2013 -- S 0960

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LC02650

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STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2013

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S E N A T E R E S O L U T I O N

URGING THAT THOSE IN AZERBAIJAN WHO ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR ORGANIZING

AND PERPETRATING THE ARMENIAN MASSACRES IN SUMGAIT, BAKU,

KIROVABAD, AND MARAGHA, AS WELL AS THE EVENTS IN KHOJALU AND OTHER

SETTLEMENTS, BE BROUGHT TO JUSTICE

     Introduced By: Senator Maryellen Goodwin

     Date Introduced: May 23, 2013

     Referred To: Senate Judiciary

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     WHEREAS, In 1921, Nagorno-Karabakh, historically a part of Armenia known as

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Artsakh and overwhelmingly populated by Armenians, had been forcibly annexed to newly-

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created Soviet Azerbaijan by an unlawful decree of the Communist dictator Joseph Stalin; and

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     WHEREAS, In February of 1988, Nagorno-Karabakh's legislature petitioned Soviet

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authorities for restoration of historical justice and an end to Azerbaijani repression and

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discrimination; and

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     WHEREAS, Azerbaijan responded with violent atrocities and massacres against the

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Armenian population in the cities of Sumgait (February, 1988), Kirovabad (November, 1988),

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Baku (January, 1990), and Maragha village (April, 1992), and in other settlements, hundreds of

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thousands Armenians were deported; and

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     WHEREAS, Remaining unpunished, Azerbaijani authorities escalated hostilities into

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full-scale military aggression against Artsakh. For many months, Khojalu and other Azerbaijani

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strongholds terrorized the Armenian population with pounding shells and grenades, killing or

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maiming hundreds of civilians and destroying homes, schools, and hospitals; and

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     WHEREAS, Azerbaijan continues to manipulate and avoid responsibility for the events

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in Khojalu, where multiple sources have reported that the inhabitants had been fired upon by

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Azerbaijani troops while trying to evacuate through the humanitarian corridor provided by the

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Nagorno-Karabakh defense forces; and

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     WHEREAS, The fact that Khojalu inhabitants feel they are the victims of a fierce

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domestic political struggle for power in Azerbaijan was confirmed by then Azerbaijani President

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Mutalibov, Chairman of Azerbaijan's Supreme Council Karayev, and his successor, Mamedov,

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Azerbaijani Human Rights Activist Yunusov, Azerbaijani journalists Fatullayev, Balakhanov, and

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Khalilov, and others; and

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     WHEREAS, Heydar Aliyev, then-incoming President of Azerbaijan, also acknowledged

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that the leadership of Azerbaijan was guilty for the tragedy and stated that "…the bloodshed will

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profit us. We should not interfere in the course of events"; and

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     WHEREAS, Azerbaijan continues to reject international appeals, including pleas by the

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European Court of Human Rights, to openly debate the events in Khojalu.  Azerbaijan also

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continues to persecute any person in the country who questions the official version and attempts

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to investigate the events in Khojalu; and

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     WHEREAS, Authorities in Baku continue to mislead the international community and

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Azerbaijani people by distorting the facts and thus cultivating xenophobia and anti-Armenian

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hatred in Azerbaijan, which has been repeatedly criticized by the Council of Europe's

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Commission Against Racism and Intolerance; now, therefore be it

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     RESOLVED, That this Senate of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations

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hereby urges that those in Azerbaijan who are responsible for organizing and perpetrating the

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Armenian massacres in Sumgait, Baku, Kirovabad, and Maragha, as well as the events in Khojalu

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and other settlements, be brought to justice; and be it further

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     RESOLVED, That this Senate hereby calls on fellow state legislatures across the United

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States to refrain from supporting Azerbaijan's efforts to distort the events during the 1991 – 1994

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war between Azerbaijan and Artsakh; and be it further

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     RESOLVED, That this Senate hereby respectfully urges the President and Congress of

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the United States to exert all available influence upon Azerbaijan to prevent any further

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cultivation of anti-Armenian hatred and xenophobia, to guarantee freedom of expression, and to

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take constructive steps towards a workable solution of existing regional problems; and be it

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further

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     RESOLVED, That the Secretary of State be and hereby is authorized and directed to

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transmit duly certified copies of this resolution to the President of the United States, Barack

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Obama, the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, The United States Senate

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Majority Leader, Secretary of State John Kerry, and members of Rhode Island’s Congressional

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Delegation.

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LC02650

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