U.S. CANNOT PRESSURE ARMENIA TO WITHDRAW ITS OCCUPYING FORCES FROM KARABAKH
Leyla Tagiyeva
news.az
nov 23 2009
Azerbaijan
News.Az interviews Adil Baguirov, Ph.D., Managing Director of the U.S.
Azeris Network (USAN)
Please tell us about the upcoming USAN conference in Chicago on
December 4, what are its aims and objectives, and who will take part
in it?
USAN’s annual regional conference will be held in Chicago, because
despite having a sizeable Azerbaijani community there, and even an
Azerbaijani TV channel GunAz, that region has been neglected over
the years.
It should be noted that many of today’s U.S. political leaders,
including President Obama, hail from Chicago. Hence, we want to raise
the profile of the Azerbaijani-American Diaspora there, to get to know
other local communities (Turkish, Pakistani, Japanese), engage into
a regular dialog with state and local political officials there. USAN
regional conference will have a great number of well-known scholars,
academics, civic leaders as well as politicians.
We have received a proclamation from the Governor of the state of
Illinois, a welcome letter from the Mayor of Chicago Richard Daley,
will have another mayor and other officials speak at the USAN regional
conference. We have notified over 660 federal and state congressmen
and senators about the USAN conference from Illinois as well as nearby
states of Indiana, Michigan and Wisconsin.
How would you comment on the recognition of USAN (and USTN) as the
official partners of the U.S. Census Bureau, who will be essentially
helping the government in carrying out the 2010 census. Undoubtedly,
this is a recognition by the U.S. government of the increased standing
and authority the Azerbaijani Diaspora has gained?
This is indeed a major achievement by the U.S. Azeris Network
(USAN) and the U.S. Turkic Network (USTN) – our organizations have
become the first-ever Azerbaijani and Turkic Diaspora organizations
to have been recognized by the U.S. Census Bureau (part of the
Department of Commerce) as its Official Partners for 2010 Census
USAN remains the only such organization
to represent the Azerbaijani-American community. This is very important
– it not only raises the profile of our organizations on the federal
and state levels, but would contribute to the more precise count of
Azerbaijani-Americans and all Turkic-Americans in the next year’s
census. As you know, results of Census determine the fate of billions
of dollars in U.S. government grants, various state and local projects,
as well as the number and borders of the Congressional districts
in each state (there are 435 such districts across United States,
with some states "losing" districts, whilst others "gaining", all
based on population growth).
Practice shows that it would be more effective for the Azerbaijani side
to work actively with the US Congress than with the local executive
powers mostly depending on lawmakers’ position. Do you share this
opinion? Which measures are taken in this direction?
As you know, the Azerbaijani-Americans have become much more
politically active in the last two years, and have sent via USAN over
100,000 letters to their elected officials (President, Vice-President,
Governors, Congressmen, Senators, etc). Dozens of USAN letters were
published in newspapers across the U.S., which in turn were read and
taken notice of by the members of Congress from those regions. USAN has
also been noticed by such Congress-specific analytical publications
as the POLITICO magazine. The membership in the Azerbaijani Caucus
has also risen significantly over the past years.
In general, the primary task of the Azerbaijani-American Diaspora is
to be in constant contact with their local elected officials, which
includes Congressmen and Senators from their electoral district,
as well as Governors, Mayors and state legislators. Since Diaspora
are living in those districts, are taxpayers and voters, these local
and state officials will be highly receptive to what they have to say.
Meanwhile, the Executive Branch, such as the White House, is less
involved with domestic community relations, and handles Azerbaijani
issues mostly through the prism of interstate relations with Baku.
Hence, of course Congressional relations are more of a natural priority
for the Diaspora.
The United States seem to concede to Russia in the mediation in the
Karabakh conflict settlement. Do you consider that in this case the
domination of one mediator country would be more effective or Russia’s
role should be balanced by the US policy that also has its interests
in the South Caucasus?
Having two such powerful mediators is arguably a plus, as well as
a natural necessity in the region. To achieve anything vis-a-vis
Armenia without engaging Russia is not even possible, because
Armenia is, in the words of the Russian Duma Speaker Gryzlov, the
"Russian outpost" in the region. Hence, as Azerbaijan is being able
to explain its position and view to all the major stakeholders, it
should yield better results. The simple reality is that U.S. cannot
pressure Armenia to withdraw its occupying forces from Karabakh with
the same effectiveness as Russia.