Azerbaijan, Baku, Feb.23 /Trend E.Tariverdiyeva/
A resolution proposed by some members of the Californian legislative Assembly on the day of remembrance of the Karabakh conflict on February 27, seriously distorts the historical facts It has a one-sided view on the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict and seeks to make California legislators take an unfair and biased position in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict according to a letter of the President of the Azerbaijani-American Council Ismail Rustamov to members of the Assembly.
Several members of the California Assembly submitted a draft of resolution (ACR 96) on January 30, which is likely to be approved on February 27, 2012, the day when victims of Armenian pogroms in the Azerbaijani cities of Sumgait, Ganja and Baku in 1988-1990 will be remembered.
The draft resolution deliberately ignores the mention of the Khojaly massacre of Azerbaijani civilians, whose anniversary will be celebrated on February 26, 2012, Mr Rustamov wrote in a letter.
According to the Human Rights Watch, the killing of 613 civilians including 106 women and 63 children was a mass murder of civilians during the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
The petition against the resolution which has more than 2500 signatures collected in two days was attached to the letter to the congressmen. American media has already responded to the draft resolution.
A bill introduced in the Californian Assembly describes the events in the separatist region of Azerbaijan - Nagorno-Karabakh, a surprisingly biased and U.S. view, the newspaper Monterey Herald said.
The bill does not mention that the Armenians killed 613 Azerbaijanis, including 106 women and 63 children in the town of Khojaly four years later, after 1988. Azerbaijanis have long been trying to draw attention to this event by making it known throughout the world, the newspaper said.
"The question arises: why is the California Assembly by studying the events of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict only seeing it in terms of recognition of the Armenian losses in this conflict and why now?" the author of the article asks.
In his opinion, the ACR 96 bill reflects the overwhelming influence of the Armenian population of California. The document does not seek simply to organise a day of remembrance. It is an attempt to use the tragic events as a political game surrounding the conflict. ACR 96 provoked an angry reaction from Azerbaijani representatives in Washington and Los Angeles, the newspaper said.
"The legislature must remain impartial and find a peaceful solution, recognising the views of both sides" the article says.
The Armenian military forces committed genocide in Khojaly on Feb. 26, 1992. Some 613 people were killed, including 63 children, 106 women and 70 old men. A total of 1000 civilians were left disabled during the genocide. Eight families were annihilated, 130 children lost one parent and 25 lost both. Additionally 1275 innocent residents were taken hostage, while the fate of 150 remains unknown.
The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 per cent of Azerbaijan since 1992, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.
Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group - Russia, France, and the U.S. - are currently holding peace negotiations.
Armenia has not yet implemented the U.N. Security Council's four resolutions on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding regions.