this eyewitness heard from people who had escaped<ref name="hrw92" />.
According to HRW Helsinki Watch, the only eyewitness of an Azerbaijani attack on Maraga<ref name="Black176-177"/> available to them was the Armenian person who participated in village's self-defense and military activities that day<ref name="hrw92">{{cite book |title=Bloodshed in the Caucasus: escalation of the armed conflict in Nagorno Karabakh |last=Denber |first=Rachel |authorlink= |coauthors=Goldman, Robert K. |year=1992 |publisher= |location= |isbn=1564320812 |page=29 |pages= |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=ywAU3VomIpkC&pg=PA29 |accessdate=}}</ref>. Based on his account, prior to Azerbaijani capture, most of village inhabitants left Maraga after hearing that Armenian self-defense will be unable to hold their posts<ref name="hrw92" />. Those who remained were captured as hostages or murdered in the attack based on what this eyewitness heard from people who had escaped<ref name="hrw92" />.


On the following day, Armenian forces retook the village, and this Armenian witness told HRW that in one of the basements, he found bodies of 43 civilians who were killed allegedly during Azerbaijani attack<ref name="hrw92" />. Amnesty International cited some unofficial sources claiming that 45 civilians were reportedly killed on April 10 by Azerbaijani forces<ref name="ai93">{{cite web |url=http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/DOC32/004/1994/en/f8245bdf-ebf5-11dd-9b3b-8bf635492364/doc320041994en.pdf |title=Country Dossier List: Europe |last1= |first1= |last2= |first2= |date=1 April 1993 |work= |publisher=Amnesty International |accessdate=21 December 2010}}</ref>
On the following day, Armenian forces retook the village, and this Armenian witness told HRW that in one of the basements, he found bodies of 43 civilians who were killed allegedly during Azerbaijani attack<ref name="hrw92" />. Amnesty International cited some unofficial sources claiming that 45 civilians were reportedly killed on April 10 by Azerbaijani forces<ref name="ai93">{{cite web |url=http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/DOC32/004/1994/en/f8245bdf-ebf5-11dd-9b3b-8bf635492364/doc320041994en.pdf |title=Country Dossier List: Europe |last1= |first1= |last2= |first2= |date=1 April 1993 |work= |publisher=Amnesty International |accessdate=21 December 2010}}</ref>
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==Opinion of Baroness Cox==
==Opinion of Baroness Cox==
Baroness [[Caroline Cox]], who personally observed the damage and interviewed eyewitnesses, states that after Azerbaijani forces attacked the Armenian town of Maragha, they decapitated about forty five villagers, burned and looted much of the town, and [[kidnap]]ped about one hundred women and children.<ref>Cox, Caroline. "[http://www.ctlibrary.com/ct/1998/april27/8t5092.html Survivors of the Maraghar Massacre]." ''Christianity Today''. April 27, 1998. Retrieved December 20, 2010.</ref> A more detailed report of her and [[Christian Solidarity Worldwide]] findings was published in 1993:
According to Baroness [[Caroline Cox]], who calls herself ''an unashamed advocate of Armenian cause in Karabakh''<ref>{{cite book |title=The parliamentary debates (Hansard):
official report, Volume 598 |last=Great Britain. Parliament. House of Lords |first= |authorlink= |coauthors= |year=1999 |publisher=H.M.S.O. |location= |isbn=0107805987 |page= |pages= |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=x5cNAQAAIAAJ |accessdate= |quote=Baroness Cox: "It is clear that I am an unashamed advocate of the Armenian cause in Karabakh. That is born of direct experience and grounded in evidence. In Christian Solidarity Worldwide, we try to emulate Andrei Sakharov"}}</ref> and whom U.S. Congressman [[Frank Pallone|Frank Pallone, Jr.]] called a ''"true Armenian nationalist who would give her life for Armenia and Karabakh"''.<ref>[http://www.armeniafundusa.org/news/20031114-gala-success.htm "Karabakh president Ghoukassian starts US tour with successful tribute gala in New York"]</ref>, when Azerbaijani forces attacked the Armenian town of Maragha, they decapitated about forty five villagers, burned and looted much of the town, and [[kidnap]]ped about one hundred women and children.<ref>Cox, Caroline. "[http://www.ctlibrary.com/ct/1998/april27/8t5092.html Survivors of the Maraghar Massacre]." ''Christianity Today''. April 27, 1998. Retrieved December 20, 2010.</ref> A more detailed report of her and [[Christian Solidarity Worldwide]] findings was published in 1993:


{{quotation|Maraghar: the name of this village is associated with a massacre which never reached the world’s headlines, although at least 45 Armenians died cruel deaths. During the CSI mission to Nagorno Karabakh in April, news came through that a village in the north, in Martakert region, had been overrun by Azeri-Turks on April 10 and there had been a number of civilians killed. A group went to obtain evidence and found a village with survivors in a state of shock, their burn-out homes still smoldering, charred remains of corpses and vertebrae still on the ground, where people had their heads sawn off, and their bodies burnt in front of their families. 45 people had been massacred and 100 were missing, possibly suffering a fate worse than death. In order to verify the stories, the delegation asked the villagers if they would exhume the bodies which they had already buried. In great anguish, they did so, allowing photographs to be taken of the decapitated, charred bodies. Later when asked about publicizing the tragedy, they replied they were reluctant to do so as 'we Armenians are not very good at showing our grief to the world.'<ref>Cox, Caroline and John Eibner. ''Ethnic Cleansing in Progress: War in Nagorno Karabakh''. Zurich and Washington D.C.: Institute for Religious Minorities in the Islamic World, 1993</ref>}}
{{quotation|Maraghar: the name of this village is associated with a massacre which never reached the world’s headlines, although at least 45 Armenians died cruel deaths. During the CSI mission to Nagorno Karabakh in April, news came through that a village in the north, in Martakert region, had been overrun by Azeri-Turks on April 10 and there had been a number of civilians killed. A group went to obtain evidence and found a village with survivors in a state of shock, their burn-out homes still smoldering, charred remains of corpses and vertebrae still on the ground, where people had their heads sawn off, and their bodies burnt in front of their families. 45 people had been massacred and 100 were missing, possibly suffering a fate worse than death. In order to verify the stories, the delegation asked the villagers if they would exhume the bodies which they had already buried. In great anguish, they did so, allowing photographs to be taken of the decapitated, charred bodies. Later when asked about publicizing the tragedy, they replied they were reluctant to do so as 'we Armenians are not very good at showing our grief to the world.'<ref>Cox, Caroline and John Eibner. ''Ethnic Cleansing in Progress: War in Nagorno Karabakh''. Zurich and Washington D.C.: Institute for Religious Minorities in the Islamic World, 1993</ref>}}

Revision as of 21:53, 23 December 2010

File:MaragharMassacre.jpg
Azeri armored vehicles approaching Maraghar on April 10, 1992
A monument for victims in Maraghar Massacre. Nor Maragha village.
A monument in honor of defenders of the Maragha during the Maraghar Massacre. Nor Maragha village.

The Maraghar Massacre[1] was the April 10, 1992 killing of the ethnic Armenians during the capture of Maraga by Azerbaijani troops[2] or Azeris[3] during the Nagorno-Karabakh War.[4][dubious – discuss][5][6]

According to Human Rights Watch/Helsinki (HRW), in 1992, the organization received information that "fifty ethnic Armenians from the village of Maraga were captured by Azerbaijani forces in an attack on April 10, 1992." The Armenian source informing HRW further claimed that many of those captured people were still missing[7][8].

Attack on the village

According to HRW Helsinki Watch, the only eyewitness of an Azerbaijani attack on Maraga[6] available to them was the Armenian person who participated in village's self-defense and military activities that day[9]. Based on his account, prior to Azerbaijani capture, most of village inhabitants left Maraga after hearing that Armenian self-defense will be unable to hold their posts[9]. Those who remained were captured as hostages or murdered in the attack based on what this eyewitness heard from people who had escaped[9].

On the following day, Armenian forces retook the village, and this Armenian witness told HRW that in one of the basements, he found bodies of 43 civilians who were killed allegedly during Azerbaijani attack[9]. Amnesty International cited some unofficial sources claiming that 45 civilians were reportedly killed on April 10 by Azerbaijani forces[10]

According to Gevorg Petrossian, Chairman of the Parliament of Nagorno-Karabakh[9], 53 civilians were killed as a result of attack on Maraga. HRW asserts, however, that it is unclear whether those reported killed were civilians or self-defense fighters, and most likely, the statistic included 43 victims claimed to have been allegedly executed by Azerbaijani forces[9].

Monte Melkonian, the ASALA member and Armenian military commander in the Nagorno-Karabakh War, commented in his diary that the attack on Maraga was staged by Azerbaijani forces in retaliation to Khojaly Massacre[11]

Opinion of Baroness Cox

Baroness Caroline Cox, who personally observed the damage and interviewed eyewitnesses, states that after Azerbaijani forces attacked the Armenian town of Maragha, they decapitated about forty five villagers, burned and looted much of the town, and kidnapped about one hundred women and children.[12] A more detailed report of her and Christian Solidarity Worldwide findings was published in 1993:

Maraghar: the name of this village is associated with a massacre which never reached the world’s headlines, although at least 45 Armenians died cruel deaths. During the CSI mission to Nagorno Karabakh in April, news came through that a village in the north, in Martakert region, had been overrun by Azeri-Turks on April 10 and there had been a number of civilians killed. A group went to obtain evidence and found a village with survivors in a state of shock, their burn-out homes still smoldering, charred remains of corpses and vertebrae still on the ground, where people had their heads sawn off, and their bodies burnt in front of their families. 45 people had been massacred and 100 were missing, possibly suffering a fate worse than death. In order to verify the stories, the delegation asked the villagers if they would exhume the bodies which they had already buried. In great anguish, they did so, allowing photographs to be taken of the decapitated, charred bodies. Later when asked about publicizing the tragedy, they replied they were reluctant to do so as 'we Armenians are not very good at showing our grief to the world.'[13]

See also

References

  1. ^ De Waal, Thomas, The Caucasus: An Introduction, (Oxford University Press, 2010), 120.
  2. ^ De Waal, Thomas, 120.
  3. ^ The Parliament Debates (Hansard), House of Lords, Vol. 589, H.M.S.O., 1999, Azeris perpetrated a massacre in the Armenian village of Maraghar, sawing off the heads of 45 villagers, burning others and carrying out numerous atrocities.
  4. ^ Amnesty International. "Azerbaydzhan: Hostages in the Karabakh conflict: Civilians Continue to Pay the Price." Amnesty International April 1993 (POL 10/01/93), p. 9
  5. ^ Template:Ru icon "Хронология Карабахского конфликта, 1992 год ("The Chronology of the Karabakh Conflict, 1992")." BBC Russian. Last updated August 29, 2005. Retrieved December 20, 2010.
  6. ^ a b De Waal, Thomas. Black Garden: Armenia and Azerbaijan Through War and Peace. New York: New York University Press, 2003, pp. 176-177.
  7. ^ Human Rights Watch/Helsinki (1994). Azerbaijan: Seven years of conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh. p. 92. ISBN 1564321428. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  8. ^ Brown, Cynthia G. and Farhad Karim. Playing the "Communal Card": Communal Violence and Human Rights. New York: Human Rights Watch, 1995, p. 151.
  9. ^ a b c d e f Denber, Rachel (1992). Bloodshed in the Caucasus: escalation of the armed conflict in Nagorno Karabakh. p. 29. ISBN 1564320812. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  10. ^ "Country Dossier List: Europe" (PDF). Amnesty International. 1 April 1993. Retrieved 21 December 2010.
  11. ^ Melkonian, Markar (2005). My Brother’s Road: An American’s Fateful Journey to Armenia. I.B.Tauris. pp. 213–214. ISBN 1850436355. Khojalu had been a strategic goal, but it had also been an act of revenge. Monte knew that enemy fighters would retaliate in kind, and sure enough, when Azeri forces overran the Armenian village of Maragha the next month, they slashed and burned Armenian captives. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  12. ^ Cox, Caroline. "Survivors of the Maraghar Massacre." Christianity Today. April 27, 1998. Retrieved December 20, 2010.
  13. ^ Cox, Caroline and John Eibner. Ethnic Cleansing in Progress: War in Nagorno Karabakh. Zurich and Washington D.C.: Institute for Religious Minorities in the Islamic World, 1993

External links

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