Azernews.Az

The Azerbaijani-American community in California, led by Azerbaijani-American Council (AAC) and Northern Azerbaijan Cultural Society of America (NACSA), held a public rally at the California State Capitol on February 23, to protest against the Assembly Concurrent Resolution (ACR) 96 under consideration in the State Assembly, the council said on Friday.

Introduced by Assemblymen, ACR 96 seeks to designate February 27, 2012, as a so-called "California Day of Remembrance for the Massacres of Armenians in Sumgait, Ganja and Baku in 1988-1990".

Fueled by the Armenian-American special interest groups, ACR 96 attempts to force California lawmakers into assuming a one-sided position in the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the statement said.

Furthermore, the resolution distorts the historical facts.

ACR 96 text refers to the so-called "Nagorno-Karabakh Republic", an illegitimate client regime established by Armenia after ethnic cleansing on the occupied territories of Azerbaijan, the council said.

The U.S. Department of State does not recognize the "Nagorno-Karabakh Republic" entity, therefore the wording of ACR 96 contradicts the official U.S. policy as formulated by the federal government, the council said.

So, on Thursday afternoon, Azerbaijani-American protesters gathered in front of the California State Capitol in Sacramento while both the Assembly and the Senate were in session. The protesters chanted slogans denouncing ACR 96, calling for California lawmakers' awareness of the upcoming 20th anniversary of Khojaly Massacre as well as of the ongoing occupation of Azerbaijani territories by Armenian armed forces.

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 1,000 civilians were disabled during the genocide. Eight families were annihilated, 130 children lost one parent, and 25 lost both. Additionally, 1,275 peaceful residents were taken hostage, while the fate of 150 remains unknown.

This story is published by AzerNEWS Weekly under a project funded by the Foundation for State Assistance to the Development of the Media under the President of the Azerbaijan Republic.