Author: Harut Sassounian

Erdogan vs. Gulen in Texas Courts: Battle of Two Turkish Powerhouses

A decade ago, two Turkish Islamist leaders — Recep Erdogan (now President) and prominent Sunni cleric Fethullah Gulen — were the best of friends. Their common enemy was the Turkish military. But as Erdogan solidified his dictatorial rule by castrating the generals, he turned against his old ally, Gulen, to monopolize his grip on power. Erdogan purged and jailed hundreds of Gulen followers: journalists, judges, police, and state officials.

To expand its global investigation into the activities of Gulen-led organizations, the Turkish government hired, for $50,000 a month, the London-based law firm of Amsterdam and Partners. The law firm will also provide legal advice on the Erdogan regime’s request for Gulen’s extradition from his self-imposed exile in Pennsylvania.

“We have been retained by the Republic of Turkey to expose allegedly unlawful conduct by the Gulen network worldwide,” stated Robert Amsterdam, founding partner of Amsterdam & Partners LLP, during a recent press conference in Washington DC. “The activities of the Gulen network, including its penetration of the Turkish judiciary and police, as well as its political lobbying abroad, should concern everyone who cares about the future of democracy in Turkey.”

The high-powered lawyer’s insincere lament regarding “the future of democracy in Turkey,” is preposterous, as Erdogan himself has single-handedly demolished all vestiges of democracy in Turkey!

In a recent press release, Amsterdam claimed that “The Gulen network, which operates more than 100 charter schools in the U.S., has become the subject of federal and local law enforcement and regulatory investigation in the United States. According to separate cases filed against Gulen-affiliated schools, the group has allegedly engaged in systemic abuse of the American visa system.” The lawyer representing Turkey also asserted: “Globally, the Gulen network operates thousands of schools and has an agreement with the African Union to open 1,000 new schools in the region.”

Erdogan’s long arm has now reached all the way into Texas, going after Harmony Public Schools, the largest charter school system based in Houston, which has 30,000 students and operates under various Gulen-affiliated non-profit organizations.

Last November, Amsterdam and Partners filed a 90-item public information request that would cost Harmony $4.5 million to complete. Even after the lengthy list was shortened, it would still cost Harmony $690,000 to compile and provide that information. The Texas Attorney General will now have to decide the appropriateness of the Turkish request.

This week, Amsterdam and Partners is expected to file a 30-page complaint with the Texas Education Agency (TEA) against Harmony schools. Jim Arnold, an Austin-based lobbyist, also hired by Turkey, sent an e-mail to the Texas Governor’s office stating that the complaint “will outline a series of allegations concerning Harmony’s financial operations as well as their alleged misconduct, and request a comprehensive investigation by TEA.”

In response, Soner Tarim, chief executive officer and co-founder of Harmony Public Schools, told the Houston Chronicle that the targeting of his schools by the Turkish government is “mind-boggling and politically motivated.”

Meanwhile, Amsterdam and Partners has filed similar complaints against the Gulen-affiliated Magnolia Charter Schools in California, “urging the California Department of Education to conduct a full investigation of the charter network’s financial practices,” according to the Houston Chronicle.

In a strongly-worded letter, Cong. Brad Sherman complained about the Turkish government’s attacks on Magnolia Charter Schools: “President Erdogan is a repudiation of everything that good American schools stand for. He has personally done tremendous damage to democracy in the Republic of Turkey.” Cong. Sherman also wrote in his April 26 letter that “Amsterdam & Partners was being paid $600,000 a year to disparage Magnolia Public Schools” and that “at various times, President Erdogan’s government has assisted ISIS. Accordingly, I cannot think of a worse source of information about American education than President Erdogan and his paid agents,” the Houston Chronicle reported.

Tarim told the Houston newspaper that regretfully “The Turkish government is spending hundreds of thousands of dollars and countless time attacking these American schools, forcing Harmony to match the effort. The money and energy would be better spent on students.”

Armenian-Americans can sit back and watch with great interest this costly and scandalous court battle between the Turkish government and Gulen’s organization. Let them waste their money and energy by fighting each other rather than wining and dining U.S. officials on all-expense paid extravagant junkets to Turkey and lobbying members of Congress against Armenian issues!

May 24, 2016
Kurdish MP Delivers Fiery Speech In Turkish Parliament

In recent days, scathing speeches by Armenian and Kurdish deputies in the Turkish Parliament have been circulating on the internet. Last week, I presented the bold speech by Armenian MP Garo Paylan, delivered in April on the Armenian Genocide. This week, I would like to share with readers another fearless speech by Kurdish MP Gultan Kisanak. Even though this video was recently posted on the internet, her remarks were delivered in January 2012, shortly after the massacre of 35 young Kurdish civilians by the Turkish military in Roboski village, in Turkish-occupied Kurdistan!

Here are excerpts from her remarkable speech:

“…Those who don’t feel grief or shame for this situation and call themselves Muslim; those who don’t account for this situation, I question their humanity, their Islamic religion, and beliefs. Everyone is aware of what happened there. Is this how blinded your conscience has become? Is this your definition of humanity? …How do you manage to be so reckless and careless about the massacre of 35 people? How do you manage to be so inhumane? First, you are going to stand up and apologize; get upset. That is if you’re a human being as you claim to be. If you have a conscience! But you are not doing any of these things and instead acting as if a fly or a couple of chickens died by an ‘accidental operation.’ Shame on you! …For 90 years, this country has been using the terrorism excuse and committing many massacres…. You are trying to exterminate the Kurdish people! There is no terrorism! … The Military Chief of Staff of this country said: ‘We killed 40,000 people. We bombed the mountains many times. But still this issue does not end.’ You still cannot understand this truth! There are people there; and these people have rights! There are people there whose identity is being denied. There is a Kurdish issue. There is no terror issue….”

Using even harsher language, the Kurdish MP continued: “We are going to make you pay for this! Those who committed this massacre in broad daylight against these civilians and their mules, under the watchful eyes of the police, and those who think they can go around massacring 35 people and threaten the Kurds, will soon realize that they are the losers in these massacres! No one is afraid of death! Is there anything more than death? … How dare you impose your superiority on us! What more do you have over us? What do Turks have more than Kurds? What did Germans have more than Jews? …As equal citizens of this country, everyone is going to freely have their citizen’s rights with their true identity. Living side by side as free citizens with honor, we will never accept to be dishonored. Never! Even if you commit a thousand massacres, we will never accept it.”

When a pro-government MP tried to interrupt her speech, the Kurdish deputy shot back firmly: “Shut up! You have not even shown the strength to condemn the massacre. Shut up!”

Kisanak, who is now the co-Mayor of Diyarbekir, resumed her remarks: “Someone [Erdogan] is saying: ‘We’re not going to allow them [Kurds] to settle down in those areas.’ What ‘settling down?’ We have been here longer than a thousand years. We are deeply-rooted in those cliffs, rocks, Mount Cudi, Mount Gabar, Mount Agri [Ararat], and Mount Munzur. We are in their depths. We are here and have been here since the beginning of history and we are going to be here till the end! What ‘settling down’? We have been rooted here since the beginning. Our ancestors, grandfathers, and graves are all here. Our language, culture is here. What ‘settling down’ are you talking about? …They want to assimilate and annihilate the Kurdish population that has been living here for over thousands of years.”

Calling the killing of 35 young Kurds by the Turkish military “a crime against humanity,” Kisanak continued: “We are not going to let it go — till the end! We will be using all possible international human rights to make them account for their crimes. All those who commanded it, gave the orders, bombarded the place, shredded the bodies of those young children, will give an account to the community for it. Someone said, ‘there was no intent, there is no apology,’ but, ‘there is compensation.’ Be ashamed of yourselves. You know what they call this in our [Kurdish] culture? Blood money! If I have the money, I can commit a crime and pay the money to cover it up. So you think you can kill, then pay and then try to cover it up? Be ashamed of yourselves….”

The Speaker of the Parliament turned off the courageous Kurdish MP’s microphone, forcing her to end her speech!

May 17, 2016
Erdogan’s Thugs in Parliament Beat up Armenian & Kurdish MPs
Kicking and punching are becoming a daily routine in the Turkish Parliament. Whenever Armenian or Kurdish Members of the Parliament criticize the government, they are viciously attacked by a gang MPs from Erdogan’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP).

In recent days, AKP Parliamentarians have hurled insults and physically assaulted Garo Paylan (an Armenian) and Ferhat Encu (a Kurd) who represent the opposition Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) in Parliament.

Paylan delivered an unprecedented speech in the Turkish Parliament on April 21, 2016. After greeting the deputies in Armenian, by saying “Parev tsez,” he boldly continued: “Once World War One began on April 24, 1915, Armenian intellectuals, opinion leaders and parliamentarians were, unfortunately, the first to be arrested…. Although they had immunity, they were arrested and taken to Ankara, Ayash, Urfa and Diyarbekir, and on the way, the deputies were murdered by bandits. Of course, after the community’s opinion leaders and MPs were made powerless, and their claims to solve issues through democratic processes became redundant, the Armenian and Assyrian peoples suffered great massacres by decree and were evicted from the ancient lands where they had lived for thousands of years.”

Paylan dared to raise the shameful legacy of the Armenian Genocide which persists to this day in Turkey: “Look at the names of Talat Pasha, Jemal Pasha, and Enver Pasha. In 2,500 places in the country, streets were named after them. Today, unfortunately, we walk in streets named Talat Pasha. Can you imagine going to Germany and Berlin today and walking in streets named after Hitler and Goebbels? Would such a thing be acceptable? Well, in 2,500 places in our country, we walk in streets and avenues named Talat Pasha.”

During his remarks, Paylan recited the names and displayed enlarged photographs of several Armenian members of the Turkish Parliament, including Krikor Zohrab, who were arrested on April 24, 1915, and brutally murdered. The Armenian MP fearlessly proposed that a parliamentary committee be formed to investigate the circumstances of their deaths, identify those responsible for their murders — those who ordered their killings and actually carried them out — locate where their bodies were buried, rebury them with appropriate funeral services, and restore their dignity. Not surprisingly, Paylan’s proposal was rejected by the majority of Parliament.

After expressing his respect for the memory of the perished Armenian members of the Turkish Parliament in 1915, Paylan concluded his speech with traditional Armenian words of condolences for the departed: “Asdvads irents hokin lousavore” (May God enlighten their souls). Throughout his lengthy and courageous remarks, Paylan was repeatedly interrupted by taunts and threats from AKP MPs.

On May 2nd, as a parliamentary committee met to strip opposition members of their immunity from prosecution, Paylan was kicked and punched over 100 times by Erdogan’s AKP members during a 10-minute all-out brawl. Paylan described the assault as “a premeditated lynching because of his Armenian heritage.”

After the attack, when HDP members walked out of the hearing, the committee voted to approve the AKP proposal to lift the immunity of pro-Kurdish HDP MPs. This inflammatory measure is expected to be approved by Parliament shortly! Most Kurdish members along with Paylan will then be arrested on trumped-up charges. Most probably Erdogan plans to announce new parliamentary elections, hoping the AKP will win additional seats vacated by the HDP, giving him enough votes in Parliament to amend the Constitution and establish a powerful autocratic presidential regime.

Meanwhile, Paylan’s fate seems to be sealed! He will either serve a long jail term or suffer the same tragic fate as Armenian journalist Hrant Dink who was assassinated in cold blood by Turkish extremists in Istanbul on January 19, 2007!

All people of goodwill around the world must raise their voices in condemnation of Erdogan’s increasingly despotic rule. It is ironic that Paylan, who was lamenting the killing of Parliamentarian Krikor Zohrab a century ago, may end up dead himself, unless the international community issues a serious warning to the Turkish government to take the strictest measures to ensure the safety of the Armenian MP. Regrettably, nothing seems to have changed in Turkey in the last 100 years!
May 10, 2016
Who Should Be More Pitied: Pres. Obama or Naive Armenians?
For eight years now, Pres. Obama has failed to keep his campaign promise to call the Armenian Genocide a genocide. Yet, for some incomprehensible reason, which can only be described as naiveté, many Armenians in the United States and around the world have kept up the vain hope ever since 2009 — Pres. Obama’s first year in office — that he will use the term Armenian Genocide in 2010 or 2011 or 2012.

When he did not utter those words at the end of his first term in office, these naive Armenians were convinced that Pres. Obama would pronounce them during his second and final term, starting in 2013. They wrongly reasoned that Pres. Obama would be more likely to say genocide then, as he would not run for reelection, and therefore not worry about criticism from either Turkey or his domestic political opponents.

When Pres. Obama continued his refusal to say Armenian Genocide, these same naive Armenians came up with a new reason to keep up their wishful thinking. They thought that since Pres. Obama had dared to reverse the long-standing restrictive U.S. policy on Cuba, he would act with similar boldness on the Armenian Genocide issue! This, of course, proved to be a baseless speculation.

Finally, when all else failed, the naive Armenians expected Pres. Obama to pronounce those two forbidden words on April 24, 2016; his last opportunity to do so. That prediction also did not materialize. In his latest statement, Pres. Obama used every euphemism in the dictionary to describe what happened to the Armenians in 1915, except for the word genocide! Here are the results of the latest verbal gymnastics practiced by Pres. Obama: “mass atrocity; deported; massacred; marched to their deaths; suffered; dark days; tragedy; violence; and horror.” Why is the leader of the most powerful country on earth torturing himself and his aides to come up with so many words, when a single word — genocide — would suffice?

Incredibly, some Armenians crossed all bounds of naiveté, by claiming that since Pres. Obama used ‘Meds Yeghern’ in his annual commemorative statements, that term should be viewed as a fulfillment of his campaign promise and an acknowledgement of the Armenian Genocide. The problem is that Obama, as a presidential candidate, did not promise that if elected he would say ‘Meds Yeghern.’ On the contrary, he promised to say Armenian Genocide and even insisted that “America deserves a President who speaks truthfully about the Armenian Genocide; I will be that President.” Furthermore, ‘Meds Yeghern’ is not a legal term and has no meaning for non-Armenians. If ‘Meds Yeghern’ is the equivalent of Armenian Genocide, why would Pres. Obama for eight years always use the former and never the latter? While Armenians may be naive, the same cannot be said about Pres. Obama and his aides who know what they are saying and why!

There are two culprits in this nonsensical situation: The first is Pres. Obama who gave a promise that he did not keep, thus misleading all those who trusted him and voted for him; some twice! If Pres. Obama does not mind leaving a legacy of not telling the truth to the American public, that is his problem and not that of the Armenian-American community!

The second culprit consists of all those who desperately, year after year, hoped that Pres. Obama would use the words Armenian Genocide, even though there was no need for such a statement. The Armenian Genocide has been repeatedly recognized by the United States: in a legal document submitted by the U.S. government to the World Court in 1951; two resolutions adopted by the House of Representatives in 1975 and 1984; and Pres. Reagan’s Presidential Proclamation of April 22, 1981. Why do Armenians seek the words Armenian Genocide, when it has already been stated by a previous president? Does every American President have to use that term before Armenians are satisfied that the Armenian Genocide is indeed recognized by the United States?

Unfortunately, most Armenians confuse the issue of genocide recognition with U.S. governmental policy on Turkey. None of the other countries that are considered to have recognized the Armenian Genocide have an antagonistic policy vis-à-vis Turkey. Nor does the U.S.! All of these countries balance genocide recognition with maintaining normal and even cordial relations with Turkey. The United States should not be construed as not having recognized the Armenian Genocide just because its leaders avoid using that term for misperceived political or economic reasons! One can condemn U.S. policy towards Turkey without questioning its recognition of the Armenian Genocide. In fact, accusing the U.S. government of not having recognized the Armenian Genocide, as many Armenians often do, casts doubt on the veracity of the Genocide and does a great disservice to the Armenian Cause!
April 28, 2016
Shame on German Chancellor Merkel For Succumbing to Erdogan’s Bullying
It is bad enough that Turkish President Erdogan wants to sue a German comic for insulting him! It is much more outrageous for German Chancellor Angela Merkel allowing the lawsuit to go forward, based on a 19th century law!

Under this archaic law, anyone who offends a foreign leader can be sued in court after obtaining the consent of the German government. Erdogan now joins the dictatorial ranks of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi of Iran and Chilean leader Augusto Pinochet who had filed similar lawsuits in Germany.

Merkel, after initially defending the German citizen’s right to freedom of press and opinion, contrary to Turkey’s repressive laws, shamefully buckled under Erdogan’s threat to flood Europe with Syrian refugees, after accepting several billion dollars to block such migrants!

Merkel, Obama, and others don’t seem to understand that appeasing a bully only leads to more bullying. The best way to stop a bully is just to say ‘no!’ Naturally, Erdogan will throw a temper tantrum like a spoiled brat, make threats, and probably withdraw his ambassador! But, after a while, he will learn that he can’t impose his will outside of Turkey, and that the rest of the world will not meekly kowtow to his Sultanic diktats!

For several decades, American, British and Israeli leaders have made the same humiliating mistake of buckling under threats from Erdogan and his predecessors not to utter the words “Armenian Genocide.” Had these foreign leaders just said no on day one, they would have spared themselves years of escalating threats! Unfortunate, they have allowed the tail to wag the dog!

Merkel, has now gone down the slippery slope of appeasing the Turkish bully. She has made the gross misjudgment that by allowing the prosecution of the German satirist, she has bought Erdogan’s friendship! The German Chancellor will soon face new demands from the Turkish President on Syrian refugees and many other issues, such as next month’s scheduled vote in the Bundestag on the Armenian Genocide which has already been postponed several times under earlier Turkish threats.

Merkel’s unwise and undemocratic move may cause a split in her “grand coalition” government. Thomas Oppermann, the parliamentary leader of the center-left Social Democrats, criticized her decision, urging the Chancellor to repeal the antiquated law. Foreign heads of state should not enjoy special rights to sue German citizens, Oppermann warned.

Two influential ministers in Merkel’s government also announced their opposition to her decision. Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Justice Minister Heiko Maas declared: “The freedom of opinion, media and culture are the highest treasures of our Constitution.”

Furthermore, two-thirds of the German public opposes Merkel’s decision to try the satirist, according to a recent survey. In the last few days, her popularity fell from 56% to 45%. According to another survey, 66% of the respondents oppose the prosecution of the satirist, while only 22% support it. The German newspaper ZDF, which posted the satirist’s video on Erdogan, has promised its full legal support during the investigation.

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker also criticized Erdogan’s unacceptable overreaction. Juncker vowed not to compromise on European values in order to preserve the recently struck deal with Ankara to stem migrant flows, according to the Turkish Hurriyet newspaper. “I cannot understand at all that a German ambassador has been summoned for an admittedly difficult satirical song,” Juncker stated on April 13. “That does not bring Turkey closer to us. It will put us farther away from each other.”

According to the New York Times, Erdogan has filed almost 2,000 lawsuits in Turkey against those he accuses of insulting him. The Turkish President has already brought a private lawsuit in a German court against the satirist, who could face a three-year jail term or an unspecified fine, if found guilty.

Satirist Jan Bohmermann, in his sarcastic poem, made references to sex with goats and oppressing minorities. He called Erdogan “dumb as a post, cowardly and uptight” and “perverse, lice-ridden… kicking Kurds, beating Christians, all the while watching child porno films.”

No matter how insulting the poem may be, the writer should have the right to express his opinion freely. It is one thing for Erdogan, the dictatorial leader of a third world country, to repress the media. It is completely a different matter for the head of a major Western European democracy to side with the Sultan of a fascist Middle Eastern state. In this regard, Merkel’s transgression is much worse than Erdogan’s!
April 20, 2016
Leading Jewish Scholar Condemns Israel’s Sale of Murderous Weapons to Azerbaijan
www.TheCaliforniaCouier.com
In last week’s large-scale attack on Artsakh (Karabagh), the Azeri military killed and injured dozens of Armenian soldiers and civilians, using the sophisticated weapons purchased from Israel and Russia for billions of dollars.

The Armenian government and Armenians worldwide accused both Israel and Russia of responsibility for the innocent Armenian lives lost in the recent Azeri invasion.

Prof. Israel Charny, a righteous Jew and a staunch defender of human rights, could not remain silent knowing that his country — Israel — had a bloody role in the Armenian killings. As Executive Director of the Institute on the Holocaust and Genocide in Jerusalem, Dr. Charny sent a scathing commentary to the Israeli newspaper, Haaretz, under the provocative title: “Would Israel Sell a Used Drone to a Hitler?” Here is what he wrote:

“If the Nazis were not at all murdering Jews but ‘only’ were murdering say hated Slavs, Gypsies, and Jehovah’s Witnesses; and if our beloved State of Israel were in existence; would you agree to our selling arms to the Nazis?

“Israel is reported to have sold billions of dollars of arms including to governments that are killing or threatening to attack victim peoples. Last week, there came reports that an Israeli drone in the hands of Azerbaijan — a huge arms customer of ours — was responsible for the deaths of six Armenians in the Armenian enclave Nagorno Karabagh.

“I am ashamed!

“The Armenians were the victims of a major genocide 100 years ago that has even been called the ‘Armenian Shoah’ by some Israeli scholars, including from Bar Ilan University. A great deal of their national and cultural concern continues to focus passionately on the memory of that genocide (does that sound familiar to us Jews?). For many years now, we Israelis — whether led by Labor or Likud — have insulted and hurt the Armenian people by failing to recognize their genocide officially and formally. Would we ourselves tolerate another government — say the U.S. or England — failing to recognize the Holocaust because of their realpolitik interest with the perpetrator government?

“One senior Armenian official has written several of us in Israel to express his deep pain as well as indignation now not only at our cowardly and self-serving denials of the Armenian Genocide, but also at our thick military trade alliance with Azerbaijan. I am reminded of the prophet Nathan crying out to King David for an earlier though more delectable murderous act of self-interest: It’s bad enough that you killed him, are you also taking a profit from the sordid affair? The Azeris are a Turkic people who adhere to Turkey’s bizarre and fascist tradition of rewriting history and denying the Armenian Genocide.

“In general, how much do we Israelis want to strengthen our economy by lucrative arms sales? Of course, ‘everyone’ in the world is doing it, but do we have to also? Have we given up the image/dream of Israel as a moral leader of peoples on this planet? Is this idea tiresome, naïve, and childlike in a madly destructive and self-destroying world?

“An alternative concept could be that along with our building arms first and foremost for the defense of Israel, that we sell — or contribute — arms only to underdog peoples who are facing mass destruction, and/or to allies like the U.S., who are essentially committed to shared democratic values and peace. Of course, we will still be making some mistakes, but at least our conscience will be more clear that we have not delivered used arms to the ‘Nazis.’

“To my Armenian colleagues and friends, I can only say that as a Jew and as an Israeli, I am mortified — and angry.”

Prof. Charny’s harsh words are fully justified as both Israeli and Russian officials have shamefully pledged to continue shipping more weapons to Azerbaijan!

Dr. Charny has never shied away from expressing his critical views on Israel’s immoral policies on Armenian issues. In a scathing letter in 2001, he told Israel’s Foreign Minister Shimon Peres: “You have gone beyond a moral boundary that no Jew should allow himself to trespass…. As a Jew and an Israeli, I am ashamed of the extent to which you have now entered into the range of actual denial of the Armenian Genocide, comparable to denials of the Holocaust.”

Prof. Charny should be highly commended for his bold and righteous stand, taking to task the callous leaders of his own country!
April 14, 2016