Category: Harut Sassounian

 

 

A funny thing happened to the Consul General of Azerbaijan on his way to make an audio-visual presentation at the Los Angeles World Affairs Council last week.

 

Consul General Nasimi Aghayev stepped up to the podium, turned on his fancy laptop, and proudly urged the audience to watch scenes of Azerbaijan on a large screen on the wall. To his horror, nothing but a frozen partial image appeared on the overhanging screen. The Consul’s aides and the World Affairs Council’s president rushed to the stage and began pushing all sorts of buttons on the laptop, as the guests waited impatiently. Mr. Aghayev not only was unable to showcase his native land, he could not even present his speech, because the text was locked up in his uncooperative laptop!

 

In desperation, the Azeri diplomat began speaking off the cuff, after pulling a piece of paper from his pocket on which he had scribbled some notes. This was the inauspicious start of an evening that was intended to show off Azerbaijan’s impressive advances and dazzle the audience with high-tech gadgets.

 

The Consul General appeared agitated throughout the lecture. Perhaps he was unaccustomed to speaking before such an august gathering or he was nervous because there were “representatives of the Armenian Diaspora in this room,” including myself and a handful of Armenians.

 

Mr. Aghayev talked at length about Armenia “occupying” a part of his country’s territory, a reference to the liberation of Artsakh (Karabagh). Calling this conflict “Azerbaijan’s top problem,” he expressed his chagrin that “one million Azeris today are refugees.” However, he failed to explain why a government with billions of dollars in oil revenue would allow such a large number of its citizens to live in abject poverty for over 20 years.

 

Imitating the Turkish regime, the Consul General made a serious gaffe by referring to the Armenian Genocide as a “so-called genocide.” Is it wise for Azeri officials to insult Armenians by denying the Genocide, at a time when they have their hands full with the Artsakh conflict? Why would Azerbaijan’s leaders want to complicate matters by associating themselves with Turkey’s denialism and further antagonize Armenians, making them less likely to sit with them at the peace table!

 

Mr. Aghayev’s remarks completely ignored the massive violation of the human rights of Azeri citizens, including those of ethnic minorities, as he falsely described Azerbaijan as a land of “religious and ethnic tolerance.” He went on to engage in gross historical revisionism by forgetting the massacres of Armenians in Sumgait and Baku and claiming that Armenians enjoyed their full freedom in Soviet Azerbaijan. He also described Muslim Azerbaijan as “one of the earliest nations to accept Christianity, in 313 AD!”

 

After several pre-arranged questions from some in the audience on how “tolerant” Azerbaijan is to “Mountain Jews” and the great relationship it enjoys with Israel, the World Affairs Council president cautiously avoided giving me the chance to pause a question. Fortunately, two other Armenians, Aroutin Hartounian, President of Unified Young Armenians and Garo Ghazarian, Chairman of the Armenian Bar Association, were granted the opportunity ask questions. The two Armenians raised the issue of Ramil Safarov, an axe-wielding Azeri soldier who killed a sleeping Armenian officer during a NATO training course in Hungary. After the Hungarian government released Safarov from prison prematurely and extradited him to Azerbaijan, Pres. Aliyev pardoned and glorified the axe-murderer! Foolishly contradicting his President, the Azeri Consul General stated that Azerbaijan “does not condone” Safarov’s crime!

 

Mr. Aghayev’s appearance before the World Affairs Council raises some troubling questions. Why did the Council take the unusual step of inviting a lowly Consul General to offer “a competing view” to the one presented by Armenia’s Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian, at the same venue, on September 24? One wonders what inducement Azerbaijan offered to the World Affairs Council to secure a presentation by a junior diplomat, possibly undermining the reputation of this prestigious organization!

 

Days later, when Mr. Aghayev’s lecture was posted on the Azeri Consulate’s website, the laptop glitches were carefully eliminated from the heavily edited video. The 48-minute speech and question and answer period had been reduced to 15 minutes!

 

The incident with the Consul General’s laptop is symptomatic of a much larger problem for Azerbaijan. The country’s leaders have spent billions of dollars to acquire a massive amount of advanced military hardware. But, if they don’t know which button to push, the sophisticated weaponry will be as useless as Mr. Aghayev’s laptop!

 

Rather than labeling the Armenian Diaspora as Azerbaijan’s “main enemy,” Pres. Aliyev should be more worried about his diplomats who cannot use a laptop! Incompetent officials are more of a liability for Azerbaijan than the Armenian “enemy”!

 

After long months of hectic campaigning, a constant barrage of e-mails and ads, and billions of dollars spent by the candidates and their supporters, the US presidential and congressional elections did not change the American political landscape. The United States will have the same President for another four years and the same majorities in the House and Senate. The House remains in the hands of Republicans, and the Senate in the hands of Democrats.

 

This means that Pres. Obama’s foreign and domestic policies will remain more or less unchanged and Congress will continue to be deadlocked for two or more years, negatively impacting the prospects of a quick economic recovery. House Republicans will probably not support Pres. Obama’s social and economic agenda, particularly on healthcare and taxes.

 

Even though there were no great political changes resulting from the Nov. 6 elections, Armenian-Americans scored important gains in congressional and local elections. Armenian voters were not instrumental in the outcome of the presidential race, since Pres. Obama received over three million more votes than his Republican rival. It was therefore politically astute to concentrate the Armenian community’s resources and votes on congressional and local races.

 

A whopping 90% of the 145 congressional candidates backed by the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) won reelection. In Senatorial races, 12 out of 15 ANCA endorsed candidates were victorious: Dianne Feinstein (California), Chris Murphy (Connecticut), Mazie Hirono (Hawaii), Ben Cardin (Maryland), Debbie Stabenow (Michigan), Amy Klobuchar (Minnesota), Bob Menendez (New Jersey), Martin Heinrich (New Mexico), Sherrod Brown (Ohio), Sheldon Whitehouse (Rhode Island), Bernard Sanders (Vermont), and Tammy Baldwin (Wisconsin).

 

In House races, 118 of 130 ANCA endorsed candidates were reelected, including Lois Capps (California), Jeff Denham (California), Janice Hahn (California), Ed Royce (California), Adam Schiff (California), Brad Sherman (California), David Valadao (California), Cory Gardner (Colorado), Dina Titus (Nevada), Frank Pallone (New Jersey), Michael Grimm (New York), David Cicilline (Rhode Island), House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (Virginia), and Frank Wolf (Virginia).

 

The November 6 elections may result in an unexpectedly favorable development in Congress for the Armenian-American community. Cong. Ed Royce, Co-Chair of the Congressional Caucus on Armenian Issues, has a good chance of being elected by his colleagues as next Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. A strong supporter of Armenian causes, Cong. Royce would replace outgoing Chairwoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Republican of Florida, a staunchly pro-Turkish House member.

 

A similar highly favorable development may take place in the Senate when Secretary of State Hillary Clinton retires shortly at the end of Pres. Obama’s first term. Most political analysts believe that Sen. John Kerry, currently Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and a close friend of the Armenian community, may assume a Cabinet position as Secretary of State or Defense, in which case Sen. Menendez, a staunch supporter of Armenian issues, may become next Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. The possible simultaneous selection of Cong. Royce and Sen. Menendez as chairs of these two powerful committees would give Armenian-Americans unprecedented access to key foreign policy decision-makers.

 

More important than the election of friends of the Armenian community was the success of at least 16 Armenian-Americans who were either elected for the first time or reelected to continue serving their constituencies. Armenian-American members of congress, Anna Eshoo and Jackie Speier, both from California, were overwhelmingly reelected. Other Armenian-American winners in state and local races were: Linda Arzoumanian, Superintendent, Pima County School Superintendent, Arizona; Khacho Achadjian (incumbent), State Assembly, California; Adrin Nazarian, State Assembly, California; Tim Kapucian (incumbent), State Senate, Idaho; Mary Lou Marzian (incumbent), State House, Kentucky; Peter Koutoujian (incumbent), Middlesex County Sheriff, Massachusetts; James Miceli, State House, Massachusetts; John Fresolo, State House, Massachusetts; Gary Azarian (incumbent), State House, New Hampshire; Charlene Takesian, State House, New Hampshire; Brad Avakian, State Labor Commissioner, Oregon; Scott Avedisian (incumbent), Mayor of Warwick, Rhode Island; Jared Nunes, State House, Rhode Island; and Katherine Kazarian, State House, Rhode Island.

 

Congratulations to all those who were either elected for the first time or reelected. It is particularly pleasing to see a record number of Armenian-Americans running for political office, most of whom won their respective races. These victories bode well for the future of Armenian-American political activism. The community should support and encourage these public servants so that in a few years they would seek even higher office, running for Congress or the Presidency!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Armenian National Committee of America, Western Region, honored Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid on October 28 with the organization’s highest and most prestigious “Freedom Award.”

Regrettably, Sen. Reid could not attend ANCA’s annual banquet because of a car accident two days earlier. The Senator’s motorcade was involved in a six-car pile-up on Interstate 15, in Las Vegas. Fortunately, Sen. Reid escaped serious injury, but suffered some bruised ribs.

In my introductory remarks at the banquet, I noted that the ANCA was honoring one of America’s most powerful legislators for his outstanding service to the nation and his longstanding support for the aspirations of the Armenian people.

I observed that “the Majority Leader has diligently worked, often quietly, at the highest echelons of the US government to defend Armenian-American issues and values. He has cosponsored every Senate resolution to reaffirm the Armenian Genocide.”

Due to Sen. Reid’s understandable absence from the banquet, ANCA Chairman Ken Hachigian read the Senator’s prepared remarks and accepted the Freedom Award on his behalf. Here are highlights from Sen. Reid’s speech:

“I am disappointed that, because of an automobile accident, I can’t be with you tonight. I appreciate Harut Sassounian for his advocacy for these many years, and ultimately, his friendship.

“The Armenian National Committee has, of course, always been at the forefront of supporting Armenia and the causes that are important to the Armenian-American community.

“I have enjoyed my relationship with Armenian-Americans — from my marathon training partner Art Dakesian to my friend and former law client, Kirk Kerkorian.

“Having been born in a home in Searchlight, Nevada, with no inside toilet, hot water or other modern conveniences was hard for me to accept. My parents were uneducated; my father didn’t graduate from the eighth grade and my mother didn’t graduate from high school. In most ways, things surrounding my youth were not exemplary.

“It took me many years to really accept who I was. But my youth — the place and circumstances of my birth — made me who I am. Once I personally accepted this, I became a better person, a better American.

“So, I say to each of you, no matter the circumstances of your upbringing — accept it. Because in America, it doesn’t matter, and I testify to this. It doesn’t matter your economic circumstances, your religion, the education of your parents or your ethnicity. In America, we can all succeed. In short, be proud of who you are.

“I am pleased to accept this award and reaffirm my support for the Armenian-American community.

“I repeat, the Armenian National Committee of America has always been at the forefront of supporting Armenia and the causes important to the Armenian-American community.

“You have succeeded in bringing the true story of the Armenian Genocide to the attention of national policy leaders.

“As Majority Leader, I rarely cosponsor legislation. But I have traveled to Armenia; I know the story of the Genocide. Therefore, I have been a long-time cosponsor of the Armenian Genocide resolution.

“To move forward, I believe we must acknowledge the past — no matter how difficult or painful. We must honor the memory of those who lost their lives and pay tribute to those who survived.

“I am fortunate to represent a thriving and vibrant Armenian community in Nevada, which will soon complete a new church in Las Vegas. And while I was in Armenia, I visited the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin and the Catholicos.

“The endurance and strength of the Armenian community in Nevada, and throughout the United States is a testament and an honor to those who were lost in the Genocide. We must always be vigilant to atrocities like the Armenian Genocide from occurring ever again — in any part of the world.”

Sen. Reid then urged everyone to “honor and remember the loss of so many during the Armenian Genocide nearly 100 years ago.”

The Majority Leader also expressed his satisfaction that “the Obama Administration and a number of members of Congress strongly condemned Azerbaijan’s pardon of an Azeri military officer. The officer was released from prison despite being convicted of brutally murdering an Armenian military lieutenant with an ax as he slept. The two men were at a NATO training in Hungary when the murder occurred.”

Sen. Reid concluded his remarks urging Armenian-Americans to be “very proud of where you come from and of your Armenian heritage.”

 

Along with Sen. Reid, the ANCA honored entrepreneur Varant Melkonian, Rev. Joseph Matossian, Dr. Rubina Peroomian, and author Chris Bohjalian.

 

 

 

 

During my recent trip to Armenia, journalists repeatedly asked which US presidential candidate I supported in the November 6 elections. My answer was clear and unequivocal: I supported neither Pres. Obama nor Governor Romney. Upon my return to the US, I was pleased to learn that the Armenian National Committee of America had made the same decision by not endorsing either candidate.

 

This was not a difficult decision. Both candidates have been disappointing. The President has not kept his word on many Armenian and non-Armenian issues, while his rival has not shown the slightest interest in the Armenian-American community and its issues.

 

Here is Pres. Obama’s long list of unkept promises on Armenian issues:

 

1. During the 2008 presidential campaign, he repeatedly pledged to acknowledge the Armenian Genocide, and broke his promise after the election.

2. Furthermore, the Obama administration opposed the adoption of a congressional resolution on the Armenian Genocide.

3. Pres. Obama significantly reduced the amount of foreign aid to Armenia and Artsakh (Karabagh). Moreover, his administration did not spend the full amount of aid Congress had allocated to Artsakh.

4. He pressured Armenia to sign the infamous “Protocols” with Turkey in 2009.

5. He did not press Turkey to lift its blockade of Armenia.

6. He remained silent in the face of repeated saber-rattling by Azerbaijan’s President against Armenia and Artsakh, and ignored his campaign pledge to support Artsakh’s self-determination.

7. In late December 2010, circumventing the “hold” placed by U.S. Senators, Pres. Obama unilaterally appointed Matt Bryza as Ambassador to Azerbaijan. Bryza’s candidacy had been overwhelmingly opposed by the Armenian-American community.

8. Breaking another promise, Pres. Obama failed to promote trade with Armenia.

9. He and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton did not respond to repeated requests to meet with Armenian-American community leaders to address their concerns.

 

Armenian-Americans do not need to beg Pres. Obama to acknowledge the Armenian Genocide, since Pres. Ronald Reagan had issued such a statement in his Presidential Proclamation of April 22, 1981. By not acknowledging the Armenian Genocide, Pres. Obama simply undermined his own credibility. Most Armenian-Americans trusted him in 2008. They no longer trust him in 2012! As the popular saying goes, “fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me!”

 

Those who think that such an assessment is too harsh and too narrowly focused on Armenian issues should be advised that Pres. Obama has not kept 86 other promises on national and international issues, according to politifact.com.

 

Governor Romney has not fared any better with Armenian-Americans. He has avoided any contacts with the community, making no attempt to seek their support and votes. The concern is that if he shows such callous disregard when he desperately needs every single vote to get elected, he will most definitely not pay any attention to Armenians and their issues after the election!

 

Clearly, it is unwise for both presidential candidates not to court the support of Armenian-American voters in crucial swing states, at a time when the race is so tight that a handful of votes could mean the difference between victory and defeat. However, it is still not too late for the two candidates to sit down with the leadership of the Armenian-American community and address their concerns. This will not be an easy conversation. As it would be practically impossible to trust Pres. Obama’s new promises, his only credible response would be to take a positive step on an important Armenian issue before Nov. 6! Gov. Romney, on the other hand, has more of an uphill battle. Being a candidate, he can only make promises that would not be taken too seriously at this late hour.

 

To avoid being fooled again by false promises, the Armenian-American community needs to adopt a new election strategy. Only those candidates who have fulfilled their campaign promises during their first term in office should be supported for reelection. Promises made by new candidates or those with no solid record of accomplishments on Armenian issues should be simply ignored.

 

Finally, not voting for either presidential candidate does not mean sitting out the elections. One third of the US Senators are up for reelection as well as all 435 House Members. Armenian-American voters should reward candidates supportive of their issues by voting them back into office, and should punish their opponents by voting them out of office! Please consult ANCA’s ratings of all congressional candidates on www.anca.org.

 

 

 

In this third and final article on the debate organized by the Armenian National Committee of America, Western Region, Congressmen Howard Berman and Brad Sherman answered questions from panelists Harut Sassounian and Ara Khachatourian on the safety of Syrian Armenians, the Safarov scandal, the independence of Nagorno Karabagh (Artsakh), and Israel’s arms sales to Azerbaijan.

 

Cong. Sherman acknowledged that some of the opposition elements in Syria “are extremely hostile to Christians in Syria.” He warned that there would be “consequences for not treating with respect the human rights of the Christian minority.”

 

When asked what specifically Congress could do to assist Syrian Armenians, Cong. Berman stated: “There are direct USAID relationships, and there are more covert kinds of ways to ensure that the Christian communities in Syria are being sustained and are being helped.”

 

Cong. Berman expressed his concern about Israel’s sale to Azerbaijan of more than one billion dollars of sophisticated weapons which could be used against Armenia. When he indicated that there was a similar relationship between Armenia and Iran, panelist Harut Sassounian challenged the accuracy of that statement. Cong. Berman withdrew his statement, acknowledging that he was not aware of such “ongoing relationship between Iran and Armenia.”

 

Cong. Sherman objected to the US sale of weapons to Azerbaijan: “We should not be providing any military aid to Azerbaijan, period, and based on what happened in Hungary and based on how this murderer was treated when he returned to Baku, we should not be conducting NATO exercises knowing that perhaps the next soldier, who is hit with an axe in the head and killed, might very well be an American soldier.”

 

Cong. Berman: “We want to make sure that Armenia is secure and that the people of Nagorno-Karabagh get to determine their own future. … Azerbaijan, with its resources, ends up getting stuff they don’t financially need, for security threats they don’t really have, because of their economic clout.”

 

When asked why most of the aid allocated by Congress for Artsakh was being withheld by the State Department, Cong. Sherman stated: “I’ve requested language to be included in the foreign operations appropriations bill to require USAID to actually spend money on humanitarian development for the people of Artsakh, for the people in the Republic of Nagorno-Karabagh, and I’m pleased to report that the committee has included that language in its report.”

 

Questioned on the need to recognize Artsakh’s independence, Cong. Sherman stated: “I think Nagorno-Karabagh is an independent state, period. It’s time to put an embassy in Stepanakert.  Nagorno-Karabagh is a state because that’s what its people have clearly indicated they want.”

 

Cong. Berman, on the other hand, was a little more cautious: “The people of Los Angeles don’t get to decide for Nagorno-Karabagh, the people of Nagorno-Karabagh get to decide. Self-determination for the people in Nagorno-Karabagh is the critical issue. I have no doubt that they want independence and that’s where I’d like to see the process headed, but we are in a negotiation process that the government of Armenia and the government of Azerbaijan have agreed to.”

 

Cong. Sherman retorted: “I agree with Howard [Berman]. It’s for the people of Artsakh to decide whether they’re an independent country. They’ve decided! They are — and its time for Howard to acknowledge that Nagorno-Karabagh is an independent republic.”

 

Regarding Hungary’s extradition of the Azeri axe murderer to Azerbaijan, Cong. Sherman was certain that this action would “affect our military relationship with Hungary…. Several days ago, I sent a letter to the Secretary of State and Secretary of Defense saying that Azerbaijan should certainly be suspended from this kind of military cooperation.”

 

Cong. Berman added that “every single NATO country, and that includes Hungary, has now an obligation to suspend Azerbaijan from participation in partnership for peace activities until this wrong is righted.”

 

In his closing statement, Cong. Berman promised to continue fighting “for the US recognition of the genocide as we approach the 100th anniversary. It’s not just my commitment as a congressman, but as a Jew whose own people suffered its own genocide. Because the world ignored yours, I will continue to fight for the rights of the Armenian Church and Armenian people who live in Turkey…. I’ll fight for the right of self-determination and well-being of the people of Artsakh which was part of the ancient kingdom of Armenia.”

 

Cong. Sherman concluded the debate by pledging: “I’m with you seven days a week, and with your help, I’ll be there with you for seven days a week for another 20 years!”