California Senators adopt resolution on Azerbaijan’s Republic Day

A group of members of the California State Senate adopted a resolution dedicated to the 95th anniversary of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic

The member resolution Nr. 739 says that “95 years ago, on May 28th, 1918, Azerbaijan declared its independence establishing the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic, which became the first secular democratic republic in the Muslim world, and was recognized by other democratic nations, including the United States of America.”

Referring to U.S. President Woodrow Wilson’s meeting with a delegation of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic during the Paris Peace Conference in 1919, the resolution notes that the President was deeply impressed by the meeting and expressed his impressions by saying “I met with a very dignified and interesting group of gentlemen from Azerbaijan, who talked the same language that I did in respect of ideas, in respect of conceptions of liberty, in respect of conceptions of right and justice.”

Speaking of the first republic’s achievements, the document notes that “during the short period of independence Azerbaijan granted all people the right to vote regardless of race, gender, ethnicity, and religion, becoming the first Muslim nation to grant women equal political rights with men, an accomplishment preceding the United States.”

“Over the last twenty two years, the Republic of Azerbaijan has consolidated its sovereignty and independence, and has become one of the fastest developing countries in the region and beyond,” the resolution says.

Highlighting the U.S.-Azerbaijan relations, the document calls Azerbaijan “a staunch ally and strategic partner of the United States of America in the critically important Caspian region” and mentions that “Azerbaijan was one of the first countries to render unconditional assistance to the United States after the terror attacks of 9/11, opening its airspace and airports for the use by coalition troops in Afghanistan and sending its officers and soldiers to serve there shoulder-to-shoulder with U.S. troops.”

Touching upon Azerbaijan’s relations with California, the document stresses that “Azerbaijan attaches great importance to expanding its relations with California in all fields and has been represented with a Consulate General in Los Angeles since 2006, which is the only Consulate General of Azerbaijan in the United States.”

The resolution concludes by noting that “every year for the last 95 years, millions of Azerbaijanis around the globe, including tens of thousands in California, observe May 28th as the National Day, and remember the contribution of their forefathers to the spread of democracy in the regions of Caucasus, Central Asia and Middle East.”