California senators pass resolution on Azerbaijan’s Republic Day
By Nazrin Gadimova
Azerbaijan is a staunch ally and strategic partner of the United States of America in the critically important Caspian region, a resolution adopted by a group of members of the California State Senate says.
The Azerbaijani Consulate General in Los Angeles reported that the resolution dedicated to the 95th anniversary of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic.
The resolution says that on May 28, 1918, Azerbaijan declared its independence establishing the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic, which became the first secular democratic republic in the Muslim world, and was recognized by other democratic nations, including the United States of America.
Speaking of the first republic's achievements, the document notes that during the short period of independence Azerbaijan granted all people the right to vote regardless of race, gender, ethnicity, and religion, becoming the first Muslim nation to grant women equal political rights with men, an accomplishment preceding the United States.
Referring to U.S. President Woodrow Wilson's meeting with a
delegation of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic during the Paris
Peace Conference in 1919, the resolution says that the President
was deeply impressed by the meeting.
"He expressed his impressions by saying he met with a very
dignified and interesting group of gentlemen from Azerbaijan, who
talked the same language that he did in respect of ideas, in
respect of conceptions of liberty, in respect of conceptions of
rights and justice," the document reads.
The resolution also notes that over the last twenty two years the Republic of Azerbaijan has consolidated its sovereignty and independence, and has become one of the fastest developing countries in the region and beyond.
Highlighting the U.S.-Azerbaijan relations, the document reads that Azerbaijan was one of the first countries to render unconditional assistance to the United States after the terror attacks of 9/11, opening its airspace and airports for the use by coalition troops in Afghanistan and sending its officers and soldiers to serve there shoulder-to-shoulder with U.S. troop.
Touching upon Azerbaijan's relations with California, the document stresses that "Azerbaijan attaches great importance to expanding its relations with California in all fields and has been represented with a Consulate General in Los Angeles since 2006, which is the only Consulate General of Azerbaijan in the United States."
The resolution concludes by saying that every year for the last 95 years, millions of Azerbaijanis around the globe, including tens of thousands in California, observe May 28 as the National Day, and remember the contribution of their forefathers to the spread of democracy in the regions of Caucasus, Central Asia and Middle East.
Azerbaijan Democratic Republic, the first secular democratic state of the Islamic world, which was established on May 28, 1918, was significant in Azerbaijan's history, and though it existed for only 23 months, ADR's government reached major progress in foreign policy and introduced Azerbaijan to the international community.