Turkish Forum

Author: Harut Sassounian

  • Russian-Israeli Blogger’s Bold Efforts To Support Armenia and Artsakh

    Russian-Israeli Blogger’s Bold Efforts To Support Armenia and Artsakh

    I just read a very important article in the Armenian Mirror-Spectator in which Aram Arkun interviewed Russian-Israeli blogger Aleksander Lapshin who is currently on a tour of Canada and the United States. He already met with Armenians in Toronto, Canada, on June 3, and New York City on June 11. He also met with the Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and the Committee to Protect Journalists to brief them about the dire situation in Artsakh.

    Lapshin was born in Russia and moved to Israel when he was 13. His wife is from Moldova and moved to Israel 14 years ago. However, she is still waiting for approval to become a citizen of Israel since 2017.

    During his many visits to Armenia, he travelled three times to Artsakh from 2011 to 2016. Azerbaijan’s government issued a warrant for his arrest and asked Belarus to send him to Baku for “illegally crossing Azerbaijan’s border” from Armenia. Belarus extradited him to Azerbaijan in 2017 where “he was sentenced to three years in prison, but was given a pardon in September and flown to Israel after what he describes as an attempt by four masked men in prison on his life. The Azerbaijani government, however, claimed that he had tried to commit suicide,” Arkun reported.

    Lapshin said that Israel’s Security Agency repeatedly urged him to stop supporting Armenia because “Azerbaijan is our ally.” He was also advised to withdraw his complaints against Azerbaijan from the European Court of Human Rights and United Nations. Lapshin replied: “No, no way. I will go to the end and I will win.”

    On May 21, 2021, the European Court of Human Rights ruled in Lapshin’s favor in his lawsuit against Azerbaijan for attempted murder, torture and illegal imprisonment. However, Azerbaijan has refused to pay him the compensation of 30,000 euros. “Meanwhile, the United Nations Human Rights Committee adopted a resolution on July 19, 2022 condemning the Belarusian authorities for illegally arresting Lapshin and extraditing him to Azerbaijan,” The Mirror wrote.

    Lapshin told the Mirror that because of his criticisms, he cannot visit Russia and the former Soviet countries, ‘except Armenia,’ but added, “I just said except Armenia, but who knows? Armenia is under huge Russian influence.”

    “Lapshin continues to pursue his own case against Azerbaijan’s violations of human rights but is committed also to helping Armenia. He understood, he said, that ‘it would be better for me, my family and for our safety, to just leave it aside and continue our old life.’ However, he continued, ‘I just cannot abandon what I do in favor of Armenia and Artsakh because I have many friends in Armenia. Some of them were killed during the second Karabakh war. I actually love this country, so I feel in Armenia like my second home,’” Arkun reported. “Lapshin added, ‘Look, six million Jews were killed during the Holocaust. A lot of Armenians actually supported Jews and saved their lives. So, I feel the same.’”

    Lapshin told the Mirror: “‘Of course I do not receive any support from the government of Armenia.’ Furthermore, the fact that Armenia, facing an existential threat, is trying to sign a peace agreement with both Azerbaijan and Turkey, seems to create complicated motivations. ‘Even some of the politicians in Armenia tried to convince me to leave it aside, for some political reasons. What I do against Azerbaijan, somehow, in some ways, is against the national interests of the current Armenian government…So I feel a bit alone in this fighting, but this time, fortunately, I have a lot of friends, both Armenian friends, and American and European friends, who actually support me.’”

    “While in Armenia, Lapshin met several former prisoners of war who had been raped in [the Baku] jail and tried to convince them to go with him to the US and Europe to testify about this, but, Lapshin said, they felt uncomfortable about talking about such experiences openly due to Armenian social norms or culture,” Arkun reported. The former Armenian prisoners of war told Lapshin: “there were strict warnings from Armenian intelligence services for them not to communicate with journalists or human rights activists. One can speculate that if true, this is due to the precarious current situation of Armenia, which is doing anything in its power to avoid a new war of aggression by Azerbaijan.”

    Lapshin told the Mirror that members of the U.S. Jewish community do not support his human rights activities for Armenia. They told him: “Why do you need to deal with Azerbaijan, because Azerbaijan is actually the ally of Israel. Okay, you had a bad experience with Azerbaijan, but still, you have to think globally. This is realpolitik. What you do against Azerbaijan is against the national interest of Israel.”

    Lapshin regretted that the American “Armenian community is so divided and weak.” “There is mistrust of the Armenian government and each other, he said, and this situation made him feel emotionally depressed,” Arkun reported.

    “If someone wants to invite me for meetings with human rights activists or politicians even on the state level I will be more than happy [to oblige],” Lapshin told Arkun. After Toronto and New York, he is going to Los Angeles, San Francisco, Sacramento, Las Vegas, Seattle, Portland, Dallas, Miami, and probably Chicago, as well as Vancouver, Canada. Later this year, he plans to visit Armenia again. However, he added, due to the unstable political situation, “I can never know if I am going to be allowed to enter Armenia.”

  • Pashinyan Refuses to Resign, Despite Precipitous Decline in his Popularity

    Pashinyan Refuses to Resign, Despite Precipitous Decline in his Popularity

    Two polls were conducted in Armenia recently, giving the people a chance to express their views on various issues, including the sharp decline in Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s popularity.

    The first survey was conducted January 23-March 4, 2023 by the Center for Insights in Survey Research, a project of the Washington, D.C.-based International Republican Institute. This scientific survey, based on a random sample of Armenia’s population, was funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

    Question: “Do you think Armenia is heading in the right direction or wrong direction?” 52%: wrong direction (up from 11%-14% in 2018 when Pashinyan first came to power); 36%: right direction (down from 72%-73% in 2018).

    Question: “How satisfied or dissatisfied are you with the pace of democracy in our country?” 17%: satisfied; 46%: dissatisfied; 35%: no change.

    Question: “How much interest do you have in politics?” 43%: very much or somewhat interested; 57%: not at all or somewhat not interested.

    Question: “How would you evaluate the prevailing mood of the Armenian population?” 44%: future will be better or somewhat better; 55%: insecurity, worry, fear for the future, total disappointment, and disbelief in any improvement.

    Question: “Which politician or public person do you trust the most?” 64%: none; 14%: Nikol Pashinyan; 3%: Ararat Mirzoyan; 2%: Robert Kocharyan; others 2% each.

    Question: “Which political party or alliance, if any, you would vote for if national parliamentary elections were held next Sunday?” 47%: would not vote or refused to answer or don’t know; 17%: Civil Contract; 5% Armenia Alliance; 4%: Public Voice party; 2%: Prosperous Armenia party; 2%: ARF Dashnaktsutyun; others 1% each.

    Question: “How satisfied or dissatisfied are you with the following institutions?” Armenian Apostolic Church, 54%: very or somewhat satisfied; 40%: very or somewhat dissatisfied; Prime Minister’s office, 38%: satisfied (down from 82%-85% in 2018); 61%: dissatisfied (up from 13-17% in 2018).

    Question: “How do you feel about the direction of each of the following spheres during the past six months?” Freedom of speech, 56%: improved a lot or somewhat improved (down from 73%-83% in 2018); 18%: regressed a lot or somewhat regressed (up from 3%-6% in 2018); 26%: no change (up from 19% in 2018). Foreign policy, 37%: improved a lot or somewhat improved (same as 2019); 33%: somewhat regressed or regressed a lot (up from 17% in 2019); 26%: no change (down from 39% in 2019). Armenia’s policy on Artsakh, 10%: improved a lot or somewhat improved (down from 32% in 2019); 69%: regressed a lot or somewhat regressed (up from 18% in 2019); 18%: no change (down from 45% in 2019). Direction of fight against corruption, 43%: improved (down from 82% in 2018); 22%: regressed (up from 2% in 2018); 32%: no change (up from 14% in 2018).

    Question: “What do you think is the biggest success of the government in the last 6 months?” 43%: none; 21%: don’t know or refused to answer; 6%: development of diplomatic relation; other minor issues.

    Question: “What do you think is the biggest failure of the government in the last 6 months?” 21%: don’t know or refused to answer; 15%: closure of Lachin Corridor; 9%: overturning the Artsakh issue; 8%: national security of Armenia and border issues; 7%: loss of territories; other minor issues.

    Question: “What are the things Pashinyan’s government must achieve in the next 6 months?” 23%: improvement of army conditions; 22%: protection of Armenia’s national security and borders; 16%: creation of jobs; 15%: establish peace; 13%: opening of Lachin Corridor; 13%: Pro-Armenian settlement of the Artsakh issue.

    Question: “To what extent is corruption a problem?” 73%: very large or somewhat large problem; 25%: somewhat small, very small or no problem.

    Question: “How do you evaluate the relationship between Armenia and…?” 96%: France (very good or somewhat good); 91%: Iran; 88%: United States; 86%: European Union; 84%: China; 80%: Georgia; 50%: Russia; 44%: Ukraine; 23%: Turkey; 4%: Azerbaijan. The relationship between Armenia and Russia has gone down from 87%-92% in 2018 to 50% good in 2023. The relationship between Armenia and Turkey has gone up from 1%-11% in 2018 to 23% good in 2023, while 75% of Armenia’s citizens (down from 85% in 2018) consider the relationship bad.

    A second poll was carried out in May 2023 by the Marketing Professional Group, affiliated with Gallup International. This is a scientific survey based on a random sample of Armenia’s population.

    Question: How do you evaluate Nikol Pashinyan’s recognition of Artsakh as a part of Azerbaijan? 3.8%: definitely positive; 5.4%: rather positive; 63.4%: not positive; 18.5%: rather not positive; 8.9%: no answer.

    Question: Do you think it is possible for Artsakh Armenians to exist as an ethnic minority in Azerbaijan? 2.8%: yes; 5.6%: rather yes; 77.7%: no; 8.7%: rather no; 5.1%: no answer.

    Question: “Which of these judgments do you agree with?” 32.8%: Pashinyan is trying to conduct a balanced policy with the West and Russia; 20.5%: Pashinyan is trying to integrate Armenia with Europe, the West and NATO circles; 14.7%: Pashinyan is aiming to bring Armenia closer to Azerbaijan and Turkey; 12.9%: Pashinyan’s actions are directed to push Russia out of Armenia; 19%: no answer.

    Question: “Given Armenia’s internal and external challenges, is it necessary to hold extraordinary parliamentary elections and form a new government?” 41%: definitely necessary; 18.9%: rather necessary; 12.2%: rather not necessary; 19.5%: not necessary; 8.5%: no answer.

    Question: “Turkey expressed its displeasure at the placement of the Nemesis statue in Yerevan and as a first step closed its airspace to Armenian flights. Do you think the Armenian government or city officials should give in to Turkish pressures and dismantle the memorial dedicated to the Nemesis heroes?” 82.5%: definitely no; 7.7%: rather no; 2.6%: definitely yes; 3.5%: rather yes; 3.5%: no answer.

    Question: “Did you participate in the 2018 revolution?” In the 2023 survey, 62.6%: no; 37.4%: yes. In the 2018 survey, 91%: yes; 9%: no.

    Question: “Is it right for protesters to block streets and movement of cars?” In the 2023 survey, 44.5%: yes; 50.8%: no. In the 2018 survey, 87.1%: yes; 8.7%: no.

    Question: “Five years have passed since the revolution: In the meantime, how well were your expectations realized?” In the 2023 survey, 3.8%: fully realized; 21.5%: partially realized; 18%: partially not realized; 52.1%: not realized. In the 2018 survey, 14.4 %: fully realized; 64.2%: partially realized; 7.6%: partially not realized; 10.9%: not realized.

    Question: “Evaluate Prime Minister Pashinyan’s performance.” In the 2023 survey, 5.4%: fully positive; 13.4%: rather positive; 24.2%: rather negative; 47.1%: negative; 10%: no answer. In the 2018 survey, 45.4%: positive; 46.2%: rather positive; 3.9%: rather negative; 2.4%: negative.

    We all have our personal opinions, but it is important to know what the citizens of Armenia think about these issues. There are major changes in their perceptions from 2018 to 2023.

  • Advice to Aliyev: Continue Destroying Azerbaijan’s Reputation

    Advice to Aliyev: Continue Destroying Azerbaijan’s Reputation

    Even though Azerbaijan, with the help of Turkish and Israeli weapons and hired Islamic terrorists, won the 2020 Artsakh War, Pres. Aliyev has been destroying his country’s international reputation.

    With his barbaric actions during and since the war, Aliyev has undermined the interests of Azerbaijan. As a result, he has made himself a hated pariah and the laughing stock of the entire world. While Russia is cuddling him for its own political interests, the West is tolerating him to benefit from Azerbaijan’s oil and gas.

    I am very pleased that Aliyev is doing so many negative things in the eyes of not only Armenians, but also the entire world.

    There are many examples of Aliyev’s misdeeds. Here are some of them:

    During the 2020 war, Azeri soldiers committed barbaric acts that violate the international law, such as: beheading captured Armenian soldiers and civilians, mutilating their bodies, torturing them, trying the captives in court and sentencing them to lengthy jail terms.

    In violation of international conventions, Azerbaijan used banned cluster and phosphorous bombs to kill Armenian soldiers during the 2020 war.

    Azerbaijan systematically destroyed and defaced hundreds of Armenian cultural monuments and desecrated dozens of Armenian churches in Artsakh in violation of the Hague Convention on “the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict.”

    Azerbaijan continues to violate the ceasefire agreement signed by Pashinyan, Aliyev and Putin at the end of the 2020 war. Here are some examples: Not releasing many of the Armenian Prisoners of War, shooting at civilians in Artsakh, occupying parts of the territory of the Republic of Armenia, taking new Armenian hostages, and threatening Armenia and Artsakh with further attacks if they do not comply with Azerbaijan’s wishes.

    Aliyev has dehumanized and demonized Armenians by describing them with vile adjectives, such as “leeches” and “wild animals.” In 2005, during the visit of a German delegation, the Mayor of Baku, Hajibala Abutalybov, shamelessly told them: “Our goal is the complete elimination of Armenians. You, Nazis, already eliminated the Jews in the 1930s and 1940s, right? You should be able to understand us.”

    Aliyev dispatched dozens of fake eco-activists to block the Lachin Corridor during the last six months, depriving 120,000 Artsakhtsis of food and medicines. These so-called eco-activists were more like eco-terrorists. Azerbaijan then placed a checkpoint at the Lachin Corridor further violating the 2020 agreement.

    In addition, Azerbaijan periodically cuts off the Internet and electricity of the Artsakh population, keeping them isolated, in the dark and without heat in freezing temperatures.

    Instead of a simple transit road, Azerbaijan repeatedly demands a corridor to cross from eastern Azerbaijan to Nakhichevan, which implies Azeri sovereignty over Armenia’s territory, in violation of 2020 agreement. By insisting on the Corridor, Aliyev is actually delaying Azerbaijan’s access to Nakhichevan through Armenia.

    Aliyev declares that all of the territory of the Republic of Armenia is ‘Western Azerbaijan.’ This is sheer nonsense. Whereas Artsakh and Armenia are thousands of years old, Azerbaijan did not exist until a century ago.

    Aliyev made the ridiculous pledge that Artsakhtsis will live under Azerbaijani rule just like all of its other citizens who are also repressed. Artsakhtsis remember well their barbaric mistreatment by Azerbaijan. Blockading them now shows how much worse they will be treated in the future.

    Aliyev repeatedly urges Armenia to sign a peace treaty with Azerbaijan. Any treaty signed by Azerbaijan is a meaningless piece of paper as we see from Aliyev’s violations of the 2020 agreement.

    To make matters worse, State Dept. spokesman Matthew Miller welcomed Aliyev’s outrageous statement that he will give amnesty to all Artsakh officials who resign. Instead, Miller should have condemned Aliyev’s unacceptable threats to invade Armenia and Artsakh.

    Aliyev dismissed the demands of scores of world leaders and international organizations as well as the UN Security Council, the World Court and European Court of Human Rights to release the Armenian POWs and unblock the Lachin Corridor.

    After the 2020 war, Azerbaijan established a racist Military Trophies Park in Baku, displaying wax models of Armenian soldiers with hooked noses and distorted faces. After complaints and condemnations by the international community, the exhibit was closed down.

    In February 2004, an Azeri soldier, Ramil Safarov, used an axe to chop the head of a sleeping Armenian soldier in Hungary during a NATO program. In return for Azerbaijan loaning Hungary several billion dollars, Safarov was released prematurely with the understanding that he will serve the rest of his life sentence in a Baku jail. However, Aliyev welcomed Safarov as a national hero, pardoned him, promoted him to the rank of major, and gave him a free apartment and eight years of back pay. This is Azerbaijan’s compensation to Safarov for committing a cold blooded murder.

    As a result of all these war crimes, Aliyev has destroyed his and Azerbaijan’s reputation around the world. He should be arrested and tried by the International Criminal Court as a war criminal.

    Despite Aliyev’s reprehensible actions, world powers keep closing their eyes ignoring his many crimes, blinded by Azerbaijan’s oil and gas.

  • Questionable Writers Spread Anti-Armenia Propaganda

    Questionable Writers Spread Anti-Armenia Propaganda

    Armenians firmly condemn and reject individuals with questionable motives who repeatedly write articles full of hatred and lies about Armenia in the international press. The hostile content of these articles leads one to believe that they are not honest expressions of opinion, but reflect the writers’ sinister aims. If you go on the armeniapedia.org website and look under “Armenian Hall of Shame,” you will find the names of a couple of hundred such anti-Armenian writers.

    For example, James Wilson wrote an article last week titled “Why is France trying to play into Russia’s hands?” which was posted on the ‘EU Reporter’ website.

    Wilson claimed that “France is starting to supply weapons to Armenia. Initially, it involves the delivery of 50 armored vehicles, but in the future, deliveries of French Mistral surface-to-air missile systems are also possible.” This is pure speculation. Wilson quoted an unknown Artsakh Armenian who reportedly spoke on Armenian TV about French weapons coming to Armenia.

    Wilson revealed his real intent in writing this article by stating that Ukrainian and Moldovan media have reported: “Western military equipment supplied to Yerevan could be used by Russians to counter the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ counteroffensive.” This is utter nonsense. Wilson wrote that Armenia’s Defense Minister Suren Papikyan discussed French-Armenian military cooperation during his visit to Paris in September 2022. Even if this is true, nine months later, not a single French bullet has been sent to Armenia!

    Wilson then accused Armenia of “serving as a trans-shipment hub for Iranian weapons sent to Moscow.” This is fake news. Moscow does not need to use Armenia for such trans-shipments. Wilson then falsely claimed that Armenia used Iranian drones during its clashes with Azerbaijan. Without providing a shred of evidence, he alleged that French weapons shipped to Armenia can be transferred to Iran. Incredibly, Wilson concluded that French weapons shipments to Armenia “put France on a collision course with Israel,” because of its military alliance with Azerbaijan.

    Who is James Wilson and why is he writing such terrible things about Armenia? He is a Brussels-based British man who worked as a political consultant for mostly Eastern European clients, according to POLITICO. He spent almost two decades in the Hong Kong government. He founded MacMillan, a lobbying consultancy, first in Ukraine and then in Brussels, in mid-2000’s. He is the Publisher and Editor in Chief of EU Political Report in Brussels and co-founder of Brussels ThinkLab, a consultancy established in 2019.

    Mark Scott wrote a lengthy three-part series of articles in POLITICO, revealing the inner workings of consultants in Brussels, under the title: “The web of connections behind Brussels lobbying: Despite a longstanding transparency push, large swathes of the bubble remain opaque.”

    Here is how the EU Reporter’s publisher, Colin Stevens, presented his company on a YouTube video: “Our business model is to offer political parties, businesses, NGOs, industry associations, financial institutions and governments the opportunity to use EU Reporter to influence the European political decision-making process by sponsoring coverage and the placement of positive news stories and editorial comment related to them.”

    POLITICO replied: “Welcome to the murky world of EU lobbying dressed up as journalism. Stevens doesn’t appear to have a particular agenda, or to work as a lobbyist. But his company has provided a number of companies and governments with a space to publish paid-for content as straight news articles without disclosing those connections.”

    The EU Reporter’s website has posted dozens of anti-Armenia and pro-Azerbaijan articles. POLITICO disclosed that the EU Reporter published “a sponsored post by the Azerbaijani government…. Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan have both received extensive positive coverage on the site — raising questions about editorial standards and whether paid-for content is correctly labeled.”

    Here is how the pro-Azeri propaganda works: Following the 2020 Artsakh War, “Baku’s representative to the United Nations sent a letter to the secretary-general alleging that Armenia had relied on terrorists and foreign fighters during the months-long war. Among the evidence he cited were articles published in EU Reporter. In one article, written while the conflict was ongoing, the site accused Armenia of transporting Turkish fighters from Syria to train the country’s militia. In another, it criticized Western media reports that accused Azerbaijan, not Armenia, of relying on foreign militants…. Three Azerbaijani experts told POLITICO that allegations of foreign fighters siding with Armenia during the conflict did not match the reality on the ground, and that EU Reporter’s coverage of the conflict skewed significantly toward Baku’s perspective…. POLITICO was not able to confirm whether Azerbaijan had paid for the favorable coverage in EU Reporter. Stevens said that his site retains full independence, that it had been even-handed in its treatment of Azerbaijan and that all articles were labeled with an author’s name…. Still, the outlet and Baku have ties that date back almost a decade,” POLITICO wrote.

    The EU Reporter usually adds a sentence to its articles, stating: “EU Reporter publishes articles from a variety of outside sources which express a wide range of viewpoints. The positions taken in these articles are not necessarily those of EU Reporter.” This is nothing but a fig leaf to hide behind publishing articles of questionable origin.

    I wrote to the Publisher of EU Reporter asking if he had paid James Wilson to write his ‘article.’ If yes, how much did he pay him? Not surprisingly, I did not receive an answer.

  • Another Turkish Attempt to Attack Biden For Recognizing the Armenian Genocide

    Another Turkish Attempt to Attack Biden For Recognizing the Armenian Genocide

    When Turkey and its denialist supporters lose a battle to block the recognition of the Armenian Genocide, they resort to ridiculous attacks such as announcing their desire to impeach Pres. Biden after he is no longer in office, a laughable notion which I disclosed in my earlier article.

    In another equally hopeless Turkish attempt to counter the recognition of the Armenian Genocide, Attorney Bruce Fein, Counsel for Turkish Anti-Defamation Alliance, sent a lengthy letter to members of Congress on April 24, 2023, complaining about the statement Pres. Biden had issued earlier that day.

    Fein is president of the law firm Bruce Fein & Associates in Washington, D.C. Over the years, he has worn many hats to support Turkey’s campaign against the recognition of the Armenian Genocide. He has been Resident Scholar for the Turkish Coalition of America, Resident Scholar at the Assembly of Turkish American Associations, columnist for the Turkish Times newspaper, consultant to the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, commentator on Turkish television, and Counsel for Turkish Anti-Defamation Alliance.

    Before I delve into the content of Fein’s letter, I would like to ask two basic questions:

    1) Why did Fein complain about Pres. Biden only after he recognized the Armenian Genocide on April 24? Shouldn’t he have written his letter before the President issued his statement? I don’t know if Fein got paid for his letter as Counsel for Turkish Anti-Defamation Alliance. If he did, the Turkish Alliance wasted its money.

    2) Why did Fein write to Members of Congress and not to Pres. Biden directly to complain about his April 24 statement? Fein’s letter is more than three years too late. The House of Representatives recognized the Armenian Genocide on October 29, 2019 by a vote of 405 to 11, and the Senate recognized it on December 12, 2019 in a unanimous vote. Pres. Biden issued his first statement recognizing the Armenian Genocide on April 24, 2021. Where has Fein been since 2019 and 2021?

    Turning to the content of Fein’s questionable letter, he shamelessly wrote that “Mr. Biden’s statement was bought and paid for by the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA).” Since Fein provided not a shred of evidence in his defamatory letter, the ANCA has the right to sue Fein for libel. The ANCA did not even endorse Biden for President. Nevertheless, Fein went on: “But in politics, truth is helpless when assaulted by lavish campaign contributions and votes…. The Armenian genocide lie persists because of the rich backing of ANCA and their bought political toadies. It is contemptible that Pres. Biden has stooped so low.”

    Fein then goes on to make a number of false statements regarding the European Court of Human Rights, the United Nations, and several scholars, such as the controversial Prof. Bernard Lewis of Princeton University who had made conflicting statements on the Armenian Genocide. He was a recipient of the Ataturk International Peace Prize. The ANCA called him “an academic mercenary.”

    Here is what Wikipedia reveals about Lewis:

    “The first two editions of Lewis’s The Emergence of Modern Turkey (1961 and 1968) describe the Armenian genocide as ‘the terrible holocaust of 1915, when a million and a half Armenians perished.’ In later editions, this text is altered to ‘the terrible slaughter of 1915, when, according to estimates, more than a million Armenians perished, as well as an unknown number of Turks.’ …The change in Lewis’s textual description of the Armenian genocide and his signing of the petition against the Congressional resolution was controversial among some Armenian historians as well as journalists, who suggested that Lewis was engaging in historical negationism to serve his own political and personal interests…. In a 1995 civil proceeding brought by three Armenian genocide survivors, a French court censured Lewis’ remarks under Article 1382 of the Civil Code and fined him one franc, and ordering the publication of the judgment at Lewis’ cost in Le Monde. The court ruled that while Lewis has the right to his views, their expression harmed a third party and that ‘it is only by hiding elements which go against his thesis that the defendant was able to state there was no ‘serious proof’ of the Armenian Genocide.’”

    There are many other claims by Fein in his letter such as: “the Genocide Convention excludes politically motivated killings.” Thus, Fein admits that Armenians were indeed massacred, but for political reasons!

    By claiming that no court verdict has been issued regarding the Armenian Genocide, Fein must have forgotten about the death sentences issued by the Turkish Military Tribunal in Istanbul in 1919 against the masterminds of the Armenian Genocide.

    Fein also distorted the exile of Ottoman leaders to Malta by the British in 1919 in order to try them for their crimes. Great Britain released the 144 Turks in exchange for 22 British prisoners, stating that one British prisoner is worth a shipload of Turks.

    Finally, Fein’s ‘brilliant mind’ can be demonstrated by referring to his ridiculous article published on Nov. 25, 2022, in “The Hill,” suggesting that Congress “can end the war in Ukraine … by enacting a statute withdrawing the United States from NATO”!

  • Under Turkish Pressure, Armenia’s Leaders Make Excuses for Nemesis Monument Under Turkish Pressure

    Under Turkish Pressure, Armenia’s Leaders Make Excuses for Nemesis Monument Under Turkish Pressure

    Just when we thought that we had heard everything about the current Armenian government’s questionable positions on Artsakh, Armenia, and Armenian interests, we are now facing another monumental mistake by Armenia’s leaders.

    On April 25, 2023, the descendants of those who killed the Turkish masterminds of the Armenian Genocide inaugurated the Nemesis Monument in Yerevan. In attendance were opposition members of Parliament, and surprisingly, Tigran Avinyan, the Deputy Mayor of Yerevan, who is a member of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s political party.

    Nemesis was the name of the operation which was organized by the Armenian Revolutionary Federation to eliminate several Ottoman leaders who were responsible for the Armenian Genocide. This operation implemented the death verdicts issued in absentia by the Turkish Military Tribunal in Istanbul, in 1919, against the Genocide perpetrators, since they had fled from the country. Talaat Pasha, the main culprit in the Armenian Genocide, was killed by Soghomon Tehlirian in Berlin, in 1921. A German court found him not guilty due to Talaat’s massive crimes.

    Talaat’s remains were brought from Berlin to Turkey in 1943. The Turkish government ‘honored’ Talaat by naming avenues, mosques, schools, hospitals and a memorial after him in Istanbul. This would be just as shameful, had the German government named schools and avenues in Berlin after Hitler! Another Genocide organizer, Minister of War Enver Pasha, is buried in the same memorial in Istanbul. His remains were brought in 1996 to Turkey from Tajikistan where he was assassinated in 1922 by an Armenian.

    Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu retaliated against the Nemesis Monument by announcing that Turkey banned overflights by Armenian airlines from Turkish skies. Furthermore, Cavusoglu brazenly announced that Turkey would take additional steps against Armenia, if the Nemesis Monument is not dismantled. Thus, Turkey violated the rules of IATA (International Air Transport Association) which states that countries cannot ban overflights for political reasons. Armenia should take legal action against Turkey under IATA rules and ban the overflights of Turkish Airlines over Armenia’s skies.

    This unwarranted Turkish retaliation is taking place at a time when the governments of Armenia and Turkey are negotiating for over a year to open their mutual border and normalize their relations. Even though it is announced that these negotiations are taking place “without any preconditions,” in reality, Turkey has made several demands, such as Armenia declaring that Artsakh is part of Azerbaijan by recognizing its territorial integrity, allowing the so-called ‘Zangezur Corridor’ to cross Armenia’s territory, linking mainland Azerbaijan to its exclave of Nakhichevan, which would mean that the ‘Corridor’ is under the sovereignty of Azerbaijan, not Armenia.

    Even if Turkey would open the border someday, it will shut it down again if Armenia does not meet any of Turkey’s future demands, thus continuously blackmailing the Armenian government. Turkey’s current demand to dismantle the Nemesis Monument is an early warning of more demands to come from Turkey, such as dismantling the Armenian Genocide Memorial Complex in Yerevan, banning the burning of Turkish flags on April 24, and removing from Armenia’s Declaration of Independence the paragraph that states: “The Republic of Armenia supports the task of achieving international recognition of the Armenian Genocide in Ottoman Turkey and Western Armenia in 1915.”

    This is the result of prostrating oneself in front of the unrepentant enemy and begging for peace. In response to the Turkish ban of Armenian overflights from Turkish skies, Armenia’s leaders criticized their own country for erecting the Nemesis Monument in Yerevan, rather than telling Turkey that they have no right to interfere in Armenia’s domestic decisions. In the process of trying to appease Turkey, Armenia’s Prime Minister and the President of the Parliament made a number of anti-Monument statements. So, it is OK for Turkey to glorify Talaat, the Turkish Hitler, but not OK for Armenia to honor those who killed the butcher. Armenia’s leaders, rather than making excuses for the Nemesis Monument, should have demanded that Turkey dismantle the Talaat Pasha Memorial in Istanbul.

    Prime Minister Pashinyan made the excuse that the Nemesis Monument was authorized by the City of Yerevan, not the government of Armenia. The Monument was approved by the Yerevan City Council on Sept. 14, 2021. Pashinyan contradicted himself by first telling the Armenian Parliament that the decision to authorize the Monument was made “to avoid being labeled traitors…. But by doing so, we actually keep betraying the state and national interests of our country.” He then went on to say that “a wrong decision was made and the implementation of that decision was wrong.” Pashinyan also stated that “one of the shortcomings of democracy is when the authorities or the government leader is not controlling everything and everyone.” This is a shocking statement from someone who came to power claiming to promote democracy, yet he does not seem to understand the basic principles of democracy. Pashinyan, in fact, controls everything and everyone in the country!

    Meanwhile, the President of the Armenian Parliament Alen Simonyan, during a press conference in Ankara last week, also made excuses by saying that Turkey should not view the Nemesis Monument “as an expression of the foreign policy of the government of Armenia nor as an unfriendly act. The Armenian government’s foreign policy is conducted by the Prime Minister and Foreign Minister.” Simonyan further said that only “opposition members of the Parliament had attended the inauguration of the Nemesis Monument.” Cavusoglu replied that the Armenian government’s excuses are “insincere and untrue. No one should try to deceive us by saying that it does not fall within their jurisdiction.”

    Armenia’s leaders need to draw an important lesson from this episode. Unless Armenia immediately rejects Turkey’s attempts to interfere in Armenia’s internal affairs, I fear that the Turkish government will be emboldened to impose further demands which will severely restrict Armenia’s sovereignty.