Typical Anchorage mistake, downgrading UA president
Let's step back a moment, please. Charles E. Bunnell was not "president of what became the University of Alaska Fairbanks" (ADN, Thursday). He was, rather, the first president of the (entire) University of Alaska — decades before there even existed a university campus beyond Fairbanks. Get over yourselves, Anchorage!
— Daniel D Gibson
Ester
Enforce international law to put an end to Armenia's Russia-funded aggression
Emboldened by Russia's military assistance to Syria where Moscow formally maintains a military base, Armenia, which has hosted Russia's 102nd military base since the declaration of Armenia's (in)dependence, the Sargsyan regime started using heavy weaponry to target civilian residences in Azerbaijan. This should come as no surprise because:
1. Armenia had repeatedly threatened to launch "preemptive strikes" and "cause irreversible damage" to Azerbaijan;
2. Armenia is to receive a $200-million arms equipment loan from Moscow to buy hypersonic Iskander-M ballistic missiles with a range of up to 310 miles, which can hit energy infrastructure where Western companies operate;
3. Armenia, not only dismisses efforts of OSCE Minsk Group in continuing negotiations, but President Sargsyan is also openly declaring Nagorno Karabakh as "(Armenia)'s inseparable part." This only reaffirms the conviction of the international community that Armenia has always implicitly sought annexation of part of another sovereign state and now openly admits it. After all, Russia annexed Crimea (part of Ukraine), why shouldn't its satellite state Armenia do so vis-a-vis Azerbaijan?
Shameless as it is, Sargsyan called Azerbaijan the "aggressor," ironically, from the podium of the General Assembly of United Nations — the very organization which with its Security Council resolutions 822, 853, 874 and 884 (1993) and the assembly's Resolution 62/243, had condemned Armenia's aggression of Azerbaijan's territories and demanded unconditional, immediate withdrawal of its occupying troops and allow Azerbaijani IDPs return to their homes.
We, as Americans, must call on our government to enforce international law in support of territorial integrity and inviolability of international borders, not just in Ukraine, but also in Azerbaijan, Georgia and Moldova.
— Jamila Scheve
Anchorage
The views expressed here are the writers' own and are not necessarily endorsed by Alaska Dispatch News, which welcomes a broad range of viewpoints. To submit a piece for consideration, email commentary@alaskadispatch.com.