Letter from AAC Board Directors to Members of the California State Assembly regarding ACR 96 (February 16, 2012)
Javid Huseynov
Dear Assemblyman/Assemblywoman,
On Jan. 30, 2012, some members of the California State Assembly introduced a draft resolution (ACR 96) that will proclaim February 27, 2012, as a “California Day of Remembrance for the massacres of Armenians in Sumgait, Kirovabad and Baku.”
This draft resolution severely distorts historical facts, presents a one-sided view of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict and seeks to force the California lawmakers into assuming an unjust and biased position in this foreign conflict. The resolution also deliberately disregards the mentioning of the Khojaly Massacre of Azerbaijani civilians, the 20th anniversary of which will be marked on February 26, 2012. According to Human Rights Watch, this massacre of 613 civilians, including 106 women and 63 children, was a largest mass killing of civilians in the course of Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
To protest against the flawed and biased ACR 96, a petition was created at Change.org:
http://www.change.org/petitions/the-ca-state-house-reject-the-racist-resolution-against-azerbaijanis
The petition, which has already reached more than 2,500
signatures within two days, is attached for your consideration. Joining these voices and the Azerbaijani-American community in California, we appeal for your opposition to this racist resolution if it comes up for a vote in the Assembly.
On behalf of the Board of Directors:
Ismail Rustamov, Ph.D.
President
Azerbaijani-American Council