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FRESNO COUNTY AT ODDS WITH AZERBAIJAN
15:51 07.05.2013
Fresno County's pledge of support for the largely Armenian territory of
Nagorno-Karabakh has sparked a little-known but certain international
standoff, the Fresno Bee reports.
The nation of Azerbaijan, which claims rule over Karabakh, is asking
Fresno County supervisors to rescind their April resolution supporting
Nagorno-Karabakh's independence.
The resolution, even if symbolic and from a seemingly irrelevant
county government, undermines Azerbaijan's sovereignty, wrote that
nation's officials in a recent letter to the county. The supervisors'
support, they wrote, contradicts even the U.S. government's official
position that Nagorno-Karabakh is rightfully part of Azerbaijan.
"This fuels fighting between the communities," Azerbaijani Deputy
Consul General Ramil Gurbanov, who is based in Los Angeles, told The
Bee on Monday. It doesn't help achieve "a diplomatic and peaceful
solution in the region."
The supervisors, however, have refused to budge on their position,
though some say they're willing to give it another look.
"We stand with our Armenian friends, both in Armenia and
Nagorno-Karabakh ... We will not be muscled by a well-funded lobbying
effort by the Azerbaijanis," said Supervisor Andreas Borgeas, who
wrote the county's statement of support for Nagorno-Karabakh.
Resolutions by local governments on world affairs are uncommon,
particularly in Fresno County. Responses to the resolutions are even
less common.
But Fresno County supervisors indicated that they wanted to weigh in
on matters in the former Soviet Union out of respect for the views
of many in the Valley's large Armenian community.
The Fresno County resolution, passed April 23, maintains that residents
of Nagorno-Karabakh have elected to govern themselves and that their
wishes should be respected.
Fresno County apparently is the first in the United States to take
a position on the matter, though some states have passed similar
resolutions. The county urges the state of California and the federal
government to also recognize the region's independence.
Azerbaijani officials say the county is only stirring up trouble,
and they've asked county leaders to withdraw the resolution to head
off a further escalation of the matter.
http://www.armradio.am/en/2013/05/07/fresno-county-at-odds-with-azerbaijan/
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
15:51 07.05.2013
Fresno County's pledge of support for the largely Armenian territory of
Nagorno-Karabakh has sparked a little-known but certain international
standoff, the Fresno Bee reports.
The nation of Azerbaijan, which claims rule over Karabakh, is asking
Fresno County supervisors to rescind their April resolution supporting
Nagorno-Karabakh's independence.
The resolution, even if symbolic and from a seemingly irrelevant
county government, undermines Azerbaijan's sovereignty, wrote that
nation's officials in a recent letter to the county. The supervisors'
support, they wrote, contradicts even the U.S. government's official
position that Nagorno-Karabakh is rightfully part of Azerbaijan.
"This fuels fighting between the communities," Azerbaijani Deputy
Consul General Ramil Gurbanov, who is based in Los Angeles, told The
Bee on Monday. It doesn't help achieve "a diplomatic and peaceful
solution in the region."
The supervisors, however, have refused to budge on their position,
though some say they're willing to give it another look.
"We stand with our Armenian friends, both in Armenia and
Nagorno-Karabakh ... We will not be muscled by a well-funded lobbying
effort by the Azerbaijanis," said Supervisor Andreas Borgeas, who
wrote the county's statement of support for Nagorno-Karabakh.
Resolutions by local governments on world affairs are uncommon,
particularly in Fresno County. Responses to the resolutions are even
less common.
But Fresno County supervisors indicated that they wanted to weigh in
on matters in the former Soviet Union out of respect for the views
of many in the Valley's large Armenian community.
The Fresno County resolution, passed April 23, maintains that residents
of Nagorno-Karabakh have elected to govern themselves and that their
wishes should be respected.
Fresno County apparently is the first in the United States to take
a position on the matter, though some states have passed similar
resolutions. The county urges the state of California and the federal
government to also recognize the region's independence.
Azerbaijani officials say the county is only stirring up trouble,
and they've asked county leaders to withdraw the resolution to head
off a further escalation of the matter.
http://www.armradio.am/en/2013/05/07/fresno-county-at-odds-with-azerbaijan/
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress