Turkish Forum

Author: Harut Sassounian

  • Armenians Should Do Everything Possible To Ensure This is the Last Azeri Attack

    Armenians Should Do Everything Possible To Ensure This is the Last Azeri Attack

    The world woke up last Saturday morning to the drumbeats of war from a large-scale assault by Azerbaijan on tiny Artsakh (Karabagh).

    This was not a surprise attack! For many years, Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev has had the nasty habit of launching military attacks on the Republics of Armenia and Artsakh whenever international peace talks or Summit Meetings were being held.

    Even a casual observer of this long-running conflict could have guessed that Azerbaijan would launch yet another attack during last weekend’s Nuclear Security Summit hosted by Pres. Obama and attended by 50 heads of state, including Presidents of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Turkey. Some observers were surprised by the large scale of the Azeri attack which involved tanks, helicopters, missiles, and drones. In fact, the scope of the assault should not have come as a surprise, given Azerbaijan’s technological escalation of aggression in recent years. Aliyev’s sinister practice of timing military attacks with peace talks or international conferences reflects his intensive efforts to keep the Artsakh conflict as a burning issue at all cost.

    Certainly, Pres. Aliyev is increasingly frustrated by his inability to intimidate Armenians into giving up the territory of Artsakh despite Azerbaijan’s purchase of multi-billion dollars of modern weaponry. Aliyev is also distressed by his failure to use his country’s vast oil and gas resources as an inducement to pressure world leaders into supporting Azerbaijan in the Artsakh conflict. As a result, the Baku dictator has wasted huge amounts of his country’s wealth to bribe foreign officials and purchase expensive but ineffective weapons.

    Furthermore, as Azerbaijan’s father and son Presidential Dynasty, the Aliyevs have persistently threatened to attack and “liberate the occupied territories of Karabagh” for over 20 years. Since they have cried wolf for far too long, very few Azeris take their president’s bravado talk too seriously. Consequently, Aliyev has been desperate to take any and all measures, no matter how reckless, to save face at home and abroad!

    It is important to understand the timing and motive of Aliyev’s aggressive behavior so that other countries are not blamed for instigating these attacks which would only serve to shift attention from the only guilty party — Azerbaijan! However, there are other countries that have a share of the blame: First among these is Erdogan’s Turkey for its direct participation and support of Azerbaijan’s military misadventures. The Minsk Group of mediators (France, Russia, and United States) are also guilty for remaining silent during previous Azeri aggressions and blaming both sides each time Azerbaijan attacked Armenia or Artsakh. The international community’s shameful silence and doubletalk routinely equated the victimizer with the victim, thereby emboldening the warmongering Aliyev!

     

    One particularly horrifying episode during this latest attack validated the concern of all those who have been warning for years about the risk of genocide threatening Artsakh’s Armenians. Over the weekend, when Azeri soldiers temporarily took over the Talish village, just inside Artsakh’s border, they not only executed an elderly Armenian couple, but barbarically cut off their ears as souvenirs! Such savagery, at a minimum, is a war crime under international law! Just imagine what these brutal Azeri soldiers would have done if they had overrun the entire population of Artsakh. It would have been a bloodbath of immense proportion — a second Armenian Genocide!

     

    Three firm conclusions should be drawn from the latest massive Azeri aggression:

     

    1) Artsakh Armenians can never go back to live under the despotic rule of Azerbaijan, no matter how many times Aliyev threatens or attacks.

     

    2) Armenians should not just repel the Azeri forces, but inflict such massive destruction that Aliyev would never again think of another attack. Already, thousands of volunteers from all over Armenia have rushed to Artsakh’s defense. Azerbaijan is aware that its multi-billion dollar oil fields and pipelines are in easy reach of Armenia’s long-range missiles!

     

    3) It is time to declare Artsakh an inseparable part of the Republic of Armenia. On April 4, Pres. Sargsyan told foreign ambassadors in Yerevan that if the hostilities continued and escalated, Armenia would “recognize Karabagh’s independence.”

     

    The brave people of Artsakh desperately need everyone’s moral, political and material support! The Armenia Artsakh Fund of Glendale, California, gratefully welcomes your contributions to be able to ship urgently-needed millions of dollars of medicines and medical supplies the Fund has already collected. Please send your tax-deductible donations to: Armenia Artsakh Fund, 1101 N. Pacific Ave., #204, Glendale, CA 91202. Email: sassoun@pacbell.net; phone: 818-241-8900.

     

     

  • Better to Support Armenian Activists Than Criticize Azeri & Turkish Lobbying

    Better to Support Armenian Activists Than Criticize Azeri & Turkish Lobbying

     

     

    For years, many critical books and articles have been written about foreign countries and domestic groups for hiring lobbying firms or making campaign contributions to influence government officials.

     

    One such article was published last week by L. Michael Hager in the Foreign Policy Journal titled, “The Best Congress AIPAC Can Buy.” AIPAC is the acronym for the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. The author acknowledges that “there is nothing illegal or morally wrong with lobbying Congress or candidates for office. In fact, it can serve a useful purpose in educating members and candidates about matters subject to legislation. The problem comes when the lobbyists use money to secure access or buy support for proposed bills and resolutions.” After that benign introduction, however, Hager concludes that “for the sake of our democracy, the flow of interest group money that is buying off our elected lawmakers must be stopped.”

     

    Hager states that “nowhere is the influence and power of a political lobby more evident than in the annual Policy Conference of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC)” held on March 22-24 in Washington, DC.

     

    Conference speakers addressed “more than 15,000 pro-Israel Americans (including 2/3 of the current Members of Congress). Among the speakers were 30 members of the U.S. Congress, 25 of whom received 2016 contributions from pro-Israel PACs and individuals, averaging $36,000 per recipient ($908,000 in total). From each of those speakers, AIPAC gains a public expression of high level support for Israel.”

     

    Hager reported that the AIPAC conference attracted nearly 400 speakers, including “Vice President Joe Biden and Presidential candidates Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton, Ted Cruz and John Kasich.” According to the writer, “AIPAC generated contributions in the amount of $212,927 for Hillary Clinton and $203,850 for Ted Cruz. Marco Rubio received $132,552 and Lindsey Graham $74,200. No surprise that all of those candidates have pledged ‘full support’ for Israel.”

     

    The author considers “The AIPAC-led pro-Israel lobby” as “probably the strongest, best organized and most effective lobby network in Washington, DC. For the 2015-2016 election cycle, the pro-Israel network has already dispensed $4,255,136 in contributions. The largest single amount ($259,688) went to Senator Charles Schumer of New York.”

     

    Hager explains that “AIPAC itself does not make political contributions and is in fact legally prohibited from doing so. Instead it uses its considerable resources ($3 million annual lobbying budget) to link current and aspiring members of Congress with pro-Israel donors. AIPAC’s projection of invincibility encourages political candidates and officeholders to accept pro-Israel contributions or risk seeing those funds go to their opponents. For example, former Congressman Paul Findley and former Senator Charles Percy lost their seats for failure to adhere to the AIPAC line.”

     

    The author’ criticisms emanate from his concern that “the appearance of conflict of interest erodes citizen trust in government. Given the critical importance of money for reelection campaigns, political contributions such as mentioned above have the potential to corrupt or create the appearance of corrupting otherwise honest officials.”

     

    Hager acknowledges that AIPAC is “only one part of a larger picture, dominated by congressional fundraising and lobby contributions,” such as “Defense, pharmaceuticals, the NRA and other lobbies….”

     

    In my view, it is justified to criticize lobbying firms and their paymasters when they violate U.S. laws. However, it is more important to strengthen one’s own lobbying efforts than disparage what others are doing. While it is necessary from an Armenian perspective to monitor closely the lobbying firms hired by Turkey and Azerbaijan, Armenians should focus on what they can do to support their two public affairs organizations in Washington — The Armenian Assembly and Armenian National Committee of America. Despite their limited staff and resources, these Armenian-American groups have been successfully countering the activities of major lobbying firms hired for millions of dollars by Turkey and Azerbaijan.

     

    Fortunately, Armenian-American groups do not need such exorbitant sums to pursue their political goals in Washington because it costs much less to present the truth of their just cause, unlike Turkey and Azerbaijan which have to spend huge amounts of money to deceive the politicians and the public!

     

     

  • How to Get Rich While in Congress And Even After Retirement!

    How to Get Rich While in Congress And Even After Retirement!

    Two weeks ago, I reported that former Cong. Dan Burton had resigned as Chairman of the Washington-based Azerbaijan America Alliance because he had not been paid for a year!

    It is hard to feel sorry for a man who had eagerly gone to bed with the dictatorial regime of Ilham Aliyev until the money stopped!

    For years, many members of Congress have supported all sorts of shady causes and foreign and domestic interest groups to not only reap financial benefits during their tenure in Congress, but more importantly, land a lucrative lobbying job after their retirement from ‘public service’!

    Last week, a reader sent me an old article that had exposed Cong. Dan Burton’s questionable practices during his first 18 years in Congress, not including the last 12 years before his retirement! Titled “The Hypocrisy of Dan Burton,” the article was written by American Prospect Online reporter Lindsay Sobel in December 2001.

    Ironically, while Burton was Chairing the House Government Reform Committee, he was doing “plenty of favors for contributors, according to an exhaustive investigation by The Hill and other publications in 1997 and 1998,” Sobel wrote. Burton had done “favors for reputed terrorists, human rights violators, and a despot.” As an example, Sobel cites Burton’s request to “the State Department to give former Zairian dictator Mobutu Sese Seko a visa to visit the United States after receiving thousands of dollars in campaign contributions and honoraria from Mobutu’s Washington lobbyist…. Around the time of the contributions, Burton also made statements on the floor of the House of Representatives praising Mobutu.”

    Burton “also took thousands of dollars in legal contributions from people with business interests in Turkey,” Sobel reported. “Afterwards, he made a statement on the floor of the House of Representatives he had cribbed from a Turkish government official. The statement defended Turkey against well-documented charges that its government committed serious human rights violations against the Kurds. In 1996, Burton made another floor statement that almost exactly echoed materials that Turkey’s lobbying firm gave to members of Congress, according to The Los Angeles Times. Burton calls himself a defender of international human rights. Nevertheless, after receiving contributions from Turkey’s allies, he defended the country’s government on numerous occasions — despite the fact that the United Nations, State Department and numerous human rights groups have made serious allegations against Turkey’s government.”

    Sobel also reported Burton’s involvement “in programs put on by the conservative International Freedom Foundation. Later investigations revealed that South Africa’s apartheid government funded the Foundation in order to increase support for apartheid overseas, and discredit Nelson Mandela’s African National Congress. At least two Burton contributors worked in the Foundation’s Washington office, according to The Los Angeles Times. Consistent with his work with the Foundation, Burton opposed sanctions against South Africa’s apartheid government and openly criticized the African National Congress.”

    “In another case, Burton intervened with the Department of Education for a campaign contributor who owns a medical school in the Caribbean, according to Roll Call. Soon after doing the favor, Burton asked his contributor whether his daughter could apply to an affiliated veterinary program.”

    Sobel’s research on Burton indicated that he had “run into other kinds of trouble as well. For example, the FBI investigated charges that Burton demanded that a lobbyist for Pakistan raise $5,000 for his campaign or be barred from Burton’s office. (Burton admitted meeting with the lobbyist, but denied shaking him down.) In addition, The Hill reports that Burton paid his criminal defense lawyer $25,000 out of his campaign — rather than personal — funds. Also, according to The Hill, Burton took an allegedly illegal contribution from a group founded by five organizations that the State Department identified as Sikh terrorist groups. Burton advocated the group’s cause — an autonomous Sikh homeland in India.”

    Regrettably, Burton is not an exception in Washington. There are many others in and out of Congress who are just like him. Therefore, it is imperative to establish an Armenian-American watchdog group that investigates the financial records of all elected officials who consistently vote against Armenian issues and support Azerbaijan and Turkey. These two countries have such odious human rights records that the only reason politicians would support them is to enrich themselves either during their service in Congress or after retiring, and often both!

  • U.S. Ambassador to Armenia Faces Criticism at Glendale Appearance

    U.S. Ambassador to Armenia Faces Criticism at Glendale Appearance

    Richard Mills, U.S. Ambassador to Armenia, spoke at the Western Prelacy in La Crescenta, California, on March 10, during his tour of Armenian communities throughout the United States to brief them on his diplomatic work in Armenia.

    In his welcoming remarks, Archbishop Moushegh Mardirossian, Prelate of the Western Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church, expressed the hope that “the United States, as a champion of justice and human rights, will in due time join the scores of nations that have formally acknowledged the indisputable truth of the Armenian Genocide.”

    Amb. Mills spoke about the progress Armenia has made in the last two decades and presented the four priorities being pursued the U.S. Embassy:

    1) deepening business and trade relations between Armenia and the United States;

    2) countering corruption;

    3) strengthening democracy, human rights, and civil society;

    4) creating a better understanding of U.S. foreign policy goals.

     

    The Ambassador explained that the United States encourages reconciliation between Armenia and Turkey by continuing to support the Protocols that were signed in 2009, but not ratified. Speaking of the Armenian Genocide Centennial, Amb. Mills remarked that “Armenians were massacred and marched to their deaths by the Ottoman Empire,” carefully avoiding the term ‘Armenian Genocide.’

    At the end of the Ambassador’s presentation, I had the privilege of being called upon to ask the first question. I respectfully commented:

    “I know that ambassadors don’t decide U.S. foreign policy. You are simply the messenger. I would like to go on record to say that it is deeply offensive to the Armenian community for you to come here and not use the word genocide to describe what happened to Armenians in 1915. I am not blaming you. It is not your fault! You know what happened and the U.S. government knows what happened. American officials have repeatedly recognized the Armenian Genocide since 1951. I have written a book that documents U.S. recognition of the Armenian Genocide which I will be happy to give you. It is not understandable to Armenians and non-Armenians around the world why the U.S. government is now reluctant to use a word that describes what it acknowledged a long time ago. This reluctance puts the United States at a disadvantage when its officials give lectures to Armenians in Armenia about democracy, morality and justice, and yet they fail to comply with their own principles. The U.S. government should be an example to the rest of the world! I am just using you as a messenger. I see that one of your colleagues from the State Department is here with you. I hope that you would transmit my message to your superiors in Washington.”

    Amb. Mills gave the following brief answer: “My only response will be to reiterate Pres. Obama’s goal which he set forth in his statement on April 24th: ‘We want full, frank and just acknowledgment of what happened from the Turkish government and Turkish people.’”

    Regrettably, the U.S. Ambassador was simply following Pres. Obama’s deplorable reluctance to utter the words ‘Armenian Genocide,’ despite his repeated promises to do so as a candidate.

    Regardless of whether Pres. Obama and his underlings use the term genocide, the fact remains that the United States has repeatedly acknowledged the Armenian Genocide at the Presidential and Congressional levels.

    Nevertheless, the Armenian-American community and Armenians worldwide have an obligation to confront and reject every attempt to minimize or distort the proper characterization of the Armenian Genocide. Remaining silent upon hearing such reprehensible terminology is an insult to the memory of the Armenian Martyrs, particularly when unacceptable euphemisms are uttered in Armenian church halls and community centers.

    Amb. Mills was probably surprised by the adverse reaction of the audience to his statements not only regarding the Armenian Genocide, but also his faulty claim that Turkey was fighting against ISIS!

    Unfortunately, we cannot expect every American Ambassador to sacrifice his/her diplomatic career by telling the truth to power as did John Evans, the former U.S. Ambassador to Armenia. He boldly acknowledged the Armenian Genocide at a great personal cost, during a similar tour of the Armenian communities in the United States.

    Amb. Mills should be commended for his efforts to improve U.S.-Armenia relations. However, his superiors in Washington should be made aware that his good work is being undermined by their shameful word games regarding the Armenian Genocide!

  • Former Congressman Quits Promoting Azerbaijan’s Interests in Washington

    Former Congressman Quits Promoting Azerbaijan’s Interests in Washington

     

    Here is news that you don’t hear every day: a former Congressman stops working for a foreign client after not receiving his pay for a year!

    This is exactly what happened to Cong. Dan Burton (Republican-Indiana) who quit last week as chairman of Azerbaijan America Alliance, a powerful Azeri propaganda outfit in the United States, after waiting a whole year to get paid.

    What were his Azeri masters thinking? How could they cheat one of their agents in Washington? This is a good way to get your lobbyist turn against you!

    Lobbyists promote a client’s interests, not because they support its cause, but to make money. Personal financial gain was the only reason why Cong. Burton was backing one of the world’s most repressive and corrupt governments. When the money stopped, there was no longer a reason for him to promote Pres. Aliyev’s dictatorial regime.

    The Azerbaijan America Alliance was founded by tycoon Anar Mammadov, a 34-year-old billionaire playboy. Interestingly, Republican Presidential candidate Donald Trump had lent his name for a substantial fee to a luxurious hotel built by Mammadov’s company in Baku, Azerbaijan.

    Reporter Carl Schreck and Radio Free Europe & Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) obtained a copy of the e-mail Cong. Burton sent on March 1, 2016 to James Fabiani whose Washington-based firm does lobbying work for the Azerbaijan America Alliance. “As I have not heard from you or Anar, and have not been paid for a year, please consider this e-mail as a letter of resignation as Chairman of the Azerbaijan America Alliance,” Cong. Burton wrote.

    Here are further details from this scandalous affair disclosed by RFE/RL:

    “Burton’s resignation follows months of speculation about the fate of the Azerbaijan America Alliance, a prominent pillar of a broader Azerbaijani lobbying campaign in the United States to portray Azerbaijan as a stable energy and security partner for the West. The lobby involves both private and state money.”

    “Baku’s detractors accuse President Ilham Aliyev’s government and its proxies of trying to paper over an abysmal human rights record with ‘caviar diplomacy,’ using gifts, vacations, and other expensive incentives to gain friends and curry favor with foreign officials.”

    “Aliyev recently removed broad powers from the Transport Ministry, overseen by Mammadov’s father, suggesting the family’s influence in the government is waning.”

    “Several reports in the Azerbaijani media since August have cited unidentified sources as saying that Mammadov planned to shutter the Azerbaijan America Alliance due to financial difficulties amid the broader economic crisis Azerbaijan is grappling with due to plunging energy prices.”

    “Over the past five years, the Azerbaijan America Alliance has poured a total of $12.3 million into U.S. lobbying efforts, according to the public-interest website Opensecrets.org, having wined and dined Washington’s elite and pushed Baku’s interests in meetings with senior members of Congress.”

    “The organization, which is not formally affiliated with the Azerbaijani state but has hewn closely to the Aliyev government’s line, has continued this spending, paying $1.46 million for U.S. lobbying services in 2015, most of which went to Fabiani & Company, according to public lobbying disclosures.”
    “The group spent $430,000 for its 2012 dinner, which was attended by then-House of Representatives speaker John Boehner and 15 other members of Congress, including Burton, according to a 2013 filing under the U.S. Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA).”

    “Burton was named chairman of the Azerbaijan America Alliance in February 2013, a month after he left office after a 30-year career in Congress. He told RFE/RL this week that Fabiani introduced him to Mammadov, chairman of Garant Holding, a conglomerate with interests that include construction firms, hotels, and insurance companies.”
    “Investigations by RFE/RL have previously revealed that Anar Mammadov’s business interests are tied to the ministry overseen by his father, Ziya Mammadov.”

    “Burton said that he did not engage in lobbying during his time with the Azerbaijan America Alliance, but that he would occasionally invite members of Congress to ‘social functions’ staged by the group. He also published opinion articles supporting the Azerbaijani government.”
    Last May, I ran into Cong. Burton in the lobby of a New York hotel. I complained to him about his ongoing efforts on behalf of Azerbaijan and his votes against resolutions on the Armenian Genocide during his tenure in Congress. He gave me his business card, asking me to contact him…. I did not, and have no plans to do so now that he is no longer working as a propagandist for Azerbaijan.

     

  • Iranian Hatred of Turks Goes Back a Thousand Years

    Iranian Hatred of Turks Goes Back a Thousand Years

    During the past one thousand years, the relationship between the two neighboring Islamic states of Persia and the Ottoman Empire vacillated between peaceful coexistence and outright war. The populations of these two states were not only of different ethnic and linguistic backgrounds, but were also divided in their Islamic faith — the Persians were Shia, while the Turks were Sunni. The divisions between Iran and Turkey continue to this day.

    Many readers are familiar with the anti-Turkish references in the works of Western writers, particularly after successive episodes of Armenian massacres leading to the 1915 Genocide, such as the damning words of French writer Victor Hugo, “The Turks have passed by here, all is in ruins and mourning.”

    Yet, little is known about references in Persian literature regarding Turks. Roubina Ohanian, an Armenian native of Iran, now residing in Glendale, California, has filled that void with her book, “The Interpretation of the Name and Word Turk in Iranian Literature.” Ohanian has meticulously researched and translated from Farsi into Armenian dozens of lines from several notable Persian poets from the Middle Ages who had penned their highly negative impressions of Turks, revealing that Iranian antipathy toward Turks has long roots.

    The Persian references regarding Turks come from such well-known poets as Ferdowsi in the 10th Century and Hafez in the 14th Century. Turkic tribes first invaded Persia in the 11th Century, followed by the Seljuks. In the 13th Century, Iran was conquered by the Mongols and then by Turkmen tribes who were finally defeated in 1592 AD. Many wars ensued between Persia and the Ottoman Empire in subsequent centuries.

    Ohanian has presented in her book quotations from 13 Persian poets and writers. While Armenians have their own tragic memories of oppressive Turkish rule, it is interesting to learn of the similarly negative experiences of other nations that came in contact with Turks.

    Here are several lines from Persian Middle Age poets translated by Ohanian from Farsi to Armenian which I have translated to English:

    Ferdowsi (925 – 1020 AD):

    “No one has learned wisdom from Turks,
    No one will obey a Turk.”

    Asadi Tusi (11th Century):

    “No one ever saw any loyalty from a Turk;
    From Iranians they have seen nothing but loyalty.”

    Khawaja Abdullah Ansari (1006 – 1088 AD):

    “It would be surprising that a Turk would understand love,
    As it would be surprising that a Turk does not rob and steal.”

    Nizami (1140 – 1203 AD):

    “Even the King did not know,
    No such thing as a loyal Turk.”
    Anvari (12th Century):

    “As you have not started your journey with your gentle horse,
    Don’t leave, the road is full of bloodthirsty Turks.”

    Khaghani (1120 – 1190 AD):

    “Drinking blood with a friend is an old tradition,
    Turks are blood drinkers and don’t recognize their friends.”

    Saati (1184 – 1283 AD):

    “At that time you sent me a student,
    A Turk; there was no one worse than him.”

    Many of these Persian descriptions of Turks would be viewed today as racist as they unfairly label all Turks with the same stereotype. All nationalities have some good and bad among them. The real problem, however, is the violent policies of the Turkish state that brutally oppressed minorities and conquered nations, resulting in mass crimes and genocide against Arabs, Armenians, Assyrians, Cypriots, Greeks and Iranians!