Turkish Forum

Category: Harut Sassounian

Harut Sassounian is the Publisher of The California Courier, founded in 1958. His weekly editorials, translated into several languages, are reprinted in scores of U.S. and overseas publications and posted on countless websites.<p>

He is the author of “The Armenian Genocide: The World Speaks Out, 1915-2005, Documents and Declarations.”

As President of the Armenia Artsakh Fund, he has administered the procurement and delivery of $970 million of humanitarian assistance to Armenia and Artsakh during the past 34 years. As Senior Vice President of Kirk Kerkorian’s Lincy Foundation, he oversaw $240 million of infrastructure projects in Armenia.

From 1978 to 1982, Mr. Sassounian worked as an international marketing executive for Procter & Gamble in Geneva, Switzerland. He was a human rights delegate at the United Nations for 10 years. He played a leading role in the recognition of the Armenian Genocide by the U.N. Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities in 1985.

Mr. Sassounian has a Master’s Degree in International Affairs from Columbia University, and a Master’s in Business Administration from Pepperdine University.

  • Analysis of the Key ParticipantsIn the Artsakh War

    Analysis of the Key ParticipantsIn the Artsakh War

    At the time of writing this analysis, on Oct. 5, 2020, the war between Armenia and Artsakh on one side, and Azerbaijan, Turkey and Islamist mercenaries on the other, is continuing with countless deaths of soldiers and civilians, and widespread damage of cities and villages. This week, I will analyze the role of each of the key participants in the conflict: 

    AZERBAIJAN

    Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev, refusing to accept Artsakh Armenians’ right to self-determination and following up on his numerous threats to solve the conflict militarily, launched a massive attack against Armenia and Artsakh on Sept. 27, 2020. Before the war, Azerbaijan secured the support of the Turkish armed forces and a large number of terrorists from Syria paid by the Turkish government.

    The Presidents of Azerbaijan and Turkey have ignored all appeals for ceasefire, including a joint statement by France, Russia and the United States. Aliyev announced that there will be no ceasefire and no negotiations until Armenian forces leave Artsakh. Azerbaijan and Turkey not only want to occupy Artsakh, but unleash a second genocide on Armenians. This is an existential threat to the Armenian people. It is a war against all 10 million Armenians worldwide. Fortunately, Armenians have understood the serious danger to their existence and have joined hands to repulse the enemy. After the Azeri/Turkish attack fails, Armenia should refuse all proposals for negotiations and safeguard the land of Artsakh which has been liberated with the blood of our brave young men. Azerbaijan and Turkey have attacked not only Armenian military targets, but also civilians in major cities and villages. This is a war crime for which Azerbaijan and Turkey should be held responsible in front of the European Court of Human Rights and the International Court of Justice. 

    Armenia should also file a complaint with the United Nations since Azerbaijan is a signatory to the UN “International Convention Against the Recruitment, Use, Financing and Training of Mercenaries.” The Convention calls for punishment “by appropriate penalties which take into account the grave nature of those offenses.”

    TURKEY

    Turkey should have no role in the Artsakh conflict. Erdogan keeps talking about one nation, two states, referring to Azerbaijan and Turkey. Why does he then not accept the same concept for Armenia and Artsakh? He has no right to speak about Artsakh’s status, since Turkey itself occupied Northern Cyprus in 1974.

    For far too long, Turkey has armed and trained terrorists in Syria, Iraq and Libya, and now in Azerbaijan. The international community is just as guilty as Turkey for not sanctioning it for its terroristic activities. Erdogan has learned that he will get away with murder and no country will say a word. It is time to muzzle Erdogan and check his expansionist desires.

    Besides the physical war, there is also a war of propaganda and falsehoods being waged by Azerbaijan and Turkey. As usual, Turkey is lying about the most obvious facts. If it can deny the genocide of 1.5 million Armenians, it can also deny that it has military forces and advisors in Azerbaijan fighting against Armenia and Artsakh. Turkey also denies that it has recruited Islamist terrorists to fight in Artsakh.

    TERRORIST MERCENARIES

    Hundreds, if not thousands, of Islamist terrorists have been recruited by Turkey from Northern Syria to go to Azerbaijan to fight against Armenia and Artsakh. Many of their phone calls have been recorded in recent days stating that they were misled by Turkey into believing that they will only perform guard duties, not fight in a war. The terrorists stated that they want to leave, but are prevented from doing so. They have come to Azerbaijan after Turkey offered them a couple of thousand dollars a month. Despite the denials of Azerbaijan and Turkey, Armenia’s National Security Services have recorded the terrorists’ phone calls speaking in Arabic and Turkish and advising their fellow terrorists not to come to Azerbaijan.

    RUSSIA

    Russia is the only world power that can stop the fighting as it has done many times before. Either Russian President Vladimir Putin is unable to pressure Azerbaijan and Turkey to declare a ceasefire or unwilling to do so, until it can secure concessions from Armenia, Azerbaijan and Turkey for its own benefit.

    The problem is that Armenia is a member of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) which has a mutual defense agreement with Russia and several other former Soviet states. So far Armenia has not applied to CSTO to come to its defense from Azerbaijan’s attacks on the Republic of Armenia, announcing that it can protect its own territory. Armenia should ask CSTO to secure its protection from attacks by Turkey and Azerbaijan. If Armenia applies and CSTO rejects to fulfill its treaty obligations, then we will know that CSTO is a paper tiger. There may be behind the scenes discussions between Armenia and CSTO to come to Armenia’s rescue at the appropriate time, before Armenia is in danger.

    Supporting Armenia is also in Russia’s own interest. First of all, the Caucasus region is considered Russia’s sphere of influence which Turkey should not be allowed to encroach. Secondly, the Islamist terrorists that Turkey has sent to Azerbaijan could end up being a threat to Russia’s security. The sooner Russia pressures Azerbaijan and Turkey to send the terrorists back, the better for its own interests.

    Armenia is also displeased that Russia sells sophisticated jets and missiles to Azerbaijan. This is an inappropriate conduct for a strategic ally of Armenia. It is understandable that Russia is making these military sales for its own economic benefit, but Armenians have to constantly remind Russia that it is undermining its own reputation in Armenia by supplying weapons to Armenia’s enemy.

    IRAN

    The Iranian government has always maintained a neutral position in the Armenia Azerbaijan conflict. In the current war, Iran was alarmed when Azeri missiles fell inside the Iranian territory killing a child. Iran also expressed its serious concern with Azerbaijan importing mercenary terrorists which could pose a danger to Iran’s security.

    ISRAEL

    It is shameful that the Israeli government continues to provide sophisticated drones and missiles to Azerbaijan in return for Azeri oil. Would Israel, if it existed during World War II, have sold weapons to Hitler in return for financial gains? No wonder Armenia last week recalled its newly-appointed Ambassador from Tel Aviv. American Armenians should impress upon American Jews and American Jewish organizations that Israel’s arming of Azerbaijan is morally repugnant and it will be held responsible for the deaths of Armenian civilians and soldiers. Even during the height of this war, scores of Azeri cargo planes have been seen in Israel loading advanced weapons for Azerbaijan!

    FRANCE

    France is the only country in the world that has told the truth about the conflict. French President Emmanuel Macron declared that Azerbaijan was the one that initiated the attack on Artsakh and also confirmed that Turkey has sent Islamist terrorists to Azerbaijan. It is not clear what France will do beyond mere words, nevertheless, Armenians worldwide appreciate the French position.

    UNITED STATES

    The United States, if it wanted to, could also pressure Turkey to stay out of the Armenian-Azeri conflict. Unfortunately, despite Pres. Trump’s statement that he will look into the conflict, nothing has been done. Trump’s close friendship with Erdogan does not give Armenians any comfort that the United States will play a moderating role in the conflict, particularly at a time when Trump is infected with the coronavirus.

    The only positive action coming from the House of Representatives is its planned adoption of Resolution 1165 which condemns Azerbaijan for its attack on Artsakh and denounces Turkey for its participation in the war on the side of Azerbaijan. Going beyond condemnation, the United States should sanction Azerbaijan and Turkey, cut off all military and foreign aid to both countries, and designate them as terrorist states!

    CONCLUSION

    In conclusion, Armenia cannot rely on anyone but its own people to defend its homeland. It is very encouraging that Armenians worldwide have come to the support of Armenia and Artsakh donating funds and humanitarian supplies. All Armenians have to continue to counter Azeri and Turkish military and propaganda attacks. When Azerbaijan sees that its military has failed to yield any results, it will be forced to admit that Artsakh will never become a part of Azerbaijan. After these vicious Azeri and Turkish attacks, no Armenian will agree to have the Artsakh people live under the brutal rule of the corrupt dictator Aliyev.

  • Armenians Should Unite Against Turkey’sAnd Azerbaijan’s Joint Attack on Artsakh

    Armenians Should Unite Against Turkey’sAnd Azerbaijan’s Joint Attack on Artsakh

    A massive attack was launched against Artsakh by Azerbaijan with the direct participation of Turkey and Islamic Jihadist mercenaries in the early hours of Sept. 27, 2020.

    The Azeri/Turkish side not only attacked Armenian military forces, but also peaceful civilians in various villages and Stepanakert, the capital of the Republic of Artsakh. Ominously, Turkish F-16 Air Force jets operated in the war zone after several threatening remarks against Armenia by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

    As we write this article on Monday (Sept. 28), the battles continue. We hope that France, Russia, and the United States will intervene and stop the bloodshed. So far 370 Azeri soldiers, including Lieutenant-Colonel Mehman Miraziz, have been killed. Mais Barkhudarov, an Azeri Major General was wounded and captured by the Armenian forces. In addition, 81 foreign Islamist Jihadist mercenaries have been killed. Eighty four Armenian soldiers were killed and more than 100, mostly civilians, wounded. Turkey, which transported a large number of these Islamist terrorists to Azerbaijan, has promised to pay them thousands of dollars a month. It is embarrassing that Azerbaijan and Turkey with their own huge militaries are too cowardly to use their own soldiers and are importing mercenaries from Northern Syria. Hopefully, these hired terrorists will suffer the same fate as the Afghan Mujahideen and Chechen mercenaries who were brought to Azerbaijan in the 1990’s to fight against the Armenian forces. Many of them were killed in battle and the rest left Azerbaijan seeing the cowardly behavior of Azeri soldiers. In addition, Armenian forces have destroyed Azerbaijan’s four helicopters, 36 tanks and armored vehicles and 27 drones, including those purchased from Israel and Turkey.

    Russia and the United States issued statements calling for a ceasefire and return to the negotiating table. Significantly, the U.S. State Department announced that “participation in the escalating violence by external parties would be deeply unhelpful and only exacerbate regional tensions.” This was an indirect call to Turkey not to meddle in the Artsakh conflict. However, the United States government should go beyond mere words and sanction both Turkey and Azerbaijan by not providing any weapons or foreign aid to either of them. In addition, we are seeing the same meaningless statement urging both sides to cease fire without condemning the party that started the attacks, which is always Azerbaijan. I am certain that the United States and Russia know full well who started the attacks.

    I am sure most Armenians realize that at this critical time when the lives of the populations of Armenia and Artsakh are at risk, they should refrain from continuing their personal or partisan disputes. This is no time to engage in internal disagreements. The priority is to deter the common enemy. We should all rally around the government of Armenia. Similarly, Diaspora Armenians should set aside their petty disputes and join ranks. I know many Armenian-Americans have been engaged in supporting the different candidates in the upcoming U.S. presidential elections and Facebook is full of their heated comments. I urge everyone to take a break from these political disputes and rally around Armenia and Artsakh. We are facing much larger and more powerful enemies, Azerbaijan and Turkey. Only our united effort and smart tactics can protect us to avoid the reoccurrence of the Genocide.

    Even though I am not a military expert, I have some common sense suggestions to Armenia’s leaders. This is not a partisan issue. I had made the same suggestion to Armenia’s previous and current governments, regrettably to no avail. I would like to remind our political leaders in Armenia that they should immediately declare that they will postpone all negotiations until such time that Azerbaijan and Turkey stop firing on Armenia and Artsakh. How can one carry out peaceful negotiations when the other side is holding a gun to your head? Armenia should declare to the world that we are for peaceful negotiations; however, it is not acceptable that Azerbaijan keeps firing while supposedly negotiating. What kind of negotiation is that? One can either fight or talk, but not do both at the same time. If the negotiations are interrupted, Azerbaijan is the one that will be the loser because that is the only way that it hopes to arrive at mutual concessions. It is in Azerbaijan’s interest to stop firing and start negotiating. The international community will only blame Azerbaijan for the interruption of the peaceful negotiations. By not placing such a reasonable condition on negotiations, Armenia is in fact is encouraging Azerbaijan to continue firing on Armenia and Artsakh, costing the lives of many young Armenian. No more negotiations unless Azerbaijan stops these continuous attacks.

    The other suggestion I have is that we should never tell the enemy where we would or would not attack. After the spokesman of the Azeri Defense Forces threatened in July that Azerbaijan could attack the Armenian Nuclear power plant, I was dismayed to hear an Armenian official state publicly that Armenia would never attack civilian targets in Azerbaijan. There was no need to make such an announcement. Let the enemy guess what you would or would not do in case of war. If Armenia thought that by making such an announcement it will gain praise from the international community, it is sadly mistaken. War is not the time to play Mr. Nice Guy. The world respects only strength. Rights and good behavior do not count. Let Azeris worry that Armenia could attack their dams, pipelines, oil fields and civilian populations. We do not need to announce whether we could attack such targets or not. Azerbaijan had no hesitation attacking Stepanakert this week, why should we announce that we have no interest in retaliating on similar Azeri targets?

    Finally, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan just announced that the possibility of Armenia recognizing Artsakh’s independence is “on the table and needs to be reviewed.” This is a welcome announcement. Pashinyan already had announced in Stepanakert last year that “Artsakh is Armenia, period.” The previous Armenian government had also declared that if Azerbaijan attacks Artsakh, Armenia would then recognize Artsakh’s independence. It is high time that Armenia take such a decision which would be an appropriate response to the Azeri/Turkish attack on Artsakh.

    I urge all Armenians around the world to united and defend the homeland in whatever way they can against its enemies, Azerbaijan and Turkey.

  • Pro-Trump Black American Group’sControversial Link to Turkey

    Pro-Trump Black American Group’sControversial Link to Turkey

    (Final Part)

    Last week, I published part 1 of my article describing the efforts of a Black American group’s plans to lobby for Trump’s reelection with the financial support of wealthy Turkish businessmen who would invest billions of dollars in the United States. One of these businessmen was Ali Akat.

    During his visit to the U.S., Akat met with XStrategies CEO Alexander Bruesewitz at the Trump International Hotel in Washington, DC, discussing Turkey’s intent to invest $12 billion in the U.S. and create 25,000 jobs. Akat was photographed at the U.S. Capitol with three Republican congressmen, Joe Wilson of South Carolina, Pete Sessions of Texas and Scott Perry of Pennsylvania. He also met with billionaire Tom Barrack and Lara Trump at the Trump International Hotel.

    Salon.com reported that Akat told the Turkish press that “Scott took him to Republican National Committee headquarters, where he was photographed giving an address, and the White House. Here is a rough translation of the relevant passage: ‘During the meetings with Darrell Scott, he supported the project warmly. He forwarded our project to Donald J. Trump, his colleagues and family. He took me to the Republican headquarters first. I had the opportunity to explain the project there, and it was liked by everyone. Then he took me to the White House, based on the seriousness of the matter. We had contacts in the White House. We had meetings with Donald J. Trump’s special assistants and assistants Andrew Giuliani, Clayon T. Henson, Ronny L. Jackson, Jennifer S. Korn and Alexandra E. Veletsis.’”

    “The Turkish article included a photograph of Akat and Darrell Scott reviewing a thick binder together in a conference room at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building next door to the White House, according to people familiar with the building. The building hosts most of the White House staff,” according to Salon.com.

    “Akat told a Turkish-American [news] outlet that 15 Turkish companies were ready to push ahead with business in the U.S. Around this time, Darrell Scott publicized his trips aboard Air Force One and White House visits in his URC capacity, as he and URC[Urban Revitalization Coalition] co-chair Kareem Lanier worked directly with Trump and advisers including Jared Kushner (whom Scott calls ‘J-Rock’ ) on what would become the White House Opportunity and Revitalization Council, effected in an executive order that December. Scott’s visits included his evening watching the midterm election returns with Trump in the White House,” Salon.com reported. “The day before Scott and Trump watched the election, Trump exempted Turkey from energy sanctions that his administration had slapped on Iran in November. This was sharply criticized by some U.S. officials, who saw the move as capitulation to Erdogan’s strong-arm tactics — especially as negotiations related to Halkbank, a Turkish financial institution that is now under federal investigation for evading Iranian sanctions.”

    Salon.com reported: “On the same day Trump gave Turkey a pass on sanctions, Ferhan Ademhan — a wealthy Turkish industrialist and investor who also has ties to Akat, as well as to [Turksih writer Rabia] Kazan and, through her, Trump campaign surrogate and Pence ally Martha Boneta — posted on Facebook: ‘America has released 8 countries [from the sanctions] it applied to Iran. Our country has been released as well. We have been rid of this burden on behalf of our country.’ A few weeks later, Akat was back at the president’s Washington hotel, posting photos of Trump and Giuliani as well as gifts from the White House.”

    “On Dec. 12, Trump signed an executive order establishing the White House Urban Revitalization and Opportunity Council. The order appends ‘opportunity zone’ development to nearly every paragraph. Darrell Scott was present at the signing, and Trump singled him out for praise. That day, the National Diversity Council — a group founded by former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen, where Scott and Lanier served as senior officials and Kazan sat on the advisory board — posted the news on Twitter, pointing out the irony that Cohen had been sentenced to prison the same day: ‘URGENT President Trump IMPORTANT Speech Signs Exec Order amid Cohen Sentenced 3 Years in Prison https://youtu.be/LRZviaXbHOI,’” Salon.com reported.

    A few weeks after Cohen’s offices and homes were raided by the FBI, confiscating phones and computers, National Diversity Council (NDC) director Bruce Levell, who Kazan says had shaken her down for $1,000, expressed concern to Kazan in a text message, obtained by Salon: “Trust me. Don’t talk to anybody about NDCTrump. Delete. Cohen under fire. Thanks.”

    “On Dec. 23, after the Opportunity and Revitalization Council had been officially created, Trump tweeted about ‘discussing heavily expanded Trade’ with Erdogan….  Two days later, the Daily Sabah — which is owned by Erdogan’s son-in-law — published another interview with Akat, indicating that the trade talks had advanced. He pegged the prospective economic package at $1 billion. The article, published on Christmas Day, was headlined, ‘Turkish-American bilateral trade expected to soar next year,’” according to Salon.com. “The following month Trump tweeted about trade policy with Turkey again…: ‘Also spoke about economic development between the U.S. & Turkey — great potential to substantially expand!’”

    Salon.com concluded that “This effort — backed by Scott and Lanier at the URC, among others —  would have entailed changes in U.S. trade policy to give Turkish manufacturing companies priorities in the United States, seemingly contradicting Trump’s ‘America First’ agenda.”

    According to experts from “CREW [Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics], the Campaign Legal Center and OpenSecrets told Salon that on its face this initiative would raise concerns about possible violations of the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), which requires Americans who lobby on behalf of foreign interests to register with the government.”

    Salon.com reported that “The URC might also face tax law liabilities. At one point the group was a tax-exempt 501c (3) nonprofit, which can accept donations, including from foreign nationals, without having to disclose sources. But because the URC apparently never filed a tax return, the IRS automatically revoked its tax-exempt status this May.”

    This is a bizarre tale of a couple of individuals doing the bidding of the Trump campaign to make the President look good in front of Black Americans, while claiming to attract investments from Turkish sources to poor Black community areas. Their efforts need to be further investigated by the Department of Justice and the Internal Revenue Service.

  • Pro-Trump Black American Group’sControversial Link to Turkey

    Pro-Trump Black American Group’sControversial Link to Turkey

    (Part I)

     The Salon.com website published on September 4 and 5, 2020, a lengthy two-part expose of a Black American group that tried to raise funds from Turkish businesses in support of President Trump’s reelection. The articles were titled, “How a pro-Trump Black group became an off-the-books Turkish lobbying campaign: A Salon investigation reveals a strange tale of Black Trump surrogates who tried to leverage Turkish billions,” and “The Turkey hustle: How a pro-Trump Black group became unofficial lobbyists for Erdogan: A sketchy nonprofit linked to the Trump campaign tried to orchestrate a massive trade deal.” The articles were written by Roger Sollenberger and Kathleen O’Neill.

    Salon.com reported that “In 2018, officials with a controversial pro-Trump nonprofit called the Urban Revitalization Coalition (URC) — which recently lost its tax-exempt charity status and made headlines earlier this year with suspicious cash giveaways to Black voters — facilitated an off-the-books foreign influence campaign on behalf of powerful people in Turkey.”

    “URC officials Darrell Scott and Kareem Lanier, both prominent Trump surrogates in the Black community, are said by multiple sources to have used the organization as a vehicle to ‘solicit donations,’ including from wealthy Turkish nationals. Some of these solicitations came by way of former MAGA-world star [Turkish writer] Rabia Kazan,” according to Salon.com.

    Furthermore, “an associate of Scott and Lanier named Bruce Levell, a Trump surrogate, former congressional candidate and Small Business Association advocate…allegedly shook down Kazan for cash, then asked her to destroy records after reports of government raids on former Trump attorney Michael Cohen’s home and offices,” Salon.com reported.

    These Black American efforts were intended to shape U.S. policy expecting a large investment in the United States by Turkish businessmen. According to Salon.com, “some of these activities, described in detail below, raise serious legal questions, such as violations of rules governing tax and lobbying law, experts tell Salon. Legal experts and people familiar with the URC told Salon that given these activities, the organization appears to have functioned as a shell lobbying and fundraising operation, and a go-between that communicated with both the Trump administration (and Trump campaign) and Turkish interests close to Erdogan. This is a story about how peripheral players, including foreign nationals, worked on the legal margins of lobbying, campaign and foreign agent laws amid the chaotic free-for-all of the Trump presidency. They blurred official and unofficial administration posts with other organizational and campaign roles, and obscured the source and usage of funds from both the public and government agencies such as the IRS and Federal Elections Commission.”

    It all started in 2018, when “URC officials first curried financial favors and investments from Turkish business representatives in connection with an economic initiative launched by the Trump administration,” according to Salon.com. “Turkish business emissaries secured meetings in New York and Washington that extended to Trump officials, Republican members of Congress and campaign surrogates such as Tom Barrack [billionaire and close friend of Pres. Trump], and Lara Trump [the president’s daughter-in-law and Trump campaign adviser].”

    This multi-billion dollar scheme was intended to open the American manufacturing market to Turkish companies. “The fact that these meetings were apparently geared towards influencing official U.S. policy, experts say, raises questions about whether those involved should have registered with the Department of Justice as foreign agents,” Salon.com reported.

    “The URC made headlines when it held campaign-tinged events with cash giveaways for Black voters in poor communities, including a $25,000 raffle last December — something the organization had told the IRS it wouldn’t do. Politico described the raffles as a nationwide strategy of holding events ‘in Black communities where they lavish praise on the president while handing out thousands of dollars in giveaways,’” according to Salon.com.

    “Multiple people familiar with the workings of the URC told Salon that it was clear that Scott and Lanier established the organization to do what they had frequently told Rabia Kazan they were prevented from doing within Michael Cohen’s politically-focused predecessor organization, the National Diversity Coalition, which was effectively an arm of the Trump campaign. That is, to take in money. There’s documentary evidence that the URC sought and received large sums of money in at least one instance. It received a $238,000 grant from America First Policies, a pro-Trump dark money organization affiliated with the super PAC America First Action. The URC received the grant in 2018, a few months after directing Kazan to seek financial contributions. Because the URC never filed a tax return, however, it is impossible to know how much money the group took in or how that money was spent,” Salon.com reported.

    Turkish businessman Ali Akat, “who met several times with Scott and Lanier, was supposedly discussing a comprehensive, multi-billion-dollar investment plan that would open opportunities for Turkish companies to gain manufacturing and packaging footholds by investing and building factories in Opportunity Zones,” according to Salon.com. “The plan would have taken advantage of a loophole in U.S. tariffs. Akat told Turkish media that Turkish business owners could evade high duties if they exported unfinished products to the U.S., where those products would be assembled and packaged, ideally by Turkish companies in Opportunity Zones.” (To be continued next week)

  • President of European Court ReceivesHonorary Doctorate from Istanbul Univ.

    President of European Court ReceivesHonorary Doctorate from Istanbul Univ.

    Robert Spano, President of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), visited Turkey last week at the invitation of the Turkish Justice Minister. Spano also met with Pres. Erdogan and give a lecture at the Turkish Justice Academy.

    While the President of ECHR has the right to visit any country he wishes, it is highly inappropriate that he accepts an Honorary Doctorate in law from Istanbul University. Several prominent Turkish human rights activists wrote lengthy columns criticizing Spano for his visit and his acceptance of the Honorary Doctorate.

    Former Turkish diplomat Aydin Selcen stated that Spano “is not fit to preside [over] the ECHR.” Cenkiz Aktar, a political scientist and academic, called Spano’s visit “scandalous” and urged him to resign. Exiled Turkish journalist Can Dundar wrote that Spano “destroyed the 30-year reputation of the ECHR in three days.” Ahval News quoted several other critical comments from prominent Turks regarding the unfortunate Spano’s visit to Turkey.

    Mehmet Altan, one of those critics, is among the 192 professors of Istanbul University who was fired at the instigation of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Altan, jailed for his non-existent membership in the banned Gulen religious group, filed a lawsuit against Istanbul University to reverse his firing. Erdogan also dismissed over 150,000 civil servants from state jobs and investigated close to 600,000 Turkish citizens, arresting 100,000 of them under the false pretext of belonging to the Islamist Gulen movement which was accused of orchestrating the coup attempt against Erdogan in 2016.

    The Turkish Ahval News website posted on August 31, 2020, an article titled, “ECHR chief may receive controversial honorary doctorate from Istanbul University.”

    Ahval reported that Altan, in an open letter addressed to Spano and published on the website of Turkish journalism platform P24, urged him not to accept the Turkish invitation. “I do not know how much pride there is to be an honorary member of a university that condemns hundreds of lecturers to unemployment and poverty by unjustly expelling them from school,” Altan wrote.

    Altan told Spano: “The University from which you will receive a doctorate is included as the ‘defendant institution’ in the lawsuit of academics, like me, who were dismissed by decree…. These cases are still ongoing and it is likely that they will come before the ECHR, which you preside over.”

    Altan continued: “On March 2018, the second section of ECHR, presided over by you, set a precedent in universal law and ruled that my right to personal liberty and security and my freedom of expression had been violated. Turkey was convicted…. Ergin Ergul, who was appointed on behalf of Turkey to that case and was the only judge dissenting, put forward such arguments that you wrote ‘a dissenting vote’ against a dissenting vote, for the first time in the history of ECHR, if I am not mistaken. And the other members followed you.”

    Ahval reported that there were over 60,000 individual complaints at the ECHR for violations of rights and freedoms in Turkey.

    Yavuz Aydin, who was also dismissed from his profession along with 4,500 judges and prosecutors, wrote an article titled, “ECHR president faces a test of honor in Turkey,” which was published in Ahval on Sept. 2, 2020. Aydin wrote: “President Spano is certainly aware of the deterioration of rule of law in Turkey. As a man of honor who has been adjudicating on Turkey-related files at the ECHR for years, the purpose of his visit cannot be thought of as anything other than openly and courageously shouting out facts in the faces of government authorities.”

    Aydin continued: “The ECHR president knows very well that the government in Turkey translated to one-man rule by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan since the constitutional amendment of 2017. As openly criticized by the Venice Commission, Spano knows that the separation of powers and judicial independence no longer exist in Turkey. Besides this, he cannot be unaware of Resolution 2156(2017) of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, which downgraded Turkey to the league of countries under monitoring status for the first time in European history. This decision implies that Turkey no longer meets the famous Copenhagen Criteria, and thus cannot be regarded as eligible for accession negotiations with the EU [European Union].”

    Aydin then made a series of suggestions that he hoped Spano would follow during his visit to Turkey:

    — Call on Erdogan to return to democracy and restore the rule of law in the country.

    — Remind the Turkish leaders of the decision to remove from the Turkish Council of Judges and Prosecutors their observer status in the European Network of Councils for the Judiciary. He should also remind the candidate judges at the Turkish Judiciary Academy [TJA] why the European Judicial Training Network expelled the TJA from observer membership status in 2016.

    — Tell them that the existing judges as well as the 10,000 new judges appointed after the coup attempt are often politically biased in applying the law, and call on them to ignore political pressure from the Palace, Constitutional Court and other high courts.

    — Remind them that for the first time in history Turkey was found in breach of Article 18 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

    — Tell the leaders in Turkey that they should immediately release the hundreds of judges still in solitary confinement and reinstate all 4,000 of their purged colleagues.

    Aydin urged Spano “to decline the honorary doctorate even before stepping onto Turkish soil, conveying a very strong message to all parties before meeting with them in person. Otherwise, the good will exerted through Spano’s visit would not only be wasted, but serve as a trump card for the government and Erdogan, who will use the gesture as a sign of appraisal and legitimization of the illegalities taking place in the country under his rule.”

    Regrettably, Spano ignored all the good advice provided by Turkish human rights activists and thus undermined his own reputation as well as that of the European Court of Human Rights!

  • Arab World Finally Exposes Erdogan’sHypocrisy as ‘Defender’ of Palestinians

    Arab World Finally Exposes Erdogan’sHypocrisy as ‘Defender’ of Palestinians

    I have written in the past pointing out Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s hypocrisy on proclaiming himself as the ‘defender’ of Palestinians, while maintaining a military, diplomatic and economic alliance with Israel.

    Khaled Abu Toameh, an award-winning journalist based in Jerusalem who is a Shillman Journalism Fellow at Gatestone Institute, published a lengthy article on August 25, 2020 on Gatestone Institute’s website, titled: “Arabs and Muslims to Turkey’s Erdogan: ‘Why Don’t You Protest Against Yourself?’”

    Erdogan inherited from Ottoman Sultans the skill of walking a diplomatic tightrope. For centuries, the Ottoman Empire perfected the political art of seeming to be on both sides of conflicting powers. The Sultans sided with France and England against Germany and with Germany against France and England. The same policy is being pursued now by Erdogan, appearing to be on the Palestinian side, while maintaining multi-faceted relations with Israel. Similarly, Turkey is a NATO member, while purchasing advanced missiles from Russia which violates NATO policies. Amazingly, Erdogan is simultaneously the good friend of both Trump and Putin!

    This contradictory and dishonest Turkish behavior finally was exposed in the Arab and Islamic world on the occasion of Israel and United Arab Emirates (UAE) normalizing their relations. Erdogan threatened UAE on August 14, 2020, to cut off diplomatic relations and recall Turkey’s Ambassador from the UAE, while Turkey itself maintains normal relations with Israel, where it has an Embassy, and Israel has an Embassy in Ankara!

    Many Arabs are now reminding Erdogan that “Turkey was the first Muslim-majority country to recognize the State of Israel. They also remind him of his official visit to Israel in 2005 and the decades of military, strategic and diplomatic cooperation between Turkey and Israel,” Abu Toameh wrote.

    Here are several statements that Abu Toameh quoted from Arab and Muslim sources exposing Erdogan’s hypocritical position.

    Erdogan is “the official sponsor of terrorist groups in the region. He uses these groups to destabilize the Arab countries, including Syria, Iraq, Libya, and Egypt…. It seems that Erdogan is suffering from schizophrenia that surprises and confuses even his supporters,” wrote Egyptian journalist Adel al-Sanhoury, in youm7.com, on August 21, 2020. Jordanian writer Noura al-Moteari asked: “Does Erdogan have a mental illness and a dual personality, or does he know for sure that his followers from the oppressed Turkish people and the Muslim Brotherhood follow him with blind loyalty and do not see beyond the end of their noses? How does Erdogan threaten to withdraw his ambassador from Abu Dhabi because of the historic peace agreement with Israel, while the Israeli embassy in Turkey is active?”
    Saudi political activist Monther al-Sheikh Mubarak wrote: “I am sure Erdogan needs a psychiatrist. It has been reported that Turkey will serve Israel by transporting Israelis to the UAE at a time when Erdogan is objecting to normalization [with Israel]. There is no cure for stupidity.”

    Saudi political activist Abdullah al-Bander said in a video he posted on social media that Erdogan is known for his words more than his actions. “What’s funny is that Erdogan was also the first Muslim leader to visit the grave of [Zionism founder Theodor] Herzl in Israel and meet with [then Israeli Prime Minister Ariel] Sharon. Erdogan is trading in the Palestinian cause. Turkey has had relations with Israel for more than 70 years, but it has done nothing good for the Palestinians all these years.”

    Saudi writer Rawaf al-Soain also posted a video on social media platforms in which he asked: “Why don’t you [Erdogan] withdraw your ambassador from Tel Aviv and expel the Israeli ambassador in Turkey so that we can call you a hero and supporter of the Palestinian cause? By accusing the United Arab Emirates, Erdogan is being silly and despicable.”

    The Saudi newspaper Okaz wrote in an editorial: “Erdogan’s regime does not miss an opportunity to trade in the Palestinian issue and deceive everyone. Despite Erdogan’s hypocrisy, which has become exposed to Arab and Islamic public opinion, his regime continues to play on the feelings of Muslims. The Turkish president appears to be applying double standards by ignoring the presence of his ambassador in Tel Aviv.”

    Abu Toameh concluded: “The strong reactions of many Arabs to Erdogan’s threat is a sign that they understand that he is a conniving opportunist playing the Arab and Muslim card in an attempt to revive an Islamic caliphate under his rule. Judging from the broader Arab response to Erdogan’s threat, the Turkish leader, rather than being perceived as any kind of Caliph, is perceived as a demented demagogue and a sponsor of terrorism.”

    In addition, Turkish journalist Burak Bekdil provided the historical background of Turkey’s double-faced approach to diplomacy in an article published by the BESA Center on August 27, 2020.

    Bekdil wrote: “Turkey remained neutral during the Arab-Israeli war of 1948. At its conclusion, the then young Turkish republic became the first Muslim country to recognize the infant state of Israel on March 28, 1949. In January 1950, Ankara sent a career diplomat, Seyfullah Esin, to Tel Aviv as the first Turkish chargé d’affaires in Israel. In 1951, Turkey joined the Western bloc of countries that protested Cairo’s decision to deny Israeli ships passage through the Suez Canal. The Mossad [Israel’s Intelligence Agency] opened a station on Turkish soil in the early 1950s. In 1954, Turkish PM Adnan Menderes, while on a visit to the US, called on Arab states to recognize Israel.”

    Probably worse than Turkish hypocrisy is the gullibility of Western and Arab nations that have been fooled by Turkish deceits to think that Turkey is their friend and ally.