AZERBAIJANIS IN U.S. DEMAND FREEDOM HOUSE TO CORRECT MAP OF FREEDOM

Today.Az
14 December 2009 [13:39]

Azerbaijani Diaspora organizations have started a new internet campaign
against the Freedom House.

The reason for this is that the organization has declined of the
Armenia-occupied Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan as both somehow
"Partly Free" and designated under some joint rule of Azerbaijan
and Armenia.

Azerbaijanis in America stated that Nagorno-Karabakh region has been
and is recognized as de jure part of Azerbaijan by four UN Security
Council resolutions, several UN GA resolutions, as well as the State
Department.

Hundreds of Azerbaijani Diaspora members are sending their protect
letters to a number of the U.S. officials, including Senator Kay
Bailey Hutchison, Senator John Cornyn, Representative Al Green.

They are also calling on Azerbaijani and Turkish societies to send
protect emails directly to Freedom House.

Azerbaijanis believes that the Freedom House sends a wrong signal to
the world and confuses readers and visitors.

"While it rightly indicates Abkhazia, Transdnistria and even Kosovo
as part of Georgia, Moldova and Serbia respectively, Nagorno-Karabakh
for some unknown reasons is indicated as Armenia/Azerbaijan.

"This gross mistake turns the "Map of Freedom" into a Map of Selective
Separatism, Annexation and Usurpation," the Azerbaijani diaspora
organizations said in a statement.

Authors of letters also pointing out that Freedom House is a U.S.

organization and gets government funding, hence should listen to what
the U.S. government says.

On the other hand, Azerbaijan continues to have de facto control of
some 15 percent of Nagorno-Karabakh (more than any other country with
similar problems of occupation).

The U.S. Azerbaijanis are strongly urging Freedom House to correct
the map and country report as soon as possible to bring it in-line
with UN SC resolutions and State Department’s policy.