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Rep. Henry Cuellar

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize a landmark event in history known as ``Black January''. This was a day when Azerbaijani citizens stood up to the Soviet government and gave up their lives for freedom from communism and dictatorship. Indeed, January 20, 1990, in Baku, Azerbaijan, has become a symbol of when the Soviet empire lapsed.

At midnight, on January 19, 1990, twenty-six thousand Russian troops flooded the capital city of Baku with tanks. Armed with a state of emergency declared by the U.S.S.R. Supreme Soviet Presidium and signed by then President Mikhail Gorbachev, the incursion was intended to suppress a growing independence movement. The end result was the opposite as the incident inflamed Azerbaijani nationalism and contributed to the breakup of the Soviet Union.

The national independence movement had reached a remarkable momentum with hundreds of thousands demonstrating for independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity. The emerging democratic groups and protesters called for independence from the Soviet Union and removal of Communists officials. On the night of January 19-20, more than 130 people died, 611 were injured, 841 were arrested and 5 went missing. In the days after the invasion, thousands of Azerbaijanis surrounded Communist Party headquarters demanding the resignation of the republic's leadership. Soviet troops were eventually withdrawn from Baku, but political control was maintained for almost another 2 years until Azerbaijan's parliament declared independence in October 1991. The Republic of Azerbaijan has maintained its independence for more than 17 years.

Today, Azerbaijan has developed into a thriving country with double digit growth, in large part due to a freely elected president and parliament, free market reforms led by the energy sector, and, most importantly, no foreign troops on its soil.

Mr. Speaker, let us remember those who sacrificed their lives and those who stood against communism and dictatorship on the monumental ``Black January'' day on January 20, 1990.