Category: Harut Sassounian

 I would like to dispel a few misunderstandings about the bill proposed last week in the UK House of Commons to recognize the Armenian Genocide.

Some reports accurately described the news as simply the First Reading of the proposed bill. Others misrepresented it as full recognition of the Armenian Genocide by the UK government. Going further, some analysts wrongly concluded that the British government decided to side with Armenians on this issue in order to teach Turkey a lesson!

This is the first time in UK history that the Armenian Genocide has been introduced in the House of Commons through a Private Members’ Bill. In the past, the topic was raised through Early Daily Motions (EDMs) which are ineffective to attain recognition.

Here is the full text of the proposed bill 190 58/2, titled: “Recognition of Armenian Genocide Bill.”

“A bill to require Her Majesty’s Government formally to recognize the Armenian genocide of 1915-23; and for connected purposes.

 “Be it enacted by the Queen’s most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:

“1. Recognition of genocide: Her Majesty’s Government must formally recognize that the killings of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire and the surrounding regions during 1915-1923 were genocide.

“2. Commemoration and education: (a) There shall be an annual commemoration of victims of the Armenian Genocide, which may be part of a wider commemoration of genocides; (b) The Secretary of State must encourage education and public understanding of the facts of the Armenian Genocide and the relevance of the Armenian Genocide to modern-day crimes against humanity and war crimes.

“3. Interpretation: In this Act, ‘genocide’ has the meaning given in Article II of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide and Article 6 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court; ‘Crimes against humanity’ has the meaning given in Article 7 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court; ‘war crimes’ has the meaning given in Article 8 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.

“4. Extent, commencement and short title: (a) This Act extends to the whole of the United Kingdom; (b) This Act comes into force on the day on which it is passed.”

The bill was introduced on November 9, 2021, under the Ten Minute Rule by a Member of Parliament. While any other Member has the right to oppose the presentation, no one did. The procedure to adopt legislation is long and complicated.

Member of Parliament Tim Loughton, who chairs the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Armenia, has no Armenians in his constituency. The Private Members’ Bill he introduced had 15 cosponsors from six different political parties: the Conservative Party, Labour party, Liberal Democrats, Scottish National Party, Democratic Unionist Party, and Plaid Cymru. In his remarks, Loughton thanked the Armenian National Committee UK and its chair Annette Moskofian “for all her help and support both for the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Armenia and in preparing the Bill.” He also thanked Varuzhan Nersesyan, Armenia’s ambassador to the UK: “I am glad to see and be able to acknowledge the presence of both of them in the Public Gallery.”

The next step is the Second Reading of the bill which may take place on March 22, 2022. However, it is not known if this bill will be taken up at that time, since it is not a government-backed bill. A similar bill is planned to be submitted in the House of Lords next year.

This bill provides an excellent opportunity to raise the Armenian Genocide issue in the UK. The Turkish government and media made no public objection to the introduction of this bill. However, the Turkish government probably will quietly lobby to block its adoption. Already, Turks and Cypriot Turks, who are the constituents of MP Iain Duncan Smith, one of the cosponsors of the bill, expressed their outrage at his support. Just days before the First Reading of the bill in the House of Commons, a fundraising dinner was held for him at a Turkish restaurant which was attended by many Turks. The event was partly sponsored by Turkish Airlines and Cyprus Paradise, “the largest tour operator to [Turkish-occupied] North Cyprus.” Members of the Turkish community said they will not back Duncan in the future.

All proposed bills have to be read three times in both houses of Parliament. Bills have to go through three stages: committee, reporting, and consideration. Once a bill crosses these stages successfully, it then goes to the Royal assent.

Contrary to the mistaken analyses of various Armenian pundits, this bill does not have the backing of the British government. It is simply the initiative of Tim Loughton and several other Members of Parliament. When the time comes to pass the bill, the British government will probably try to block it. As Loughton recalled in his remarks, in a 1999 internal memorandum, the UK Foreign Office shamefully stated: “Given the importance of our relationship (political, strategic, commercial) with Turkey… recognizing the [Armenian] genocide would provide no practical benefit to the UK.”

The British government has not changed its denialist policy regarding the Armenian Genocide. In fact, the UK has enhanced its ties with Turkey by signing a $25 billion dollar trade deal with Turkey last year.

It is hoped that the reaffirmation of the Armenian Genocide by Pres. Joe Biden earlier this year would boost the support for the UK recognition of the Armenian Genocide.

The British government, which was fully aware of the atrocities of the Armenian Genocide while they were taking place, should have been the first nation to acknowledge the Armenian Genocide, not the last. Nevertheless, it’s better late than never. All people of goodwill should pressure the British government to change its denialist policy on the Armenian Genocide. They should flood the offices of the Members of Parliament with messages urging them to support the proposed bill.

Over the years, I have written countless articles describing the activities of U.S. lobbying firms hired by Turkey and Azerbaijan for millions of dollars. Fortunately, no matter how much money these countries spend on lobbying, they are unable to whitewash their expansionist and undemocratic actions. After the departure of Erdogan’s bosom buddy Trump, the political landscape has become bleaker in Washington for Turkey with Pres. Biden’s reaffirmation of his commitment to uphold the sanctions against Turkey and his acknowledgment of the Armenian Genocide.

Ben Freeman and his team of researchers at the Washington-based Center for International Policy published a comprehensive 30-page analysis last month titled: “Turkey’s Lobby in the United States.” The report showed that it is simply impossible for Turkey to be a trusted U.S. partner, while cozying up to Russia, NATO’s rival. The reprehensible behavior of authoritarian wannabe Sultan Erdogan has made him a pariah, both at home and abroad!

The report revealed in great detail “the story of how Turkey’s agents attempted –and largely failed — to shift U.S. stances” on several highly controversial Turkish policies on foreign and domestic matters.”

The report’s Executive Summary stated that the researchers “analyzed every Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) document filed by organizations registered to work on behalf of Turkish clients in 2020. From these documents, we recorded every single ‘political activity’ done for those clients, every campaign contribution mentioned in these FARA filings, every piece of ‘informational material’ distributed on Turkey’s behalf, and every dollar these organizations reported receiving from their Turkish clients.”

Here are the key findings of the report:

“• 11 [U.S. lobbying] organizations [were paid $5 million to register] under FARA to work on Turkey’s behalf in 2020;

• Those organizations reported making 2,319 contacts on behalf of their Turkish clients;

• 568 [political] campaign contributions, totaling $526,177, were made by those firms and their registered foreign agents;

• One Senator received a campaign contribution from a firm that had contacted her office on Turkey’s behalf that same day.”

Among the five most active U.S. firms hired by Turkey were: Mercury Public Affairs and Greenberg Traurig both of which ended their contracts with Turkey in October 2020, as a result of pressure from Armenian-Americans during last year’s attack on Artsakh by Azerbaijan and Turkey. The other three firms are: Venable, LB International Solutions, and Capital Counsel. The latter also terminated its contract with the Turkish government in April 2021. Nevertheless, as of September 2021, there are still 10 U.S. lobbying firms hired by Turkey.

The report broke down the number of contacts made by these lobbying firms in 2020: House of Representatives (1044); Senate (657); media (377); think tanks (83); and businesses (37). They mostly contacted the House Committees on Foreign Affairs and Armed Services. The most contacted members of Congress were: Cong. Steve Chabot (R-Ohio); Sen, Roger Wicker (R-Mississippi); and Sen. Todd Young (R-Indiana). Among the most contacted media members were: The New York Times, Bloomberg, The Washington Post, CNN, and The Wall Street Journal. The public relations professionals on Turkey’s payroll submitted to newspapers pitches for stories, op-eds and letters to the editor. Four of the think tanks contacted by Turkish agents received funding from the Turkish government or Turkey-related non-governmental organizations: the Brookings Institution and the German Marshall Fund of the United States received funding from the Turkish Industry and Business Association (TUSIAD); the Center for Strategic and International Studies received at least $100,000 from the Turkish government in 2019; and the Center for American Progress received funding from the Centre for Applied Turkey Studies (CATS).

Despite intense lobbying efforts by Turkey, Congress imposed sanctions on that country for purchasing the Russian S-400 air defense system, blocked the sale of advance U.S. F-35 military jets, and placed a hold on all major arms sales to Turkey. In addition, the United States blocked Turkey’s planned sale of $1.5 billion worth of helicopters to Pakistan.

In 2020, $156,000 out of $526,000 campaign contributions made by the lobbying firms representing Turkey went to Political Campaigns Committees, making it impossible to know which political candidate got how much money. The top five recipients of some of the remaining $370,000 were: $28,000 to Cong. Vern Buchanan (R-Florida); $10,600 to Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Virginia); $9,500 to Cong. Kevin McCarthy (R-California); $9,100 to Sen. Gary Peters (D-Michigan); and $6,700 to failed Senatorial Democratic candidate of Iowa Theresa Greenfield. The report noted that many of the top recipients of contributions from firms representing Turkey were also amongst the most contacted by Turkey’s lobbyists.

The report also identified one example of “pay to play” politics: “In at least one case, the contribution and contact on behalf of Turkey occurred on exactly the same day. On March 3, 2020 Venable foreign agent and former Member of Congress, Bart Stupak (D-Michigan), spoke with Sen. Jean Shaheen’s (D-New Hampshire) scheduler to request a meeting with the Senator. That same day Venable reported that one of its foreign agents made a $1,000 contribution to Shaheen’s campaign.”

Importantly, the report concluded that “In 2020, the Turkey lobby in America fought a number of major battles and, in nearly every instance, lost. Turkey remains sanctioned as a result of the S-400 purchase. [Dissident Turkish cleric] Fethullah Gulen hasn’t been extradited to Turkey and continues to reside in Pennsylvania. And, the U.S. continues to support Kurdish fighters in Syria.” For the foreseeable future, the Turkish government’s “influence in America will likely remain marginal, at best.” Meanwhile, Turkey continues to waste millions of dollars hiring useless lobbyists in Washington, while millions of Turkish citizens are unemployed and on the verge of starvation.

The report cautioned, however, that it has covered only “one part of Turkey’s influence in the U.S. This report, for example, does not address the influence of the Turkish Heritage Organization, a non-profit convener that regularly hosts events providing a platform for Turkish officials in the U.S. Nor does it discuss illicit influence operations, such as the work Michael Flynn did on Turkey’s behalf. This analysis of just one part of Turkey’s influence in America — their FARA registrants — is telling nonetheless.”

While Armenian-Americans do not have influential lobbying firms working on their behalf in Washington, they have a large number of voters and contributors in several key states that elected officials pay more attention to rather than foreign agents hired by Turkey. No amount of lobbying can whitewash a lie or exonerate the corrupt and authoritarian Turkish regime.

The title is derived from a French expression which I have used to describe the situation in Armenia.

After 30 years of independence, one would expect substantial changes in the conditions in Armenia. Regrettably, that is not the case.

In the initial years of independence, whenever someone would point out the flaws in the leaders’ decisions, they would respond: “We are still a young Republic.” They continued giving the same excuse without having the slightest interest in listening to any advice and wanting to make any changes. Three decades later, Armenia is no longer a young Republic, but the same mistakes are being repeated by Armenia’s current leaders.

In 2018, a neophyte with no experience in governing came to power as a backlash against the despised former leaders. The new Prime Minister, Nikol Pashinyan, cleverly capitalized on the public’s resentment of the previous presidents, and gained the people’s trust by making numerous promises for a better future. Armenians everywhere, desperate for a change, believed what they were told and blindly followed the new “Savior.”

Regrettably, in the last 3.5 years, nothing substantial has changed in the country. In fact, the situation has gone from bad to worse, culminating in the devastating defeat Armenia suffered during last year’s war. The lavish promises offered by the new leader did not materialize. Pashinyan, the self-described democrat, shockingly campaigned during the June 20 parliamentary elections, while holding a hammer in his hand, pledging to smash the heads of his political opponents. Even though he came to power as the man of the people, he quickly turned his government into a one-man rule, ignoring not only the public, but also the advice of his own cabinet members, resulting in the resignations of two successive Foreign Ministers.

Not surprisingly, Pashinyan also mishandled Armenia’s relations with the Diaspora. He began by closing down the Diaspora Ministry without consulting with any of the Diasporan leaders or organizations. When some of them cautioned him not to take such a misguided decision, they were completely ignored.

Pashinyan’s excuse was that the Diaspora Ministry had not been effective. Instead of shutting it down, wouldn’t it have been preferable to restructure it with better leadership? With the same faulty logic, he could also eliminate the Defense Ministry, if he thought that it was not operating properly!

After disbanding the Diaspora Ministry, the Prime Minister appointed Zareh Sinanyan, one of his devotees from Glendale, California, as the “High Commissioner of Diaspora Affairs.” In the 2.5 years since becoming “High Commissioner,” Sinanyan does not have much to show for his efforts. He has repeatedly engaged in partisan politics, disparaging the regime’s critics in the Diaspora, which is not his job. Incredibly, he suggested that Armenia attract Arab migrants to boost the country’s dwindling population, forgetting that immigration is not a part of his duties. His job is to improve relations with Diaspora Armenians, not other nationalities.

On October 21, Sinanyan announced the government’s new plan to appoint “Diaspora Commissioners” in various Armenian communities around the world. These Commissioners are to be appointed by Prime Minister Pashinyan at the recommendation of Sinanyan. Their purpose “is to develop the Armenia-Diaspora partnership and increase the efficiency of both sides. It also seeks to ensure sustainable relations between the Armenian communities, involve the entire potential of the Diaspora, as well as support the preservation of the Armenian identity, repatriation and the organization of events aimed at the integration of Diaspora Armenians in Armenia.”

This is the modified version of an idea copied from the former Diaspora Ministry which had appointed a Board of Directors to represent the Ministry in various countries. I served on that Board for 10 years. In addition, the Diaspora Ministry in conjunction with the Foreign Ministry appointed staff in Armenian Embassies and Consulates to serve as a liaison between the government of Armenia and the local communities.

It remains to be seen whom Pashinyan and Sinanyan will appoint as their representatives in Diasporan communities. But given the blatant partisan politics of the current government, no one should be surprised if they appoint their own unqualified supporters whose real task would be to engage in pro-regime propaganda.

Interestingly, it was reported that Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan had objected to seeking the approval of foreign governments before appointing local commissioners. He pointed out correctly that such approvals are only needed to appoint diplomats, such as Ambassadors, in foreign countries. Therefore, the plan was amended eliminating the need for such approvals. Nevertheless, Sinanyan surprisingly announced that the Armenian Parliament had to adopt a law before appointing local Diaspora Commissioners. It is not clear why the government has to pass such a law. These individuals are to serve in an advisory capacity with no official powers and without pay.

Given the serious split among Armenians both in Armenia and the Diaspora, no matter whom the government appoints he or she will be criticized for belonging to this or that organization, church or political party. There will be endless complaints about these appointees.

There was no need to reinvent the wheel. The proper way to select a Diaspora representative is to have each Diasporan community elect its own representative by popular vote. Only then, it can be said that the elected individual is the true representative of his or her community. No one, including the government of Armenia, has the right to appoint such a representative. Ironically, the Prime Minister and Sinanyan were personally informed of this formula and yet chose to ignore it. The representatives elected by their communities will then constitute the future Diaspora Armenian Parliament. Once again, the Pashinyan government is taking decisions without consulting with anyone. It is time for the government to consult with the people in Armenia on internal matters and with elected Diasporan representatives on Pan-Armenian issues.

Once again, Pres. Recep Tayyip Erdogan made empty threats. He boastfully proclaimed that he would expel the ambassadors of 10 Western countries, including the United States, for issuing a declaration urging the release of a Turkish human rights activist. He has been wrongly jailed since 2017 without any conviction.

Here are the twists of Erdogan’s irate words. On October 20, he harshly criticized and threatened to expel 10 foreign ambassadors who made a joint declaration on Oct. 18, urging the Turkish government to release philanthropist Osman Kavala immediately from jail. The 10 countries are: The US, Germany, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway and Sweden. On the fourth anniversary of Kavala’a jailing, the ambassadors encouraged Turkey to find a “just and speedy resolution to his case.” They warned that Kavala’s continued detention “cast a shadow over respect for democracy, the rule of law and transparency in the Turkish judicial system.”

After his initial arrest in 2017, Kavala was acquitted in 2020 of the accusations against him, but was rearrested on new baseless charges. Turkey ignored the 2019 ruling of the European Court of Human Rights calling for the immediate release of Kavala. The European Council warned Turkey that if it does not comply with the European Court’s ruling by Nov. 30, 2021, it could suspend its voting rights or even membership in the Council.

Erdogan lashed back at these ambassadors by saying: “Is it within your boundary to teach such a lesson to Turkey? Who are you? I told our foreign minister that we cannot have the luxury of hosting them in our country.” Erdogan added: “They go to bed, they get up, Kavala, Kavala…. Kavala is the Turkish branch of [George] Soros. Ten ambassadors come to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for him. What kind of rudeness is this? What do you think this place is? This is Turkey, Turkey. This place is not what you think — a tribal state. This is glorious Turkey. You can’t just get up and come to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to give instructions. I gave the necessary instructions to our Minister of Foreign Affairs. I told him what to do. I said, ‘you will immediately deal with these 10 ambassadors declaring them persona non grata [an unwelcome person] as soon as possible.’ They will know Turkey. The day they do not know or understand Turkey, they will leave this place.”

After their declaration, the 10 ambassadors were summoned to the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Afterwards, the Ministry said that “the ambassadors were warned.”

The real question is: Who the hell Erdogan thinks he is to warn the envoys of these countries? By making such a threat, Erdogan just added another wrinkle to the existing problems with Pres. Joe Biden on the eve of the G20 summit in Rome, where the two leaders are supposed to meet. Contrary to Pres. Donald Trump who went to great lengths to accommodate Erdogan’s wishes, Pres. Biden has taken a much tougher line on Turkey. Not surprisingly, The New York Times reported that “the Biden administration was the driving force behind the letter, in keeping with the president’s policy of publicly calling out states over human rights violations.”

Seven of the 10 countries that had signed the letter are members of NATO, while six of them are European Union members. European Parliament President David Sassoli issued a hard-hitting statement. “The expulsion of ten ambassadors is a sign of the authoritarian drift of the Turkish government. We will not be intimidated. Freedom for Osman Kavala.”

By threatening to expel the 10 ambassadors, Erdogan is engaging in his usual trick of demagogy as his political rating has plummeted risking his reelection in 2023. He prefers to raise his own popularity while damaging Turkey’s reputation around the world. He frequently creates artificial external crises to deflect the public’s attention from the dire internal conditions. Meanwhile, the Turkish economy has hit rock bottom with massive unemployment and poverty. The Turkish Lira has dropped to a record low of almost 10 Liras per dollar from 1.3 Lira per dollar from when Erdogan became Prime Minister in 2003.

Even though Erdogan refuses to heed anyone’s advice, he finally came to his senses, realizing that he cannot go forward with his threatened expulsion. He was caught in the horns of a dilemma. If he reversed his decision and allowed the ambassadors to stay, he would lose face in front of the Turkish public. However, should he have proceeded with his expulsion order, he may have caused irreversible damage to Turkey’s economy and relations with the West.

Erdogan was quoted on Oct. 21 as saying that the 10 ambassadors would not release “bandits, murderers and terrorists” in their own countries. Thus, Erdogan was urging Western countries not to interfere with Turkey’s judicial system. While Erdogan is making such a provocative statement, he himself repeatedly pressured Pres. Trump to quash the investigation of the Turkish Halkbank which is accused of money laundering and conspiracy, helping Iran to evade U.S. sanctions. Erdogan was trying to cover up his own ties to the Halkbank scheme.

Pres. Erdogan’s aides explained to him the catastrophic repercussions of his threatened expulsion of the 10 ambassadors. Naturally, these 10 countries would have retaliated by expelling Turkey’s ambassadors. There were dozens of irate articles in the United States and European countries stating that they were fed up with Turkey’s hostile behavior and illegal actions.

That same message was relayed to Turkey through private diplomatic channels. Finally, a compromise was found to deescalate the crisis. The U.S. Embassy in Ankara tweeted on Oct. 25: “in response to questions regarding the Statement of October 18, the United States notes that it maintains compliance with Article 41 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.” Other embassies, including those of Canada, New Zealand and the Netherlands, posted similar messages. Germany and France retweeted the U.S. Embassy’s tweet. Article 41 of the Vienna Convention bars ambassadors from interfering in the domestic affairs of host countries.

The Turkish Anadolu news agency gleefully tweeted in response: “The U.S. Embassy in Ankara has given in,” adding that Erdogan welcomed the U.S. tweet. Erdogan announced after a Cabinet meeting on Oct. 25 that the ambassadors had backtracked on their “defamation of our judiciary and our country.”

Whichever U.S. official decided to send the second tweet which was interpreted as “backing down” from condemning Turkey’s violations of human rights, should be immediately fired. How can the U.S. government send one message a few days earlier and then turn around and contradict it? What happened to Pres. Biden’s policy of publicly calling out states over human rights violations? A U.S. State Department spokesman responded by saying that its second tweet was meant to underscore that the U.S. envoy’s actions were in keeping with the Vienna Convention.

Unless the U.S. government keeps its promise to come to the defense of human rights around the world, Erdogan and others will keep on violating with impunity the basic rights of their people. There should be no backing down and no contradictory messages in this regard. It is now up to the European Court of Human Rights to hold Erdogan’s feet to the fire.

The Azeri government does not seem to understand that you can’t always get what you want by bribing and paying politicians. There is a limit to what money can buy. Sometimes, the truth matters more.

This is an important lesson that Azeri leaders have not learned. They have wasted tens of millions of dollars in paying lobbying companies and corrupt politicians.

An example of such useless activity is the Azeri obsession with trying to exploit the controversial incident of the killing of a few hundred Azeris in the town of Khojalu during the 1992 Artsakh War. There are various versions of what exactly took place in Khojalu. Nevertheless, Azerbaijan has gone to great lengths to falsely convince the world that Armenians committed “genocide” in Khojalu!

The usual Azeri approach in the United States and around the world is to bribe politicians to issue proclamations to commemorate the anniversary of the Khojalu killings. Ayaz Mutalibov, the first president of Azerbaijan, told Czech journalist Dana Mazalova in a 1992 interview that his Azeri political opponents exploited this incident to topple him from power. He said that Armenian fighters had urged the Azeri populations of Khojalu to flee through a passage left open, but the Azerbaijani National Front obstructed their exodus.

Azerbaijan’s petrodollars have succeeded in getting 23 U.S. states to commemorate the deaths in Khojalu as a “massacre.” Despite Azerbaijan’s persistent lobbying efforts, none of these states accepted Azerbaijan’s alleged term of “genocide” to describe the deaths of a few hundred Azeris in Khojalu. Azerbaijan also used its deep pockets to obtain the recognition of these killings by the parliaments of eight countries: Azerbaijan (naturally), Peru, Panama, Honduras, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Slovenia, Djibouti and Paraguay. In addition, the Foreign Relations Committees of seven Parliaments: Turkey, Pakistan, Mexico, Colombia, Czech Republic, Sudan and Guatemala commemorated the Khojalu killings.

Azerbaijan used these commemorative resolutions to tarnish Armenia’s reputation and counter the recognition of the Armenian Genocide by over 30 countries and 49 U.S. states.

While sometimes money can get you what you want, it can at other times get you embarrassed when those who had earlier commemorated Khojalu, issue a retraction, apologize and cancel their recognition when they realize that they were duped.

The latest such embarrassing example is what took place in San Diego, the second largest city in California. The Azeri media and the Consul General of Azerbaijan in Los Angeles, Nasimi Aghayev, boastfully publicized on October 14 that San Diego Mayor Todd Garcia had issued a proclamation designating Oct. 18, 2021 as “Azerbaijan’s Restoration of Independence Day.”

The proclamation falsely claimed that “Azerbaijan is internationally regarded as a successful model for the peaceful and harmonious coexistence of Muslims, Christians, and Jews.” Consul General Aghayev reminded everyone that 2021 “marks the 10th anniversary of the Baku-San Diego partnership.” Aghayev also noted that “for the first time since 1991, the Azerbaijani people will celebrate this date as victorious people who restored the territorial integrity of their country.”

However, the Consul General’s excitement lasted just one day. On October 15, the Armenian National Committee – Western Region issued a press release urging the Mayor of San Diego to rescind his proclamation which “whitewashed Azerbaijan’s human rights abuses.” That same day, the Mayor of San Diego rescinded his earlier pro-Azerbaijan proclamation. The Mayor wrote: “It is with regret that I share this proclamation was issued as an oversight and should have been more thoroughly vetted by staff as it did not account for the relationship, history and current events between Azerbaijan and Armenia.” More importantly, he stated: “while the city of San Diego has issued proclamations for Azerbaijan Independence Day and similar occasions in previous administrations, my office will no longer be granting these requests. To that end, I am rescinding this proclamation and the City of San Diego will not recognize it on October 18. Please accept my deepest apologies for this oversight and I appreciate you bringing this issue to my attention.”

That is the end of “the Baku-San Diego partnership.” Not surprisingly, the Consul General of Azerbaijan has turned into a mouse since the Mayor rescinded his proclamation. He has not uttered a single word!

The chain of rescinded pro-Azerbaijan proclamations does not end with San Diego. On February 26, 2021, Boston Mayor Martin Walsh issued a proclamation to commemorate “Khojali Day.” However, on March 10, 2021, the Mayor reversed himself and wrote: “I would like to extend my apologies to the Armenian-American community…. Following conversations with leaders of the Armenian-American community, we realize that this proclamation has been hurtful to many of you…. I have decided to rescind this proclamation.” Mayor Walsh, now US Secretary of Labor, included high praise for the local Armenian community and made a reference to the commemoration of the Armenian Genocide. What started as an Azeri propaganda effort, ended up as a great public relations victory for Armenia and Armenians.

The same scenario repeated itself in Portland, Maine. Mayor Kathleen Snyder initially issued a proclamation on February 17, 2021 to commemorate “Khojaly Remembrance Day.” However, on April 1, 2021, the Mayor wrote: “I have decided to rescind the Mayoral Proclamation.” She added: “I once again apologize for the pain and harm that the issuance of this proclamation has caused….”

Similarly, the city of Torrance, California, issued a proclamation on October 15, 2021 to celebrate “Azerbaijan Day.” It is a carbon copy of the proclamation issued by San Diego. Later that day, Torrance Mayor Patrick Furey stated that the city “issued a proclamation in error. On past occasions, the City has proclaimed Azerbaijan National Day in the City of Torrance on the effective date. In light of recent events in the associated region, the City has respectfully requested that the Consulate General of Azerbaijan in Los Angeles remove the proclamation from all media.” Nevertheless, the rescinded proclamations of San Diego and Torrance are still on Consul General Aghayev’s Facebook page.

This is yet another example of the failed propaganda efforts of the Consul General of Azerbaijan. Armenians in California are fortunate that Azerbaijan has sent such an incompetent Consul General to Los Angeles. No one should be surprised if he is recalled shortly back to Baku.

There are many other examples of failed Azeri propaganda attempts. On February 25, 2021, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz issued a proclamation on “Azerbaijani Day,” but refused to include a reference to “Khojaly.” Nevertheless, the Azeri media falsely reported that the Governor had signed a proclamation to commemorate “the Khojaly Genocide.”

Rather than trying to undo the proclamations that are falsely issued at the urging of Azerbaijan’s lobbyists, the Armenian-American community should take preemptive steps so that false pro-Azerbaijan declarations never see the light of day in the first place.

The Hoya, the student newspaper of Georgetown University in Washington, DC, published last week a lengthy investigative article about the demise of the Institute of Turkish Studies, established by the Turkish government. Interestingly, a note at the bottom of the article stated that it was written by Liam Scott and another staff writer who “requested anonymity due to safety concerns in Turkey.”

Even though the Institute was established to paint a positive picture of Turkey in the United States, it ended up antagonizing its own American board members when the Turkish government decided to shut it down.

In 1982, the government of Turkey founded the Institute of Turkish Studies (ITS) at Georgetown University with an endowment of $3 million. The purpose was to give Turkey a respectable image in the United States by recruiting and funding American academics who would do research on Turkish topics. Throughout its existence, the ITS spent around $350,000 a year to give “grants, scholarships, subventions, and seed money” to 400 scholars in 19 universities to publish books and journals in order to promote Turkish studies. The ITS stated that it played “a key role in furthering knowledge and understanding of a key NATO ally of the United States, the Republic of Turkey.”

Not surprisingly, the ITS had appointed as its Honorary Chairman of the board of governors Turkey’s Ambassador to the U.S. to oversee its activities and funding decisions. The board consisted of prominent former State Department officials and well-known American scholars in Ottoman and modern Turkish studies. The first Executive Director of the ITS was Heath Lowry, a denialist of the Armenian Genocide.

I got involved in a legal dispute with the ITS in 1985 after I wrote an editorial in the California Courier titled, “How the Turks Use Our Tax Dollars Against Us.” I pointed out that many of the scholars who had received grants from the ITS were the same ones who had signed a statement denying the Armenian Genocide. The statement was published as a paid ad in The Washington Post and The New York Times on May 19, 1985. Lowry was involved in drafting this statement and collecting signatures for it. In my article, I reported that 20 of the 69 signatories of the statement had received tens of thousands of dollars from the ITS. Lowry’s role in this ad was a violation of the tax-exempt status of the ITS which was legally prohibited from political lobbying at a time when the U.S. Congress was considering adopting a resolution on the Armenian Genocide. The ITS also contradicted its own statement that it “does not seek to influence legislation nor advocate particular policies or agendas.”

Even though I had obtained the amounts received by the scholars who had signed this denialist statement from an ITS brochure, the ITS sent a letter threatening my newspaper with a major lawsuit, unless I published a lengthy retraction, which I refused to do. The ITS dropped the lawsuit.

The Hoya article provided extensive details about the collapse of the ITS, a Turkish propaganda project disguised as an academic endeavor. The Institute was closed down in September 2020 because some of the independent-minded scholars on its board had refused to go along with the directives of the Turkish government.

The Hoya wrote that “according to former ITS Executive Director Sinan Ciddi and former ITS board members Walter Denny and Steven Cook, Turkey’s decision to defund the ITS came amid rising government pressure to blindly support and loyally promote Erdogan. The ITS was caught in the line of fire of government repression that has characterized Erdogan’s increasingly autocratic Turkey, they said.”

Ciddi, a Georgetown professor of Turkish studies, told The Hoya that the ITS was initially a separate entity from Georgetown University. Later on, the University “provided the ITS with office space and administrative assistance, but the university did not have a say in the Institute’s operations. Georgetown also supplemented the salary of the Institute’s executive director after the ITS lost funding from the Turkish government.” Prof. Jenny White, who served on the ITS board for nearly 20 years, told The Hoya that the ITS was “the best advertisement that there could have been for Turkey.”

In 2006, former Binghamton University professor Donald Quataert resigned as chairman of the ITS board after insisting on the importance of researching the Armenian Genocide, reported The Hoya. The Middle East Studies Association’s Committee on Academic Freedom, in an open letter to then Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, complained that “Quataert resigned because of pressure from the Turkish government. Several other ITS board members resigned in support of Quataert.”

As Erdogan became more repressive, the Institute was viewed by the Turkish government as funding academic research that was not favorable to Turkey. In May 2015, Turkish ambassador to the U.S. Serdar Kilic, during the semi-annual dinner at the Turkish Embassy in Washington, DC, complained to ITS chairman Ross Wilson that “some recent work from the ITS was negative toward the Turkish government and expressed interest in redirecting the work of ITS to politically benefit the government,” The Hoya reported. Amb. Kilic then cancelled the scheduled ITS dinner in the fall of 2015. Finally, “in early September 2015, Saltzman and Evinch, a Washington, D.C. law firm representing Turkey’s U.S. embassy,” told the Institute that the Turkish government would no longer fund the ITS. Later, Kilic sent a letter confirming the end of funding.

“After Turkey cut the organization’s funding, the [Georgetown University’s] School of Foreign Service provided the ITS with additional financial and administrative support,” The Hoya reported. The ITS had enough funds to continue its operations till Sept. 30, 2020 when it finally closed its doors.

The saga of the failed Institute of Turkish Studies should be a lesson to all universities not to repeat the mistake of Georgetown, welcoming a politically-motivated project contrary to its academic standards. Mixing academics and politics is never a good idea!