Author: Harut Sassounian

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
Glendale Armenians Should Teach a Lesson To Americana Shopping Mall Executives

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Three years ago, on the eve of the Centennial of the Armenian Genocide, Americana shopping mall officials in Glendale, illegally and in an arrogant manner, banned the sale of Armenian Genocide-related T-shirts by three young Armenians who had signed a contract, disclosed their merchandise in advance, and paid the rent for a cart on the property.

Afterwards, ominously, Doris Nesheiwat, Senior Director of Specialty Leasing at Americana, in an email, warned the young Armenians: “Anything genocide themed, sweat shirts, t-shirts, phone covers and anything that has a genocide theme needs to come off the cart completely please.”

After I exposed Americana’s scandalous and unwarranted behavior in a column, and complaints from the local Armenian community, Americana issued a half-hearted apology by describing the ugly incident as a “misunderstanding,” and allowed the young Armenians to sell their T-shirts.

The Armenian community which numbers close to 100,000 — half of Glendale’s population — and a big portion of Americana’s shoppers, needs to know in a definitive way what is causing Americana executives to repeatedly take positions against publicizing the Armenian Genocide. Being smart businessmen, they must realize that it is counter-productive to antagonize the majority of their customers by taking offensive positions on the Armenian Genocide.

In recent weeks, Americana executives once again took a hostile position by refusing to provide advertising space on their billboard for an Armenian Genocide documentary, “Architects of Denial,” produced by Hollywood celebrities Dean Cain and Montel Williams.

This time again, Americana officials came up with a nonsensical and offensive reason for rejecting the paid ad. Americana’s outdoor media agency, Outfront Media, told the documentary producers that Americana executives feel, without having seen the documentary, it is “too political.” This is outrageous! A documentary on the Armenian Genocide cannot be labelled as “too political.” This is a human rights issue which has nothing to do with politics!

When I learned that Julie Jauregui, Americana’s General Manager, was the one who used the term “too political” in rejecting the ad, I called her asking for an explanation. In response, I received an e-mail from Emily Davis, responsible for Americana’s Public Relations and Communications, stating: “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.”

This carefully crafted statement is completely meaningless! Thus, I wrote back to Emily Davis, wondering how could the advertising for this documentary “not comply” with Americana’s “strict standards for advertisements,” when in fact, Americana’s executives had neither seen the documentary nor the text of the billboard ad before rejecting it. The only information Americana officials knew was that this ad was for an Armenian Genocide documentary. I asked Davis if she implied that the topic of the Armenian Genocide itself violates Americana’s “strict standards for advertisement.” After mulling over her reply for three days and consulting her senior colleagues, Davis responded that they are sticking to their previous answer!

Reaching a dead-end with Americana, I had no choice but to take the matter to the Glendale City Council last week, where four of the five Council members are Armenians. This fact alone, well-known to Americana executives, was another serious miscalculation by them, since they are legally obligated to adhere to scores of agreements they have signed with the City in return for generous subsidies and lavishly advantageous lease considerations. Any deviation from these legal obligations could force the City to take decisive action against Americana to enforce the signed agreements.

In my public remarks to the City Council, I urged the City to arrange a meeting with Americana executives and local Armenian community leaders to resolve this issue. Otherwise, the community would have no choice but to resort to protests and boycotts. Joining me in addressing the City Council was Margarita Baghdasaryan, Community Outreach Director, the Armenian National Committee of America, Glendale Chapter.

The City Council members were naturally sympathetic to our presentations and promised to intervene by arranging a meeting with Americana executives. The purpose of the meeting is not only to straighten out this latest wrong-headed decision, but get to the bottom of what is behind the repeated rejections of Armenian Genocide materials by Americana officials. We need to settle this issue once and for all! We cannot continue to deal with genocide-related objections raised by Americana periodically. We need to know what is the root cause of this repeated insensitive and insulting behavior of Americana officials. If they continue to take a hostile position on the Armenian Genocide issue, maybe hitting them in the pocket book through protests and boycotts, as well as City Council enforcement, would bring Americana executives to their senses!

August 8, 2017
How Azerbaijan’s Paid Agents Manipulate the American Media

For several years, dozens of articles have appeared in U.S., Israeli, and European newspapers, lavishly praising Azerbaijan and severely criticizing Armenia. Most of these articles are written by non-Azeris who are handsomely compensated by the Azeri government.

One man, Casey Michel, had the courage to expose this scam in a lengthy article titled, “Azerbaijan’s American Media Manipulation.” He had done extensive research, linking several of these pro-Azeri authors to Azerbaijan’s well-financed lobbying activities.

In an attempt “to whitewash its dictatorial image… the autocratic government of Ilham Aliyev has unleashed spin-doctors, duped reporters, and led one of the most brazen pushes to abuse American lobbying loopholes of any foreign government,” Michel wrote.

Some of these hired pens sing the praises of Azerbaijan and mislead the general public by acting as if they are uninvolved third parties who are making objective assessments of the situation in Azerbaijan. Whereas, in reality, these writers are on the payroll of the Azeri regime or its state energy company, SOCAR. Here are some concrete examples:

Former Cong. Dan Burton, who was paid to serve as head of the Azerbaijan America Alliance, wrote at least three op-ed articles in the Washington Post, Washington Times, and Daily Caller on what a wonderful country Azerbaijan is, without disclosing that he was on Baku’s payroll! Fortunately, Cong. Burton quit his job, when Azerbaijan stopped paying him!

Michel then mentions Jason Katz as the most prolific pro-Azerbaijan propagandist, the founder of The Tool Shed Group, a U.S. lobbying firm hired by Azerbaijan. Katz wrote a series of articles in Huffington Post in praise of Azerbaijan’s “democracy,” claiming the country to be “a progressive, cosmopolitan, open, secular and Western-oriented society.”

To his credit, Katz initially disclosed in these articles that he was a “senior advisor to the Republic of Azerbaijan.” However, shortly thereafter, Katz began to conceal his relationship with the Azeri government. Since late 2013, Katz wrote at least nine articles in praise of the Aliyev regime, four of them for Roll Call, and three for The Hill, in one of them foolishly claiming that “the U.S. can learn much from a nation like Azerbaijan,” Michel reported. Katz also wrote an outrageous article in National Review early in 2014, “equating the Armenian government with the Taliban!” In all nine articles, Katz had failed to mention that his firm, The Tool Shed Group, was being paid by Azerbaijan!

Michel went to great lengths to expose Katz by contacting various publications and informing them about Katz’s lobbying efforts on behalf of Azerbaijan. Most of these publications, then added corrections after Katz’s articles were published, noting his close affiliation with Azerbaijan.

For example, the National Review, after hearing from Michel, put a new note under Katz’s name, disclosing that Katz is a consultant to foreign states, “including the Azerbaijani government.” The Hill also inserted an editor’s note after Katz’s name, revealing that “Katz is paid to provide strategic advice to Azerbaijan. This note was added after Katz’s foreign agent registration was brought to the attention of The Hill.”

These articles not only mislead the American readers about Azerbaijan, but cause a further damage when reprinted in the Azeri press as evidence of the high regard Americans had for Azerbaijan!

Switching tactics, Katz’s wife, Mallory Moss, began to write similar anti-Armenian articles on the Artsakh (Karabagh) conflict in mid-2014. She wrote one for the Capitol Weekly and two for the Hill, under the guise of being a nurse! Michel discovered that Mallory Moss had registered under her name the website BakuWoman.com which was reregistered under the name of Jason Katz. “The registrant organization listed for Moss was The Tool Shed Group,” Michel reported. Mallory Moss’s op-eds should have been filed under the Foreign Agent Registration Act of the U.S. Justice Department! When Michel reported to The Hill about Mallory Moss’s association with Jason Katz and The Tool Shed Group, The Hill added an editor’s note under her article: “A firm that is paid to provide strategic advice to Azerbaijan submitted this op-ed. The note was added after information was brought to the attention of The Hill.”

Finally, Michel mentions the case of Prof. Brenda Shaffer who had written pro-Azerbaijani articles for the New York Times and the Washington Post. In both cases, she had failed to mention that she was an advisor or consultant to Azerbaijan’s state-run oil company, SOCAR. Subsequently, both newspapers published an editor’s note exposing her financial relationship with SOCAR!

There are many others who are hired by Azerbaijan to write propaganda pieces in the Western media on behalf of the “Caspian kleptocracy” as Michel describes the country. Unfortunately, we are unable to name these propagandists without a solid evidence of their payoffs from Azerbaijan!

August 1, 2017
Azerbaijan’s US Lobbying Firm’s List of Impressive Accomplishments

Several weeks ago, I wrote about the four lobbying and PR firms hired by Azerbaijan in the United States. One of these companies is the Tool Shed Group.

This week, I would like to present a sample of the impressive activities organized by the Tool Shed Group on behalf of the Consulate General of Azerbaijan which is getting a great bargain by paying only $9,000 a month for all of these pro-Azeri efforts, almost none of which could have happened without the Tool Shed Group.

Most readers are unaware that American lobbying and PR firms hired by foreign entities are legally required not only to register their clients with the Justice Department under the Foreign Agent Registration Act (FARA), but also file the detailed list of activities on their behalf.

In order to know what efforts have been made by the Tool Shed Group on behalf of the Consulate of Azerbaijan, I have checked the website of the Justice Department where the Tool Shed Group has listed by date all of their activities for Azerbaijan’s Consulate in Los Angeles.

Tool Shed’s list of activities starts on April 1, 2009, but mysteriously ends on March 31, 2011. This must surely be a violation of the Justice Department’s requirement which has to be brought into the attention of the U.S. government. Nevertheless, the two-year report provides a detailed glimpse which I have summarized below as it is a dozen pages long:

1) Outreach to Universities:

Arranged meetings for Consul General Elman Abdullayev with the following University officials: Jolene Kester, California State University, Northridge, CA; the University of New Mexico; Geoff Cowan and Adam Clayton, USC; Chapman University, Orange, CA; Pepperdine University, Malibu, CA; Larry Greenfield, Vice President of the Claremont Institute, Los Angeles, CA; Jack Lewis, Associate Dean, USC Marshall School of Business, Los Angeles, CA; Gail Lapidus, Stanford University, Stanford, CA; David Lundberg, UCLA NanoSystems Institute; University of California, Irvine; and University of Las Vegas, Nevada; Lectures by the Consul General at UCLA; San Francisco State University; San Jose State University, San Jose, CA; USC; Scripps College, Claremont, CA; University of California, Santa Barbara, CA; California State University, Fullerton, CA; Arizona State University, Phoenix, AZ; University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ; and Stanford University, Stanford, CA; spoke at a conference on religious pluralism at USC; and conference call with USC Center for Public Diplomacy to discuss a lecture by the Consul General.

2) U.S. Politicians:

Consul General met with Darrell Steinberg, President Pro Tem, California State Senate, Sacramento, CA; Karen Bass, Speaker, California State Assembly, Sacramento, CA; Annette Porini, Chief of Staff, State Senator Joe Simitian, Sacramento, CA; Felipe Fuentes, Assemblyman, California State Assembly, Sacramento, CA; Councilor Chris Calvert, City of Santa Fe, New Mexico; Gov. Bill Richardson of New Mexico, Santa Fe, New Mexico; Speaker Ben Lujan, New Mexico State Legislature, Santa Fe, New Mexico; Mayor Bob Foster, Long Beach, CA; Cong. Adam Schiff, Glendale, CA; Congresswoman Diane Watson; Orange County Sheriff Sandra Hutchins, Santa Ana, CA; Orange County Board of Supervisors; Mike Schneider, President Pro Tem, Nevada State Senate, Las Vegas, Nevada; Mayor Oscar Goodman, City of Las Vegas, Nevada; Asked Cong. Michael McMahon (NY) to join the Azerbaijani Caucus, Los Angeles, CA; Mayor Chuck Reed, City of San Jose, CA; Meeting with California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to present a gift from Azerbaijan to the Governor, Los Angeles, CA; Mayor Coss, City of Santa Fe, New Mexico; Cong. Dana Rohrabacher, Huntington Beach, CA; and City Council Member Jan Perry, Los Angeles, CA.

3) Jewish and Israeli Representatives:

Consul General of Azerbaijan met with Consul General Jacob Dayan of Israel, Los Angeles, CA; John Fishel, Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles; Rabbi Abraham Cooper, Museum of Tolerance, Los Angeles, CA; Lecture at Temple Judea, Tarzana, CA; American Jewish Committee, San Francisco, CA; and met with Rabbi Leider and Prof. Reuven Firestone regarding a lecture by the Consul General at Temple Beth Am, Los Angeles, CA.

There are dozens of other meetings that Jason Katz, the owner of Tool Shed Group, had arranged for the Consul General of Azerbaijan. I must admit that for a paltry $9,000 a month Mr. Katz is underpaid for arranging such a wide array of access for Azerbaijan in several US States, something the Consul General of Azerbaijan could have never accomplished on his own.

The Armenian-American community makes up for its lack of lobbying and PR firms by the activism of its organizations and their members. However, a professional lobbying and PR firm can add a lot to the existing successes. Unfortunately, most Armenians do not have a proper appreciation for the work of lobbying and PR firms and therefore do not believe in funding such a valuable and much-needed effort!

July 25, 2017
US & Europe Should Investigate Azeri Shipments of Weapons to Terrorists

A stunning investigation by Bulgarian reporter Dilyana Gaytandzhieva revealed that Azerbaijan’s state-run Silk Way Airlines has shipped under diplomatic cover 350 planeloads of heavy weapons and ammunition to terrorist groups around the world in the last three years! Azerbaijan asked the Foreign Ministries of various countries to issue a diplomatic exemption for these flights, allowing civilian planes to carry weapons which would normally be prohibited by the International Air Transport Association.

The reporter’s information is based on a large number of emails sent to her by an anonymous source: “The leaked files include correspondence between the Bulgarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Embassy of Azerbaijan to Bulgaria with attached documents for weapons deals and diplomatic clearance for overflight and/or landing in Bulgaria and many other European countries,” in addition to Syria, Iraq, the United States, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Turkey, and Israel, to name a few.

According to documents obtained by Gaytandzhieva, “Silk Way Airlines offered diplomatic flights to private companies and arms manufacturers from the US, the Balkans, and Israel, as well as to the militaries of Saudi Arabia, UAE, and US Special Operations Command (USSOCOM), and the military forces of Germany and Denmark in Afghanistan and of Sweden in Iraq. Diplomatic flights are exempt of checks, air bills, and taxes, meaning that Silk Way airplanes freely transported hundreds of tons of weapons to different locations around the world without regulation.”

The leaked documents also reveal that American weapons manufacturers had shipped over $1 billion of weapons through Silk Way Airlines. These were non-US standard weapons which means that they were not intended for use by U.S. forces. When Silk Way Airlines did not have enough available planes, Azerbaijan’s Air Force jets would transport the military shipments, Gaytandzhieva reported.

According to the U.S. federal contracts registry, in December 2014, the U.S. Special Operations Command signed a $26.7 million contract with the American company Purple Shovel. Bulgaria was listed as the country of origin for the shipped weapons and Azerbaijan’s Defense Ministry as the consignee. Another US company, Orbital ATK, received a contract for $250 million of non-US standard weapons.

Amazingly, the daring Bulgarian reporter went to Aleppo, Syria, in December of last year where she “found and filmed 9 underground warehouses full of heavy weapons with Bulgaria as their country of origin. They were used by Al Nusra Front (Al Qaeda affiliate in Syria designated as a terrorist organization by the UN).”

Gaytandzhieva discovered that just in April and May of 2017, Azerbaijan’s Air Force jets transported 282 tons of grenades on 10 diplomatic flights.

Another major purchaser of non-US standard weapons is Saudi Arabia which cannot use these weapons for its own defense as they are not compatible with its arsenal of western weapons. In 2016 and 2017, there were 23 diplomatic flights carrying weapons from Bulgaria, Serbia and Azerbaijan to Jeddah and Riyadh. These weapons were transported to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia through Silk Way Airlines and ended up in the hands of militants in Syria and Yemen that Saudi Arabia officially admits supporting, according to Gaytandzhieva.

On April 28 and May 12 of this year, Silk Way Airlines carried out two diplomatic flights from Baku to Burgas-Jeddah-Brazzaville (Republic of Congo). The military cargo on board both flights was paid for by Saudi Arabia. The aircraft was loaded with mortars and anti-tank grenades. These very same weapons were discovered by the Iraqi army a month ago in an Islamic State warehouse in Mosul. It is not surprising that Islamic State terrorists have displayed these weapons in their propaganda videos, according to Gaytandzhieva.

The same situation existed with the shipment of Coyote machine guns which appeared on propaganda videos posted online by militant groups in Syria. These weapons were transported on a diplomatic flight via Turkey and Saudi Arabia a few months earlier. There are many other examples of such shipments that ended up in the hands of terrorists, including some shipments sponsored by United Arab Emirates.

In February and March 2017, Saudi Arabia received 350 tons of weapons on Silk Way Airlines’ diplomatic flights originating from Baku. The cargo included 27,350 pieces of 128-mm rockets and 10,000 pieces of 122 mm. Grad rockets.

Some of these shipments were paid in cash which may account for the huge amount of wealth accumulated by Pres. Aliyev and his family.

Just as concerning are the shipments of large quantities (around 200 tons) of white phosphorus which could be deadly. Ironically, Azerbaijan, which possesses white phosphorus, accuses Armenia of using it in the Artsakh conflict.

This is not just another article which should be read and forgotten! The US Congress and European governments should hold hearings and investigate these huge shipments of weapons, most of which are destined for terrorists in the Middle East and elsewhere.

July 11, 2017