Author: Harut Sassounian

Americana Executives and ANCA Meet To Resolve a Contentious Relationship

Representatives of the Armenian National Committee of America and senior executives of Americana shopping mall in Glendale met on September 5 and agreed to put their future relationship on a better footing.

This was the first meeting in more than a dozen years between the two groups, precipitated by the refusal of Americana to provide paid advertising space on its billboard for “Architects of Denial,” an Armenian Genocide documentary. The producers of the documentary were told by Americana that the subject was “too political.” This was a puzzling and irritating response since Americana had seen neither the documentary nor the text of the display ad that was being rejected simply because it was about the Armenian Genocide.

After several attempts asking Americana officials to explain the true reason for rejecting the display ad, they became even more adamant in their refusal. The most insensitive sentence in one of their emails to the documentary producers was that Americana had received comments on this controversy “ranging from the Armenian community and the Turkish Consulate.” This highly offensive statement was equating the voices of descendants of the Armenian Genocide to that of a Turkish diplomat who represents a denialist autocratic regime whose predecessors had committed the Genocide!

To make matters worse, this was not the first time that Americana had taken a negative position on an Armenian Genocide-related issue. Three years ago, Americana officials had refused to allow three young Armenians who had leased a kiosk from Americana to sell T-shirts that carried texts related to the Armenian Genocide. After an outcry from the local Armenian community, Americana reversed its decision allowing the sale of the T-shirts. They called their initial decision “a misunderstanding.”

In a similar development last month, shortly before the Glendale Chapter of the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) had called a press conference on the public portion of Americana grounds to announce a boycott, Americana officials reversed themselves not only allowing the display ad for the documentary, but “at no cost to the producers.”

This was a positive first step. Americana’s owner, Rick Caruso, agreed to meet with the Armenian National Committee of America to discuss how to improve relations between the local community and the shopping mall.

Mr. Caruso attended the Sept. 5 meeting along with Americana’s Executive Vice President of Operations Jackie Levy, Executive Vice President of Communications Nancy Murray, Senior Vice President of Community Relations Rick Lemmo and Senior Vice President of Planning, Government and Community Relations Sharon Keyser. The Armenian delegation consisted of ANCA-Glendale Chairman Artin Manoukian, ANCA Western Region Board Member Berdj Karapetian, ANCA Western Region Advisory Board Member Harut Sassounian, former ANCA Western Region Executive Director Elen Asatryan, and ANCA Glendale Community Outreach Director Margarita Baghdasaryan.

The Sept. 5 meeting proceeded in a cordial atmosphere. Mr. Caruso agreed to take concrete steps to improve the shopping mall’s relationship with the local Armenian community. Americana promised to form a special community relations team to focus exclusively on its partnership with Armenians.

“We are pleased that Mr. Caruso has agreed to work on initiatives to improve relations with the Armenian American community and regain our trust and confidence,” stated ANCA-Glendale Chairman Manoukian.

In his turn, Jackie Levy, Americana’s Executive Vice President of Operations announced: “We value the very productive meeting with ANCA-Glendale leadership and look forward to strengthening our relationship which includes continuing to celebrate our deep appreciation for the Armenian community. Establishing this new community relations team will ensure that our partnership will continue in a very meaningful way.”

Thus, a long-standing contentious relationship between Americana and the Glendale Armenian community is in the process of being resolved amicably. Mr. Caruso, the owner of Americana, was very gracious in his remarks at the meeting and spoke very positively about Armenians. In the coming months, there will be more contacts between the two sides to come up with plans to strengthen their cooperation so that the disputes are resolved through friendly discussions rather than resorting to protests and boycotts.

More than two dozen Armenians and non-Armenians appeared at the Glendale City Council meeting to complain about Americana’s initial rejection of the display ad. To their credit, all five Glendale City Council members, led by Mayor Vartan Gharpetian, supported the community’s demands and were present during ANCA’s press conference at Americana. Also supporting the Armenian community’s wishes was California State Senator Anthony Portantino who played a major role in helping to resolve the controversy and attended the ANCA press conference.

The resolution of this controversial issue indicates the importance of community participation and activism in matters that affect Armenian Americans.

September 20, 2017
Turks Deny All Evidence of Genocide; Azeris Deny Any Evidence of Corruption

For over a century, no matter what evidence is presented to the Turkish government about their guilt as perpetrators of the Armenian Genocide, they always claim it is fake and deny the facts.

Similarly, despite all evidence presented to Azeri leaders about their misuse of billions of dollars for bribery and corrupt practices, they always deny the facts and blame Armenians, other countries and certain individuals who are supposed to be against them!

Last week was no exception. The Guardian and dozens of newspapers around the world reported that the Azeri government had paid around $3 billion in bribery to many individuals and institutions throughout Europe from 2012-2014. The Guardian reported that there were more than 16,000 such transactions. In this major scandal, not only the Azeri government is guilty of corruption, but also all those European officials who took the bribe to carry out illegal favors for the Aliyev regime!

What the Guardian describes as ‘the Azeri Laundromat,’ involves “a scheme to curry influence, pay lobbyists, apologists and European politicians to launder cash [which] comes from companies linked to Azerbaijan’s president, Ilham Aliyev, state ministries and the International Bank of Azerbaijan, the country’s largest bank, which recently filed for bankruptcy protection. The cash was transferred from four offshore-managed UK companies. From there it was spent in various countries, including Germany, the UK, France, Turkey, Iran and Kazakhstan.” The Guardian forgot to add Belgium and Italy!

The illegal Azeri money was funneled to four UK companies through a small branch in Estonia of Danske, Denmark’s largest bank. Two of these shadowy offshore companies were Scottish limited partnerships, Hilux Services and Polux Management, overseen by agents in the British Virgin Islands.

Who are some of the beneficiaries of these illegally transferred funds? According to the Guardian, “one of them is Luca Volonte, the Italian former chair of the Center-Right European People’s party group in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE). Volonte was among PACE delegates who controversially voted against a 2013 report criticizing Azerbaijan’s human rights record. The leaked data shows he received more than $2 million. He has been indicted in Italy for money laundering and corruption amid an investigation of what has been dubbed ‘caviar diplomacy.’ He denies any wrongdoing.”

Another high-profile beneficiary, according to the Guardian, is “Eduard Lintner, a former German MP [Member of Parliament] with the Christian Social Union…. Between 2012 and 2014, when he was no longer an MP, his foundation received 819,000 euros. The cash included 61,000 euro payment made two weeks after Lintner visited Azerbaijan as an election observer. He praised the poll as up to ‘German standards.’ He says the payments were for legitimate work, and that he did not personally benefit from the money or know about the original source of the funds.”

According to the Guardian, “Cash was also sent to Bulgarian and Swiss bank accounts belonging to Kalin Mitrev, who was then a private consultant, but now works for the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development in London. Mitrev says the money was private income from legitimate consultancy work and that he was not aware of the original source of the funds. He denies doing any wrongdoing.”

There are also several high-ranking Azeri officials who benefited from these funds. One Azeri firm — Baktelekom MMC — paid more than $1.4 billion into offshore bank accounts.

Interestingly, it was also revealed by a Hungarian newspaper that at the time Hungary extradited Ramil Safarov, the Azeri ax-murderer of an Armenian soldier during NATO exercises in Budapest in 2004, Azerbaijan made several bank transfers totaling $7 million to the Hungarian bank MKB. This is yet another example of Azerbaijan’s corrupt use of secret slush funds to gain favors in Europe and elsewhere.

The Azeris, of course, would not admit their wrongdoing and blamed everyone from Armenians to billionaire George Soros, and the international media. “Azerbaijan’s presidential aide, Ali Hasanov, said the stories by the Guardian and other media partners were a smear…. Hasanov said the regime was the victim of a ‘scandalous’ campaign organized by British intelligence, the Armenian diaspora and the U.S,” according to the Guardian. Hasanov blamed certain anti-Azerbaijan circles who are “controlled by the funds of the Armenian diaspora in the West, in particular the U.S.” Furthermore, the Azeri government blocked access to the website of the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) which had published the details of the ‘Azerbaijani Laundromat,’ following a leak of data to the Danish newspaper Berlingske.

UK Prime Minister Theresa May announced last week that the National Crime Agency will investigate the corrupt practices of the four UK companies linked to Azerbaijan. Also, several members of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe intend to expand the existing investigation of Azerbaijan’s persistent corruption schemes!

September 12, 2017
New Documentary Links 1915 Genocide To Recent Azeri Massacres of Armenians

A new Armenian Genocide documentary will be screened in many theaters across the United States and also available “on demand” as of October 7, 2017. Unlike other documentaries on the topic, this one is different and more relevant to today’s non-Armenian viewers. The documentary titled, “Architects of Denial,” and sub-titled “Genocide denied is genocide continued,” links the mass killings of Armenians by the Ottoman Empire in 1915 to contemporary massacres of Armenians by Azeris, ethnic kins of Turks, in various cities of Azerbaijan, and threaten to kill Armenians living in the enclave of Nagorno-Karabagh (Artsakh).

The documentary is produced by two Hollywood celebrities, Dean Cain and Montel Williams. It interviews world famous personalities and experts on the Armenian Genocide, some of them for the first time, such as Julian Assange (WikiLeaks), FBI whistleblower Sibel Edmonds, prominent international lawyer Geoffrey Robertson, Prof. Taner Akcam, one of the first Turkish scholar to acknowledge the Armenian Genocide, Dr. Gregory Stanton, President of Genocide Watch, Armenia’s President Serzh Sargsyan, Tom de Wall, an expert on the Caucasus region, Former U.S. Ambassador to Armenia John Evans, Cong. Adam Schiff, former Kurdish mayor of Sur, Diyarbakir in Turkey, Abdullah Demirbas, His Holiness Catholicos Karekin II, Bako Sahakyan, President of Artsakh, Prof. Ugur Ungor, an expert on the Armenian Genocide, Baroness Caroline Cox, a member of the UK House of Lords, eyewitness accounts of survivors of both the 1915 Armenian Genocide and the massacres in Baku and Sumgait, Azerbaijan, since 1988, and earlier in the 20th century, and this writer.

The interviews were conducted in several countries, including the United States, United Kingdom, Armenia, Artsakh, Azerbaijan, Turkey, and Russia by camera crews sent to these places at major expense and great risk. The documentary also weaves the commonality of various genocides from Cambodia to Sudan (Darfur), the Holocaust, the Bosnian and Rwandan genocides.

Here are important excerpts from statements made by some of those interviewed by the documentary-makers:

Julian Assange: “Turkey has gone all around the world aggressively lobbying diplomatically to make sure there are no references to the Armenian Genocide, including even the major powers such as the United States.”

Pres. Serzh Sargsyan: “The leaders of Turkey and Azerbaijan announce from time to time that they are one nation, but live in different countries. And naturally along with that one nation, they are injecting the ideology of denial.”

Perhaps the most scandalous revelation in the documentary was made by Sibel Edmonds who was fired from her FBI job for informing her superiors about the involvement of high-ranking U.S. politicians in illegal Turkish schemes: “The justification to the excuse the United States government has been using, we are doing this [denial of the Armenian Genocide] for sensitive diplomatic relations. This is a hypocrisy that I have been witnessing, especially with inside knowledge of what takes place in the United States. It started with trying to do the right thing and we fought criminal activities bought and abused and basic retaliation for that.”

Explaining why Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert killed the genocide recognition bill at the last minute, Sibel Edmunds stated: “It was a move that came with a price. He had bribery with cash to lock this vote. He also took bribery in the form of sexual favors during his junket trips to Turkey in a particular hotel that he would stay. Sexual favors would be delivered to him – under-age males. Also it was delivered in his townhouse; it was bribery, foreign bribery which constituted treason. But that was a very small portion of what the FBI has already gathered. In Chicago, he also was directly involved with the notorious Turkish network that handled very large percentage of heroin-related activities, operations, sales in the United States, including receiving cash in suitcases from these particular people, and he and his Chief of Staff; their evidences were monitored. They were bugged not only for audio, but also for video. The FBI had in its possession, starting from 1997 slam dunk evidence in their hands, criminally implicated Dennis Hastert. The State Dept. knows, many people in Congress whom I testified to, they know. And I said, ‘you watch, there would be no accountability and mockery of the entire system.’”

The documentary also shows an original footage in which Azeri soldiers barbarically cut off the heads and ears of Armenian soldiers and civilians during Azerbaijan’s attack on Artsakh during April 2017!

Finally, the documentary-makers question several members of Congress who refuse to answer whether they believe the Armenian Genocide actually took place, except Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson (Dem.-Texas) who is shown giving a speech at an Azeri energy conference, where she boasts:” I am a member of the [congressional] Azerbaijan Caucus, enthusiastic member, and supportive member!”

The documentary-makers then ask Cong. Johnson on camera: “do you deny that the Armenian Genocide happened?” She shamelessly answers: “I do deny that!” This is a major scandal for a serving member of Congress to make such a categorical denial which is rarely denied by Members of Congress. The Armenian-American community nationwide and their friends should support her opponent in the next election and those in her district should vote against her to remove her from Congress. Once one of these denialist scoundrels is kicked out of office, other members of Congress will be very careful not to deny the Armenian Genocide. We need to make an example of her!

September 5, 2017
Azerbaijan Forces Bulgaria to Fire Reporter Who Exposed Arms Shipments to Terrorists

Last month, I wrote about Bulgarian journalist Dilyana Gaytandzhieva’s revelations that Azerbaijan’s state-run Silk Way Airlines had shipped under diplomatic cover 350 planeloads of heavy weapons and ammunition to terrorist groups in Syria and many other countries in the last three years.

On Aug. 24, Dilyana tweeted: “I just got fired for telling the truth about weapons supplies for terrorists in Syria on diplomatic flights.”

Dilyana posted on her facebook page that she was fired due to pressure on the government of Bulgaria by Azerbaijan, as she was about to leave for Syria to continue her investigation.

In an interview with Armenpress, Dilyana said that before her firing she was called by the Bulgarian Special Security Agency and asked about her sources of information for her revelations. She replied that her source was the website of the Embassy of Azerbaijan which was hacked, but she would not provide any further details. Two hours later, she got a phone call from her newspaper, Trud Daily, telling her that she was dismissed.

After she published her article, Dilyana revealed that the Azeri Embassy urged the Bulgarian government to investigate her; as a result she was fired from her job.

The daring Bulgarian journalist, however, refuses to remain silent! She told Armenpress that no one can stop her from continuing her investigation: “They couldn’t stop me two months ago; they couldn’t stop me yesterday to speak out. I just posted on social media. They can’t force an independent journalist to keep silent. I’m not obliged to anybody. I’m obliged to tell the truth to the people, this is my job.”

Dilyana stressed that Bulgaria was well-informed about these illegal weapons’ shipments since she had all the documents proving that the Bulgarian government, several European countries, the United States, and many others had given their approval for this secret and illegal operation!

The Bulgarian journalist urged the United Nations to launch an investigation against Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, the United States, Saudi Arabia, and other countries. In addition, Dilyana appealed for support from independent journalists and the public at large. She emphasized: “I am not the first and last journalist to be fired for doing their job. I don’t have high expectations from the mainstream media, because they have their political agenda, their objectives and their policy. What I expect is to be able to spread this information worldwide not by the mainstream media.”

Dilyana also revealed that Azerbaijan paid Bulgarian journalists to publish articles favorable to Baku. “I can give you a fact obtained from the leaked documents after the cyber-attack on the Azerbaijani Embassy. The Azerbaijani Embassy pays money to journalists for articles in favor of Azerbaijan or articles ordered to be published by Azerbaijan.”

Dilyana insisted that she is determined to continue her work: “I’m going to set up my own on-line media, because no one in Bulgaria will now agree to publish my investigations. I will not be offered a job in the Bulgarian media. So I think about establishing my own media; this is the solution.”

Confirming Dilyana’s revelations is an article by Thierry Meyssan, in the sott.net website, reporting that Operation Sycamore involves at least 17 states and represents several tens of thousands of tons of weapons: “Over the last seven years, several billion dollars’ worth of armament has been illegally introduced into Syria…. Numerous documents attest to the fact that the traffic was organized by General David Petraeus, first of all in public, via the CIA, of which he was the director, then privately, via the financial company KKR with the aid of certain senior civil servants…. New elements now show the secret of Azerbaijan in the evolution of the war [in Syria]…. While Bulgaria was one of the main arms exporters to Syria, it received help from Azerbaijan.”

Meyssan, in his article, quotes Sibel Edmonds — ex-FBI translator and founder of National Security Whistleblowers Coalition — revealing that “Azerbaijan, under Pres. Heydar Aliyev, from 1997 to 2001, hosted in Baku the number 2 of Al-Qaida, Ayman al-Zawahiri. This was done at the request of the CIA. Although officially wanted by the FBI, the man who [was] then number 2 of the international jihadist network travelled regularly in NATO planes to Afghanistan, Albania, Egypt and Turkey. He also received frequent visits from Prince Bandar ben Sultan of Saudi Arabia.”

The Armenian-American community should invite the distinguished Bulgarian journalist Dilyana to the United States in order to publicize through lectures and press conferences her sensational revelations about Azerbaijan’s illegal weapons’ shipments to terrorists.

August 29, 2017
Americana Now Accepts to Advertise Armenian Genocide Documentary

Americana shopping mall executives in Glendale once again reversed themselves declaring that they not only now accept to advertise the Armenian Genocide Documentary, Architects of Denial, but offered to do it for free!

In the process, Americana’s executives behaved erratically, unprofessionally, and most surprisingly, against their own business interests by behaving insensitively toward the major block of their shoppers, the large local Armenian population.

It all started two weeks ago when Americana’s General Manager Julie Jauregui refused to sell space on its billboard by calling the Armenian Genocide documentary “too political.” When I contacted Americana for a proper explanation, I was told by Emily Davis, responsible for Americana’s Public Relations and Communications: “We have strict standards for our advertisements and we carefully review all content. This did not comply with the advertising guidelines for our portfolio properties throughout Southern California.” When asked why the documentary did not comply with Americana’s advertising guidelines, three days later I was told by Emily Davis, Americana had no further comment!

Under pressure from the local Armenian community and the Armenian National Committee of America — Glendale Chapter, Jackie Levy, Americana’s Executive Vice President, changed course and sent a conciliatory letter to ANCA, dangling the hope that there would be a resolution to the issue after meeting with the Glendale City Council and the documentary producers, and declining to meet with ANCA.

A few days later, Jackie Levy, sent a much harsher letter to the documentary producers stating once again that Americana declines the requested advertising because the shopping mall is for people “who can come together to enjoy themselves… that is why we have established policies prohibiting advertisements concerning political issues.” She then offered to meet with ANCA and expressed the wish to “reaffirm our longstanding support of the Armenian community….” which is a complete lie. Americana has repeatedly taken anti-Armenian positions, particularly on the Armenian Genocide issue when they banned the sale of genocide t-shirts three years ago.

Jackie Levy then proceeded to make the most offensive remark, mentioning “comments we have received ranging from the Armenian community and the Turkish Consulate.” Ms. Levy should be asked how many Turkish shoppers frequent Americana vs. 100,000 Armenians in Glendale. Furthermore, why is she allowing the Consulate of a foreign despotic regime to interfere in the decisions of Americana and the local community? By doing so, she is equating Armenians — the victims of genocide — with those whose ancestors had committed such heinous mass crimes!

Meanwhile the pressure started mounting on Americana by various American TV networks which broadcast the Armenian protests against the shopping mall. There were also more than 20 Armenian and non-Armenian speakers, including this writer, who addressed the Glendale City Council on August 15, expressing their outrage at Jackie Levy’s insensitive letter. At the end, all five City Council members expressed their unhappiness with Americana’s rejection of the Armenian Genocide ad and committed to follow up with the shopping mall’s executives to pressure them to change their position.

Finally, Americana executives reversed their position once again on August 17, by announcing shortly before ANCA’s press conference scheduled to declare a boycott of Americana by the local Armenian community. Jackie Levy announced that Americana now agrees to display the advertisement and “at no cost to the producers.”

Ms. Levy excuses Americana’s earlier negative decision as a “misunderstanding” of their position on human rights “and for that we apologize. We have always condemned violence and atrocities of any form anywhere in the world, including the Armenian Genocide that has impacted the lives of Armenians in our community.”

In response, ANCA announced that they consider Americana’s reversal an “initial positive step.” The ANCA further stated that the shopping mall “should be demonstrating its corporate citizenship” and “must seek a relationship with the community that demonstrates, in concrete terms, its understanding and care for the surrounding community and our city. In the coming weeks, we look forward to meeting with Mr. Rick Caruso [Americana’s owner] and his management team to discuss, in concrete terms, how we can forge a better relationship and bond between the community and the Americana and Caruso Affiliated that results in a genuine, constructive and meaningful long-term relationship.”

Given Americana executives’ contradictory statements in the last couple of weeks, the Armenian community has lost complete trust in their promises. Mr. Caruso, Americana’s owner, not only should review the shopping mall’s relationship with the local Armenian community, but also decide if several of his executives should continue working for him given their unprofessional behavior.

August 22, 2017
Turkish Activist Admits Major Blow When Texas Recognized Armenian Genocide

Following article refers to a previous Valuable article from Mr. Ferruh Demirmen which follows. https://www.turkishnews.com/en/content/2017/08/11/combating-armenian-genocide-falsehoods-education-and-pro-activity-are-key-for-turkish-side/

The issue in question need to be decided by the Historians in a joint meeting which Turkish side is requesting openly in every international meeting but the State of Armenia is side stepping . Following valuable article is written and edited by Mr. Harut Sassounian. As of today and until today all debates and discussion on the issue was mainly limited to diasporas which their centers are in the United States Mr. Harut Sassounian and Mr. Ferruh Demirmen are key persons and very respectable in their diasporas .. Turkish Forum

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Armenian-Americans knew that they had scored a major victory for the recognition of the Armenian Genocide when Texas became the 46th State to recognize it. What Armenian-Americans did not realize is that the recognition by Texas had a devastating impact on the Turkish community’s lobbying efforts in that State.

Ferruh Demirmen, Ph.D., revealed in an article in Turkishnews.com the degree of despair he and his fellow Turks suffered in Texas when the State House recognized the Armenian Genocide on May 19, 2017. It is not very often that we come across a Turkish lobbyist who acknowledges total defeat at the hands of the Armenian community.

Demirmen starts by blaming his fellow Turks for “years of Turkish apathy and passivity, combined with Armenian aggressiveness and Western prejudice” for the passage of the resolution recognizing the Armenian Genocide. He also credits the activism by the Armenian National Committee of America, Western Region (ANCA-WR), for arranging “tours involving Armenian activists at town-hall meetings,” visiting “State elected officials individually,” and establishing ANCA-WR chapters in “Dallas, Austin and Houston.”

The Turkish activist also credits the success of the genocide resolution to the support of “State Representative Scott Sanford, who is also the Executive Pastor of a Baptist church in Texas.” Having done an incredible amount of research for his article, Demirmen recalls that “at a gala organized by ANCA-Dallas in April 2016, Representative Sanford was awarded ‘Advocate for Justice Award’ for his ‘strong dedication to raising awareness about the Armenian Genocide.’ ” At the gala, a letter from Republican Senator Ted Cruz was read recognizing the Armenian Genocide, according to Demirmen.

On January 26, 2017, Representative Sanford introduced Texas House Resolution HR-191 to recognize the Armenian Genocide. The Resolution was first presented to the Trade & Intergovernmental Affairs Committee (TIAC) which called for a public hearing at the State Capitol in Austin on April 24. Demirmen regrets that the Texas legislature chose “April 24 for the public hearing, a date considered symbolic for Armenian allegations, [which] was the first sign that TIAC was pro-Armenian in its outlook.”

Demirmen is unhappy that “the hearing was closely coordinated with ANCA-WR and Rep. Sanford, and while the Armenian side had long known about the hearing, the Turkish side knew of the meeting less than a week in advance.” As a result, only six Turks attended the hearing (five from Houston and one from Dallas), while “a large crowd from the Armenian side was present. Also present [at TIAC] as an ‘observer’ was Rep. Sanford.” Demirmen expresses his regret that only four Turks, including himself, testified in committee, whereas 21 Armenians had testified. “The Armenian side ended up having five times more chances to present its case than the Turkish side. Thus the Armenian side dominated not only in terms of ‘presence’ in the hearing, but also in the testimonies given,” Demirmen admitted. “Among those who testified for the Armenian side were representatives from the Texas Holocaust and Genocide Commission, and Houston’s Holocaust Museum,” Demirmen reported. In addition, “hundreds of letters were emailed to state legislators. Many more phone calls were made by the Armenian community.”

Among the objections raised by Turks who testified against the Resolution, were: 1) the “impropriety of Texas legislators to intervene in matters affecting U.S. foreign policy, 2) the damage the bill could do to trade relations between Texas and Turkey, 3) the divisive aspect of the resolution, and not the least, 4) the fact that the resolution is defamatory toward Texas residents of Turkish heritage,” Demirmen complained.

None of these objections made an impact on the TIAC members who approved the Resolution unanimously on April 24. The Texas House took up the Resolution on May 19 approving it with 137 yes votes (eight members were absent and five abstained).

In utter despair, Demirmen describes the outcome as “a feat masterminded by ANCA-WR and endorsed by the Texas House of Representatives. While the resolution has no legal force, for all practical purposes, and for the public at large, it was a declaration finding Ottoman Turks guilty of a heinous crime.”

Demirmen acknowledges that “the Turkish response, at least at the grassroots level, to HR-191, was feeble. … Turks are no match to Armenians on activism on the ‘genocide’ issue…. The Turkish side has only itself to blame for its lethargy and passivity.”

The Turkish activist concludes his article by blaming the ATA-Houston (American Turkish Association) for not bothering to oppose HR-191. He calls the group, “the happy-hour-conscious association, founded in 1979, was not interested in the Armenian issue….”

Even though Demirmen blames Texas Turks for their inactivity, there is actually only one reason why the Resolution was adopted: Because it tells the truth! The State of Texas finally acknowledged the historical fact of the Armenian Genocide!

August 15, 2017