Why is the RI House going out of its way to anger Azerbaijan?
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.
Tags: armenian, azerbaijan, foreign affairs, general assembly, gordon fox, house of representatives, nagorno-karabakh
Nesi's Notes covers politics and the economy in and around Rhode Island for WPRI.com. (Twitter: 
Is this article a commentary or a news story?
Why did NG break away from Az?
Wasn’t NG an autonomous political unit in the days of Stalin?
When did the Az’s arrive from the Altai Mountains in Asia and when did the lose their Asian heritage?
Maybe the Armenian side should be heard instead of only publishing Hasan’s comments….it would be good for a fair and balanced article since the Pro-jo refuses to publish any Armenian op-ed pieces, letters, etc. Not only for this issue, but as a rebuttal for other articles which only voice one side and not the other.
Inflammatory headline. It would behoove the writer to look into the facts of this story. Armenians are largely Christian. Azerbaijanis are largely Muslim. The brutality and persecution of the Armenian minorities needs to be reported. JDB asks excellent questions.
Agreed – Maybe a better title for this article would have been “Kharabakh Armenians Seeking Justice Through RI Resolution” then let the article explain itself, well commentary, not even sure if this is categorized as an article….Basically RI was founded on the rights for freedom, liberty, democracy, and the pursuit of justice and happiness. Same values the people of Kharabagh are looking for. Let’s write about how journalists like Nesi would be treated in Azerbaijan…well he may be treated kindly with a title like this one.
“Why is the RI House going out of its way to anger Azerbaijan?”
Because they’re IDIOTS!!!
I would bet my life that the majority of these people don’t know where N-K is, never mind Azerbaijan or Armenia. Locate them on a map? Yeah, right!
Instead of fixing the problems that have brought this state to the brink, i.e. the CORRUPTION within the General Assembly itself, they continue to pass this BS!!!
When did Hyes move from Balkan Thrakie to Asia Minor (Phrygie) in Western Anatolia?
When did they move further from Phrygie in Western Anatolia to the geographic area called Armenia?
When did Hyes acquire their new (and wrong) ethnonym “Armenians”?
When were Hyes relocated from Persia to NK?
Those are the questions JDB must be worried about.
when did the mongols move to Turkey?
How did Stalin carve the caucuses in 1923?
Who founded modern day Turkey (ironically in 1923?)
Why where Armenians dispersed around the world and formed a diaspora?
Why in the world are we so concerned with this. Shoudnt we try to save ourselves and then be in a better position to save others. Our state is falling apart by the hour. Here’s that four letter word again. Jobs, Jobs, Jobs, Jobs, Jobs, Jobs, Jobs.
So you admit that it was unanimously voted and passed by the R.I. House of Representatives. So why all this bitterness? Is it because you have ulterior motives, like affiliation with the Azerbaijani and Turkish lobbying groups? Oh yeah, and your biggest proof that this is not right is a letter from some Azerbaijani immigrant voicing his displeasure over RI doing the right thing, and the bitter statement by Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry spokesman?
That sure makes you lose all credibility.
Nagormo Karabakh is historically an Armenian land, its Armenian population as displaced when it was given to Azerbaijan during the Soviet rule to please Turkey. But I don’t expect someone who writes such an article to rely on historical facts.
R.I. has demonstrated great courage for justice and truth which the Obama administration has sorely lacked. Washington can learn something from R.I.
1st off Azerbaijan is not a key United States ally, military or otherwise. Azerbaijan is not even a member of NATO. 2nd you are quoting some “spokesperson’s” libelous words like as if it had some importance, yet neither you nor him can prove it is true. Go figure..
Some key elements.
Artsakh (NKA Nagorno-Karabakh) is a historically Armenian land. It was given to Azerbaijan by Stalin in 1923 to break up the region and cause constanst tension. 99% of NKR population has always been Armenian. As the Soviet Union was breakign away, the population of NKR wanted to join Armenia or separate from Azerbaijan. It wasn’t pretty. It was brutal – Azeris retaliated against their own Armenian population in their arrogance and ignorance. Believe me, I know. I have seen it with my own eyes as a Baku Armenian. Azeris claim the land is theirs, yet there are 1000 year old Armenian churches and artifacts on that land. PROVE IT OTHERWISE.
The people have the right to self-governance. The people have spoken. 20 years ago. Artsakh is finally free! It will never ever go back to Azerbaijan.
Your rambling “article” needs work. And you desperately need an intern to research some key historical elements.