Madam Speaker. On May 10. 2008. we commemorated the 85th Jubilee of the late President Heydar Aliyev. When Azerbaijan reclaimed independence in 1991. most Americans had never heard of the country. Soon after. the country found itself involved in a war with neighboring Armenia over Nagorno Karabakh. which resulted in one million refugees and 20 percent of Azerbaijani soil occupied by Armenian forces. Out of chaos. economic turmoil. and questions about the viability of the countrys independence. President Heydar Aliyev emerged as the President of the Republic. He was reelected in 1998. and served until he passed away in December 2003.
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refugees