Chairman of the United Azerbaijan Popular Front Party, MP Gudrat Hasanguliyev has commented on the killing of numerous people by a local named Stephen Paddock, 64, at Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino at a country music festival in Las Vegas Strip.
Hasanguliyev noted that there are serious reasons behind the tragedy.
The MP noted that those civilians killed and wounded in this tragic incident were victims of the political corruption in the United States.
According to him, this tragedy is not a massacre committed by a psychopath.
“Discussions have been held for many years on restrictions on arms sales in the United States. Since 1975, this process has gained a wider scope,” Hasanguliyev said. “Everyone in the US now understands that arms sales should be under strict control of the government. That is to say, they have to determine who can sell weapons, in what psychological state the person is, and what his past is like. However, despite the public protests, the chaos in the sale of arms is not being dealt with properly.”
He stressed that the scale of the tragedy, therefore, is quite broad.
“I took a look at recent statistics. In the first nine months of this year alone, 8,673 people were shot dead in the United States. In 2014, this figure was 8,124. That is, the figure is increasing every year,” he said.
The MP also touched upon a comparative article he had recently read in the US media.
“The average number of people killed with firearms in Europe per year is about 1 to 2 people per million. In some developed western countries such as Canada, Portugal, and Greece, this figure reaches a maximum of 4-5 people. Take, for example, our country. Undoubtedly, we are not yet a developed country as European countries,” he said.
Hasanguliyev pointed out that in Azerbaijan, the number of people killed by firearms per year is below the average European rate.
“However, this figure is 31 people per million over a year in the US. Can you imagine what this means? This figure is 16 times higher than in Europe and in our country. This undoubtedly seriously disturbs ordinary citizens and honest people in the U.S. Of curse in this case, such a question arises why the US does not adopt a law restricting arms sales? Therefore, I started my speech with that those killed in the Las Vegas massacre were actually the victims of the political corruption,” the MP said.
He pointed to the fact that the National Rifle Association (NRA) was established in the US in 1871. “The Association has about 5 million members. The leadership of the Association consists mainly of Republicans.”
According to Hasanguliyev, the NRA played a significant role in the election of Donald Trump as the US President.
“In the world there is no such product, the sale of which brings a profit of 2 thousand percent, that is, it exceeds the cost price by 20 times. For example, a weapon with a cost of $5 is sold for $100. Thus, arms trade is one of the most profitable businesses in the world,” he added.
Hasanguliyev justified through facts his opinions that those killed in Las Vegas were the victims of political corruption.
“All studies conducted in the US in this direction show that the NRA has great merit in promoting the career of Republicans (88%) and Democrats (11%). According to the studies, the NRA provides funds to 47% of the Republicans along with its support to them in the election campaign. Imagine that Barack Obama, during the eight years of his presidency, couldn’t achieve the adoption of the law on an arms sales restriction. The NRA and the congressmen under its influence did not allow it. As you see almost every day in the US, anyone who is dissatisfied with his parents, teacher, or schoolteacher, or anybody who quarrelling with his or her family members commit mass shootings by firearms. They carry out these murders at schools, universities, and mass gatherings of people so as to put a greater stress on society. They shoot children, innocent people for no reason,” he said.
Despite all this, the law on restricting arms sales in the US is not approved, the MP added.
“Those congressmen who are trying to teach the world how to fight corruption are well aware that innocent people and children who are US citizens have been killed because of that law still not being in force, but they still do not take that step. They make reference to Appendix #2 to the US Constitution that citizens have the right to keep guns. Certainly, the Constitution is nothing but a pretext to conceal additional corporate interests. The reason is that the companies involved in the manufacture and sale of arms make big revenues. Some of these revenues reach those congressmen involved in corruption. From this point of view, it can be pointed out that the last tragedy in the United States is the bloody outcome of political corruption. Since 1975, there have been ten different initiatives for new laws on arms sales restrictions, but every time these initiatives have been blocked by the National Rifle Association and Congressmen who lobbied this association. I have to remind you that within the Foundation they have established the "Political Victory Fund", a name that is self-explanatory. That is the fund to win a political victory ... The approval of the law on restricting arms sales is being prevented through this fund and other means. This is a shameful fact for the United States, a self-proclaimed democratic state that considers itself a world power. I think they should be ashamed a little when they accuse other countries of corruption,” Hasanguliyev said concluding his remarks.
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