Nevada Governor proclaims March 31 as Remembrance Day

The Governor of Nevada, Mr. Jim Gibbons, has issued an official proclamation which commemorates the “deaths of tens of thousands of Azerbaijani civilians”, victims of the genocidal policy pursued by Armenian forces during the “March Massacres” of 1918 in Baku and other cities of Azerbaijan, APA US bureau reports.

This state proclamation marks the first-ever time that any high-ranking U.S. elected official has formally and officially acknowledged the Azerbaijani suffering in the past century and designated March 31 as the Azerbaijani Remembrance Day. To commemorate March 31, the “Day of Genocide of Azerbaijanis”, activists from USAN (US Azeris Network) have sought and received the first-ever formal recognition of this special date and the tragedy by any U.S. government authority. The crucial outreach and coordination efforts were spearheaded and led by a USAN activist based in the great State of Nevada, Dr. Bob Guney, USAN Executive Director Adil Bagirov told APA. The proclamation by the Nevada Governor also emphasizes the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Azerbaijan by stipulating that the Karabakh region is a U.S.-recognized part of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

Previously, over the years, the U.S. Azeris Network (USAN) and its grassroots activists have sought and received dozens of proclamations from Governors and Mayors across the United States (Washington D.C., State of Virginia, City of Alexandria, Country of Arlington, City of Philadelphia, State of Pennsylvania, State of Wisconsin, State of North Carolina, as well as Texas, California, Missouri and others) on the National Day of Azerbaijan (May 28) and Independence Day of Azerbaijan (October 18), which have always stressed the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan by specifically mentioning the Armenia-occupied Karabakh region. To promote greater knowledge and understanding of the March 1918 events, the USAN and its activists have sponsored the re-publication, and its subsequent distribution to the leading public libraries.

http://www.today.az/news/politics/51256.html