[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 179 (Tuesday, October 20, 2020)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E969]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        INDEPENDENCE FOR ARTSAKH

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. GRACE F. NAPOLITANO

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, October 20, 2020

  Mrs. NAPOLITANO. Madam Speaker, I rise today regarding the ongoing 
conflict in Artsakh.
  Artsakh is a very American story--the victory of a free people over 
foreign rule.
  The citizens of this proud Republic embody the words of our own 
Declaration of Independence--which affirmed for Americans and all the 
world--that the just powers of government derive from the consent of 
the governed.
  To the well-known and thoroughly documented historical role of 
Artsakh as an integral part of Armenia going back thousands of years, 
we can add Artsakh's strong legal standing as an independent Republic.
  But what matters most today--during an ongoing rain of rockets and 
bombs on Artsakh civilians by Azerbaijan and Turkey and their ISIS 
allies--is that freedom is not just about honoring history or enforcing 
the law.
  Freedom is the only answer left for Artsakh's survival--History-
based, law-based, survival-based remedial secession.
  There can be no going back. Artsakh must not return to Azerbaijan.
  The path forward is one of liberty, which is why I am today calling 
for official U.S. recognition of the Republic of Artsakh's 
independence.

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