On March 31, Sumgayit State University hosted an online scientific-practical conference on "March 31, 1918 - the day of the genocide of Azerbaijanis."

At the beginning of the conference, a minute of silence was observed in memory of our martyrs and victims of the genocide who died for the freedom of our lands. Opening the conference, SSU Vice-Rector for Science and Innovations Professor Ramazan Mammadov conveyed the greetings of the University Rector Professor Elkhan Huseynov and spoke about the terrible consequences of the genocidal policy pursued by Armenians against Azerbaijanis throughout history. He said that the policy of genocide pursued by Armenians against Azerbaijanis was more widespread in 1918-1920. They brutally killed Azerbaijanis in Baku, Shamakhi, Guba, Mugan, Zangazur district, Karabakh, Iravan province and other areas. The most horrific of these bloody events took place on March 30-April 3, 1918. During that period, about 12,000 Azerbaijanis were brutally killed in Azerbaijan, residential buildings, mosques and schools were set on fire, and tens of thousands of people went missing. Only the Decree of the national leader Heydar Aliyev "On the genocide of Azerbaijanis" dated March 26, 1998 gave a legal and political assessment to these events and officially stated for the first time that Azerbaijanis were subjected to genocide by Armenians. Thanks to the historical Decree of the great leader Heydar Aliyev, many new facts and documents have been collected over the past years, and a mass grave has been discovered in Guba.

Professor Shirkhan Salimov, Head of the Department of History of the Peoples of Azerbaijan and Eastern Europe, spoke about the history of the policy of genocide against Azerbaijanis in his report "March 31, 1918 - the day of the genocide of Azerbaijanis." The professor also noted that according to the Order signed by the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev on January 28, 2018, the 100th anniversary of the 1918 genocide of Azerbaijanis was marked not only in Azerbaijan, but also by our compatriots, diaspora organizations and embassies abroad. The great victory of our people in the Patriotic War as a result of the leadership of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces Ilham Aliyev and the heroism of the brave Azerbaijani Army was the most worthy response to the Armenian genocide.

Professor Avtandil Mammadov, Head of the Department of Azerbaijani and Foreign Countries’ Literature, made a report on "Deportation of Azerbaijanis from Western Azerbaijan." He noted that throughout history, Armenians, who have not given up their aggressive policies, bloody deeds and the dream of creating a "Greater Armenia", have from time to time subjected our people to genocide and made it their goal to take our ancient lands with the full help of their patrons.

Amirkhan Isayev, Associate Professor of the Department of History of the Peoples of Azerbaijan and Eastern Europe, made a report on "The massacres committed by Armenians in the regions of Azerbaijan in 1918." He said that the March 31 genocide is one of the bloodiest pages of the genocidal policy pursued by Armenians. Nofal Abdullayev, Senior Lecturer of the Department of History and its Teaching Methods, made a report on the historical essence of the Decree of the Great Leader Heydar Aliyev on the genocide of Azerbaijanis dated March 26, 1998, committed by Armenian nationalists against Azerbaijanis, one of the worst crimes against humanity in world history. He stressed that the Decree signed by our national leader Heydar Aliyev gave a political assessment to these events for the first time and officially declared that Azerbaijanis were subjected to genocide by Armenians. At the same time, since then, March 31 - the Day of the Genocide of Azerbaijanis - is marked annually in our country at the state level, the memory of innocent victims of the policy of ethnic cleansing and terrorism supported by Armenian ideologues at the state level is remembered with deep respect.

Dean of the Faculty of History and Geography, Professor Adil Bakhshaliyev spoke about the bloody crimes committed by Armenians against our people and said that the memory of our compatriots who lost their lives in these events will always remain in our memory.