The Fresno Bee: In upcoming parliamentary elections NKR will assert its national independence and sovereignty
US Fresno County Supervisor Andreas Borgeas will serve as a political observer of upcoming national elections in the Nagorno Karabakh Republic, The Fresno Bee reports.
“In the face of opposition from Turkey and Azerbaijan, the Armenian-populated Nagorno Karabakh is holding elections to assert their national independence and sovereignty,” the article reads. It is also noted that Borgeas will be gone from April 25 to May 5. Two more representatives from the US, Mexico, Argentina and Canada are among those invited. They will assess Nagorno Karabakh’s election process by international election standards.
According to the article, in a formal invitation letter, Ashot Ghulyan, chairman of the national assembly, said the parliamentary elections May 3 represent the sixth time since Nagorno Karabakh’s declaration of independence that residents will exercise their right to vote.
“We see the upcoming elections as yet another opportunity to reaffirm the adherence of Nagorno Karabakh people to universal freedoms and liberties and therefore attach great importance to international election observation mission,” Ghulyan wrote.
It is highlighted in the article that the election comes on the heels of the centennial of the Armenian Genocide. Borgeas stressed that this circumstance means a lot. Between the Turks in the west and Azerbaijanis in the east, Armenians are still precariously situated.
On April 23, the Board of Supervisors of Fresno County passed a resolution officially recognizing the Nagorno Karabakh Republic - a region historically and ethnically Armenian situated between Armenia and Azerbaijan – and also called upon the California Legislature, Congress and the US President to grant official recognition. The resolution also called on Congress and the US President to officially recognize the Armenian Genocide in Ottoman Empire in 1915, taking up the commitment to fairly presenting the fact to the decedents.
On 27 August, 2014, California State Senate by an overwhelming majority of votes passed the resolution AJR 32, encouraging Artsakh’s (Nagorno Karabakh) continuing efforts to develop as a free and independent nation and formally calling upon the President and Congress of the United States to support the self-determination and democratic independence of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic. Thus the State of California joined Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Maine and Louisiana in adopting legislation which supports the independence of Artsakh.
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Fresno County passes resolution recognizing independence of Nagorno Karabakh Republic