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CITY OF HIGHLAND REAFFIRMS COMMITMENT TO SISTER-CITY PARTNERSHIP WITH BERDZOR
http://asbarez.com/117575/city-of-highland-reaffirms-commitment-to-sister-city-partnership-with-berdzor/
Wednesday, December 18th, 2013
A greeting sign welcomes people to Highland, California (Photo:
Chris Stewart / SF Chronicle)
HIGHLAND, Calif.-Under external pressure from the Consulate of
Azerbaijan, City of Highland Councilmember Jody Scott unsuccessfully
attempted on December 10, 2013, to overturn a previous unanimous
Council decision to establish a sister-city partnership with Berdzor,
Nagorno Karabagh.
Her failed effort was overcome by the unwavering leadership displayed
by Mayor Pro Tem Larry McCallon and the remaining councilmembers who
valiantly stayed on course with the partnership despite Azerbaijan's
improper attempt to exert undue foreign influence over our democratic
principles and practices.
"Agents of foreign governments such as the Azeri Consul General have
no business meddling into the affairs of our local governments here
in the United States. The fact that the Azeri Consulate is trying to
exert its influence to thwart our democracy is absolutely unacceptable
to us as Americans, and the fact that a sitting local elected official
can succumb to such foreign pressures is even more disconcerting,"
stated ANCA Western Region Government Affairs Director Tereza
Yerimyan. "Fortunately, democracy prevailed as our grassroots base
in the area responded to our Action Alert and mobilized itself. We
were proud to have been able to work with Mayor McCallon and the
councilmembers in putting this issue to rest, and we look forward
to providing the necessary assistance and resources to help their
sister-city partnership with Berdzor grow and prosper in the years
to come," added Yerimyan.
Mayor McCallon presented the resolution after personally traveling
to NKR and witnessing first-hand the commitment of the local Berdzor
government and people to peace, democracy, and economic freedom and
development. The resolution was approved by the Council with a 4-0
unanimous vote on November 26, 2013, which included Councilmember
Scott before she changed her mind under Azeri influence.
In a scathing letter addressed to City of Highland Councilmembers
on November 27, 2013, the Consulate of Azerbaijan criticized the
Council's decision and attempted to cast doubt by falsely accusing
Armenia of ethnic cleansing against the entire population of Lachin
(Berdzor). Additional letters from the Youth Wing of the New Azerbaijan
Party and other citizens of Azerbaijan also flooded the councilmembers
with similar false propaganda. However, Azerbaijan's attempt failed as
councilmembers learned more about Azerbaijan's past and current human
rights violations and bullying tactics against Armenia and Artsakh.
With less than a day's notice of Councilmember Scott's intentions
to overturn the previous decision, the ANCA Western Region notified
residents in the area of the foreign pressures and activated its base
with an Action Alert that encouraged community members to voice their
support for the sister-city.
The Republic of Nagorno Karabakh (Artsakh) is an integral part
of historic Armenia that was arbitrarily carved out in 1921 by
Joseph Stalin and placed under Soviet Azerbaijani administration,
but with autonomous status, as part of the Soviet divide-and-conquer
strategy in the Caucasus. The City of Berdzor serves as a corridor
between Armenia and Artsakh and thus is strategically vital to the
preservation and protection of the Armenian Nation. Nagorno Karabakh
has never been part of an independent Azerbaijani state, and even
declassified Central Intelligence Agency reports confirm that Nagorno
Karabakh is historically Armenian and maintained even more autonomy
than the rest of Armenia through the centuries. On September 2, 1991,
the people of Nagorno Karabakh declared independence from the Soviet
Union and became the Nagorno Karabakh Republic. On December 10, 1991,
Nagorno Karabakh held an independence referendum in which 82% of all
voters participated and 99% voted for independence. In response,
Azerbaijan launched an all-out war against the Nagorno Karabakh
Republic, targeting civilians and recruiting Islamic extremist
mujahideen from Afghanistan and Chechnya to join the Azerbaijani army
against Christian Armenians.
Prior to Azerbaijan's declaration of Independence from the Soviet
Union, from 1988 to 1990, it targeted the Armenian population in
racially motivated pogroms in the cities of Sumgait (February 27-29,
1988), Kirovabad (November 21-27, 1988) and Baku (January 13-19,
1990). At the time, Members of Congress condemned these premeditated
and officially-sponsored attacks against Armenian civilians and
passed amendments and resolutions demanding respect for the democratic
aspirations of the people of Nagorno Karabakh.
Despite these irrefutable facts, the Consulate of Azerbaijan and its
agents made false statements about Berdzor and omitted any mention of
the history which led to the declaration of independence by Armenian
citizens from Soviet Azerbaijan. The Azeri agents also failed to
disclose that in August of 2012, the President of Azerbaijan pardoned
Ramil Safarov from his life sentence in prison, for axing to death an
Armenian solider during a NATO Peace and Partnership training mission
in Budapest, hailing his return to Azerbaijan as a national hero.
These facts were not lost upon Mayor McCallon and his councilmembers,
as they admirably chose, true to fundamental American ideals, to
support the aspirations for self-determination by the people of Nagorno
Karabakh by offering sister-city assistance to the democratically
elected local government in Berdzor.
The Armenian National Committee of America-Western Region is the
largest and most influential Armenian American grassroots advocacy
organization in the Western United States. Working in coordination
with a network of offices, chapters, and supporters throughout the
Western United States and affiliated organizations around the country,
the ANCA-WR advances the concerns of the Armenian American community
on a broad range of issues.
http://asbarez.com/117575/city-of-highland-reaffirms-commitment-to-sister-city-partnership-with-berdzor/
Wednesday, December 18th, 2013
A greeting sign welcomes people to Highland, California (Photo:
Chris Stewart / SF Chronicle)
HIGHLAND, Calif.-Under external pressure from the Consulate of
Azerbaijan, City of Highland Councilmember Jody Scott unsuccessfully
attempted on December 10, 2013, to overturn a previous unanimous
Council decision to establish a sister-city partnership with Berdzor,
Nagorno Karabagh.
Her failed effort was overcome by the unwavering leadership displayed
by Mayor Pro Tem Larry McCallon and the remaining councilmembers who
valiantly stayed on course with the partnership despite Azerbaijan's
improper attempt to exert undue foreign influence over our democratic
principles and practices.
"Agents of foreign governments such as the Azeri Consul General have
no business meddling into the affairs of our local governments here
in the United States. The fact that the Azeri Consulate is trying to
exert its influence to thwart our democracy is absolutely unacceptable
to us as Americans, and the fact that a sitting local elected official
can succumb to such foreign pressures is even more disconcerting,"
stated ANCA Western Region Government Affairs Director Tereza
Yerimyan. "Fortunately, democracy prevailed as our grassroots base
in the area responded to our Action Alert and mobilized itself. We
were proud to have been able to work with Mayor McCallon and the
councilmembers in putting this issue to rest, and we look forward
to providing the necessary assistance and resources to help their
sister-city partnership with Berdzor grow and prosper in the years
to come," added Yerimyan.
Mayor McCallon presented the resolution after personally traveling
to NKR and witnessing first-hand the commitment of the local Berdzor
government and people to peace, democracy, and economic freedom and
development. The resolution was approved by the Council with a 4-0
unanimous vote on November 26, 2013, which included Councilmember
Scott before she changed her mind under Azeri influence.
In a scathing letter addressed to City of Highland Councilmembers
on November 27, 2013, the Consulate of Azerbaijan criticized the
Council's decision and attempted to cast doubt by falsely accusing
Armenia of ethnic cleansing against the entire population of Lachin
(Berdzor). Additional letters from the Youth Wing of the New Azerbaijan
Party and other citizens of Azerbaijan also flooded the councilmembers
with similar false propaganda. However, Azerbaijan's attempt failed as
councilmembers learned more about Azerbaijan's past and current human
rights violations and bullying tactics against Armenia and Artsakh.
With less than a day's notice of Councilmember Scott's intentions
to overturn the previous decision, the ANCA Western Region notified
residents in the area of the foreign pressures and activated its base
with an Action Alert that encouraged community members to voice their
support for the sister-city.
The Republic of Nagorno Karabakh (Artsakh) is an integral part
of historic Armenia that was arbitrarily carved out in 1921 by
Joseph Stalin and placed under Soviet Azerbaijani administration,
but with autonomous status, as part of the Soviet divide-and-conquer
strategy in the Caucasus. The City of Berdzor serves as a corridor
between Armenia and Artsakh and thus is strategically vital to the
preservation and protection of the Armenian Nation. Nagorno Karabakh
has never been part of an independent Azerbaijani state, and even
declassified Central Intelligence Agency reports confirm that Nagorno
Karabakh is historically Armenian and maintained even more autonomy
than the rest of Armenia through the centuries. On September 2, 1991,
the people of Nagorno Karabakh declared independence from the Soviet
Union and became the Nagorno Karabakh Republic. On December 10, 1991,
Nagorno Karabakh held an independence referendum in which 82% of all
voters participated and 99% voted for independence. In response,
Azerbaijan launched an all-out war against the Nagorno Karabakh
Republic, targeting civilians and recruiting Islamic extremist
mujahideen from Afghanistan and Chechnya to join the Azerbaijani army
against Christian Armenians.
Prior to Azerbaijan's declaration of Independence from the Soviet
Union, from 1988 to 1990, it targeted the Armenian population in
racially motivated pogroms in the cities of Sumgait (February 27-29,
1988), Kirovabad (November 21-27, 1988) and Baku (January 13-19,
1990). At the time, Members of Congress condemned these premeditated
and officially-sponsored attacks against Armenian civilians and
passed amendments and resolutions demanding respect for the democratic
aspirations of the people of Nagorno Karabakh.
Despite these irrefutable facts, the Consulate of Azerbaijan and its
agents made false statements about Berdzor and omitted any mention of
the history which led to the declaration of independence by Armenian
citizens from Soviet Azerbaijan. The Azeri agents also failed to
disclose that in August of 2012, the President of Azerbaijan pardoned
Ramil Safarov from his life sentence in prison, for axing to death an
Armenian solider during a NATO Peace and Partnership training mission
in Budapest, hailing his return to Azerbaijan as a national hero.
These facts were not lost upon Mayor McCallon and his councilmembers,
as they admirably chose, true to fundamental American ideals, to
support the aspirations for self-determination by the people of Nagorno
Karabakh by offering sister-city assistance to the democratically
elected local government in Berdzor.
The Armenian National Committee of America-Western Region is the
largest and most influential Armenian American grassroots advocacy
organization in the Western United States. Working in coordination
with a network of offices, chapters, and supporters throughout the
Western United States and affiliated organizations around the country,
the ANCA-WR advances the concerns of the Armenian American community
on a broad range of issues.