Upon the passage of a resolution recognizing the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic’s (NKR)—or Artsakh’s—independence by the California State Senate, the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF Dashnaktsutyun) Western US Central Committee on Wednesday issued an announcement welcoming the measure.

Below is the text of the announcement.

“Today’s vote by the California State Senate to recognize the independence and self-determination of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic is a decisive and historic move by the State, which is home to the largest Armenian community outside of Armenia.

“The Armenian Revolutionary Federation Western US Central Committee welcomes this bold and groundbreaking move, which is a testament to not only the hard work of the Armenian-American community, but also the cognizance of public officials in the State of California about the right to self-determination of all peoples.

“This vote is critically important now, given Azerbaijan’s heavy-handed war rhetoric and its most recent violations of the cease fire agreement, as well as the efforts of the Turkish and Azerbaijani lobbies to sabotage this effort

“This vote further reaffirms the very basic tenets of the liberation struggle being waged by our people and should embolden the entire Armenian Nation to continue its pursuit of justice and complete liberation.

“As we celebrate this collective victory, we salute all of our ANCA activists who for years passionately and systematically worked for the realization of this goal.”

As reported earlier, the California State Senate on Wednesday passed, by an overwhelming majority of votes, Assembly member Mike Gatto’s resolution (AJR 32) on the recognition of the independence and self-determination of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR), or Artsakh.   

AJR 32 encourages Artsakh’s continuing efforts to develop as a free and independent nation and formally calls upon the President and Congress of the United States to support the self-determination and democratic independence of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic.