Category: Harut Sassounian

Last week, I described the terms of the $1.4 million contract signed by the Gephardt Group, the lobbying firm of former House Majority Leader Dick Gephardt, to promote Turkey’s interests in Washington.

Realizing that its relationship with the United States has seriously deteriorated, the Turkish government has been pouring millions of dollars into the coffers of several U.S. firms, hoping to improve its image by whitewashing the dark stains of its dictatorial regime. For that purpose, Ankara signed a contract on May 12, 2014 with former Turkish national swimming champion Huma Gruaz and her Chicago-based public relations firm Alpaytac, Inc., for $1,420,000 a year. Oddly enough, instead of making monthly payments, the Turkish government gave Alpaytac $1 million up front upon signing the agreement, and paid the balance of $420,000 in the first three months. Alpaytac thus replaced the public relations firm of Fleishman-Hillard which received from the Turkish Embassy $779,805 for the six-month period from Nov. 1, 2013 to April 30, 2014, at which time its contract was terminated.

In addition, Ankara benefits from the activities of Turkish Coalition of America (TCA) which spent over $1 million to sponsor 170 congressional trips to Turkey since 2000. TCA was founded in 2007 by Massachusetts microchip millionaire Yalcin Ayasli who has donated close to $140,000 in the past 18 months to several pro-Turkish members of Congress, according to Al-Monitor.

Most people are unaware that pursuant to the Foreign Agents Registration Act, American firms representing foreign clients are required to report to the U.S. Justice Department their day-to-day activities every six months.

Alpaytac’s six-month report is not yet due. However, we would like to present excerpts from the detailed files the Gephardt Group and its subcontractors — Greenberg Traurig, Lydia Borland, Brian Forni, and Dickstein Shapiro — submitted to the Justice Department regarding their specific activities on behalf of Turkey from August 1, 2013 to January 31, 2014:

— On Sept. 19, 2013, forwarded a letter from Turkish Parliament Speaker Cemil Cicek to Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Patrick Leahy.
— Sent emails to Representatives Castro, Cohen, Connolly, Deutch, Esty, Foxx, Frankel, Gabbard, Kennedy, Schneider, Wagner, and Whitfield; and Sen. Murphy regarding the upcoming visit of Turkey’s former Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu; contacts were also established with several other members of Congress to discuss Syria, Iran sanctions, Hamas, and Missile Defense.
— Dick Gephardt reported making campaign contributions from Sept. 24 to Dec. 12, 2013 to: Representatives Alcee Hastings ($1,000), Barbara Lee ($1,000), Marjorie Margolies ($1,000), Richard Neal ($1,250), Brad Schneider ($500), Debbie Wasserman-Schultz ($1,500), Marc Veasey ($1,000), and Henry Waxman ($1,000); and Senators Dick Durbin ($2,500), Mary Landrieu ($1,000), Claire McCaskill ($1,000), Mark Pryor ($1,500), and Ron Wyden ($2,500).
— Gephardt Group employees contributed to Senators Dick Durbin ($500) and Jeanne Shaheen ($1,500); and Representatives Steve Cohen ($500), Colleen Hanabusa ($1,250), Jim Moran ($500), Brad Schneider ($500), and Cong. Henry Waxman ($500).
— Employees of Gephardt Group subcontractor Dickstein Shapiro LLC contacted Ben Branch, Legislative Director to Cong. Gregory Meeks, “regarding legislation focused on Turkish regional issues.” On behalf of Dickstein Shapiro, former House Speaker Dennis Hastert met with Turkish Ambassador Namik Tan and Sen. Ron Johnson “regarding U.S.-Turkey relations.”
— Other Dickstein Shapiro employees contacted the offices of Representatives George Holding, Eddie Bernice Johnson, Sheila Jackson Lee, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Gregory Meeks, Chellie Pingree, Robert Pittenger, Dana Rohrabacher, Ed Royce, and Ed Whitfield; and Senators John Boozman, Ron Johnson, Rand Paul, and Roger Wicker to discuss Turkish regional issues, Cyprus, Travel to Turkey, and U.S.-Turkey relations.
— Dickstein Shapiro employees contributed over $60,000 to the political campaigns of congressional candidates from July 20 to Dec. 19, 2013, including: Senators Lamar Alexander ($2,500), Kay Hagan ($9,000), Amy Klobuchar ($2,000), Mitch McConnell ($2,500), Mark Pryor ($2,500), and Tim Scott ($1,000), and Representatives Sanford Bishop ($2,500), Emanuel Cleaver ($1,500), Rick Crawford ($2,500), Steve Daines ($2,500), John Dingell ($1,000), Bill Huizenga ($2,500), Eddie Bernice Johnson ($1,000), Adam Kinzinger ($2,500), Mike McIntyre ($5,000), Buck McKeon ($1,500), Dutch Ruppersberger ($2,500), and Ed Whitfield ($2,500).

Since the lobbying firms hired by Turkey are obligated by law to report their detailed activities, it is important to check regularly their Justice Department filings in order to find out who are they contacting in Congress, for what purpose, and how much are they contributing to their political campaigns?

Washington has long-suffered from unethical politicians, but the prize for the top hypocrite on an Armenian issue goes to former Cong. Richard Gephardt who served as House Majority Leader from 1989 to 1995 and Minority Leader from 1995 to 2003.

After championing the recognition of the Armenian Genocide for over two decades, Gephardt retired from the House of Representatives in 2005, and began enriching himself by lobbying against the very issue that he had staunchly defended in Congress!

Taking advantage of Turkish paranoia on the eve of the Centennial of the Armenian Genocide, the Gephardt Group Government Affairs expanded earlier this year its long-standing lobbying relationship with the Republic of Turkey. The new contract, worth $1.4 million per year, includes subcontractors Dickstein Shapiro ($531,000 per year), Greenberg Traurig ($314,000 per year), Lydia Borland ($180,000 per year), and Brian Forni ($78,000 per year). The Gephardt Group and its subcontractors agreed to provide the following services to Turkey:

“(a) Proposing and pursuing passage of legislation and other U.S. government action that promotes Turkey’s interests and provides a positive image of Turks, Turkey and the United States-Turkey relationship,
(b) Preserving and enlarging the Congressional Caucus on Turkey and Turkish Americans,
(c) Educating members of Congress and the Administration on issues of importance to Turkey,
(d) Promptly notifying Turkey of any action in Congress or the Executive Branch on issues of importance to Turkey,
(e) Preparing brief analyses of developments in Congress and the Executive Branch on particular issues of concern to Turkey,
(f) Identifying official gatherings and social events to which [Turkish] Embassy personnel ought, in the Gephardt Group’s opinion, attend, including to the extent possible, obtaining the necessary invitations,
(g) Identifying and/or arranging speaking engagements locally and nationally for [Turkish] Embassy personnel or their appointed or suggested proxies in fora that will improve Turkey’s image and advance its causes on Capitol Hill. Such would be, if so directed by Turkey, coordinated with Turkey’s existing public relations service provider(s), and
(h) Maintaining and forging alliances with other interest groups whose goals are similar to or shared by Turkey.”

Significantly, subcontractor Greenberg Traurig’s responsibilities include: “develop and utilize contacts at the State and Defense Departments, and the National Security Council to convey the seriousness of the genocide issue and the potential threat it poses to the U.S./Turkey relationship.”

While there are plenty of sleazy lobbyists in Washington, none can match Gephardt’s shocking transformation from a leading supporter of Armenian Genocide recognition to a genocide denialist! The early years of Gephardt’s shameful flip-flop on this critical moral issue was revealed by The New Republic in its July 23, 2007 article titled, “K Street Cashes in on the 1915 Armenian Genocide.” Throughout his 26 years in Congress, Cong. Gephardt co-sponsored several genocide Resolutions and repeatedly spoke on the importance of recognizing the Armenian Genocide. In 2000, Gephardt and two other House Democrats co-signed a letter to then-Speaker Dennis Hastert urging him to schedule an immediate vote on the Armenian Genocide Resolution.

In January 2005, barely days after leaving his House seat, Gephardt opened his consulting and lobbying firm in Washington, D.C. From 2005 to 2009, he became a strategic adviser on government affairs for the international law firm of DLA Piper, which was paid $100,000 per month to represent the interests of Turkey, including lobbying against the pending House Resolution on the Armenian Genocide! The New Republic reported that Gephardt arranged meetings between members of the Turkish parliament and House Democratic leaders, helped Turkey’s U.S. Ambassador to gain an audience with “a skeptical Nancy Pelosi,” and circulated a booklet titled “An Appeal to Reason,” that denied the Armenian Genocide.

Armenian-Americans and all people of good will should not remain silent while Gephardt enriches himself with Turkish blood money! They should warn his lobbying firm’s clients — Anheuser-Busch, Boeing, Chevron, Enterprise Rent-A-Car, General Electric, Goldman Sachs, Google, Los Angeles Airport, National Football League, Port of Oakland, and United Airlines — that they will boycott their products and services unless these firms cancelled their contracts with the Gephardt Group. Letters of complaint should also be sent to Ford Motor Company and The Scripps Research Institute for giving Gephardt a seat on their Board of Directors.

Finally, readers should write directly to Dick Gephardt, Gephardt Government Affairs, 1101 K Street, N.W., Suite 310, Washington, D.C. 20005 or send an e-mail to dickgephardt@gephardtdc.com, admonishing him for his highly unethical behavior!

The international media is replete these days with scandalous stories about European and American politicians being wined and dined in Azerbaijan and Turkey, for self-serving ulterior motives.

The latest such exposé, published by the Houston Chronicle on July 27, was titled: “Congress members’ trips raise red flags.” The article revealed that five Turkic non-profit groups spent $274,459 for the lavish travel of 10 members of Congress and 35 staffers to Azerbaijan in May 2013. The funds were contributed by:

— Turquoise Council of Americans and Eurasians (Houston): $101,680
— Turkish American Federation of the Midwest (Chicago): $68,324
— Turkic American Alliance (Washington, DC): $52,975
— Turkic American Federation of the Southeast (Atlanta): $26,550
— Council of Turkic American Associations (New York): $24,930

The 10 members of Congress travelling to Baku on all-expenses-paid trip were:

— Danny Davis (D-IL): $24,084
— Ruben Hinojosa (D-TX): $19,962
— Jim Bridenstine (R-OK): $14,173
— Ted Poe (R-TX): $13,431
— Steve Stockman (R-TX): $13,431
— Michelle Lujan Grisham (D-NM): $12,780
— Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX): $12,034
— Leonard Lance (R-NJ): $9,798
— Yvette Clark (D-NY): $8,701
— Gregory Meeks (D-NY): $6,431

The actual purpose of the congressional trip was to attend a conference sponsored in part by SOCAR (Azerbaijan’s national oil company) which along with one of its partners, NIOC (Iran’s national oil company), was embarking on a $28 billion project to develop the Shah Deniz gas field. It was no coincidence that the junket was organized at a time when Congress was considering additional sanctions against Iran. The Azeris and their Iranian partners desperately needed an exemption from Congress to carry out their mega-project. Not surprisingly, less than two months after the congressional delegation’s return from its extravagant trip, the House of Representatives went along and approved the sought after exemption!

The Houston Chronicle explained the speedy approval of this bill by a usually slow-moving Congress by the fact that “SOCAR, along with other Azeri government interests, has become one of Washington, D.C.’s big spenders in efforts to win American allies to get its petroleum products to markets worldwide…. Lobbyists, the Azeri government and energy companies all participated in the elaborate Baku gathering” at the plush Heydar Aliyev Center with Pres. Ilham Aliyev as keynote speaker. “At least four congressmen took along a spouse or a fiancé. Some flew first-class and extended their trips with stays in luxury hotels in Turkey. The congressional travel tabs alone totaled $270,000.”

Interestingly, the Turquoise Council of Americans and Eurasians, the main organizer of the visit, “did not disclose any corporate support or foreign government assistance for the Baku congressional trips,” as required by Federal law, the Chronicle reported. The five Turkic non-profit organizations and 10 Members of Congress may have violated congressional ethics rules and federal law by not disclosing corporate donations for the trip, the Chronicle stated.

Records show that Cong. Meeks “did not disclose his Baku trip expenses until a year after the deadline,” the Chronicle disclosed. Moreover, Cong. Stockman had received an additional $5,000 in campaign contributions in three installments, during the same month as the trip, from Kemal Oksuz, president of the Turquoise Council, who leads two non-profits that share the same address in Houston. “Both groups were identified as sponsors or organizers of the Baku conference, and both have accepted money from SOCAR. One group, the Assembly of the Friends of Azerbaijan, operates as a U.S.-based public relations arm of SOCAR,” according to the Chronicle.

Oksuz reportedly told an American journalist in Baku that the oil conference had cost $1.5 million. He also said that some guests had received hand-woven rugs as gifts — which would be a violation, if not reported to proper U.S. authorities.

The Chronicle revealed that “many of those non-profits are led by followers of Fetullah Gulen, a moderate Turkish ex-Imam who lives in exile in an enclave in Pennsylvania…. Collectively, Turkic groups have funded 272 foreign trips for members of Congress and their staffs from 2009-2013″ to Azerbaijan and Turkey.

In addition to its eye-opening investigative article, the Houston Chronicle published a blistering editorial, chiding the 10 members of Congress for “being distressingly naïve or disgustingly corrupt,” and in return for “a few well-placed donations,” serving the interests of Azerbaijan, “a corrupt kleptocracy ruled by the Aliyev family, which lines its pockets while keeping political dissent firmly quashed.”

Turkish Deputy Prime Minster Bulent Arinc is the latest government official to put his foot in his mouth.

In a speech last week, this high-ranking official preached his perverted version of morality to Turkish women by telling them not to laugh in public! “A woman will know what is haram [forbidden] and not haram,” Arinc warned. “She will not laugh out loud in public. She will not be inviting in her attitudes and will protect her chasteness.”

Arinc, a co-founder of the ruling AK Party, continued his chauvinist sermonizing: “Where are our girls who slightly blush, lower their heads, and turn their eyes away when we look at their faces, becoming the symbol of chastity?” He ridiculed women for discussing cooking recipes and other “frivolous things” on cell phones. Imitating a female voice, he squeaked: “What happened to Ayse’s daughter? When is the wedding?” He told the women to talk about such insignificant matters “face to face,” not on the phone!

The Deputy Prime Minister’s demeaning remarks spread like wildfire. In defiance, tens of thousands of Turkish women went on social media (Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram) posting ‘selfies,’ pictures of themselves, laughing out loud. Rather than stopping their laughter, women started laughing … at him!

Arinc’s ridiculous comments were picked up by the international media, including Hurriyet, the guardian, ABC News, The Daily Star, National Post, Washington Post, Time magazine, Newsweek, The Australian, and hundreds of newspapers, magazines, radio and TV stations, blogs and websites. The Turkish Deputy Prime Minister has become the laughing stock of the world!

The next day, instead of apologizing for his sexist remarks, Arinc made matters worse by insisting that he stood by his words, and attacked his critics. He wondered why everyone was focusing on a small segment of his hour-and-a-half speech. He proceeded to mock female celebrities: “There are some artists who laugh artificially and send me their photos. Real laughs relieve a person, but these are artificial ones. You all had your moment of fame, but when that eluded, you tried to attract attention with alcohol and such fake laughter. Despite being married with kids, women go on vacation with their boyfriends, while leaving their husbands behind, and never miss a chance to wrap themselves around a dancing pole.”

This is not the first time that Turkish officials have made such asinine statements. In the past, Arinc was quoted saying that a rape victim must have “wanted it.” He also stated that it is perfectly fine if parents give permission to their 15-year-old daughter to marry a 45-year-old man. Ankara’s Mayor Melih Gokcek, while condemning abortion, shamefully declared: “Why should the child die if the mother is raped? The mother should die instead.” Meanwhile, the Forestry Minister told women who were seeking employment, “Isn’t your housework enough?” Former Minister for European Union Affairs, Egemen Bagish, an AKP official who frequently made nonsensical statements, was quoted: “What happened in 1915 can’t be classified as genocide as far as I am concerned, but I was not around in 1915.”

Rather than being worried about women’s laughter, Arinc and Erdogan should be more concerned about their government’s increasing slide into authoritarian rule by jailing journalists, killing Christian priests, violating minority rights, supporting Jihadists in Syria and Iraq, and engaging in corruption, theft and embezzlement. This is the real immorality that Arinc should denounce.

By preaching totalitarian morality for women, the conservative Turkish leader is appealing to Islamist voters to support Prime Minister Erdogan who is running for President on August 10. Arinc’s stone-age strategy has backfired as nearly half of Turkey’s deeply divided society does not consider itself Islamist and was offended by his remarks. Erdogan’s rival in the presidential race, Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, blasted Arinc’s statement, saying that “more than anything else, our country needs women to smile and hear everyone’s laughter!”

After Erdogan’s meteoric rise to power, his government has pursued brutal policies at home and abroad, bringing worldwide condemnation to the country. As the probable next President, Erdogan and his clique are most likely to continue undermining Turkey’s international standing, turning it into a rogue state. After the presidential election, Turkey’s Islamist women would only laugh in private, while the secularists would laugh in public and risk getting 100 lashes!

The Turkish Sabah newspaper published last week the following disturbing news: “Australian FM: Armenian Case not Genocide.”

Sabah described the events that led to its nefarious headline. Gunay Evinch, board member and past president of the Assembly of Turkish American Associations (ATAA), had recently visited Australia to brief local Turkish groups on the Movsesian lawsuit. He told them that “the United States Supreme Court let stand a 9th Circuit Court of Appeals’ decision invalidating a California law that had defined the Armenian case as genocide, because it was US federal policy not to define the Armenian case as genocide.”

Sabah also reported that Evinch’s visit was “a part of a broader Anglo-Turkish Diaspora Cooperation Program in which Turks in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia and New Jersey (sic) share best practices based on a common jurisprudential and political heritage.”

Following Evinch’s advice, Ertunc Ozen, President of Australian Turkish Advocacy Alliance, wrote to Australia’s Foreign Minister Julie Bishop on May 5, “expressing concern at motions passed by the parliament of New South Wales in May 2013 regarding Turkey and the fate of various communities of the Ottoman Empire during and after World War I.”

Foreign Minister Bishop wrote to Ozen on June 4: “The Australian Government acknowledges the devastating effects which the tragic events at the end of the Ottoman Empire have had on later generations, and on their identity, heritage and culture.” Astonishingly, she added: “We do not, however, recognize these events as ‘genocide.’ Australian states and territories have no constitutional role in the formulation of Australian foreign policy. While respecting the rights of individuals and groups to have strong views on the matter, the long-standing and clear approach of the Australian Government has been not to become involved in this sensitive debate.”

The Foreign Minister is wrong on three counts: 1) She erred in stating that Australia does not recognize the Armenian Genocide. While the Australian government prefers not to use the term genocide in order not to antagonize Turkey, no other official has ever stated that it was not genocide; 2) She incorrectly wrote that the Australian states that recognized the Armenian Genocide were formulating foreign policy. These states had simply acknowledged a historical fact; and 3) She contradicted herself by stating that the Australian Government does not get involved “in this sensitive debate,” yet she did permit herself to get involved by stating that it was not genocide!

Vache Kahramanian, Executive Director of the Armenian National Committee of Australia, immediately dispatched a strongly-worded letter to the Foreign Minister, calling her ‘misguided statement’ ‘deeply insulting and hurtful to the Armenian-Australian community.’ He also characterized Bishop’s views as ‘intolerable,’ ‘inexcusable,’ ‘a grave offense,’ and ‘a disservice to all Australians.’ Kahramanian justifiably wondered, “How can Australia’s moral conscience become so corrupted?”

ANC-Australia’s Executive Director reminded the Foreign Minister that her statement was in stark contrast to “the views held by many senior ministers in the current government. As recently as April 2014, Australia’s Treasurer, the Hon. Joe Hockey MP, issued an official statement on the 99th anniversary commemoration of the Armenian Genocide marking April 24 as the day ‘we gather to remember the 1.5 million people who perished in the genocide.’ Ministers Turnbull, Morrison, along with ranking members from Labor, the Greens, minor parties and Independents have called on the Australian Parliament to officially recognise the events of 1915 as genocide. Australia’s Prime Minister, Tony Abbott, during his years as Opposition Leader, issued an annual statement referring to the Armenian Genocide with no qualifiers or euphemisms.”

Kahramanian also told the Foreign Minister: “By denying the Armenian Genocide you are also denying Australia’s very own history. Located within Australia’s National Archives are countless numbers of testimonies by ANZAC prisoners of war who were held captive in the Ottoman Empire…. These testimonies vividly recall the suffering and annihilation of the Armenian people.”

ANC-Australia Chairman Greg Soghomonian urged the Foreign Minister to “immediately reverse this critical error of judgment,” and requested a meeting with her.

I suggest that Australian-Armenians ask Prime Minister Tony Abbott whether the Foreign Minister had cleared her deeply offensive letter with him beforehand. If she had not, the ANC-Australia should demand her immediate dismissal. ANC should ask all three Australian state parliaments that have recognized the Armenian Genocide to adopt a new resolution condemning Foreign Minister Bishop’s denialist stand and urging the Prime Minister to fire her!