[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 22 (Wednesday, March 2, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E328-E329]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 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

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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.

                          ____________________