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.

  • Glendale Armenians Should Teach a Lesson To Americana Shopping Mall Executives

    Glendale Armenians Should Teach a Lesson To Americana Shopping Mall Executives

     
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    HARYT
    Three years ago, on the eve of the Centennial of the Armenian Genocide, Americana shopping mall officials in Glendale, illegally and in an arrogant manner, banned the sale of Armenian Genocide-related T-shirts by three young Armenians who had signed a contract, disclosed their merchandise in advance, and paid the rent for a cart on the property.
     
    Afterwards, ominously, Doris Nesheiwat, Senior Director of Specialty Leasing at Americana, in an email, warned the young Armenians: “Anything genocide themed, sweat shirts, t-shirts, phone covers and anything that has a genocide theme needs to come off the cart completely please.”
     
    After I exposed Americana’s scandalous and unwarranted behavior in a column, and complaints from the local Armenian community, Americana issued a half-hearted apology by describing the ugly incident as a “misunderstanding,” and allowed the young Armenians to sell their T-shirts.
     
    The Armenian community which numbers close to 100,000 — half of Glendale’s population — and a big portion of Americana’s shoppers, needs to know in a definitive way what is causing Americana executives to repeatedly take positions against publicizing the Armenian Genocide. Being smart businessmen, they must realize that it is counter-productive to antagonize the majority of their customers by taking offensive positions on the Armenian Genocide.
     
    In recent weeks, Americana executives once again took a hostile position by refusing to provide advertising space on their billboard for an Armenian Genocide documentary, “Architects of Denial,” produced by Hollywood celebrities Dean Cain and Montel Williams.
     
    This time again, Americana officials came up with a nonsensical and offensive reason for rejecting the paid ad. Americana’s outdoor media agency, Outfront Media, told the documentary producers that Americana executives feel, without having seen the documentary, it is “too political.” This is outrageous! A documentary on the Armenian Genocide cannot be labelled as “too political.” This is a human rights issue which has nothing to do with politics!
     
    When I learned that Julie Jauregui, Americana’s General Manager, was the one who used the term “too political” in rejecting the ad, I called her asking for an explanation. In response, I received an e-mail from Emily Davis, responsible for Americana’s Public Relations and Communications, stating: “We have strict standards for our advertisements and we carefully review all content. This did not comply with the advertising guidelines for our portfolio properties throughout Southern California.”
     
    This carefully crafted statement is completely meaningless! Thus, I wrote back to Emily Davis, wondering how could the advertising for this documentary “not comply” with Americana’s “strict standards for advertisements,” when in fact, Americana’s executives had neither seen the documentary nor the text of the billboard ad before rejecting it. The only information Americana officials knew was that this ad was for an Armenian Genocide documentary. I asked Davis if she implied that the topic of the Armenian Genocide itself violates Americana’s “strict standards for advertisement.” After mulling over her reply for three days and consulting her senior colleagues, Davis responded that they are sticking to their previous answer!
     
    Reaching a dead-end with Americana, I had no choice but to take the matter to the Glendale City Council last week, where four of the five Council members are Armenians. This fact alone, well-known to Americana executives, was another serious miscalculation by them, since they are legally obligated to adhere to scores of agreements they have signed with the City in return for generous subsidies and lavishly advantageous lease considerations. Any deviation from these legal obligations could force the City to take decisive action against Americana to enforce the signed agreements.
     
    In my public remarks to the City Council, I urged the City to arrange a meeting with Americana executives and local Armenian community leaders to resolve this issue. Otherwise, the community would have no choice but to resort to protests and boycotts. Joining me in addressing the City Council was Margarita Baghdasaryan, Community Outreach Director, the Armenian National Committee of America, Glendale Chapter.
     
    The City Council members were naturally sympathetic to our presentations and promised to intervene by arranging a meeting with Americana executives. The purpose of the meeting is not only to straighten out this latest wrong-headed decision, but get to the bottom of what is behind the repeated rejections of Armenian Genocide materials by Americana officials. We need to settle this issue once and for all! We cannot continue to deal with genocide-related objections raised by Americana periodically. We need to know what is the root cause of this repeated insensitive and insulting behavior of Americana officials. If they continue to take a hostile position on the Armenian Genocide issue, maybe hitting them in the pocket book through protests and boycotts, as well as City Council enforcement, would bring Americana executives to their senses!
  • How Azerbaijan’s Paid Agents Manipulate the American Media

    How Azerbaijan’s Paid Agents Manipulate the American Media

     HARYT
    For several years, dozens of articles have appeared in U.S., Israeli, and European newspapers, lavishly praising Azerbaijan and severely criticizing Armenia. Most of these articles are written by non-Azeris who are handsomely compensated by the Azeri government.
     
    One man, Casey Michel, had the courage to expose this scam in a lengthy article titled, “Azerbaijan’s American Media Manipulation.” He had done extensive research, linking several of these pro-Azeri authors to Azerbaijan’s well-financed lobbying activities.
     
    In an attempt “to whitewash its dictatorial image… the autocratic government of Ilham Aliyev has unleashed spin-doctors, duped reporters, and led one of the most brazen pushes to abuse American lobbying loopholes of any foreign government,” Michel wrote.
     
    Some of these hired pens sing the praises of Azerbaijan and mislead the general public by acting as if they are uninvolved third parties who are making objective assessments of the situation in Azerbaijan. Whereas, in reality, these writers are on the payroll of the Azeri regime or its state energy company, SOCAR. Here are some concrete examples:
     
    Former Cong. Dan Burton, who was paid to serve as head of the Azerbaijan America Alliance, wrote at least three op-ed articles in the Washington Post, Washington Times, and Daily Caller on what a wonderful country Azerbaijan is, without disclosing that he was on Baku’s payroll! Fortunately, Cong. Burton quit his job, when Azerbaijan stopped paying him!
     
    Michel then mentions Jason Katz as the most prolific pro-Azerbaijan propagandist, the founder of The Tool Shed Group, a U.S. lobbying firm hired by Azerbaijan. Katz wrote a series of articles in Huffington Post in praise of Azerbaijan’s “democracy,” claiming the country to be “a progressive, cosmopolitan, open, secular and Western-oriented society.”
     
    To his credit, Katz initially disclosed in these articles that he was a “senior advisor to the Republic of Azerbaijan.” However, shortly thereafter, Katz began to conceal his relationship with the Azeri government. Since late 2013, Katz wrote at least nine articles in praise of the Aliyev regime, four of them for Roll Call, and three for The Hill, in one of them foolishly claiming that “the U.S. can learn much from a nation like Azerbaijan,” Michel reported. Katz also wrote an outrageous article in National Review early in 2014, “equating the Armenian government with the Taliban!” In all nine articles, Katz had failed to mention that his firm, The Tool Shed Group, was being paid by Azerbaijan!
     
    Michel went to great lengths to expose Katz by contacting various publications and informing them about Katz’s lobbying efforts on behalf of Azerbaijan. Most of these publications, then added corrections after Katz’s articles were published, noting his close affiliation with Azerbaijan.
     
    For example, the National Review, after hearing from Michel, put a new note under Katz’s name, disclosing that Katz is a consultant to foreign states, “including the Azerbaijani government.” The Hill also inserted an editor’s note after Katz’s name, revealing that “Katz is paid to provide strategic advice to Azerbaijan. This note was added after Katz’s foreign agent registration was brought to the attention of The Hill.”
     
    These articles not only mislead the American readers about Azerbaijan, but cause a further damage when reprinted in the Azeri press as evidence of the high regard Americans had for Azerbaijan!
     
    Switching tactics, Katz’s wife, Mallory Moss, began to write similar anti-Armenian articles on the Artsakh (Karabagh) conflict in mid-2014. She wrote one for the Capitol Weekly and two for the Hill, under the guise of being a nurse! Michel discovered that Mallory Moss had registered under her name the website BakuWoman.com which was reregistered under the name of Jason Katz. “The registrant organization listed for Moss was The Tool Shed Group,” Michel reported. Mallory Moss’s op-eds should have been filed under the Foreign Agent Registration Act of the U.S. Justice Department! When Michel reported to The Hill about Mallory Moss’s association with Jason Katz and The Tool Shed Group, The Hill added an editor’s note under her article: “A firm that is paid to provide strategic advice to Azerbaijan submitted this op-ed. The note was added after information was brought to the attention of The Hill.”
     
    Finally, Michel mentions the case of Prof. Brenda Shaffer who had written pro-Azerbaijani articles for the New York Times and the Washington Post. In both cases, she had failed to mention that she was an advisor or consultant to Azerbaijan’s state-run oil company, SOCAR. Subsequently, both newspapers published an editor’s note exposing her financial relationship with SOCAR!
     
    There are many others who are hired by Azerbaijan to write propaganda pieces in the Western media on behalf of the “Caspian kleptocracy” as Michel describes the country. Unfortunately, we are unable to name these propagandists without a solid evidence of their payoffs from Azerbaijan!
  • Azerbaijan’s US Lobbying Firm’s List of Impressive Accomplishments

    Azerbaijan’s US Lobbying Firm’s List of Impressive Accomplishments

     HARYT
    Several weeks ago, I wrote about the four lobbying and PR firms hired by Azerbaijan in the United States. One of these companies is the Tool Shed Group.
     
    This week, I would like to present a sample of the impressive activities organized by the Tool Shed Group on behalf of the Consulate General of Azerbaijan which is getting a great bargain by paying only $9,000 a month for all of these pro-Azeri efforts, almost none of which could have happened without the Tool Shed Group.
     
    Most readers are unaware that American lobbying and PR firms hired by foreign entities are legally required not only to register their clients with the Justice Department under the Foreign Agent Registration Act (FARA), but also file the detailed list of activities on their behalf.
     
    In order to know what efforts have been made by the Tool Shed Group on behalf of the Consulate of Azerbaijan, I have checked the website of the Justice Department where the Tool Shed Group has listed by date all of their activities for Azerbaijan’s Consulate in Los Angeles.
     
    Tool Shed’s list of activities starts on April 1, 2009, but mysteriously ends on March 31, 2011. This must surely be a violation of the Justice Department’s requirement which has to be brought into the attention of the U.S. government. Nevertheless, the two-year report provides a detailed glimpse which I have summarized below as it is a dozen pages long:
     
    1) Outreach to Universities:
    Arranged meetings for Consul General Elman Abdullayev with the following University officials: Jolene Kester, California State University, Northridge, CA; the University of New Mexico; Geoff Cowan and Adam Clayton, USC; Chapman University, Orange, CA; Pepperdine University, Malibu, CA; Larry Greenfield, Vice President of the Claremont Institute, Los Angeles, CA; Jack Lewis, Associate Dean, USC Marshall School of Business, Los Angeles, CA; Gail Lapidus, Stanford University, Stanford, CA; David Lundberg, UCLA NanoSystems Institute; University of California, Irvine; and University of Las Vegas, Nevada; Lectures by the Consul General at UCLA; San Francisco State University; San Jose State University, San Jose, CA; USC; Scripps College, Claremont, CA; University of California, Santa Barbara, CA; California State University, Fullerton, CA; Arizona State University, Phoenix, AZ; University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ; and Stanford University, Stanford, CA; spoke at a conference on religious pluralism at USC; and conference call with USC Center for Public Diplomacy to discuss a lecture by the Consul General.
     
    2) U.S. Politicians:
    Consul General met with Darrell Steinberg, President Pro Tem, California State Senate, Sacramento, CA; Karen Bass, Speaker, California State Assembly, Sacramento, CA; Annette Porini, Chief of Staff, State Senator Joe Simitian, Sacramento, CA; Felipe Fuentes, Assemblyman, California State Assembly, Sacramento, CA; Councilor Chris Calvert, City of Santa Fe, New Mexico; Gov. Bill Richardson of New Mexico, Santa Fe, New Mexico; Speaker Ben Lujan, New Mexico State Legislature, Santa Fe, New Mexico; Mayor Bob Foster, Long Beach, CA; Cong. Adam Schiff, Glendale, CA; Congresswoman Diane Watson; Orange County Sheriff Sandra Hutchins, Santa Ana, CA; Orange County Board of Supervisors; Mike Schneider, President Pro Tem, Nevada State Senate, Las Vegas, Nevada; Mayor Oscar Goodman, City of Las Vegas, Nevada; Asked Cong. Michael McMahon (NY) to join the Azerbaijani Caucus, Los Angeles, CA; Mayor Chuck Reed, City of San Jose, CA; Meeting with California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to present a gift from Azerbaijan to the Governor, Los Angeles, CA; Mayor Coss, City of Santa Fe, New Mexico; Cong. Dana Rohrabacher, Huntington Beach, CA; and City Council Member Jan Perry, Los Angeles, CA.
     
    3) Jewish and Israeli Representatives:
    Consul General of Azerbaijan met with Consul General Jacob Dayan of Israel, Los Angeles, CA; John Fishel, Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles; Rabbi Abraham Cooper, Museum of Tolerance, Los Angeles, CA; Lecture at Temple Judea, Tarzana, CA; American Jewish Committee, San Francisco, CA; and met with Rabbi Leider and Prof. Reuven Firestone regarding a lecture by the Consul General at Temple Beth Am, Los Angeles, CA.
     
    There are dozens of other meetings that Jason Katz, the owner of Tool Shed Group, had arranged for the Consul General of Azerbaijan. I must admit that for a paltry $9,000 a month Mr. Katz is underpaid for arranging such a wide array of access for Azerbaijan in several US States, something the Consul General of Azerbaijan could have never accomplished on his own.
     
    The Armenian-American community makes up for its lack of lobbying and PR firms by the activism of its organizations and their members. However, a professional lobbying and PR firm can add a lot to the existing successes. Unfortunately, most Armenians do not have a proper appreciation for the work of lobbying and PR firms and therefore do not believe in funding such a valuable and much-needed effort!
  • US & Europe Should Investigate Azeri Shipments of Weapons to Terrorists

    US & Europe Should Investigate Azeri Shipments of Weapons to Terrorists

      HARYT
     
    A stunning investigation by Bulgarian reporter Dilyana Gaytandzhieva revealed that Azerbaijan’s state-run Silk Way Airlines has shipped under diplomatic cover 350 planeloads of heavy weapons and ammunition to terrorist groups around the world in the last three years! Azerbaijan asked the Foreign Ministries of various countries to issue a diplomatic exemption for these flights, allowing civilian planes to carry weapons which would normally be prohibited by the International Air Transport Association.
     
    The reporter’s information is based on a large number of emails sent to her by an anonymous source: “The leaked files include correspondence between the Bulgarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Embassy of Azerbaijan to Bulgaria with attached documents for weapons deals and diplomatic clearance for overflight and/or landing in Bulgaria and many other European countries,” in addition to Syria, Iraq, the United States, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Turkey, and Israel, to name a few.
     
    According to documents obtained by Gaytandzhieva, “Silk Way Airlines offered diplomatic flights to private companies and arms manufacturers from the US, the Balkans, and Israel, as well as to the militaries of Saudi Arabia, UAE, and US Special Operations Command (USSOCOM), and the military forces of Germany and Denmark in Afghanistan and of Sweden in Iraq. Diplomatic flights are exempt of checks, air bills, and taxes, meaning that Silk Way airplanes freely transported hundreds of tons of weapons to different locations around the world without regulation.”
     
    The leaked documents also reveal that American weapons manufacturers had shipped over $1 billion of weapons through Silk Way Airlines. These were non-US standard weapons which means that they were not intended for use by U.S. forces. When Silk Way Airlines did not have enough available planes, Azerbaijan’s Air Force jets would transport the military shipments, Gaytandzhieva reported.
     
    According to the U.S. federal contracts registry, in December 2014, the U.S. Special Operations Command signed a $26.7 million contract with the American company Purple Shovel. Bulgaria was listed as the country of origin for the shipped weapons and Azerbaijan’s Defense Ministry as the consignee. Another US company, Orbital ATK, received a contract for $250 million of non-US standard weapons.
     
    Amazingly, the daring Bulgarian reporter went to Aleppo, Syria, in December of last year where she “found and filmed 9 underground warehouses full of heavy weapons with Bulgaria as their country of origin. They were used by Al Nusra Front (Al Qaeda affiliate in Syria designated as a terrorist organization by the UN).”
     
    Gaytandzhieva discovered that just in April and May of 2017, Azerbaijan’s Air Force jets transported 282 tons of grenades on 10 diplomatic flights.
     
    Another major purchaser of non-US standard weapons is Saudi Arabia which cannot use these weapons for its own defense as they are not compatible with its arsenal of western weapons. In 2016 and 2017, there were 23 diplomatic flights carrying weapons from Bulgaria, Serbia and Azerbaijan to Jeddah and Riyadh. These weapons were transported to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia through Silk Way Airlines and ended up in the hands of militants in Syria and Yemen that Saudi Arabia officially admits supporting, according to Gaytandzhieva.
     
    On April 28 and May 12 of this year, Silk Way Airlines carried out two diplomatic flights from Baku to Burgas-Jeddah-Brazzaville (Republic of Congo). The military cargo on board both flights was paid for by Saudi Arabia. The aircraft was loaded with mortars and anti-tank grenades. These very same weapons were discovered by the Iraqi army a month ago in an Islamic State warehouse in Mosul. It is not surprising that Islamic State terrorists have displayed these weapons in their propaganda videos, according to Gaytandzhieva.
     
    The same situation existed with the shipment of Coyote machine guns which appeared on propaganda videos posted online by militant groups in Syria. These weapons were transported on a diplomatic flight via Turkey and Saudi Arabia a few months earlier. There are many other examples of such shipments that ended up in the hands of terrorists, including some shipments sponsored by United Arab Emirates.
     
    In February and March 2017, Saudi Arabia received 350 tons of weapons on Silk Way Airlines’ diplomatic flights originating from Baku. The cargo included 27,350 pieces of 128-mm rockets and 10,000 pieces of 122 mm. Grad rockets.
     
    Some of these shipments were paid in cash which may account for the huge amount of wealth accumulated by Pres. Aliyev and his family.
     
    Just as concerning are the shipments of large quantities (around 200 tons) of white phosphorus which could be deadly. Ironically, Azerbaijan, which possesses white phosphorus, accuses Armenia of using it in the Artsakh conflict.
     
    This is not just another article which should be read and forgotten! The US Congress and European governments should hold hearings and investigate these huge shipments of weapons, most of which are destined for terrorists in the Middle East and elsewhere.
  • Turkey spends $2.6 Million to Hire Two New Lobbying and PR Firms

    Turkey spends $2.6 Million to Hire Two New Lobbying and PR Firms

    Last week, I wrote about a dozen public relations and lobbying companies the Turkish government had already hired. In recent weeks, the Republic of Turkey added two new such firms: Ballard Partners and Burson-Marsteller.

    Turkish officials don’t seem to realize that having more than a dozen lobbying firms not only is a waste of money due to unnecessary duplication, it is also a waste of the valuable time of several Turkish Embassy officials in Washington, D.C., spending a lot of their time on a daily basis to give detailed instructions to these lobbying firms, read their reports, comment on them, meet with them, forward their reports to the Foreign Ministry with lengthy explanations, and take corrective action based on Ankara’s reaction. Unless such an intense and elaborate effort is made in working with so many lobbying firms, Turkish officials are simply wasting their country’s money!

    I am happy that the Turkish government has decided to waste more of its money by agreeing to pay Brian Ballard’s firm, Ballard Partners, $1.5 million from May 15, 2017 to May 14, 2018. According to Ballard’s registration with the Justice Department, the firm will provide the Turkish government “with advocacy services relative to US-Turkey bilateral relations.” The lobbying activities include “advising, counseling, and assisting [Turkey] in communications with US Government officials. Maintaining US relations with this important NATO partner.”

    Brian Ballard is the longtime lobbyist for Pres. Donald Trump as the representative of the Trump Organization in Tallahassee, Florida. He raised $16 million for Trump’s presidential campaign while serving as his state finance chairman and later as vice chairman of the President’s inaugural committee. Ballard issued a statement asserting that he “still speaks to Trump on occasion.” Susie Wiles, who was introduced by Ballard to Trump during the campaign, served as Trump’s Florida campaign manager. She is now working for Ballard Partners. Ballard also hired former Congressman Robert Wexler (Democrat-Florida) to be in charge of the Turkish lobbying account. As co-chair of the Congressional Turkey Caucus, Cong. Wexler actively lobbied and voted against a proposed House Armenian Genocide resolution on Oct. 10, 2007. His new job is his reward for staunchly supporting Turkey in Congress for years!

    According to the Tampa Bay Times, Ballard’s first interaction with Trump occurred several years ago when he wrote a letter to Trump after reading his book, Art of the Deal, and Trump answered. Ballard wrote back stating: “if you ever have any issues in Florida, please don’t hesitate to call.” Trump called him after purchasing Mar-a-Largo in 1985, and paid Ballard at least $460,000 from 2013 to 2015 for lobbying work. Trump personally called Ballard asking for his help when he launched his presidential campaign. Ballard is now organizing a fundraising banquet for Trump on June 28. The cost is $35,000 per person and $100,000 to join the host committee.

    Ballard makes no secret of his special connections with Pres. Trump. “I would imagine if Hillary Clinton were elected I wouldn’t be here,” he told the Tampa Bay Times. Ballard said “he doesn’t discuss how he works or his contacts with the president. He’s been spotted at the White House, however, and Trump maintains phone relationships with allies.”

    In addition, the Turkish Embassy in Washington D.C., signed a contract with Burson-Marsteller for $1.1 million for the period May 1-Dec. 31, 2017. Ironically, from 2012 to 2015, Burson-Marsteller was doing lobbying work for the Alliance for Shared Values, a group tied to the Turkish Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen whom Erdogan opposes and seeks his extradition from the US to Turkey. The Turkish government reportedly threatened Burson-Marsteller’s operations in Turkey if the firm continued to lobby for Gulen.

    Burson-Marsteller is supposed to provide “integrated public relations services to support the [Turkish] Embassy’s communications objectives in the United States. Activities include media outreach, monitoring and analysis; event support; stakeholder engagement; social media counsel; and support for Turkish consulates in Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami and New York.”

    It is noteworthy that despite the millions of dollars spent by Turkey on more than a dozen high-powered lobbying and public relations firms, they could not counter the large number of news articles and TV coverage critical of the Turkish government for the attack on peaceful protesters by Pres. Erdogan’s bodyguards in front of the Turkish Ambassador’s residence in Washington, D.C., on May 16. This fact reinforces my firm belief that Turkey is wasting millions of dollars annually trying to cleanse its image in the U.S., which is further tarnished by the Turkish government’s brutal policies both at home and abroad!

  • Turkey Hires More US Lobbying Firms As its Reputation is Further Tarnished

    Turkey Hires More US Lobbying Firms As its Reputation is Further Tarnished

     Harut Sassounian
    As Turkey becomes the target of worldwide condemnation for its human rights violations, the Turkish government decides to spend a fortune on lobbying and public relations firms to try to cleanse its tarnished reputation. On the heels of the April 16 flawed referendum which Erdogan barely won to give himself a wide-ranging dictatorial powers, and his bodyguards’ brutal attack in front of the Turkish Embassy in Washington D.C., on innocent protesters has been universally criticized by the executive and legislative branches of the US government, including a resolution adopted by the U.S. House of Representatives 397-0!
     
    Unfortunately, for Turkey and its autocratic president, the country’s reputation is so tainted that public relations firms, regardless of how powerful and competent they are, cannot whitewash its image. Turkish leaders are simply wasting millions of dollars of their taxpayers’ money attempting to accomplish an impossible task.
     
    The Turkish government has already been paying five million dollars a year to 10 lobbying firms: The Gephardt Group $1,700,000; APCO $741,000; Amsterdam Partners $600,000; Greenberg Traurig $480,000; Capitol Counsel $384,000; Mercury $240,000; Madison Group $240,000; Mcbee Signal $240,000; Jim Arnold $240,000; and MediaFix $108,000! In addition, a business associate of Pres. Erdogan paid Pres. Trump’s disgraced former National Security Advisor Michael T. Flynn $540,000 in September 2016 to lobby on behalf of the Turkish government!
     
    In recent months, trying to get out of its P.R. quagmire, the Turkish government and groups affiliated with it have hired three new firms. This week we will present one of these lobbying firms, leaving the other two to a future column.
     
    Monte Advisory Group was hired in August 2016 for a fee of $400,000. According to the Daily Beast, the firm is run by Douglas Baker, the son of Republican James Baker [Chief of Staff and Secretary of State for Pres. George H.W. Bush; and Chief of Staff and Secretary of the Treasury for Pres. Ronald Reagan). The firm is supposed to improve public perceptions of Turkey! Douglas Baker is the “sole and managing member” of the Monte Advisory Group. The contract is signed by an Istanbul-based mysterious non-governmental organization known as Knowledge Economy Association (KEA). The Daily Beast reported that KEA’s “activities aligned sometimes with the interests of the Turkish government.” More ominously, the Daily Beast reported that “at least one member of the KEA leadership was a representative of the Turkish government.” Furthermore, the founder and former president of KEA, Davut Kavranoglu, is now a scientific advisor to Pres. Erdogan, according to the Daily Beast. Kavranoglu had tweeted a photograph of himself with James Baker!
     
    The Daily Beast reported that, according to its filing with the Department of Justice, Monte Advisory Group was “engaged in outreach to the Trump Presidential Campaign and Presidential Transition Team” on behalf of KEA “to improve the overall relationship and public perceptions between Turkey and the United States.” Monte also made contacts with “outgoing Obama administration officials, holding meetings with staff from the Department of Defense and emailing Colin Kahl, the National Security Advisor to then Vice-President Biden.”
     
    Israfil Kahraman, an Istanbul lawyer, was listed in the Department of Justice filing as the legal representative of KEA, according to the Daily Beast. Israfil stated that the purpose of the contract was “to develop friendship and cooperation between Turkey and the United States in the fields of scientific and economic development.” Kahraman is quoted by the Daily Beast as stating that the KEA was founded “by a group of distinguished scientists with the aim of conducting civil society activities in order to raise awareness in Turkey about developing an economy with high added value.” This makes no sense. Why would a group whose aim is to raise awareness about the economy in Turkey hire a lobbying firm in Washington? This sounds more like a front for the Turkish government than an independent group of scientists. It would be interesting to find out who is funding the KEA!
     
    Interestingly, when contacted by The Bureau of Investigative Journalism (BIJ), Douglas Baker stated that there had been some concerns the US-Turkey relationship “has soured a little” in the latter years of the Obama administration. “There could be opportunities to either strengthen that relationship or see it undergo further harm. And that’s the reason that [KEA] retained Monte — to help during that transitional phase.”
     
    Douglas Baker added that his company’s work for KEA “was never designed to be broad brush public relations campaign. It was a bit more of an opportunity to present their point of view… they felt we were positioned to help them with the necessary introductions.”
     
    Not surprisingly, after Pres. Trump’s inauguration, and after “the necessary introductions” were made between the KEA and Trump administration officials, KEA did not renew the contract with Monte when its initial six-month term expired in February 2017. “Only $105,000 of the contracted $400,000 was paid by this point,” according to the BIJ.