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CORRUPTION SCANDAL IN U.S.: AZERBAIJANI LOBBY PAYS FOR RESOLUTION THAT FAILED IN TENNESSEE
23:00 16/05/2014 Â" SOCIETY
U.S. state Rep. Joe Towns is accused of receiving bribes from the
Azerbaijani side for promoting resolution supporting Azerbaijan,
reports the American Channel 5.
As the TV channel notes, an oil-rich, predominantly Muslim country
-- where Eastern Europe meets western Asia -- Azerbaijan has been
involved in a decades-old dispute with the predominantly Christian
country of Armenia over territory that both countries claim.
Towns said he agreed to introduce the resolution because Azerbaijan
is a U.S. ally. In the same time he assures that he knew nothing
about the conflict between these two countries.
Armenian immigrant Barry Barsoumian said the Azerbaijani are trying
to change history by going around different states in the United
States passing resolutions. Barsoumian discovered Towns' resolution
and could not believe anyone would ask a Tennessee lawmaker to help
a country known for its human rights abuses and whose leader is seen
as one of the world's most corrupt. "I asked him (Towns-edt.) if it
was Azerbaijani Embassy. He denied it," Barsoumian recalled.
News Channel 5 Investigates looked at Towns' campaign reports and
discovered he introduced the resolution just two weeks after he got
a total of $10,000 in campaign contributions from people out of Texas
with ties to the Azerbaijani community.
The TV Channel found out that in Texas, Houston, a Turkish-Azerbaijani
cultural center operated which connects people who had made donations
for Towns' campaign. Congressman himself denies that these people
asked him to promote a pro-Azerbaijani legislative initiative.
According to the journalists of the TV Channel it is suspicious
that people who live in an apartment in one of Houston's roughest
neighborhoods donated money. Towns couldn't give answer to this
question either.
"When Towns' resolution came up in committee, members of the Armenian
community had already lobbied other lawmakers to kill the bill. The
resolution never even got a vote -- a strange end to what some consider
a strange piece of legislation," the article reads.
Some of the contributors appear to have connections to groups who've
taken Tennessee officials on free trips to Turkey and Azerbaijan.
Towns was supposed to go on one of those trips last year, but he
wasn't able to go.
"Still, he did sponsor another House resolution that essentially
accused Armenia of war crimes. That resolution actually passed the
House on a 93-0 vote. So why would Azerbaijan care about what the
Tennessee House thinks about world affairs? It appears to be part of
an orchestrated PR campaign to show that world opinion is on their
side," the TV channel sums up.
http://www.panorama.am/en/politics/2014/05/16/tenessi/
23:00 16/05/2014 Â" SOCIETY
U.S. state Rep. Joe Towns is accused of receiving bribes from the
Azerbaijani side for promoting resolution supporting Azerbaijan,
reports the American Channel 5.
As the TV channel notes, an oil-rich, predominantly Muslim country
-- where Eastern Europe meets western Asia -- Azerbaijan has been
involved in a decades-old dispute with the predominantly Christian
country of Armenia over territory that both countries claim.
Towns said he agreed to introduce the resolution because Azerbaijan
is a U.S. ally. In the same time he assures that he knew nothing
about the conflict between these two countries.
Armenian immigrant Barry Barsoumian said the Azerbaijani are trying
to change history by going around different states in the United
States passing resolutions. Barsoumian discovered Towns' resolution
and could not believe anyone would ask a Tennessee lawmaker to help
a country known for its human rights abuses and whose leader is seen
as one of the world's most corrupt. "I asked him (Towns-edt.) if it
was Azerbaijani Embassy. He denied it," Barsoumian recalled.
News Channel 5 Investigates looked at Towns' campaign reports and
discovered he introduced the resolution just two weeks after he got
a total of $10,000 in campaign contributions from people out of Texas
with ties to the Azerbaijani community.
The TV Channel found out that in Texas, Houston, a Turkish-Azerbaijani
cultural center operated which connects people who had made donations
for Towns' campaign. Congressman himself denies that these people
asked him to promote a pro-Azerbaijani legislative initiative.
According to the journalists of the TV Channel it is suspicious
that people who live in an apartment in one of Houston's roughest
neighborhoods donated money. Towns couldn't give answer to this
question either.
"When Towns' resolution came up in committee, members of the Armenian
community had already lobbied other lawmakers to kill the bill. The
resolution never even got a vote -- a strange end to what some consider
a strange piece of legislation," the article reads.
Some of the contributors appear to have connections to groups who've
taken Tennessee officials on free trips to Turkey and Azerbaijan.
Towns was supposed to go on one of those trips last year, but he
wasn't able to go.
"Still, he did sponsor another House resolution that essentially
accused Armenia of war crimes. That resolution actually passed the
House on a 93-0 vote. So why would Azerbaijan care about what the
Tennessee House thinks about world affairs? It appears to be part of
an orchestrated PR campaign to show that world opinion is on their
side," the TV channel sums up.
http://www.panorama.am/en/politics/2014/05/16/tenessi/