Category: Authors

Azerbaijani Gaza Hostage Wrongly Added In Letter to Biden Signed by Celebrities

We are all following the heartbreaking events that are taking place in Israel and Gaza where thousands of innocent people are killed, and hundreds have been taken hostage by Hamas. I condemn all loss of life and hostage-taking regardless of nationality, race or religion.

Throughout history, as victims of mass murders and Genocide, Armenians understand well the tragic effects of large-scale killings. Before, during and after the 2020 Artsakh war, the most gruesome crimes were committed against thousands of Armenian soldiers and civilians by Azeris.

At the end of the war, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia signed an agreement that called for the exchange of all Prisoners of War. Armenia kept its end of the bargain by freeing all Azeri prisoners immediately, while Azerbaijan is still holding dozens of Armenians in captivity three years later. No one knows their exact number. These detainees have been wrongly tried and sentenced to long prison terms not only in violation of the 2020 agreement, but also the Geneva Convention. Armenian prisoners have been tortured while in Azeri custody and an unknown number have been killed.

To make matters worse, after occupying Artsakh last month, Azerbaijan captured eight high-ranking Artsakh government officials, including three former presidents, the former State, Defense, and Foreign ministers, deputy army commander, and Chairman of the Artsakh Parliament. They are all held as hostages with no hope that they will be released anytime soon.

Turning to the tragic predicament of the over 200 hostages captured by Hamas in Israel on October 7, 2023, I support all efforts to have these hostages released as soon as possible. Several hundred Hollywood celebrities, including Madonna, Chris Rock, Justin Timberlake, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jerry Seinfeld, and Tyler Perry, signed a joint letter to Pres. Joe Biden urging him to “not rest until all hostages are released.”

Last week, an article appeared in various entertainment magazines and websites that publicized the letter signed by the celebrities to Biden. The press release about the letter was distributed to the media by Melissa Zukerman, the Managing Partner at Principal Communications Group, a PR agency in in Los Angeles. Despite the good intentions of the initiators of the campaign, a regrettable mistake detracted from the commendable effort.

The letter included a paragraph that said: “We urge everyone to not rest until all hostages are released. No hostage can be left behind. Whether American, Argentinian, Australian, Azerbaijani, Brazilian, British, Canadian, Chilean, Chinese, Danish, Dutch, Eritrean, Filipino, French, German, Indian, Israeli, Italian, Kazakh, Mexican, Panamanian, Paraguayan, Peruvian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, South African, Spanish, Sri Lankan, Thai, Ukrainian, Uzbekistani or otherwise, we need to bring them home.”

I commend the celebrities, Ms. Zukerman and everyone else who had a hand in preparing the letter to Pres. Biden. However, I was surprised to see in the list of captured nationalities a reference to ‘Azerbaijani’ hostages. As I had not heard that any Azerbaijani was kidnapped by Hamas from Israel, I wondered if that information was accurate. So, I sent Ms. Zukerman an email asking about the veracity of the reference to an Azerbaijani hostage. She did not reply to my email. She also ignored my follow-up email as well as a phone message I left for her.

Having done further research, I discovered that there were no reports about an Azerbaijani hostage, except for eight Azerbaijanis, of which two were dual Azerbaijani-Israeli citizens, who were regrettably killed by Hamas during the attack.

I then contacted the agent of one of the celebrities who had signed the letter and asked her if she knew anything about an Azerbaijani who was taken hostage by Hamas. The celebrity’s agent told me that in the version of the letter that her client had signed there was no mention of Azerbaijan or any other nationality. When I sent her the copy of the letter publicized in the media, she was shocked to learn that Ms. Zukerman’s office had asked the celebrities to sign a version of the letter that did not include the names of the 33 nationalities, Ms. Zukerman’s office must have then sent the altered version of the letter to Pres. Biden without informing the celebrities that what they had signed is not what was sent to the White House. Appallingly, these celebrities were not informed of the change in the letter either before or after signing it. This is highly unprofessional and unethical.

So, this is how Azerbaijan was included wrongly in a letter to Pres. Biden, making one its citizens a victim of hostage-taking, while in reality, Azerbaijan is the one that is guilty of taking Armenian hostages. Regrettably, Ms. Zukerman ignored all of my attempts to find out from her how such a mistake could have happened, and why no effort was made to correct it or at least provide a proper explanation? As far as I know, there are no Azerbaijani hostages in Gaze or anywhere else in the world. If I am wrong, Ms. Zukerman had plenty of chances to correct my information but refused to do so.

Lastly, the letter stated, “No hostage can be left behind” (www.NoHostageLeftBehind.com), which implies that all hostages in the world, no matter who had captured them and wherever they are, should be released. Such an all-inclusive plea should have also referred to the dozens of Armenian hostages held in Azerbaijan.

Only when we care about all hostages without any distinction, we can claim that we are true humanitarians.

October 31, 2023
Tell Senator Menendez: It’s time to resign

Dear Friends,

38,367 persons including myself have signed the attached petition calling for the resignation of criminally indicted U.S. Senator Bob Menendez, a long-time enemy of good U.S. relations with Türkiye.

You may wish to consider signing as well by clicking on the red “ACT NOW” box. Thank you for your consideration.

Respectfully,
Enis Pınar

Just yesterday, Senator Bob Menendez pleaded not guilty to charges that he is an unregistered foreign agent. These allegations come on top of an earlier 39-page indictment that detailed multiple others, including that the Senator accepted bribes – hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash, a luxury car, and gold bars from the Egyptian government.

While the Senator is entitled to his day in court, no one can effectively serve their constituents when there are credible allegations that they can be bought. With global tensions so high, now more than ever, we need members of Congress who can work with integrity. That’s why Sen. Menendez should resign immediately.

Since news broke of the allegations, politicians across the country have called for Sen. Menendez’s resignation — New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, nearly the entire New Jersey Democratic congressional delegation, former Attorney General Eric Holder, Senator John Fetterman (D-PA), Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), and more. But the constituency that matters most is the public, and, Enis, this is your chance to speak out.

This is a crucial moment for accountability. If you believe, as we do, that there must be repercussions for this alleged corruption of U.S. foreign policy, now is the time to act. Add your name to join the growing chorus calling for Senator Robert Menendez to resign immediately.

ACT NOW
https://act.winwithoutwar.org/go/38337?t=9&akid=9359%2E927916%2EwfR7vJ

Allegations that Sen. Menendez accepted bribes to advance the interests of the Egyptian government, known for its horrific human rights record, are deeply alarming.

The U.S. government currently provides Egypt up to $1.3 BILLION in annual “foreign military financing,” effectively giving the Egyptian government U.S.-taxpayer-funded grants to buy U.S.-made weapons and military equipment.

This funding, despite a 2020 State Department report on Egypt, which noted significant human rights issues including forced child labor, extrajudicial killings by the government, forced disappearances, and torture.

The Senator has temporarily stepped back from his influential role as the Chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee (SFRC) “until the matter has been resolved.” But the simple reality is that the people of New Jersey and beyond deserve better and a mere pause of a chairmanship is wildly insufficient.

The very idea that Sen. Menendez, as SFRC Chair, may have played a role behind the scenes in greenlighting U.S. military assistance in a pay-for-play scheme is deeply disturbing – and that’s why it’s time to act.

Maintaining political power in Congress is key, and as we work to build a foreign policy centered in justice and human rights, we cannot abide by corrupt behavior whether it comes from folks on the left or the right. These allegations are too troubling to ignore. Sen. Menendez should resign and allow Democratic New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy to determine the next best person for the seat. Add your voice now.

Building a world where U.S. foreign policy isn’t up for the highest bidder is critical and starts with accountability. That requires Senator Menendez to resign his seat immediately. Add your name now if you agree.

Thank you for working for peace,
Shayna, Sara, Eric, and the Win Without War team

October 29, 2023
I Smell a Rat in Ararat
I thank Enis Pinar for providing the heads up below. I wrote the following short response to POV.

I suggest that everyone in this group write a paragraph or two in response. Together, let’s show a strong reaction to defamation.

Ergun KIRLIKOVALI

Türkiye-bashing Armenian movie

From: Ergun
Sent: Tuesday, October 24, 2023 1:14 PM
To: feedback@pov.org
Subject: I Smell a Rat in Ararat

I Smell a Rat in Ararat

It’s a disgrace that America’s most revered public TV succumbed to the relentless pressure of the deceitful Armenian lobby and aired a crude propaganda piece titled “Aurora’s Sunrise” cultivating pure hatred against Turks. The animated movie was sprinkled with a generous dose of exaggerations, distortions, and fabrications.

The film relates the story of Arshaluys “Aurora” Madriganian, a female survivor of the so-called Armenian “genocide” —a long-discredited political claim—who after being depicted as the victim of multiple rapes and other brutalities at the hands of the Ottoman Turks escapes to America. She becomes the real-life star in a 1919 movie titled “Auction of Souls” produced by the Near East Relief organization, which allegedly raised $116 million dollars to help President Woodrow Wilson’s unsuccessful effort to establish an Armenian homeland in Western Türkiye after WW1.

What’s wrong with this picture? Well… uh….everything.

Do you get even a whiff of any of the following facts concerning time periods before, during, and after World War One?
- Most Ottoman-Armenians took up arms against their own government.
- Most Ottoman-Armenians committed supreme treason by joining the invading enemy armies.
- Most Ottoman-Armenians betrayed at the worst possible time in the life of the Ottoman Empire: when the most powerful allied fleet attacked it from the West (remember Gallipoli?) and the equally formidable Tsarist Russian armies, from the East (remember Van rebellion by traitor Armenians?)
- Most Ottoman-Armenians established terrorist organizations going back to 1870s, 1880s and 1890s (such as the Union of Salvation, The Black Cross Society, The Protectors of the Fatherland, Armenakan, The Hunchakian Revolutionary Party, The Armenian Revolutionary Federation, and in the 20^th Century, Genesis, the Armenian Secret Army of Armenian Genocide, The Justice Commandos of the Armenian Genocide and many others.) These were no different than Hamas today killing old and young, women, children, and even the babies, triggering a tit-for-tat terrible war. Turks only defended their home against these blood-thirsty Armenian terrorists who chose to serve foreign invaders instead of their own government and homeland.
- Do you get any indication of Armenian agitation, intimidation, and terror (in that order), treason, territorial demands, and the Turkish suffering at the hands of Armenian terrorists, since 1862? Yes, for a whopping 161 years and counting?
- No, I do not get any whiff of the above, but I do smell the rat in Ararat in that Armenian-financed propaganda film.
And about the unfortunate and baseless slanders defaming Ataturk, I will only remind the reader a couple of simple things that anyone can easily appreciate:

“In 1981, the centennial of Atatürk’s birth, his memory was honored by the United Nations and UNESCO, which declared it The Atatürk Year in the World and adopted the Resolution on the Atatürk Centennial, describing him as “the leader of the first struggle given against colonialism and imperialism” and a “remarkable.”

And here, you can hear the sound recording of President John F. Kennedy’s remarks on the 25th anniversary of the death of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, a brilliant military leader, reformist, visionary, and first President of the modern Republic of Turkey. In his speech, President Kennedy compliments Atatürk’s leadership, describes the United States’ historical relationship with Turkey, and characterizes the Turkey’s independence as an example of national self-reliance.

If you wish to know more about this subject, please click on this link: www.MythsandRealities.com .

Ergun KIRLIKOVALI
Researcher & Writer
A concerned Turkish American
Son of Turkish Survivors of Armenian Brutalities during 1912-1922
(My home address and cell phone were entered here)
October 27, 2023
Türkiye-bashing Armenian movie

A new, Türkiye-bashing Armenian TV movie broadcast last night on the U.S. Public Broadcasting System (PBS).

Dear Friends,

Last night I happened by accident to come upon the premiere of an hour and 22 minute-long animated movie interspersed with horrific documentary clips titled Aurora’s Sunrise, relating the story of a female survivor of the so-called Armenian “genocide” by the name of Arshaluys “Aurora” Madriganian who after being depicted undergoing multiple rapes and other brutalities at the hands of the Ottoman Turks escapes to the U.S., and at the age of 17 becomes the real-life star in a 1919 movie called “Auction of Souls” produced by the Near East Relief organization which allegedly raised $116 million dollars to help President Woodrow Wilson’s unsuccessful effort to establish an Armenian protectorate in Western Türkiye after WW1.

This vile piece of propaganda funded by the Armenian diaspora’s Zoryan Institute based in Cambridge, Massachusetts not only depicts the Turks as evil monsters, but even attacks Atatürk. It was shown on the Public Broadcasting System’s (PBS), Point Of View (POV) program (Season 36, Episode 11). It is not surprising that the timing of the premier follows the attack and rapes committed by the Muslim Hamas in their October 7 attack on Israel. The presentation ends with a request that “‘POV’ wants to hear your point of view“. After watching the movie at the link provided below, I think we should oblige them by going to:

feedback@pov.org
212-989-8121
20 Jay Street, Suite 937
Brooklyn, NY 11201

The movie can be viewed by clicking on the following link: https://www.pbs.org/pov/films/aurorasunrise/

Sincerely,
Enis Pınar

October 27, 2023
Why is the US government So Vigilant About Israel, but not Armenia?

The most common question among Armenians these days is: Why did the United States government support Israel so strongly and promptly, but not Armenia and Artsakh?

This question became more pertinent after Politico disclosed last week that Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned: “Azerbaijan may invade Armenia in the coming weeks.”

During an October 3 phone call with Cong. Nancy Pelosi, Anna Eshoo and Frank Pallone and others, Blinken reportedly told them: “the State Department was looking at avenues to hold Azerbaijan accountable and isn’t planning to renew a long-standing waiver that allows the U.S. to provide military assistance to Baku.” Blinken added: “the State [Dept.] saw a possibility that Azerbaijan would invade southern Armenia in the coming weeks.” Politico wrote that two other unidentified sources confirmed the phone conversation. Cong. Pallone tweeted on Oct. 11 that “Aliyev is moving forward with his objective to take Southern Armenia.” On Oct. 15, in a written statement to Armenpress, State Dept. spokesman Matthew Miller said that the Politico article “is inaccurate and in no way reflects what Secretary Blinken said to lawmakers.” However, Politico said it firmly stands by its report.

Surprisingly, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan stated on Oct. 11 that the “risk was “extremely low,” and that there was no military buildup on either side of the border. Thus, the Prime Minister contradicted what Tigran Balayan, Armenia’s ambassador to the European Union, said on Oct. 6: Azerbaijan is actively preparing an invasion of Armenia within weeks.

More importantly, Blinken and other US officials have repeatedly said that they are committed to “Armenia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.” They have stated that “they are deeply concerned by Azerbaijan’s military action, declaring that the use of force to resolve disputes is unacceptable.” However, the U.S. government not only ignored its own warnings to Azerbaijan, but also the occupation of Artsakh and parts of Armenia proper. The United States, France and Russia have apparently decided that Turkey and Azerbaijan are much important for them than Armenia, regardless of the agreements Russia signed with Armenia and the sympathies of Western countries for Armenians. They have offered Armenians merely sympathetic words with zero action. Such shameful behavior has emboldened the dictator in Baku to move forward with impunity with his expansionist plans. These major powers did not even have the courage to pass a UN Security Council resolution to condemn Azerbaijan or impose sanctions.

Understandably, most Armenians are furious at the Israeli government for permitting its arms manufacturers to provide 60% of Azerbaijan’s advanced weapons which have killed and wounded thousands of Armenian soldiers during and after the 2020 War.

The more important issue is: why the United States is so protective of Israel, but not Armenia? The short answer is: due mostly to the activism of the Jewish-American community. There was a time when Jewish Americans were discriminated against in many ways. From the 1920’s until after World War II, American universities limited the number of Jewish students they admitted. After World War II, the United States even refused to accept thousands of Jewish survivors of the Holocaust.

However, Jewish Americans overcame many obstacles by playing prominent roles in all aspects of American life, such as business, science, arts, literature, music, films, theater, comedy, media, civil rights and politics. As of January 2023, there were 37 Jewish Americans in Congress: 10 Senators and 27 House members. Sen. Chuck Schumer is the Senate Majority Leader. The US government contributed $53.6 million to build the US Holocaust Memorial Museum on donated federal land. Over the years, scores of Jewish Americans have served on the US Supreme Court. Shelley Greenspan is the White House Jewish Liaison. In the State Dept., Ellen Germain is the Special Envoy for Holocaust Issues and Ambassador Deborah Lipstadt is the Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism. Vice President Kamala Harris’s husband Douglas Emhoff is a Jewish American. There are several Jews serving in high-level governmental positions, such as Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellin, Attorney General Merrick Garland, Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas, Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines, Deputy Director of the CIA David Cohen, Chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission Gary Gensler, Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy Eric Lander, Deputy Health Secretary Rachel Levine, and National Security Agency cybersecurity director Anne Neuberger.

80 years ago, when 400 Rabbis asked to meet with Pres. Franklin Roosevelt, they were turned down. But last week, a group of Jewish Americans met with Pres. Joe Biden in the White House which was lit up in the colors of the Israeli flag. They have come a long way.

In the category of “Israel lobby in the United States,” Wikipedia mentions Christians United for Israel with over seven million members, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) which has three million members and $100 million annual budget, and J Street with an annual budget of $2 million. On the other hand, Armenian-Americans have two advocacy groups: the Armenian Assembly of America and Armenian National Committee of America with limited budgets. Armenians need to hire powerful US lobbying firms to counter those of Azerbaijan and Turkey.

Armenians should increase their involvement in political campaigns and run for elective office. College students should specialize in political science or international relations. Armenians should increase their contacts with the US media; write letters to the editor and commentaries in local and national newspapers. The community should support financially the Armenian advocacy groups and contribute to the fundraising campaigns of political candidates. By playing prominent roles in American life, Armenians can influence domestic and foreign policy of the United States and help support Armenia and the Armenian Cause.

October 16, 2023
After the Loss of Artsakh, Pashinyan Should Declare 2020 Agreement Null & Void

On Nov. 10, 2020, Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan, President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and President of Russia Vladimir Putin signed a ceasefire agreement in the Artsakh War.

Ceasefires usually signify that the warring sides stop the fighting wherever they had reached until then. Oddly, in the case of the 2020 ceasefire agreement, Armenia surrendered to Azerbaijan large swaths of land where no Azeri soldier had set foot on, such as the Agdam, Kalbajar and Lachin districts, but not the Corridor.

Therefore, the 2020 agreement was more of a capitulation than a ceasefire for Armenia. Here are the resulting problems:

1) Prime Minister Pashinyan had no reason to sign a ceasefire agreement with Azerbaijan since the war was between Azerbaijan and Artsakh, not Armenia. Neither Armenia nor Azerbaijan had declared war against each other.

2) Pashinyan had no authorization to turn over to Azerbaijan territories that belonged to Artsakh, not Armenia.

3) The 2020 agreement set deadlines for Armenia, but not for Azerbaijan, to carry out various obligations, such as the evacuation of territories and exchange of prisoners of war. Unwisely, the Armenian government handed over all the Azeri prisoners right away, while Azerbaijan released only a small number of Armenian prisoners. Three years later, dozens of Armenian prisoners are still languishing in Baku jails. Pashinyan is not only making no efforts to return these prisoners but does not even talk about them.

4) Under the 2020 agreement, the Lachin Corridor — the only road that connected Artsakh to Armenia — was forcefully and illegally taken over by Azerbaijan on Dec. 12, 2022, even though Russian Peacekeepers were supposed to control it.

5) The 2020 agreement mandated that “all economic and transport connections in the region shall be unblocked.” This means that both Armenia and Azerbaijan would be able to cross each other’s territories. Pashinyan expressed his readiness to allow Azeris to travel through Armenia from the eastern part of Azerbaijan to its exclave of Nakhichevan, but never mentioned that such access was to be reciprocal. Contrary to the 2020 agreement, Azerbaijan demanded not just a passage, but a ‘corridor’ which means that the road through Armenia would belong to Azerbaijan. Pres. Aliyev never once mentioned that he will in turn allow Armenians to cross Azerbaijan’s border. To make matters worse, Turkey has been falsely demanding that Armenia accept the ‘Zangezur Corridor’ before it would agree to open the Armenia-Turkey border.

6) Pashinyan has repeatedly talked about his plan to sign a peace treaty with Azerbaijan. There is no need to sign such a peace treaty since Armenia was not at war with Azerbaijan. Peace treaties are signed between warring parties. Azerbaijan was at war with Artsakh, not Armenia.

7) Contrary to the 2020 agreement, which mandated that Russian Peacekeepers would remain in Artsakh until 2025, Azerbaijan violated that provision by invading and occupying the remainder of Artsakh last month, forcing its 120,000 inhabitants to flee to Armenia.

8) Azerbaijan’s occupation of Artsakh in September 2023 made the role of the Russian Peacekeepers unnecessary, which means that the Russian soldiers would have to leave what is now Azeri territory.

9) While there are good reasons to blame Russia for its inaction in protecting Artsakh Armenians, there is an equally good reason to blame Pashinyan for conceding that Artsakh is part of Azerbaijan. It is clear that despite Russia’s alliance with Armenia, given its involvement in the Ukraine War, Pres. Putin has decided that Turkey (the only NATO member that has not sanctioned Russia) and its junior brother Azerbaijan are much more important to Russia’s national interests than Armenia or Artsakh. Meanwhile, the West has not been of much help to Armenia either, except for issuing supportive statements, but no action.

10) After the 2020 War, when Azerbaijan’s army entered and occupied the eastern territory of Armenia, Pashinyan not only makes no effort to dislodge the enemy from Armenia’s sovereign territory but does not even talk about Azerbaijan’s illegal presence there.

11) Pashinyan’s long list of mistakes includes acknowledging that the Soviet-era Azeri inhabited enclaves inside Armenia are part of Azerbaijan. There was no reason for Pashinyan to offer to Azerbaijan these enclaves, especially since Aliyev had made no such demands.

12) Pashinyan unilaterally recognized Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity without any reciprocal recognition by Aliyev.

Given Pashinyan’s mishandling of the above 12 critical issues, refusal to resign and turn over his seat to a competent leader, the only option left for him is to declare that the 2020 agreement is null and void since Azerbaijan has violated most of its provisions.

Pashinyan should refuse to sit at the negotiating table with Aliyev until he releases all Armenian prisoners of war and withdraws his troops from Armenia’s territory. Aliyev should first honor his previous commitments before Armenians can trust him to abide by future agreements.

Fortunately, the 2020 agreement can easily be discarded because it was not ratified by the Parliaments of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia as an international treaty. It was simply signed by Pashinyan without consulting anyone. The next leader of Armenia, on his first day in office, should nullify the 2020 agreement.

October 9, 2023