Category: Authors

UN Official Deletes His Tweet on Armenian Genocide, After Pressure from Turkey

The Turkish government resorted to its customary bullying tactics last week to force a high-ranking United Nations (UN) official to delete his tweet on the Armenian Genocide.

On July 27, President of the United Nations General Assembly Abdulla Shahid issued a tweet with four photos showing him placing a wreath at the Armenian Genocide Memorial in Yerevan. He wrote in his tweet: “Laid a wreath at the Memorial to the Victims of Armenian Genocide. Special thanks to Museum-Institute Director Harutyun Marutyan & Hasmik Martirosyan for a tour of the Museum.” Marutyan presented to the visitor books on the Armenian Genocide and showed him the three cross-stones dedicated to the memory of Armenians who were killed by Azerbaijan.

The wreath placed by the UN General Assembly President had white and blue flowers and was decorated with a blue ribbon with “United Nations” written on it. In the other photos of his tweet, he was seen observing a moment of silence at the Eternal Flame of the Memorial, taking a tour of the Armenian Genocide Museum, and signing the Guest Book in which he wrote: “I am very moved by my visit to this museum. I thank you for warmly receiving me as a part of my visit to Armenia.”

During his three-day visit to Armenia, the President of the UN General Assembly met with various Armenian officials, including the President of Armenia Vahagn Khachatryan, Deputy Prime Minister Hambardzum Matevosyan, Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan, Vice Chairman of the Parliament Ruben Rubinyan, female diplomats of the Foreign Ministry, and spoke at the graduation ceremony of the Armenian Foreign Ministry’s Diplomatic School.

Shortly after Shahid’s visit and tweet, the Turkish Foreign Ministry issued an official statement condemning him for visiting the Armenian Genocide Memorial and alleging that his trip “to Armenia has been exploited with the purpose of exposing one-sided Armenian claims and it is in that context that he paid a visit to the so-called genocide memorial.” The Turkish Foreign Ministry added: “He would have been expected to act in a fair and impartial manner, to be more careful and responsible in this regard. Representatives acting on behalf of the UN authorized bodies must carry out their duties in accordance with the UN legal instruments and relevant norms and rules of international law, particularly the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide dated 1948. We condemn and reject attempts to distort historical facts and international law through political manipulation. Türkiye is of the opinion that the facts regarding the events of 1915 should be dealt with in a full, fair and honest framework.”

Shahid, who is also the Foreign Minister of the Republic of Maldives, immediately deleted the tweet about his visit to the Armenian Genocide Memorial, succumbing to Turkish pressures.

Whereas the Turkish government had succeeded in imposing its will on the UN official, not a single Armenian official who met with the President of the UN General Assembly bothered to question him why he deleted his tweet, let alone criticize him.

Of course, nothing can excuse the submissive behavior of the high-ranking UN official who caved in to the directive of a dictatorial regime, contrary to the UN principles that he was sworn to uphold. Two sources confirmed some of the actions of the Turkish government: The Passblue.com website disclosed that Turkey rescinded its invitation to Shahid to visit Ankara. The Turkish Superhaber.tv further revealed that Turkey withdrew Shahid’s invitation to attend the Ambassadors’ Conference to be held in Ankara on August 8-12. Turkey probably used other behind-the-scenes measures to pressure Shahid.

It is highly offensive that Shahid, by agreeing to delete his tweet, disrespected the Armenian Genocide which had been corroborated by the UN itself. On August 29, 1985, the UN “Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities” adopted a report on genocide by a vote of 15 in favor, 1 opposed, and 4 abstentions. The “Revised and Updated Report on the Question of the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide” was prepared by British Special Rapporteur Benjamin Whitaker. Paragraph 24 of that report stated: “The Nazi aberration has unfortunately not been the only case of genocide in the twentieth century. Among other examples which can be cited as qualifying are the German massacre of Hereros in 1904, [and] the Ottoman massacre of Armenians in 1915-1916 ….” The report also included an extensive bibliography on the Armenian Genocide. An earlier version of that report, prepared by UN Special Rapporteur Nicodeme Ruhashyankiko of Rwanda, had included in its paragraph 30 a reference to the Armenian Genocide which was subsequently deleted after excessive pressure by the Turkish government. I know these facts first-hand because I spent from 1978 to 1985 at the UN in Geneva as the representative of a non-governmental organization on human rights, countering the repeated Turkish attempts to delete the reference to the Armenian Genocide.

The Armenian government may not be aware of these facts. I suggest that the Armenian Foreign Ministry file a strongly-worded complaint with the Secretary-General of the United Nations to have the deleted tweet reinstated and apologize to the Armenian nation.

August 3, 2022
Armenian Officials Falsify the Reason For Banning Papazian from Armenia

Harut Sassounian

Last week, I wrote about a scandalous incident when Armenian officials did not allow Mourad Papazian, a French Armenian community leader who has devoted his life to the defense of the Armenian Cause, to enter Armenia after arriving at the Yerevan Airport. Despite Papazian’s repeated questions at the airport as to why Armenian officials were banning him from entering the country, he was not given an answer. I will now comment on the latest developments in this case.

Initially, government officials told the media that they are unable to reveal the reason for Papazian’s expulsion in order not to violate his right to privacy. When Zareh Sinanyan, Armenia’s Chief Commissioner for Diaspora Affairs, was first asked why Papazian was banned from the country, he said that he had no idea. Sinanyan then wrongly claimed that the organization co-led by Papazian, the Coordinating Council of Armenian Organizations of France (CCAF), had no right to represent the entire French Armenian community, since it was just one organization. Contrary to Sinanyan’s statement, the CCAF is not just one organization, but a coalition of around 60 French Armenian organizations.

Later, one of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s unnamed aides gave a lengthy interview to the Armenpress wire service last week, alleging that Papazian was banned from Armenia for violating Chapter 2, Article 8, sections 1.k and 1.z of the law on “Foreigners.” The aide went on to claim that Papazian was one of the individuals who attacked Pashinyan’s motorcade in Paris on June 1, 2021. What happened to the government’s initial excuse that it cannot reveal the reason for Papazian’s expulsion to protect his privacy? The real reason for his expulsion was the Prime Minister’s intolerance to anyone who dares to oppose his regime.

Here are the true facts: I verified that Papazian was not involved in any attack on Pashinyan’s motorcade because he was not there. The protest was carried out by a group of young men who regrettably hurled tomatoes at Pashinyan’s motorcade. That is not a proper thing to do to Armenia’s leader while on foreign soil. Nevertheless, last year’s incident was viewed by the Armenian government to be so unimportant that the Embassy of Armenia in Paris did not even file a complaint with the French authorities.

Secondly, it is very strange that after the June 1, 2021 motorcade incident in Paris, Papazian visited Armenia on four different occasions and no one at the Yerevan Airport obstructed his entry. If the Prime Minister’s aide is serious about his baseless accusation against Papazian, why did the government not object to his entry to Armenia until a year later, during his fifth visit? The Prime Minister’s aide is thus acknowledging that Armenian officials are so incompetent that they cannot even implement properly their own decisions.

Furthermore, Pashinyan’s aide falsely claimed that there are media reports about the Paris incident, including video tapes on the internet showing Papazian’s and others’ protest. The fact is that there is no such video showing Papazian at that protest simply because he was not there. Had there been such a video, the Armenian government would have disseminated it widely to prove Papazian’s guilt.

Since the Prime Minister’s aide based his accusation of Papazian on Article 8, sections 1.k and 1.z of Armenia’s law on “Foreigners,” I found it interesting that section 6 of Article 8 of that same law lists the following government officials as the only ones who can have access to the black list of individuals banned from entering Armenia: “The staff of the President of Armenia, the national security agency, authorized police officials, Foreign Ministry officials, the courts and the prosecutor’s office.” Importantly, neither the Prime Minister himself nor his aides are on this list of officials authorized to access the black list. How did Pashinyan’s aide know that Papazian’s name is on the black list and the reason why he was banned from entering the country? This is an obvious violation of the law, the same law that Pashinyan’s aide quoted to justify banning Papazian. In a normal democratic country, this aide and his superiors would be prosecuted for breaking the law. What they have done to Papazian is an abuse of power. Armenia is not Pashinyan’s private house so he can decide whom to let in and whom to ban.

Finally, while the government is busy blocking an Armenian nationalist from entering the country, a widely circulated video on social media showed a Turkish extremist at the Armenian Genocide Memorial in Yerevan, sticking his tongue out, howling like a wolf, giggling hysterically, ridiculing the Genocide and making the hand gesture of the terrorist Turkish Grey Wolves group, while wearing the flag of a Turkish soccer club which has the crescent and the star, the emblem of the Turkish Republic. While it is not always possible for the police to prevent such ugly incidents, if Armenian officials were not so busy trying the silence their political opponents, they would have more time to deal with the real enemies of the Armenian nation. How ironic that an Armenian nationalist is banned from entering Armenia, at the same time a Turkish extremist is allowed to enter the country and insult the memory of the Genocide martyrs.

It would have been far better for Armenian officials to tell the truth by acknowledging that they should not have expelled Papazian from Armenia, instead of inventing more lies to cover up their initial wrongful action.

July 27, 2022
Azerbaijan sell arms to Ukraine

Despite the news about the Ukrainian army’s progress, the United States continues to use its full potential to provide Kyiv with more weapons, in order to ensure the continued confrontation of the Russian army and prevent Moscow from achieving its goals in its special military operation.

Washington confirms that it does not supply weapons to Ukraine indiscriminately, e.g. the quality of weapons is “accurately calculated”. However, these criteria are determined by Ukrainian military attaches deployed in Ukrainian embassies around the world. The weapons are later circulated within the lists of weapons of interest to the Ukrainian army before obtaining them through international intermediaries, and then transferred to the territory of Ukraine and used against the Russian army.

This mechanism is carefully organized and carefully. Washington is interested in buying Soviet weapons, given that the Ukrainian forces and militias participating in the fighting there are experienced in using this type of weapons.

The latest American attempt took place in Azerbaijan’s Baku, where an agreement was signed between an organization that belongs to the Azerbaijani Ministry of Defense and an intermediary European company close to Washington to supply a group of Soviet weapons to Kyiv.

The details reveal that this company is of Spanish origin called “SDLE”, which is an abbreviation for (Star Defense Logistics Engineering S.L), this company works under the supervision and funding of the American Intelligence Agency (CIA). The offer also included a plan to visit the military facilities in Azerbaijan to inspect the supplied weapons and the agreement from the Azerbaijani side to provide the Spanish company with weapons schedules, quantities and prices. The third country which will be used to transfer the weapons to Ukraine is likely to be the Czech Republic.

According to the information, the deal between the Spanish company and the Azerbaijani “Device” industrial organization was signed on June 23, 2022 and amounted to about $78 million.

As for the type of weapons, according to what the deal data shows, they are “Kornet”, “Victoria”, “Concura” and “Fagot” anti-armor missiles, in addition to “Strela” anti-aircraft missiles, and other light and heavy weapons.

The signing of the deal was attended by two representatives from the Azerbaijani side, the director of the “apparatus” Mammadov Azer and his deputy, Khadyrov Elgar. The buyer’s side was represented by the CEO of the Spanish “Star Defense” company, Estrella Aurelio Jesus, in addition to the representative of the company, Zuhur Rashid.

The information says that Azerbaijan has “transit” depots in Jordan with a large number of weapons, valued at about $500 million. Yet, it is not known whether these weapons will be launched from there or not.

The Spanish company is achieving remarkable growth in the field of weapons, and it also aspires to diversify its military activity. Being a provider of military systems, it is now investing in the military sector and looking forward to designing and supplying more complex military systems.

US officials have previously admitted on more than one occasion that their country is sending secretly obtained Soviet equipment in order to enhance the capabilities of the Ukrainian army in confronting the attacks of Russian forces. Though The Pentagon refused to disclose the size of its unknown arsenal of Soviet weapons, but Washington had previously kept some Soviet weapons in its warehouses, and was able to enhance them through similar deals with countries seeking to renew their military arsenal or aspiring to obtain American ones. In return for the supply of Soviet weapons to Ukraine.

The relationship between Russia and Azerbaijan is currently considered to be good. Due to the personal relations between Presidents Vladimir Putin and Ilham Aliyev, Russian-Azerbaijani cooperation has been strengthened over the recent years. The ongoing war in Ukraine today is likely to become a test for trust and sincerity of the countries that call themselves as allies and friends.

July 22, 2022
Prime Minister Pashinyan has no RightTo Ban an Armenian from Entering Armenia

French Armenian community leader Mourad (Franck) Papazian and his wife were not allowed to enter Armenia last week after they arrived at the Yerevan Airport. Papazian is a member of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation’s worldwide leadership (Bureau) and the Co-President of the Coordinating Council of Armenian Organizations of France.

At passport control, Papazian was told to wait until they verified his information. He had a proper French passport and did not need a visa to enter Armenia. While he was waiting, customs’ officials were consulting with their superiors on the phone.

Papazian was then led to an isolated room at the airport where he was kept for several hours. Finally, National Security Service agents told him that he was not allowed to enter Armenia.

Despite Papazian’s several requests, he was never informed of the reason for his being barred from entering Armenia. He was expelled from the country by placing him on the next flight to Paris.

This is an incident with serious ethical, legal, diplomatic and national implications.

Ethically, if Armenian officials want to ban someone from entering Armenia, they should have the minimum courtesy of telling the individual the reason for such a grave decision. The visitor is entitled to know why he is not being allowed to enter the country.

In terms of Armenian laws, regardless of the reason for banning Papazian from entering the country, Armenian officials don’t have the right to take such an action on their own, be they airport officials, National Security Service agents or Prime Minister. Banning any visitor, let alone a fellow Armenian, from entering the country is a very serious decision. If Papazian had violated any Armenian laws, airport officials could have detained him, presented the charges against him to a judge who would have taken a legal decision based on the evidence after listening to both sides. Is Armenia a country governed by laws or by the vindictive decisions of the Prime Minister? If one man can act as the executive, legislative and judicial branches of the government, then Armenia is far from being a democratic country. It is sad that Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, who came to power four years ago as a democrat, is ignoring all democratic norms. Papazian’s sole guilt is being critical of the failed regime of Pashinyan.

In terms of European laws, Armenia violated in this case several principles of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, which it had committed to uphold. The required procedure is that Papazian first challenge his expulsion in a domestic Armenian court. If he is unsuccessful there, Papazian can then take his complaint to the European Court of Human Rights. I am certain that the European Court will find that the Armenian government violated Papazian’s “right to a fair trial,” “freedom of expression” and “freedom of movement.” Furthermore, Papazian’s expulsion was a violation of United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Regarding this incident’s possible negative effect on Armenia’s relations with France, as a French citizen, Papazian has filed a complaint with the French Embassy in Yerevan and the French Foreign Ministry in Paris. As a well-known political activist, Papazian has close ties with Pres. Macron of France and other high-ranking French officials. Already, there was another unpleasant incident last May, when Papazian accompanied the Pro-Armenian Mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, on her visit to Armenia. Since Papazian is a critic of Pashinyan, he informed the Prime Minister’s office that he will not join the Mayor’s scheduled meeting with Pashinyan, in order not to create an unwelcome scene during the meeting. Without any explanation, at the last minute, the Prime Minister decided to cancel the meeting with the Paris Mayor. This was a major diplomatic error. Armenia can ill afford to alienate French officials who are some of its staunchest supporters.

In terms of the Armenian government undermining the collective interests of the Armenian nation, it is counterproductive that while Armenia is surrounded by bloodthirsty enemies and its very existence is threatened, its leaders are engaged in a self-defeating action regarding the Diaspora which only serves to further weaken Armenia. Azerbaijan does have massive petrodollars, but Armenia has a large Diaspora which is an unutilized asset.

I am afraid that Papazian’s expulsion, if not reversed quickly, will have an adverse effect on Armenia’s relations with the seven-million strong Diaspora. Armenia’s leaders, rather than coming up with initiatives to attract more Diaspora Armenians to visit, immigrate and invest in Armenia, are unwisely alienating them.

Since Papazian’s only guilt is that he was a critic of Pashinyan, his expulsion could cause many other Diaspora Armenians, who are opposed to the Prime Minister, to avoid visiting Armenia out of a concern that they too will be stopped at the Yerevan Airport and not be allowed to visit their homeland.

It is highly regrettable that Papazian, a man who has dedicated his entire life to defending the interests of Armenia and the Armenia Cause, is treated in such an offensive manner. With great sadness, he acknowledged: “I knew that I was banned from Turkey and Azerbaijan. Today, I am banned from Pashinyan’s Armenia.”

July 19, 2022
Could U.S.-Turkey Relations Deteriorate?

US President Joe Biden remarked while attending the NATO Summit in Madrid on June 30, “We should sell them [Turkey] the F-16 jets and modernize those jets as well. It’s not in our interest not to do that.” His statement sparked American anti-Turkey organizations to take action. In a scandalous letter signed by 35 members of the US Congress, these lobbies asked President Biden “Not to sell F-16s to Turkey”. We are not surprised by those anti-Turkish actions, but it is wrong to hand over control of the floor to these masters of misinformation.

The US’s policies in the Balkans, the Sea of Islands, the Eastern Mediterranean, the Middle East, the Caspian Region, the Caucasus, and the Black Sea Region are all dependent on Turkey, indispensable ally and strategic partner of the US. Now let’s talk about whether the US administration will be influenced by these lobbies. Turkey is the main player. President Biden, as well as the Pentagon, will not allow those provocations to jeopardise US’s regional interests. For political reasons, Greece is no longer as significant to the US as it once was. The Greek lobby’s anger is actually a tear of frustration.

I believe that the fact that 37 more nations together with the United States in taking part in the EFES-2022 military exercise in the Sea of Islands shows how significant Turkey is as a regional power. Events like the demise of anti-Turkey organizations, which were once elevated to the status of American allies in the Middle East, and the subsequent loss of this position, as well as the emergence of the global food and energy crisis with the Ukraine-Russia war that marked the year 2022, seriously exposed Turkey’s regional value in terms of the establishment of regional peace and the transfer of grain and energy to neighboring countries. How strongly US regional interests are connected to Turkey may be shown by the US Department of Defense’s funding for the upgrading of Turkey’s F-16 fleet.

Despite these facts, it is inevitable that the center of gravity within the Western bloc will start to move if US President Biden cannot persuade the US Congress and the sale of new F-16s to Turkey cannot be realized. It is obvious that the US will lose a significant amount of strength in the region if it loses the Incirlik airbase and electronic listening facility, the Kürecik Air Defense system, the Sinop regional listening facilities, and notably Turkey as an ally as a result of the lobbying.

The center shift refers to the US ceding control of regional administration in NATO and Europe to other nations. This change could manifest itself, for instance, when Turkey and Britain’s military and commercial ties grow. The western bloc’s US-centric center could start to move eastward towards Europe. Most significantly, this might shatter Ankara’s long-standing trust in Washington. In other words, when the US’s relationship with Turkey, a regional power, breaks down, the country’s already waning influence in the Balkans, the Eastern Mediterranean, the Middle East, and the Caucasus will reach a breaking point.

In conclusion, the United States must now pick a side.

Is it Turkey, the country, when USA is in need, offers a spoonful of honey by saying we’re allies, man!. Or the weak, unimportant nations like Armenia, Greece, and the Greek Cypriot Administration that no longer hold any regional significance?

I am confident that, in the end, common sense will prevail and President Biden and his administration will not be swayed by these masters of misinformation who are solely supported by lobbying.

Prof. Dr. (Civ. Eng), Assoc. Prof. Dr. (Int. Rel.) Ata Atun

Dean, Cyprus Science University

Politicial Advisor to the President of the State

July 14, 2022
Armenian news outlet cannot resist fakery

Ferruh Demirmen, Ph.D.

Public Radio of Armenia, one of the largest broadcasters in Armenia, and which also acts as a news outlet on the Internet, evidently cannot resist fakery as it advocates “Armenian genocide.” In its March 15, 2021 edition, the news outlet featured the assassination of Mehmet Talaat Pasha, the Ottoman Minister of Interior Affairs, on March 15, 1921 in Berlin by a young Armenian named Soghomon Tehlirian. The news outlet used the anniversary of the assassination as an opportunity for a propaganda hit to publicize “Armenian genocide.”

But as revealed by this author, the news coverage exposed a shameful fakery.

Fig. 1 shows how the headline appeared when the article was first published on March 15, 2021.

The headline was a fraudulent reproduction of the headline of the news coverage by the Berlin (March 15) and New York (March 16) offices of The New York Times. There was no resemblance between the fake headline and the actual Times headlines.

Most notable, was that the fake headline contained the word “genocide” – a term that did not exist until the Polish lawyer Raphael Lemkin coined it in 1944. The Times headlines of the Berlin and New York offices did not contain the word “genocide.”

The fakery prompted this author to write to the Times on March 23, 2021 to inform the newspaper of the fakery by providing the images of the actual and faked headlines. It was left to the judgment of the newspaper as to whether to take action vis-a-vis the fakery, including a stern warning or legal action, if need be. At the very least, Public Radio of Armenia had deceived its readers and breached journalistic ethics The newspaper did not respond.

This is where the situation stood until this author happened to re-visit the same news coverage around June 1 (2022): . Most surprisingly, although the news Internet link had not changed, the headline had changed as shown in Fig. 2.

The fake headline had disappeared, and there was no explanation as to the reason. One explanation for the change was that the Times had contacted the publisher and demanded correction, possibly under threat of a lawsuit.

The other explanation is that the publisher took note of this author’s Diplomatic Observer article and took its own initiative.

However, there was more surprise. When the same news coverage was visited around end-June (2022) through the same Internet link, both the fake (Fig.1) and the corrected headline (Fig. 2) appeared. The publisher somehow could not resist re-invigorating the fake headline.

The over-all impression was that, the publisher was simply making mockery of the truth, and playing games with the readers. One wonders whether the Times is aware of such disrespectful behavior.

But the bigger question is: Why did Public Radio of Armenia resort to the shameful deception in the first place? Deception by Armenian sources as to the alleged “Armenian genocide” is not new, e.g., the “Andonian telegrams,” the “Hitler quote,” the “pyramids of human skulls,” the ECtHR Switzerland-Perinçek “victory verdict,” and the alleged Subatan (Kars) massacre, which in fact is the savagery inflicted by Armenian militants on Muslim civilians. Evidently the best way to propagandize a falsified “Armenian genocide” is through fake news!

July 11, 2022