On December 7th, the 35th anniversary of the tragic earthquake that originated in Amamlu (Spitak) was commemorated. Although many people remember the victims of the earthquake, some neglect the victims of the ethnic cleansing of the indigenous Azerbaijani population that occurred in the same areas at the time.

Pambak and Shuragel, regions predominantly inhabited by Azerbaijani communities historically, constitute the north-western part of the present Republic of Armenia. For a significant period, there was no Hay population in this area or the surrounding regions. To the north of the Azeris of Pambak and Shuragel resided Muslim Georgians from Javakheti and Georgian Christians from mountainous areas such as Kvemo Kartli and Lori. Today, numerous Orthodox churches and monasteries in the northern territory of the Republic of Armenia were illegally seized or appropriated by Echmiadzin.

Following the collapse of the Safavid Empire in the early 18th century, the Shurageli Sultanate and Pambak Magal of Borchali Sultanate were established as Azerbaijani state formations. Later, the Borchali Sultanate became an independent sultanate. Nadir Shah Afshar included these Azerbaijani sultanates under Kartli during his administrative reorganisation of the empire. Despite this, the sultanates maintained their internal independence. Teimuraz II was appointed as king of Kartli, succeeding his father, and he was later succeeded by his son, Erekle II.

A considerable portion of the population in Shuragel and Pambak comprised of Azerbaijanis from the Karapapakh tribe, known for their war-faring nature.  Following the fall of the Afshar Empire, the Karapakh tribe sought to have the Georgian Christian king of Kartli-Kakheti Irakli II as their subject, in addition to Muslim khans. Subsequent to the annexation of Georgia by the Russian Empire, Pambak became a part of it. By the year 1805, Shuragel was also annexed. At that time, the Hay settlers, who were only a small number, appeared on the lands of Shuragel and Pambak for the first time in history.

There were no indications of trouble then. According to an official Russian document from that period, 16 Azerbaijani villages were listed in Pambak, including Amamlu, which would later become Spitak, and not a single Armenian village. It is stated that "The Pambak Tatars, as foreigners, will retain their prior status during civil proceedings, while general criminal regulations outlined in the decree for the governance of Georgia will be applied in criminal cases."

Russia, at that time, attempted to refrain from the mass repression and expulsion of Azerbaijanis. The Turkic Qajar dynasty, ruling Iran at the time, hoped to regain their lost north Azerbaijani lands, whilst the Russian emperor aimed to conquer new Azerbaijani territories. In pursuit of their respective goals, both states made secret and intense preparations for war, including attempts to recruit warlike Karapapakhs residing in the border regions of Borchali, Gazakh, Pambak, and Shuragel.

Russian historical sources and official correspondence from that period confirm that both during and after the 1804-1813 war, the Qajar authorities attempted to resettle Karapakhs in the Iravan Khanate and other territories under the Shah's control by any means possible. In the meantime, Russian official circles endeavoured to thwart these efforts and maintain control over Karapakhs, including Pambak and Shuragel.

Prior to the second Russo-Persian War, also known as the 1826-1828 war, over 2,000 Borchala Karapakh families relinquished their Russian citizenship to obtain specific benefits and relocated to the Iravan Khanate. Nagi-khan Terkavunlu led a group of these Karapakhs to settle in Gokcha Magal, while another group, under the leadership of Ismailagi, settled in Derechichek. These individuals did not return, and the Russian authorities promptly repopulated the vacant lands with Hay settlers.

However, the Muslim population in both Georgian Samtskhe-Javakheti and the Iravan Khanate faced a true catastrophe after these territories were annexed by the Russian Empire in 1928. Nearly all Georgian Muslims from Javakheti were expelled from their homeland, and a considerable number of Azeris from the Iravan Khanate suffered the same fate. General Paskevich resettled ethnic Hayes from Turkey and Iran on Georgian and Azerbaijani lands, displacing the local populations.

The Pambak and Shuragel regions were heavily impacted by the influx of Hay settlers, creating isolated "islands" within the Azerbaijani and Georgian Muslim population areas and slowly eroding them over time.

For a considerable time, the population of Shuragel was Azerbaijani-majority, however, it was separated from the north by the influx of Hayes who settled heavily in Georgian Javakheti. Nevertheless, Pambak situated on the "principal route" of Hay migrations was promptly inhabited by them.

Until 1988, Azerbaijanis of Shurageli were the majority in their native land, with the Amasiya district being predominantly populated by Azerbaijanis. However, in Pambak, which encompasses Amamli (known as Spitak since 1948), Karakilisi (previously Kirvakan from 1935, and later Gugark from 1964), and Stepanavan (formerly Jalal-Oglu until 1924) districts, up to half of the population by 1947 was comprised of Hay migrants and their descendants.

In 1947, the forced deportation of Azerbaijanis from Pambak and Shurageli to the Kura-Arak lowlands of the Azerbaijani USSR began, followed by the resettlement of Armenian settlers from Romania, Bulgaria, and Middle East countries in their place. The Azerbaijanis, who had been inhabitants of cool highlands, found themselves completely unaccustomed to the hot plain climate of the new region. Within the first year of their relocation, most of the elderly deportees, as well as many children and individuals with poor health, had passed away. As a result, the native Azerbaijani populace in Pambak and Amamlu, which was renamed Spitak in 1948, became a minority.

Later on, the Armenian SSR government intentionally implemented a policy of removing Azerbaijanis from their homeland. Despite this, at the start of 1988, the biggest proportion of citizens in historical Shurageli and a noteworthy segment of Pambak’s population were ethnically Azerbaijani. In the same year, nationalist Hay groups instigated genocidal actions and conducted large-scale ethnic cleansing.

November and early December 1988, the month preceding the catastrophic earthquake, were marked by heightened violence.  Nowadays, for some unexplained reason, propagandists in Azerbaijan refer to the supposed "forced resettlement" of the Armenian population in Karabakh. In reality, nobody forced them to leave, and in fact, Azerbaijan repeatedly offered them the option to stay and obtain citizenship. However, the massacres and pogroms, as well as the forced removal of Azerbaijanis from Pambak and Shurageli in late 1988, have seemingly been forgotten.

The death toll of Azerbaijanis in Pambak and Shurageli was in the hundreds. The authorities recorded many of those killed as having "died of their own accord", yet many were wounded, beaten, and died from injuries and beatings after their expulsion.

In a span of three days, from 27 to 29 November 1988, 33 Azerbaijanis lost their lives in the districts of Spitak, Gugark, and Stepanavan. Many began leaving their homeland in large numbers, however, escape was not possible for all. Another tragic incident took place near the village of Gamzachamann in the Gugark and Stepanavan districts, where again 33 Azerbaijanis were killed on 30 November. On the same day, a group of Azerbaijani refugees en route to the Azerbaijan SSR were attacked near the Gamzachamann village in the Gugar district. Three people, among them an 11-year-old boy, were killed, with another 38 sustaining injuries, 7 of which were serious. The majority of the injured received medical treatment solely in the Azerbaijan SSR, specifically in the Kazakh district hospital. However, with hopes for mercy from medical professionals, Balajayeva Suraya Huseyn gizi, a 30-year-old who was wounded, was moved to Kirovakan city hospital.

Unfortunately, the woman was strangled by the attending physicians when they discovered that she was of Azerbaijani descent.

Following the Spitak earthquake, rescuers discovered evidence of a heinous crime - the remains of Azerbaijani children walled up inside a pipe. This horrific act only came to light because the victims could not be passed off as casualties of the earthquake. It is unknown how many Azerbaijanis were killed before the earthquake and falsely recorded as victims of the natural disaster.

After the earthquake, the Armenian SSR authorities hindered aid from reaching people who remained in Azerbaijan villages that had suffered pogroms and killings. A rescuer, who was of Russian nationality and arrived in Spitak shortly after the earthquake to assist the victims, reported on the Khay authorities' actual behaviour towards individuals who were not of their nationality.

The rescuers aimed to reach an Azerbaijani village ravaged by an earthquake to search for any survivors buried beneath the rubble. However, the nearby Armenian authorities largely prevented their passage and strictly prohibited their entrance to the village. The rescuers were informed "these are not people, they are Turks".

Despite the pogroms that led to the exodus of inhabitants from the villages, there still existed Azerbaijani locals. After the earthquake, Azerbaijani residents were forced to leave their homeland during the harsh winter due to lack of assistance and provisions. This expulsion was carried out under pressure from the authorities of the Armenian SSR.

When Hay nationalists speak of the "thousands of years of history" of purportedly Hay "Artsakh" that ended in "forced deportation," it is important to remind them of the tragedy of the Azerbaijanis in Pambak and Shurageli, and how the earthquake in Armenia was used to "fix" the genocide and ethnic cleansing of the native population.

Grigol Giorgadze