Congressional
Notes
05/28/16 - Statement submitted for the Congressional Record on Republic Day - Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the 98th anniversary of the Republic Day of Azerbaijan, and to extend my best wishes to all Azerbaijanis as they celebrate Republic Day. May 28th marks the founding of the Democratic Republic of Azerbaijan, when the people of Azerbaijan first gained their independence from the Russian Empire in 1918. Although Azerbaijan's independence was ended by Soviet forces in 1920, it is noteworthy that the Democratic Republic of Azerbaijan was the world's first secular parliamentary democratic republic in a predominantly Muslim nation--earning diplomatic recognition from the United States during the administration of President Woodrow Wilson. We also recall, with admiration, that the Democratic Republic of Azerbaijan granted universal suffrage to its citizens in 1918, making it the first Muslim country to give women the right to vote. Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, Azerbaijan restored its independence on October 18, 1991, when its Parliament adopted the Constitution Act on the Restoration of the State of Independence of the Republic of Azerbaijan. The last twenty-five years of independence have not been without challenges for the people of Azerbaijan. At the fall of the Soviet Union, Azerbaijan found itself in an armed conflict over occupied territory by Armenia. In 1993, the United Nations Security Council adopted four resolutions demanding complete, unconditional and immediate withdrawal of Armenian forces from the occupied territories of Azerbaijan. Despite the U.N. resolutions, today, more than 20 percent of Azerbaijan's territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding districts, remain under Armenian occupation. Additionally, a 1994 ceasefire agreement has been breached over the years with the most recent provocation occurring in 2016 while the Azerbaijani President was en route to Azerbaijan following a successful nuclear summit in the U.S. I am pleased that Azerbaijan immediately called for peace in the aftermath of the skirmish and remains committed to a peaceful resolution of the conflict with Armenia. Azerbaijan is a key global security partner for the United States. As an active member of NATO's Partnership for Peace program, Azerbaijan cooperates with the United States in countering terrorism, nuclear proliferation, and narcotics trafficking. Azerbaijani troops serve shoulder to shoulder with U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan, as they previously did in Kosovo and Iraq. In support of the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan, Azerbaijan has extended important over-flight clearances for U.S. and NATO flights as well as regularly providing landing and refueling operations at its airports for U.S. and NATO forces. Azerbaijan also plays an important role in the Northern Distribution Network, a supply route to Afghanistan, by making available its ground and Caspian naval transportation facilities. Azerbaijan has emerged as a key player for enhancing global energy security. The Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline and the Baku-Tbilisi- Erzurum gas pipeline are the main arteries delivering Caspian Sea energy resources to global markets, and completion of the Southern Gas Corridor--which will run from the Caspian Sea through Azerbaijan, Georgia, Turkey, Greece, and Albania into Italy--will increase the energy security of key American allies by increasing the amount of natural gas from the Caspian Sea to European markets. Notably, Azerbaijan also provides roughly 40 percent of Israel's oil consumption. What may be more surprising to some is that Azerbaijan--a predominantly Muslim country--enjoys friendly ties with Israel beyond oil sales. Jews have resided in Azerbaijan for 2,500 years without persecution and today, the Jewish community in Azerbaijan numbers over 12,000. Azerbaijan is also home to Christian communities and has been praised for its religious tolerance by the European Parliament. As co-chair of the Congressional Azerbaijan Caucus, I congratulate the people of Azerbaijan on the monumental occasion of Republic Day in their national history. May the partnership between the United States and Azerbaijan progress and continue to benefit both of our nations. 01/28/16 - Statement submitted for the Congressional Record on Khojaly - Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the 26th anniversary of "Black January" in Azerbaijan. Imbedded in the memory of all Azerbaijanis regardless of where they live, Black January commemorates Azerbaijan's stand against Soviet soldiers for independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity over all lands under Azerbaijani jurisdiction, and freedom from communism and dictatorship. On the evening of January 19, 1990, the U.S.S.R. Supreme Soviet Presidium backed by then-President Mikhail Gorbachev, declared a state of emergency in response to the growing national independence movement in Azerbaijan, which led to Russian troops storming the Azerbaijani capital city of Baku. In an attempt to suppress the movement and "restore order," Soviet invaders indiscriminately fired on peaceful demonstrators, including women and children. That night, more than 130 people died, over 700 people were injured, 841 were arrested and 5 went missing. The invasion, however, focused not just on peaceful protestors but also on critical infrastructure and workers. According to a report by Human Rights Watch entitled Black January in Azerbaijan, "among the most heinous violations of human rights during the Baku incursion were the numerous attacks on medical personnel, ambulances and even hospitals." Additionally, the attack was an act of intimidation for all then-Soviet countries with independence ambitions. The Human Rights Watch report concluded that, "indeed the violence used by the Soviet Army on the night of January 19-20 constitutes an exercise in collective punishment. The punishment inflicted on Baku by Soviet soldiers may have been intended as a warning to nationalists, not only in Azerbaijan, but in other Republics of the Soviet Union." Azerbaijani citizens, however, refused to succumb to Soviet aggression. Instead, the invasion inflamed Azerbaijani nationalism. In the days after the invasion, thousands of Azerbaijanis surrounded Communist Party headquarters demanding the resignation of the republic's leadership, the Baku City Council demanded that Soviet troops be withdrawn and the Soviet legislature in Azerbaijan threatened to call a referendum on secession unless Soviet troops were withdrawn within 48 hours. Soviet troops were eventually withdrawn and January 20th became known as "the Day of the Nationwide Sorrow." It would not be for nearly two years, however, before Azerbaijan gained political control from the Soviet Union. In October 1991, Azerbaijan's parliament - the National Assembly - declared its independence. Today, Azerbaijan has developed into a thriving country with double digit growth, in large part due to a freely elected president and parliament, free market reforms led by the energy sector, and, most importantly, no foreign troops on its soil. I ask my colleagues to join me in recognizing the tragic events of Black January that precipitated the independent Republic of Azerbaijan and the fall of the USSR. 03/04/15 - Statement submitted for the Congressional Record on Khojaly - Mr. Speaker, this week marks the 23rd anniversary of a terrible event in the history of Azerbaijan: the massacre of hundreds of people in the town of Khojaly in what was the largest killing of ethnic Azerbaijani civilians in the course of the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict. Khojaly, which is located in the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan, was once home to 7,000 people. That was before Armenian armed forces descended on the town on February 26, 1992, killing over 600 people - including 106 women and 83 children. Hundreds more became disabled due to their injuries. More than one hundred children lost one of their parents, and 25 children lost both parents. At least 8 families were completely wiped out. More than two decades after a ceasefire went into effect, more than 20 percent of Azerbaijan's territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding districts, remains occupied and more than 1 million Azerbaijanis remain displaced from their homes. Ongoing violence along the line of contact surrounding occupied Azerbaijani territory reinforces the urgency of robust American participation in the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe's (OSCE) Minsk Group as it works towards a peaceful resolution of the Azerbaijan-Armenia conflict. Azerbaijan is the only country that borders both Russia and Iran, and yet Azerbaijan has been a strong partner of the United States and its allies in security and energy matters. This has included: enforcing sanctions against Iran; providing troops that served shoulder-to-shoulder with U.S. forces in Kosovo, Iraq, and Afghanistan; allowing transit for 40 percent of all non-lethal equipment used by NATO forces in Afghanistan; construction of the Southern Gas Corridor from the Caspian Sea to Italy that will provide Europe with an alternative source to Russian energy; and supplying 40 percent of Israel's oil. I ask my colleagues to join me and our Azerbaijani friends in commemorating the devastation of Khojaly twenty-three years ago. As Azerbaijanis around the world recall this massacre and mourn the loss of loved ones, let us remember our support of peaceful efforts to resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and reforms that promote stability throughout the Southern Caucasus region. 01/22/15 - Statement submitted for the Congressional Record on Black January - Mr. Speaker, few Americans have heard the term ``Black January,'' yet it is imbedded in the memory of all Azerbaijanis. Black January marks the evening of January 19, 1990, when at midnight Russian troops stormed the capital city of Baku. Armed with a state of emergency declared by the U.S.S.R. Supreme Soviet Presidium and signed by then President Mikhail Gorbachev, the invasion was intended to suppress a growing independence movement, but the result was the opposite. This violent incident inflamed Azerbaijani nationalism and contributed to the breakup of the Soviet Union. Leading up to Black January, the national independence movement had gained momentum with growing demonstrations for independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity. Emerging democratic groups were leading the political agenda and were projected to succeed in upcoming Parliamentary elections in March 1990. The Soviet Union sought to ``restore order'' by indiscriminately firing on peaceful demonstrators in Baku, including women and children. The protesters were calling for independence from the Soviet Union and the removal of Communist officials. More than 130 people died that night and in subsequent violence, over 700 were injured, 841 were arrested, and 5 went missing. According to a report by Human Rights Watch entitled ``Black January in Azerbaijan ,'' ``among the most heinous violations of human rights during the Baku incursion were the numerous attacks on medical personnel, ambulances and even hospitals.'' The report concluded that `indeed the violence used by the Soviet Army on the night of January 19-20 constitutes an exercise in collective punishment. The punishment inflicted on Baku by Soviet soldiers may have been intended as a warning to nationalists, not only in Azerbaijan , but in other Republics of the Soviet Union.'' In the days after the invasion, thousands of Azerbaijanis surrounded Communist Party headquarters demanding the resignation of the republic's leadership. The Baku City Council demanded that Soviet troops be withdrawn. The Soviet legislature in Azerbaijan condemned the occupation as ``unconstitutional'' and threatened to call a referendum on secession unless Soviet troops were withdrawn within 48 hours. Soviet troops were eventually withdrawn from Baku, but political control was maintained for almost another 2 years until Azerbaijan's parliament declared independence in October 1991. Today, Azerbaijan has developed into a thriving country with double digit growth, in large part due to a freely elected president and parliament, free market reforms led by the energy sector, and, most importantly, no foreign troops on its soil. January 20 is the day on which Azerbaijani citizens stood up to Soviet soldiers and martyrs gave up their lives for freedom from communism and dictatorship. I ask my colleagues to join me in recognizing the tragic events of Black January that precipitated the independent Republic of Azerbaijan and the fall of the USSR.