Category: Authors

New Turkish Denial Tactic: Impeach Biden For Recognizing the Armenian Genocide!

For over a century, successive Turkish governments have tried various tricks to deny the veracity of the Armenian Genocide. All of their attempts have miserably failed. Turkey exerted diplomatic pressure around the globe and spent tens of millions of dollars hiring high-priced lobbying firms to deny the undeniable. Contrary to post-war Germany which admitted its guilt in the Holocaust and made amends, the Turkish government, by continuing its denials, is labelled around the world as an unrepentant criminal regime. Turkey would have been better off coming clean by acknowledging and making restitution for the mass crimes of 1915 rather than perpetuating the disgraceful legacy of its barbaric past.

The latest ridiculous Turkish denialist tactic is claiming that Pres. Joe Biden, by acknowledging the Armenian Genocide, “violated four articles of the U.S. Constitution.” If genocide was not a gruesome subject, such an accusation would have been amusing. However, the comedy does not stop there. In an interview with Turkish journalist Ugur Dundar, published in several Turkish media outlets, former Turkish Ambassador to the United States, Sukru Elekdag, suggested that Turkish groups try to impeach Biden after he leaves the White House, even though a president cannot be impeached after he is no longer in office.

Amb. Elekdag is not a constitutional law expert. He studied economics in college and later became a diplomat. He knows nothing about the U.S. Constitution.

When the Turkish journalist asked Elekdag how can Turks sue Biden since he referred to the Ottoman Empire as the perpetrator of the Genocide, not the Republic of Turkey, the Ambassador foolishly pointed out that “there is no ethnicity called Ottoman. Ottoman is the name of a dynasty. Those who founded the Ottoman state are Turks and they are our ancestors and we are their descendants.” So, Elekdag is suggesting that Turks sue Biden for accusing the Ottoman Empire of genocide. However, since Elekdag is associating the Republic of Turkey with the Ottoman Empire, then Turkey is naturally liable for the Ottoman crimes.

Elekdag’s falsely alleged that Pres. Biden violated Article VI, the Fifth Amendment, Article 1 (Section 9), and the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution.

Elekdag suggested that Pres. Erdogan of Turkey announce to the world that “Pres. Biden has committed a crime by violating the U.S. Constitution with his 24 April statements.” This is the most ridiculous part of the whole interview. Pres. Erdogan, who has committed massive crimes against hundreds of thousands of Turkish citizens, is the last person on earth to accuse anyone of committing a crime.

At the end of his interview, Elekdag stated that he had contacted the leaders of the Assembly of Turkish American Associations (ATAA) who told him that they will consider his accusations of Pres. Biden.

Elekdag suggested that an academic research be conducted on “whether or not to impeach and prosecute a former U.S. president” for his “constitutional offenses.” The ATAA is now planning to hold a symposium at an American university “with the participation of historians and lawyers.”

I received a copy of ATAA’s letter to Pres. Biden dated April 18, 2023, telling him that his previous two years’ April 24 statements “disregarded at least four articles and amendments of the U.S. Constitution.” Nevertheless, a week after receiving ATAA’s letter, Pres. Biden once again issued an Armenian Genocide statement on April 24, 2023, ignoring the Turkish warnings. The ATAA told Pres. Biden that his April 24 statements were “motivated solely to gain political popularity among the strong Armenian diaspora.”

At the end of its letter, the ATAA falsely claimed that there was an “initiative by the republics of Türkiye and Armenia to establish a Joint Historical Commission, composed of historians and legal scholars to be selected by Ankara and Erivan.”

I would like to add a few thoughts to this Turkish onslaught of misrepresentations:

I will be greatly pleased if the ATAA takes legal action against Pres. Biden which will result in publicizing worldwide the crime of Genocide committed by Ottoman Turkey. The ATAA’s lawyers will be happy to enrich themselves by getting paid to file such a frivolous lawsuit.

If Elekdag was really a constitutional law expert, why didn’t he sue Pres. Ronald Reagan in 1981 and the U.S. House of Representatives in 1984, when they recognized the Armenian Genocide, while he was Ambassador in Washington, D.C.? Why didn’t the ATAA file lawsuits for the recognition of the Armenian Genocide by the House of Representatives in 1975, the Senate and House of Representatives in 2019, and all 50 U.S. states?

The ATAA can save a lot of money and effort by simply asking Google’s Artificial Intelligence website if Turks can sue Pres. Biden for acknowledging the Armenian Genocide. Here is AI’s answer:

“No, Biden did not violate the Constitution by recognizing the Armenian genocide. The Constitution does not explicitly prohibit the President from making such a declaration, and there is no precedent to suggest that it would be considered unconstitutional…. The Armenian genocide was the systematic extermination of Armenians by the Ottoman Empire during World War I. It is estimated that between 1.5 and 2 million Armenians were killed during the genocide. The Turkish government has long denied that the genocide took place, but there is overwhelming evidence to support the fact that it did. Biden’s recognition of the Armenian genocide was a long-overdue step in acknowledging one of the darkest chapters in human history. It is a powerful statement of America’s commitment to human rights and justice.”

May 3, 2023
Turkish Sergeant Provides Grisly Details Of Massacring Dersim Alevis & Armenians

Turkish Sergeant Ali Oz, who participated in the massacre of thousands of Alevi Kurds and Armenians in Dersim, Turkey, in 1937-38, wrote a shocking confession about his role in those killings. It is very disturbing to read the gruesome details of the killings.

The source of Oz’s letter is the archive of Hasan Saltık who was the founder of Kalan Music which produced valuable records of Turkish and Armenian music. He passed away two years ago. Saltik had hundreds of Turkish governmental documents and photos which he shared with several researchers. One of them was Nevzat Onaran who wrote extensively about the confiscated Armenian properties. Prof. Taner Akcam gave me a copy of Oz’s letter which he had received from Onaran. Akcam thanked Nilufer, Saltik’s wife, for giving him permission to use the letter.

Sergeant Oz wrote a letter on December 17, 1946 to Minister of Interior Sukru Kaya, thanking him for having helped him get a job at the intercession of powerful General Abdullah Alpdogan, who was the Governor-Commander of the Dersim region, sent by Ataturk to organize the Dersim massacre. Oz was Alpdogan’s bodyguard in Dersim.

Oz told Minister Kaya in his letter that his army colleague, Ethem, who was with him during the Dersim massacre, had recently come to visit him. “He had lost his mind completely. He rose out of bed startled. He went out into the street screaming…. I could barely restrain him. The children they killed constantly troubled him. He couldn’t sleep or anything. With great difficulty I took him to Izmir, brought him to his family and handed him over to them. After I came back, I got the news. He cut his wrists and committed suicide.”

Sergeant Oz described the impact of the crimes he had committed in Dersim. “This incident affected me profoundly. The saddening incidents that I experienced began one by one to return to my mind. The eyes of the children I killed pounded in my head, and I too began to not sleep, to not eat. I rise up shaking, I lose myself. It has become such that I don’t know where I have gone, what I have done.”

Oz wrote that he was referred to a psychiatrist. “The doctor had me write everything that I had experienced and sign it. Now I am taking medicine. They gave me a leave [of absence] for three months. But my Minister, our General said, ‘don’t talk about what happened here [in Dersim] to any civilian, not even to your mother or father. Otherwise, you will all be hanged.’ I wrote those things and signed them. Now I have begun to fear whether something might happen to me. I asked the doctor to give me back what I wrote. It’s impossible, he won’t give it.”

Oz told the Interior Minister exactly what he had written to his psychiatrist: “I participated in the Dersim operation of 1937-38. I was the bodyguard of my General. There was a lot of conflict with the bandits. Those bandits we caught or those who surrendered we killed, whether women or children. We poured petrol on them all and burned them. Sometimes the General said to pour petrol on them alive and burn them. Yelling and screaming they burned and turned to ashes, the smell of flesh burned our whole nasal passage.”

Oz continued his horrible recollections: “News came to the General from Tersemek [Dersim]: ‘Women and children were hidden somewhere steep alongside the river, what shall we do?’ ‘Kill and burn them all,’ said the General. Two hours later the Lieutenant gave directions. But, no one wanted to harm the children. They didn’t listen to the orders. The General was very angry. We set out with a squad of soldiers. Everyone stood at attention. He began to hit the Lieutenant and the soldiers. Cursing, he said: ‘bring them all to where it’s flat.’ The women and children, yelling and screaming, wailing and moaning, begged at the General’s feet. There was nothing proper on them or their feet. He had all their hands and feet bound, their mouths gagged with cloth. ‘Now soldiers, I address you, these Qizilbash [Alevi] offspring are all the bastards of traitors, the bastards of those who killed your friends, and if they grow up they will continue to kill your brothers. They should be exterminated. We eradicated the Armenian offspring. All that’s left are these Kurds and Qizilbash. If you want your children to live happily in this country, you will kill without mercy. The government, our President, gave instructions to raze, burn, demolish. No one will be judged for the things done, I promise you,’ he said.”

The General then ordered: “‘Everyone will take turns to kill one or two people.’ There was silence in the squad. ‘Lieutenant, begin, bring two people,’ he said. They brought two children, and he shot them in the head. They both died. When it came to the third soldier, Salih from Diyarbakir, he went to the children and fell in front of them. ‘My Commander, I can’t do it, I have children too. Children are innocent,’ he said, ‘these poor things.’ The General said, ‘you fucking Kurd, it’s your race, that’s why you take pity, isn’t it?’ He shot the soldier in the forehead. He said, ‘whoever doesn’t carry out the order will end up like him.’ So, everyone started to kill one or two women and children. After each execution, the General himself shot them once or twice in the head to make sure they were dead. Everyone had to do his duty. ‘Come to me Sergeant [Oz], it’s your turn.’ There were three little girls left. ‘You take care of them,’ he said. The children were hunched over on the ground and had soiled themselves. They were crying in their ragged state. I looked into their eyes. I killed the three of them. Their eyes pierced my depths. I can’t forget their eyes. 70 to 80 children and 30 women were executed that day. They were all thrown into the waters of the Murat. The river was soaked with blood. Many soldiers prayed for forgiveness. I killed and burned many people, but I’ve never seen eyes that pierced like those of the children.”

Sergeant Oz concluded his letter with the following agonizing note: “How can I look my children in the face?”

April 30, 2023
Ignoring the historical facts

Hello, Mr. Harut; I am still waiting for your response to my message I sent you a week ago. You are a very prolific writer; I thought you would have replied by now. I understand you also didn’t respond to Mr. Mehmet Arif Demirer on his article he sent you nearly a year ago on Garo Paylan raising the issue of “Armenian genocide” at the Turkish Grand Assembly in 2016. You conveniently ignored all the historical facts in that article and still penned your April 3, 2023 article in The California Courier (“Ottoman Parliament and Senate in 1918 Acknowledged ‘the Armenian Massacres’”).

Ottoman Parliament and Senate in 1918 Acknowledged ‘the Armenian Massacres

I now notice that on your April 10, 2023 column you brought up a “new discovery” by Taner Akçam: https://www.thecaliforniacourier.com/turkey-bought-poison-gas-from-nazi-germany-to-kill-kurdish-alevis-armenians-in-1938/.

Turkey Bought Poison Gas from Nazi Germany To Kill Kurdish Alevis & Armenians in 1938

Akçam is a very interesting “scholar.” In fact a “gem,” as far as the Armenian lobby. Tessa Hofmann and Vahakn Dadrian did a wonderful job on him, and the Armenian lobby knows what a “gold mine” is when it sees one. In February 2022 Akçam got a new appointment at UCLA to lead the university’s “Armenian Genocide Research Program.” Certainly a very fitting appointment after holding the Kaloosdian and Mugar Professorship in “Modern Armenian History and Genocide” at the Clark University in Massachusetts. After all, thanks to Prof. Richard Hovannisian, Akçam was a guest speaker at UCLA in 2005 (photo attached). Akçam now has German nationality, and his articles are welcome at the Agos newspaper in Turkey.

A good reading on Akçam is found at: https://tallarmeniantale.com/akcam.htm. For example, one notable fact on Akçam’s credibility as a scholar is that, among some of his peers, Akçam has been characterized as a “village idiot.” He even received the scorn of his own brother on the contradictions and distortions on one of his writings:

Taner Akçam, amid contradictions and charges of betrayal, loses credibility

Akçam even denied that, for an event to be called “genocide,” a ruling by a court is necessary: https://www.gazeteduvar.com.tr/forum/2019/11/04/sil-bastan-soykirim-ve-bilgi-kirliligi

Voila! This, from a “genocide scholar”!

While on the subject, I have a question on Akçam. You know that Akçam is an ex-convict with the Leninist-Marxist “Dev-Yol” background. He jumped prison 1977 in Turkey and escaped to Germany. In 2000 he entered the USA, presumably to give a talk, probably with a visitor’s visa, and later received an immigrant visa. It was no secret who sponsored his talk and his entry visa. It is nearly impossible for a person of Akçam’s background to obtain a visitor’s visa, let alone an immigrant visa, to the USA. In fact, on February 16, 2007 Akçam was detained in Canada at the airport in Montreal for nearly 4 hours because he was considered a terrorist. Two days later he was likewise temporarily detained at the US border.

My question is: How did someone with Akçam’s background enter the USA in 2000, and later received the immigrant status? I have a pretty good idea; but it is better that you, with all your connections, explain.

By the way, the argument that he was declared a prisoner of conscience by Amnesty International will not do. That did not erase Akçam’s criminal record.

F. Demirmen

April 21, 2023
For Sassounian to respond

Re: Garo Paylan being a member of the Kurdish party HDP, below is the slightly revised version of my message published in Turkish Forum 2 days ago, for archival purposes, and for Harut Sassounian to respond. I hope Harut will respond shortly.

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Why are the articles of a chief Armenian diaspora propagandist Harut Sassounian being posted in Turkish Forum?

Imagine a Turkish person who disputes the bogus Armenian genocide accusation trying to have his/her articles posted or published in an Armenian website or platform. He/she would be lambasted – or worse – for even trying such “outrageous” attempt! Opinions opposing “Armenian genocide” are not welcome in Armenian websites or platforms. Even if they do – as is the case occasionally with “HyeTert” published in Turkey – the reader is warned that the contents are misleading and/or prejudiced, etc. Surely, what is reported in “HyeTert” is truthful and impartial!

I don’t normally comment – in Turkish or English – on Harut bey’s articles posted in Turkish Forum because my comments do not get posted in the “The California Courier.” So, why waste time?

But on Harut’s latest propaganda piece posted below, I make an exception. His assertion that “Armenian Massacres were discussed and acknowledged by the Ottoman Parliament and Senate in 1918,” does not carry any weight. The Ottoman parliament (Meclis-i Mebûsan), just like the Ottoman military tribunals at that time, were under the watch and command of the occupying foreign forces. The 1919-20 courts martial held under the leadership of Nemrut Mustafa Pasha were “kangaroo courts” held at the instigation of the victorious Allied Powers. These courts issued death sentences to not only the leaders of the “Committee of Unity and Progress,” but also to the leaders of the Nationalist Movement “Kuva-yi Milliye,” including Mustafa Kemal. With no due process, no witnesses, no cross examination, etc., the courts lacked credibility. The Allies considered them travesty of justice, with British High Commissioner Admiral Somerset Arthur Gough-Calthorpe writing to London on August 1, 1919, that these courts were “proving to be a farce and injurious to our own prestige.”

Ottoman Parliament and Senate in 1918 Acknowledged ‘the Armenian Massacres

Hence these courts were far from being competent tribunals referred to in the 1948 Genocide Convention. Having witnessed these kangaroo court martials, the British decided to hold the Malta Tribunal. And we know what the results were.

Those that inflicted harm to the Armenian refugees during re-location in 1915 were in fact punished earlier by the 1915-16 Ottoman courts-martial acting under no pressure by foreign powers.

Harut should answer: How many rebellious Armenians that terrorized the countryside, killed Muslim civilians, and helped the invading Russian forces were brought to justice in a court of law? Answer: zero, zilch. Nearly 520,000 civilian Muslims were massacred in cold blood in Anatolia alone by the rebellious Armenian forces during 1914-21. There were also 413,000 Muslim losses in the Transcaucasian region.

And if Harut is seeking legal justification for what he calls “Armenian genocide,” why doesn’t he refer to the decisions of the Malta Tribunal, the 2013/2015 rulings of ECtHR on the Switzerland-Perincek case, and the 1987 ruling of the Constitutional Council of France? As well, from a historical point of view, the views of 69 academicians including eminent historians such as Professors Bernard Lewis and Justin McCarthy, who, in 1985, made a public declaration in U.S.A. that, in their opinion, the 1915 events did not constitute genocide.

While on the subject, Harut should explain why Armenia to date has not taken its case to the European Court of Justice to adjudicate its claims? And likewise, the Armenian lobby, why it has not asked the UN to convene a special tribunal to hear its allegations? He should also ask himself why the British government – certainly very knowledgeable on the 1915 events – to date has not recognized “Armenian genocide.”

Speaking of legal justification for a bogus genocide, Harut should also know that the U.S. Congress, just with some of today’s European parliaments, have no authority to pass judgment on “Armenian genocide.” That is the bailiwick of courts of law. The “Armenian genocide” labels today run on the backbone of Jewish Holocaust – to which it has no resemblance – as well a deep-rooted anti-Muslim, anti-Turkish prejudice in the West, including America. We certainly have heard that Armenians were the “First Christian nation.” A statement that certainly makes a big impact in Christian America.

Lobbying and donations to U.S. politicians – lots of it – of course also make a huge difference.

As for Harut’s reference to the fact that Armenian members of the Turkish Parliament, Selina Doğan and Garo Paylan, had raised the issue of the Armenian Genocide in the Parliament in 2016, such action does not signify the legitimacy of their cause. Garo Paylan is a member of the Kurdish party HDP, which has argued that Turkey should apologize for the 1915 events, https://hdp.org.tr/tr/ermeni-soykirimi-utanciyla-yuzlesin/15358/. The politicians of HDP are apparently totally ignorant on the suffering of Kurdish people during the Armenian revolt in the Ottoman period. Among the civilian Muslims killed by mutinous Armenian terrorists, including those that fell victim during the Van massacre on April 21, 1915, a good percentage of the victims were Kurdish. Also, during the First Republic of Armenia, 1918-20, 98% of the Kurdish population (a figure of nearly 25,000) perished due to deprivations and massacre under a fascist regime. The losses on the Turkish side numbered 200,000. The source of this information is none other than A.A. Lalaian, a Soviet historian of Armenian origin.

The judge involved in the 1919-20 military tribunals, Nemrut Mustafa Pasha, was also Kurdish; he was a traitor, and supported the cause of the occupying Allied forces.

Let us not gloss over the fact that the terrorist Kurdish PKK organization in Turkey also receives some covert help from Armenian elements.

Harut is a prominent member of the Armenian lobby in U.S., including ANCA-WR. Here is a clip from an Armenian-lobby news outlet – one that belongs to the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) -regarding the February 6, 2023 earthquake that hit southeastern Turkey and part of northern Syria: https://armenianweekly.com/2023/02/21/amaa-responds-to-earthquake-stricken-community-in-aleppo/. It is mentioned that some deaths occurred in Syria, and more than 350 Armenian families had found shelter in the halls and courtyard of Bethel Church. But not a single word about the massive human losses and material damage in Turkey! On the date the article was published, there were at least 40,000 deaths in Turkey. So much about the humanity of Armenian websites belonging to the diaspora.

Harut personally targeted me in 2017 in his article, https://www.thecaliforniacourier.com/turkish-activist-admits-major-blow-when-texas-recognized-armenian-genocide/, to which I replied:

http://avim.org.tr/Blog/ARMENIAN-LOBBYIST-SELECTIVELY-USES-GENOCIDE-RECOGNITION-ARTICLE-TO-SUIT-OWN-AGENDA. Because he has taken personal interest in me, I now have a personal question to Harut.

Harut is an “expert” on “Armenian genocide,” and he has even written a book on the subject – a book I am sure would have shocked even Hovhannes Katchaznouni had he read it. Harut’s prolific writings on “Armenian genocide” in The California Courier curiously skip the ASALA/JCAG terror that killed 58 Turkish citizens including 31 diplomats between 1973 and 1998. He meticulously avoided commenting on the 2021 release from prison of Hampig Sassounian, the Armenian gunman who assassinated Turkish Consul General Kemal Arıkan in Los Angeles in 1982. His articles also don’t say a word about the Nazi connections of those like General Dro Drastamat Kanayan during WW-2.

Harut worked in Geneva from 1978 to 1982, and claims he was a human rights delegate at the United Nations in Geneva for 10 years. In 1980 there was a terror attempt by ASALA to kill the Turkish Ambassador in Geneva, and in June 1981, an actual terror act whereby Turkish Consulate Secretary, Mehmet Savaş Yergüz, was assassinated by an Armenian gunman. The assassin was caught, tried, and convicted for murder.

Before long, the Swiss authorities received a letter from Armenia; in it a number Armenian organizations and churches were pleading with the Swiss authorities to release the assassin, stating that, if released, they would look after him. A copy of this letter is still in the possession of a Turkish person living in Geneva.

The question to Harut is: Can he comment on the murderous events in Geneva and the letter mentioned above – events that took place while he was in Geneva? He should certainly know.

Ferruh Demirmen

April 21, 2023
Armenia Ranks Better Than Azerbaijan And Turkey in the Prosperity Index

The UK-based Legatum Institute published its comprehensive 2023 Prosperity Index for 167 countries, including Armenia, Azerbaijan and Turkey. The index covers 12 separate spheres or ‘pillars’ which are composed of 67 sub-sections.

The Institute defined prosperity as people having “the opportunity to thrive by fulfilling their unique potential and playing their part in strengthening their communities and nations. Ultimately, prosperity is not just about what we have; it is also about who we become. Prosperity is underpinned by an inclusive society, with a strong social contract that protects the fundamental liberties and security of every individual.”

Overall, Armenia is ranked in the Prosperity Index much higher than Azerbaijan and Turkey. Armenia is 61st place in 2023, slightly down from 59th in 2022, but considerably up from 76th in 2013. Meanwhile, Azerbaijan is ranked much lower at 92nd in 2023, the same as in 2012 — somewhat higher than 104th in 2013. Turkey is ranked even lower at 95th in 2023, the same as in 2012 — substantially down from 68th in 2013.

The Legatum Institute described Azerbaijan as “the least prosperous country in the region,” despite its vast income from billions of petrodollars.” This means that the country’s wealth is not trickling down to the population.

Here is how Legatum Institute described Turkey’s dismal Prosperity Index. “Turkey has seen its governance deteriorate significantly over the last 10 years, falling 60 places to 128th, with political accountability deteriorating at the greatest rate globally. Constitutional reforms in 2017 concentrated more power in the hands of the executive, removing key checks and balances. Personal Freedom has also deteriorated at the second greatest rate globally, with the government consistently suppressing dissent…. The current government has ruled Turkey since 2002. As noted by Freedom House, after initially passing some liberalizing reforms, the government has pursued a wide-ranging crackdown on critics and opponents since 2016. For example, Amnesty International points out that hundreds of people, including journalists, social media users and protesters, have been detained in Turkey in 2019 due to their criticism of Turkey’s military offensive in Syria.”

Here are the rankings of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Turkey on each of the 12 pillars of the Legatum Institute’s Prosperity Index:

1) “The Safety and Security pillar (War & Civil Conflict, Terrorism, Politically Related Terror & Violence, Violent Crime, and Property Crime) measures the degree to which war, conflict, and crime have destabilized the security of individuals, both immediately and through longer-lasting effects”: Armenia (75th), Azerbaijan (111th), and Turkey (147th).

2) “The Personal Freedom pillar (Agency, Freedom of Assembly & Association, Freedom of Speech & Access to Information, and Absence of Legal Discrimination) measures progress towards basic legal rights, and individual liberties”: Armenia (70th), Azerbaijan (144th), and Turkey (152nd).

3) “The Governance pillar (Executive Constraints, Political Accountability, Rule of Law, Government Integrity, Government Effectiveness, Regulatory Quality, and Institutional Trust) measures the extent to which there are checks and restraints on power and whether governments operate effectively and without corruption”: Armenia (64th), Azerbaijan (113th), and Turkey (128th).

4) “The Social Capital pillar (Personal & Family Relationships, Social Networks, Interpersonal Trust, Social Tolerance, and Civic & Social Participation) measures the strength of personal and social relationships, social norms, civic participation in a country, and social tolerance”: Armenia (125th), Azerbaijan (132nd), and Turkey (137th).

5) “The Investment Environment pillar (Property Rights, Investor Protection, Contract Enforcement, Financing Ecosystem, and Restrictions on International Investment) measures the extent to which investments are adequately protected and are readily accessible”: Armenia (75th), Azerbaijan (54th), and Turkey (68th).

6) “The Enterprise Conditions pillar (Domestic Market Contestability, Environment for Business Creation, Burden of Regulation, Labor Market Flexibility, and Price Distortions) measures the degree to which regulations enable businesses to start, compete, and expand”: Armenia (44th), Azerbaijan (47th), and Turkey (65th).

7) “The Infrastructure and Market Access pillar (Communication, Energy, Water, Transport, Border Administration, Open Market Scale, Import Tariff Barriers, and Market Distortions) measures the quality of the infrastructure that enables trade and distortions in the market for goods and services”: Armenia (71st), Azerbaijan (72nd), and Turkey (50th).

8) “The Economic Quality pillar (Fiscal Sustainability, Macroeconomic Stability, Productivity & Competitiveness, Dynamism, and Labor Force Engagement) measures how well an economy is equipped to generate wealth sustainably and with the full engagement of the workforce”: Armenia (83rd), Azerbaijan (65th), and Turkey (71st).

9) “The Living Conditions pillar (Material Resources, Nutrition, Basic Services, Shelter, Connectedness, and Protection from Harm) measures the degree to which a reasonable quality of life is experienced by all, including material resources, shelter, basic services, and connectivity”: Armenia (76th), Azerbaijan (65th), and Turkey (59th).

10) “The Health pillar (Behavioral Risk Factors, Preventative Interventions, Care Systems, Mental Health, Physical Health, and Longevity) measures the extent to which people are healthy and have access to the necessary services to maintain good health, including health outcomes, health systems, illness and risk factors, and mortality rates”: Armenia (68th), Azerbaijan (85th), and Turkey (63rd).

11) “The Education pillar (Adult Skills, Tertiary Education, Secondary Education, Primary Education, and Pre-primary Education) measures enrolment, outcomes, and quality across four stages of education as well as the skills in the adult population”: Armenia (59th), Azerbaijan (79th), and Turkey (74th).

12) “The Natural Environment pillar (Preservation Efforts, Oceans, Freshwater, Forest, Land and Soil, Exposure to Air Pollution, and Emissions) measures the aspects of the physical environment that have a direct effect on people in their daily lives and changes that might impact the prosperity of future generations”: Armenia (99th), Azerbaijan (149th), and Turkey (86th).

In addition to Armenia’s better ranking than Azerbaijan and Turkey in the overall Prosperity Index, Armenia exceeds its two neighboring countries in six categories. It is worse than both of them only in three categories, but better than Azerbaijan and worse than Turkey in three other categories.

April 19, 2023
Turkey Bought Poison Gas from Nazi Germany To Kill Kurdish Alevis & Armenians in 1938

Prof. Taner Akcam of UCLA wrote a revealing article in Turkish, in Istanbul’s Armenian Agos newspaper on March 31, 2023, regarding the Turkish government’s brutal massacre of tens of thousands of minorities in Dersim, an Eastern province of Turkey, in 1938. The article was titled: “[President] Mustafa Kemal and [Prime Minister] Ismet Inonu ordered the use of poison gas during the Dersim massacre.”

While this is not the first time this information has been revealed, Prof. Akcam uncovered additional Turkish documents that confirm the details of this horrible massacre ordered by Ataturk and Inonu. The two Turkish leaders issued a secret decree in 1937 for the purchase of 20 tons of poisonous mustard gas and 24 twin-engine airplanes from Germany to exterminate through aerial spraying and bombing of Kurdish Alevis and Armenians who were living in hiding in the mountainous caves of Dersim. The thousands of Armenian inhabitants of Dersim were survivors of the Armenian Genocide who had fled and converted to Alevism to save their lives.

Many articles and books have been published in recent years, documenting Hitler’s admiration of Ataturk. The cooperation between the Turkish government and Nazi Germany is another indication of the criminal partnership of these two states. Even today, the Turkish military continues to use poisonous gas purchased from Germany in recent years, in violation of the Chemical Weapons Convention, to exterminate Kurds in Turkey and allegedly in Northern Iraq and Syria.

One of the ironic twists of the Dersim massacre is the participation of Sabiha Gokcen, an Armenian girl orphaned during the Genocide of 1915 and subsequently adopted by Ataturk as his daughter. She became the first female pilot in Turkey and participated in the bombing of Dersim, renamed Tunceli. It is not known if she was aware that she was taking part in killing her fellow Armenians who were survivors of the Genocide, just like her. One of the two Istanbul airports is named after her, as a ‘War Hero.’

A Turkish court ruled in March 2011 that the Turkish government’s massacre in Dersim could not be considered genocide according to the law because they were not directed systematically against an ethnic group. However, Rejep Tayyip Erdogan, while Prime Minister in 2011, issued an apology for the 1938 Dersim massacre. Erdogan’s apology was viewed with suspicion as an opportunistic move to win the votes of the large Kurdish population in Turkey from the government’s main opposition political party, CHP, which is a continuation of Ataturk’s Republican Party. Erdogan described the Dersim massacre “as the most tragic event in our recent history.” He added that, while some sought to justify the killings as a legitimate response to events on the ground, it was in reality “an operation which was planned step by step…. It is a disaster that should now be questioned with courage. The party that should confront this incident is not the ruling Justice and Development Party. It is the CHP, which is behind this bloody disaster, who should face up to this incident.” These comments were pointedly directed at opposition leader Kemal Kılıcdaroglu, who in fact is from Tunceli, and Erdogan’s main opponent in the May 2023 presidential election. One wonders if Erdogan would have also apologized for the Armenian Genocide if there were millions of Armenian voters living in Turkey now.

In one of the footnotes of his article, Akcam referenced a document of the German Parliament where several members asked the German government in 2019 for the details of the Turkish purchase of poisonous gas and airplanes from Nazi Germany. German chemical weapons experts were also brought to Turkey in 1938 to train the military in the use of the poisonous gas. In its reply, the German government acknowledged “the suffering of the [Dersim] victims and their descendants” and added: “the federal [German] government is ready if the events of that time are processed by Turkey to examine German participation.”

While these mass killings cannot be justified under any circumstance, the Turkish government was trying in the 1930’s to suppress domestic opposition and impose its rule in the Dersim region. During a speech in parliament on Nov. 1, 1936, Ataturk described Dersim as “Turkey’s most important interior problem.” Pursuing a policy of Turkification of ethnic and religious minorities, the Turkish government adopted in 1936 the “Law on the Administration of the Tunceli Province” which aimed to resettle the local population to other parts of Turkey. Over 50,000 Turkish soldiers were dispatched to Dersim. They captured and hanged the ringleaders of the local rebellion and indiscriminately bombed and killed thousands of its inhabitants. Even though the Turkish government admitted that 13,806 inhabitants of Dersim were killed, some put the casualties much higher at 70,000 or more. Many of the survivors were moved to other parts of the country and Kurdish girls were given to Turkish families for adoption.

Regrettably, Turkey is still in denial about its past mass crimes. The Dersim massacre is just one example of the exterminations of various minorities beginning in the Ottoman Empire and continuing in the Republic of Turkey era.

April 14, 2023