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AZERBAIJAN CONSULATE RAILS HIGHLAND OVER SUPPORT FOR NAGORNO KARABAKH REPUBLIC
Redlands Daily Facts, CA
Dec 6 2013
By Joe Nelson, San Bernardino Sun
HIGHLAND >> The Consulate General of Azerbaijan in Los Angeles
is asking the city of Highland to rescind its recent proclamation
granting sister city status to the Nagorno Karabakh Republic in the
former Soviet Union.
In a letter dated Nov. 26, the Mayor of Berdzor City, in the
Nagorno-Karabakh Republic also known as Artsakh, asked the city to
establish a "relationship of friendship and spiritual connection"
with the city and to "cooperate in the areas of culture, sport, and
education for the purpose of the preservation and exchange of mutual
Christian values."
Highland Mayor Larry McCallon presented the request to the City
Council the same day, and the Council approved the request on a 4-0
vote. Councilwoman Penny Lilburn was absent from the meeting.
The following day, on Nov. 27, the Consulate General of Azerbaijan
in Los Angeles sent a letter to each City Council member, asking they
rescind the decision.
McCallom said Thursday he has no intention of doing so, and didn't
have anything further to say on the matter.
The war-torn region of Berdzor City was rehabilitated by Armenian
Christian secessionists amid the Armenian-Azerbaijan conflict. The
vegetation-lush region is the only non-recognized state that receives
humanitarian aid from the U.S., said Tereza Yerimyan, government
affairs director of the Armenian National Committee's Western Region
office in Glendale.
The city of Los Angeles is also a sister city with the Nagorno
Karabakh Republic, and Fresno County and the states of California,
Maine, Massachussetts and Rhode Island have all adopted resolutions
recognizing the region as an independent state.
Yerimyan said the Christian Armenians have been violently oppressed by
the mostly Muslim Armenians of the Azerbaijan Republic, a conflict that
dates back to the Nagorno-Karabakh War in the early 1990s following
the dissolving of the Soviet Union. Berdzor City's push to attain
sister city relationships with municipalities across the U.S.
is an attempt at building bridges, Yerimyan said.
"It's a way of uniting and potentially encouraging trade, and a
way of also recognizing the fact that Artsakh is also independent,"
Yerimyan said Thursday. "It does not in any way, shape or form have
any Soviet remnants left in it. It's truly a partner for the U.S."
The Consulate General of Azerbaijan, however, maintains that
the Armenian lobby has been preying on the ignorance of local
municipalities, getting them to ratify sister city agreements with
the Nagorno Karabakh Republic in order to establish credibility as an
independent nation. But the region is internationally recognized as
part of the Azerbaijan Republic, and the U.S. doesn't even recognize
the area as an independent state.
"This is part of the strategy pursued by the Armenian lobby to get
credibility for the illegal regime that was established by Armenia
following its invasion of Azerbaijan's internationally recognized
territory," said Rafig Rustamov, vice consul for the for the Consulate
General's office in Los Angeles, on Thursday.
And though Yerimyan says the warring Azerbaijanis have been oppressive
and violent, Rustamov said the seceding Armenians have invaded 20
percent of Azerbaijan's territory and expelled 800,000 Azerbaijans
from their homes and land.
"The U.N. Security Council harshly condemned this invasion with four
resolutions," Rustamov said.
Highland Councilwoman Jody Scott was surprised when she heard the news
Thursday. She said she never recieved the letter from the Azerbaijan
Consulate, but planned to look into the matter and request that the
it be brought back before the City Council for further discussion.
"If that's the case I'm a little bit ticked off because I went down
to City Hall Tuesday morning and cleaned out my mailbox, and there
was no letter from this Consulate," Scott said.
Scott said she e-mailed City Manager Joe Hughes on Thursday and asked
about the letter from the Consulate. He said it was in her mailbox
at city Hall, Scott said. She said she plans to address the matter
at Tuesday's Council meeting.
"I'm going to question the action that was taken and why it was made,"
Scott said.
When she approved the item on Nov. 26, she said she only asked whether
there would be any financial impact to the city (there isn't), but
nothing else.
"I didn't question anything else, and I should have," Scott said.
"What do we know about this Republic? That's the question I am going
to ask."
Rustamov said the Consulate letter was sent on Nov. 27 to each
Councilmember via regular mail, e-mail and fax.
While not officially recognized, the Nagorno Karabakh Republic serves
as an excellent example of successful Democracy, which makes the
Azerbaijani response all the more upsetting, Yerimyan said.
"It's such a dirty trick to attack something like this," said
Yerimyan. "These people have fought for their freedom, just like how
(Americans) fought for their freedom in the U.S. They (Azerbaijanis)
need to move on."
http://www.redlandsdailyfacts.com/government-and-politics/20131206/azerbaijan-consulate-rails-highland-over-support-for-nagorno-karabakh-republic
Redlands Daily Facts, CA
Dec 6 2013
By Joe Nelson, San Bernardino Sun
HIGHLAND >> The Consulate General of Azerbaijan in Los Angeles
is asking the city of Highland to rescind its recent proclamation
granting sister city status to the Nagorno Karabakh Republic in the
former Soviet Union.
In a letter dated Nov. 26, the Mayor of Berdzor City, in the
Nagorno-Karabakh Republic also known as Artsakh, asked the city to
establish a "relationship of friendship and spiritual connection"
with the city and to "cooperate in the areas of culture, sport, and
education for the purpose of the preservation and exchange of mutual
Christian values."
Highland Mayor Larry McCallon presented the request to the City
Council the same day, and the Council approved the request on a 4-0
vote. Councilwoman Penny Lilburn was absent from the meeting.
The following day, on Nov. 27, the Consulate General of Azerbaijan
in Los Angeles sent a letter to each City Council member, asking they
rescind the decision.
McCallom said Thursday he has no intention of doing so, and didn't
have anything further to say on the matter.
The war-torn region of Berdzor City was rehabilitated by Armenian
Christian secessionists amid the Armenian-Azerbaijan conflict. The
vegetation-lush region is the only non-recognized state that receives
humanitarian aid from the U.S., said Tereza Yerimyan, government
affairs director of the Armenian National Committee's Western Region
office in Glendale.
The city of Los Angeles is also a sister city with the Nagorno
Karabakh Republic, and Fresno County and the states of California,
Maine, Massachussetts and Rhode Island have all adopted resolutions
recognizing the region as an independent state.
Yerimyan said the Christian Armenians have been violently oppressed by
the mostly Muslim Armenians of the Azerbaijan Republic, a conflict that
dates back to the Nagorno-Karabakh War in the early 1990s following
the dissolving of the Soviet Union. Berdzor City's push to attain
sister city relationships with municipalities across the U.S.
is an attempt at building bridges, Yerimyan said.
"It's a way of uniting and potentially encouraging trade, and a
way of also recognizing the fact that Artsakh is also independent,"
Yerimyan said Thursday. "It does not in any way, shape or form have
any Soviet remnants left in it. It's truly a partner for the U.S."
The Consulate General of Azerbaijan, however, maintains that
the Armenian lobby has been preying on the ignorance of local
municipalities, getting them to ratify sister city agreements with
the Nagorno Karabakh Republic in order to establish credibility as an
independent nation. But the region is internationally recognized as
part of the Azerbaijan Republic, and the U.S. doesn't even recognize
the area as an independent state.
"This is part of the strategy pursued by the Armenian lobby to get
credibility for the illegal regime that was established by Armenia
following its invasion of Azerbaijan's internationally recognized
territory," said Rafig Rustamov, vice consul for the for the Consulate
General's office in Los Angeles, on Thursday.
And though Yerimyan says the warring Azerbaijanis have been oppressive
and violent, Rustamov said the seceding Armenians have invaded 20
percent of Azerbaijan's territory and expelled 800,000 Azerbaijans
from their homes and land.
"The U.N. Security Council harshly condemned this invasion with four
resolutions," Rustamov said.
Highland Councilwoman Jody Scott was surprised when she heard the news
Thursday. She said she never recieved the letter from the Azerbaijan
Consulate, but planned to look into the matter and request that the
it be brought back before the City Council for further discussion.
"If that's the case I'm a little bit ticked off because I went down
to City Hall Tuesday morning and cleaned out my mailbox, and there
was no letter from this Consulate," Scott said.
Scott said she e-mailed City Manager Joe Hughes on Thursday and asked
about the letter from the Consulate. He said it was in her mailbox
at city Hall, Scott said. She said she plans to address the matter
at Tuesday's Council meeting.
"I'm going to question the action that was taken and why it was made,"
Scott said.
When she approved the item on Nov. 26, she said she only asked whether
there would be any financial impact to the city (there isn't), but
nothing else.
"I didn't question anything else, and I should have," Scott said.
"What do we know about this Republic? That's the question I am going
to ask."
Rustamov said the Consulate letter was sent on Nov. 27 to each
Councilmember via regular mail, e-mail and fax.
While not officially recognized, the Nagorno Karabakh Republic serves
as an excellent example of successful Democracy, which makes the
Azerbaijani response all the more upsetting, Yerimyan said.
"It's such a dirty trick to attack something like this," said
Yerimyan. "These people have fought for their freedom, just like how
(Americans) fought for their freedom in the U.S. They (Azerbaijanis)
need to move on."
http://www.redlandsdailyfacts.com/government-and-politics/20131206/azerbaijan-consulate-rails-highland-over-support-for-nagorno-karabakh-republic