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Marin Independent-Journal
Oct 23 2011
Sorry, Simitian, no more summering in Azerbaijan
Cross Azerbaijan off state Sen. Joe Simitian's list of future travel
destinations. The Azerbaijan government has banned the Palo Alto
Democrat from returning after his visit last month as part of a
California delegation.
We first wondered which Democratic Party honchos Simitian had hacked
off to draw such an assignment. Azerbaijan, a Minnesota-sized republic
on the western shores of the Caspian Sea between Russia and Iran,
isn't exactly Monte Carlo. The CIA describes it as a place beset with
territorial disputes, corruption and authoritarianism.
In other words, a lot like Sacramento.
But the earnest senator is such a foreign affairs junkie that he not
only wanted to join the Senate Office of International Relations
delegation -- a trip, he notes, that wasn't billed to taxpayers -- he
also extended his trip on personal time.
That's where Simitian ran afoul of the Azerbaijan government.
Simitian, of Armenian descent, tacked on a visit to Nagorno-Karabakh,
a primarily Armenian-populated region east of neighboring Armenia.
Azerbaijan claims the territory and has been fighting with Armenia
over Nagorno-Karabakh for decades.
Azerbaijan leaders saw Simitian's subsequent travel to the region
without their permission as a snub. The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry
publicly announced earlier this month that Simitian would be
blacklisted from the country for his disrespect, with a ministry
spokesman reportedly calling it shameful that a lawmaker would violate
another country's laws.
Azerbaijan's requirement that foreigners seek its permission before
visiting Nagorno-Karabakh is about as widely disregarded as Simitian's
law banning drivers from yakking into hand-held cellphones. But
Simitian said his high profile as a state official made him stand out.
Simitian said he was aware that visiting the disputed territory could
trigger a ban on future travel, but that U.S. officials told him it
was "entirely lawful" for him to do so. He has since spoken with
Azerbaijani officials and they agreed to disagree on the matter in a
conversation he described as "cordial." He told them they're always
welcome in Sacramento.
"The world is a complicated place," Simitian said. "To the extent we
understand each other better, that's a good thing."
http://www.marinij.com/ci_19175282
Oct 23 2011
Sorry, Simitian, no more summering in Azerbaijan
Cross Azerbaijan off state Sen. Joe Simitian's list of future travel
destinations. The Azerbaijan government has banned the Palo Alto
Democrat from returning after his visit last month as part of a
California delegation.
We first wondered which Democratic Party honchos Simitian had hacked
off to draw such an assignment. Azerbaijan, a Minnesota-sized republic
on the western shores of the Caspian Sea between Russia and Iran,
isn't exactly Monte Carlo. The CIA describes it as a place beset with
territorial disputes, corruption and authoritarianism.
In other words, a lot like Sacramento.
But the earnest senator is such a foreign affairs junkie that he not
only wanted to join the Senate Office of International Relations
delegation -- a trip, he notes, that wasn't billed to taxpayers -- he
also extended his trip on personal time.
That's where Simitian ran afoul of the Azerbaijan government.
Simitian, of Armenian descent, tacked on a visit to Nagorno-Karabakh,
a primarily Armenian-populated region east of neighboring Armenia.
Azerbaijan claims the territory and has been fighting with Armenia
over Nagorno-Karabakh for decades.
Azerbaijan leaders saw Simitian's subsequent travel to the region
without their permission as a snub. The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry
publicly announced earlier this month that Simitian would be
blacklisted from the country for his disrespect, with a ministry
spokesman reportedly calling it shameful that a lawmaker would violate
another country's laws.
Azerbaijan's requirement that foreigners seek its permission before
visiting Nagorno-Karabakh is about as widely disregarded as Simitian's
law banning drivers from yakking into hand-held cellphones. But
Simitian said his high profile as a state official made him stand out.
Simitian said he was aware that visiting the disputed territory could
trigger a ban on future travel, but that U.S. officials told him it
was "entirely lawful" for him to do so. He has since spoken with
Azerbaijani officials and they agreed to disagree on the matter in a
conversation he described as "cordial." He told them they're always
welcome in Sacramento.
"The world is a complicated place," Simitian said. "To the extent we
understand each other better, that's a good thing."
http://www.marinij.com/ci_19175282