[Congressional Record: March 2, 2005 (Extensions)]
[Page E328-E329]
The Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:cr02mr05-20]

TRIBUTE TO PEOPLE OF NAGORNO KARABAKH

______

HON. MARTIN T. MEEHAN

of massachusetts

in the house of representatives

Wednesday, March 2, 2005

Mr. MEEHAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to the people of
Nagomo Karabakh, who recently celebrated the seventeenth anniversary of
their National Freedom Movement.
On February 20, 1988, the courageous people of Nagomo Karabakh
officially petitioned the Soviet government to reunite their homeland
with Armenia. They sought to correct the injustices of the brutal
Stalin regime, under which the ethnic Armenian population of Nagomo
Karabakh was involuntarily placed within the borders of Azerbaijan.
Despite the peaceful request by the Nagomo Karabakh Freedom Movement,
the central Soviet and Azerbaijani leadership responded with violence,
which escalalated to a brutal campaign against the people of Nagomo
Karabakh. These brave citizens refused to give up their right to live
in freedom on their ancestral land, fighting for the principles of
democracy and human rights upon which our own country was founded.
Today, the unwavering strength of the Freedom Movement can be seen in
the democratically-elected government of Nagomo Karabakh. As a member
of the Congressional Caucus on Armenia Issues, I congratulate the
people of Nagomo Karabakh for their steadfast commitment to promoting
freedom, democracy and economic development over the past seventeen
years.
It is my hope that the past efforts of Nagomo Karabakh to achieve a
peaceful secession from Azerbaijan will help bring a peaceful
resolution to the ongoing conflict with Azerbaijan.