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WHY IS THE RI HOUSE GOING OUT OF ITS WAY TO ANGER AZERBAIJAN?
WPRI-TV 12, Rhode Island
http://blogs.wpri.com/2012/05/23/why-is-the-ri-house-going-out-of-its-way-to-anger-azerbaijan/
May 23 2012
May 23rd, 2012 at 5:00 am by Ted Nesi under Nesi's Notes, On the Main
Site And you thought Woonsocket had problems at the State House?
Last Thursday, the R.I. House of Representatives unanimously passed
a resolution "supporting the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic's efforts to
develop as a free and independent nation." House Speaker Gordon Fox
himself was the lead sponsor and 33 Democrats and Republicans seconded
the motion; nobody objected.
Nagorno-Karabakh is a breakaway region of Azerbaijan with a mostly
Armenian population that experienced a brutal civil war in the early
1990s. Azerbaijan - a key U.S. military ally - wants the region back
but Armenia isn't budging, and peace talks are stalled.
Rhode Island has a sizable Armenian population, and Congressman David
Cicilline is among the politicians who've taken an active interest
in their concerns. But the Azerbaijani government is apparently less
pleased with local lawmakers' meddling.
"Attempts to achieve recognition by the legislature of Rhode Island
are only attempts by Armenians themselves, who thus try to deceive the
U.S. public," Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry spokesman Elman Abdullayev
was quoted as saying by ArmeniaNow (which calls the Assembly "the
parliament of the U.S. state of Rhode Island").
On hand in the House chamber for Thursday's vote was Robert Avetisyan,
the republic's permanent representative to the United States, along
with local Armenian-American activists Hagop Donoyan, Levon Attarian,
Stephen Elmasian and Ani Haroian.
House lawmakers directed Secretary of State A. Ralph Mollis to send
certified copies of their Nagorno-Karabakh resolution to President
Obama and the four members of Rhode Island's congressional delegation.
Zikret Hasan, a Portsmouth resident, sent a letter to The Providence
Journal this week criticizing the resolution. "The resolution is not
only factually incorrect, but contradicts U.S. government's position
and national interests, damages U.S. international standing and
relations with key allies, and even contradicts Rhode Island's own
laws on lobbying and lobbyists," he wrote.
Steve Nielsen contributed to this report.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
WPRI-TV 12, Rhode Island
http://blogs.wpri.com/2012/05/23/why-is-the-ri-house-going-out-of-its-way-to-anger-azerbaijan/
May 23 2012
May 23rd, 2012 at 5:00 am by Ted Nesi under Nesi's Notes, On the Main
Site And you thought Woonsocket had problems at the State House?
Last Thursday, the R.I. House of Representatives unanimously passed
a resolution "supporting the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic's efforts to
develop as a free and independent nation." House Speaker Gordon Fox
himself was the lead sponsor and 33 Democrats and Republicans seconded
the motion; nobody objected.
Nagorno-Karabakh is a breakaway region of Azerbaijan with a mostly
Armenian population that experienced a brutal civil war in the early
1990s. Azerbaijan - a key U.S. military ally - wants the region back
but Armenia isn't budging, and peace talks are stalled.
Rhode Island has a sizable Armenian population, and Congressman David
Cicilline is among the politicians who've taken an active interest
in their concerns. But the Azerbaijani government is apparently less
pleased with local lawmakers' meddling.
"Attempts to achieve recognition by the legislature of Rhode Island
are only attempts by Armenians themselves, who thus try to deceive the
U.S. public," Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry spokesman Elman Abdullayev
was quoted as saying by ArmeniaNow (which calls the Assembly "the
parliament of the U.S. state of Rhode Island").
On hand in the House chamber for Thursday's vote was Robert Avetisyan,
the republic's permanent representative to the United States, along
with local Armenian-American activists Hagop Donoyan, Levon Attarian,
Stephen Elmasian and Ani Haroian.
House lawmakers directed Secretary of State A. Ralph Mollis to send
certified copies of their Nagorno-Karabakh resolution to President
Obama and the four members of Rhode Island's congressional delegation.
Zikret Hasan, a Portsmouth resident, sent a letter to The Providence
Journal this week criticizing the resolution. "The resolution is not
only factually incorrect, but contradicts U.S. government's position
and national interests, damages U.S. international standing and
relations with key allies, and even contradicts Rhode Island's own
laws on lobbying and lobbyists," he wrote.
Steve Nielsen contributed to this report.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress