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  • Unlocated mass graves of alleged Armenian Genocide … Prof. Dr. Ata ATUN

    Unlocated mass graves of alleged Armenian Genocide … Prof. Dr. Ata ATUN

    Unlocated mass graves of alleged Armenian Genocide

    Yurdagül Atun , Ata Atun
    Cyprus Science University
    TURKISH REPUBLIC OF NORTHERN CYPRUS
    [email protected], [email protected]

    Abstract
    According to some sources, The Armenian Genocide Appeals (the so-called Armenian Genocide or the Unfounded Armenian Claims) indicate that the Armenian deportation, which was carried out by the Ottoman State in Eastern Anatolia for internal security reasons from May to November 1915, was aimed at destroying the Armenian community in the region, Millions of Armenians are alleged to have been killed by this reason.

    In the early years of the First World War, the Ottoman State while fighting in many fronts with Allied Powers, the Armenians attacked the Ottoman army jointly with the Russian army in the region up to Central Anatolia in the East, and rebelled in many cities. In order to overcome these rebellions, the Ottoman State held a joint meeting with the Armenian Patriarchs, especially the Armenian Members of the Tanzimat Parliament, and the leaders of the Armenian community, and informed them that the Ottoman State would take countermeasures if the Armenians continued to kill local Muslim people in Eastern Anatolia. On the basis of this notion, the Ottoman State in April 24, 1915 arrested 235 people who had organized the rebellions and closed down all the Armenian Committees and local organizations that supported and organized the rebellions. The Ottoman State promulgatiated the Temporary Law of Deportation, in 27 May 1915. Accordingly, it was decided some of the Armenians in Eastern Anatolia would be displaced to Syria, Lebanon and Iraq. According to the Armenians’ claims, massacre and genocide were carried out under the deportation title and 1.5 million Armenians were killed. This article is about the mass graves of 1.5 million Armenians which would form the basis of the massacre allegations, the size, how and by whom they were dug, how the massacred Armenians buried and how the mass graves covered with soil. The paper is written to investigate whether there are mass graves or not.

    Keywords: Ottoman, Armenian, Deportation, Mass grave, Genocide

    Introduction

    According to Halaçoğlu:

    “The Ottoman archives carry instructions to the effect that Armenians and their properties are not to be subject to any harm and ill treatments during their journeys, and protection for them is also to be provided. The Ottoman Ministerial Council decided on 30 May, 1915 to provide all necessary means including housing, tools and funding from the immigration policy including medical check-ups. In addition, those who attacked Armenians during this transportation are to be arrested and punished under severe circumstances by the Court of Divan War.” (Halaçoğlu, 2013)

    Therefore It is quite incompatible with the facts to claim that the Ottoman State, taking into account the lives, health and residence of the Armenians during their journey, committed a genocide under the referral of the Ottoman State, which issued a law ordering sick, elderly and children to be looked after. It is incompatible with logic as well as mathematical computation.

    Mathematical Evaluation

    According to the Armenians’ allegations, the so-called genocide was carried out within five and a half months from the end of May to the middle of November. It is not possible to actually claim that “Thousands of Armenians were forced to die freezing from the cold” as this can not be realized due to the climatic conditions within the period.

    There is also a major calculation error in terms of the claims against the conduct of the Ottoman State that must be looked at more closely. Suffice to stay, if a total of one and a half million Armenians were killed during this so-called massacre or genocide, which began at the end of May and ended in the middle of November, the law enforcement officers, ordained by the Ottoman State on average, must systematically kill tens of thousands of people every day.

    If one decides to approach these claims optimistically, assuming that every single Armenian murdered is killed by a single bullet, 10,000 bullets must be spent each day and 1.5 million bullets in total. According to the Ballistic Table, a bullet weight of 7.65 mm is 6.5 grams on average. . (Ballistic Table,

    The total daily requirement of 10,000 bullets is 65 kg, together with casings 85 kg. Therefore a total of 12.75 tons of bullets are required. Since these bullets can only be carried on the backs of animals in the mountains, this would be only possible with 2 donkeys or 2 camels and 4 people doing at least 2 shifts in order to carry the necessary daily bullets to the slaughter area.

    Also, in order to keep 10 thousand people under control and execute them, it is necessary to have a military unit or armed enforcement force available in the area.

    We are talking about the past, and therefore must know that it is not possible that such deep pits cannot be dug without the aid of trucks, excavators and the technology of today. Since thousands of excavators and trucks cannot be used in the past, thousands of people are needed to dig the mass graves, and to throw the slaughtered into the pits, and to cover them again. A service team providing food, beverages, toilets, and bathing for these thousands of armed people who are supposed to have carried out the massacres or genocide must also be in the vicinity of the slaughter field to address the needs of the alleged murderers.

    Massacres and Mass Graves Found in the World

    In 2018, five new mass graves were uncovered in the Arakan province of Myanmar, revealing the severity of the massacre against the Muslim population.
    )

    According to the Associated Press (AP) news agency, the discovery of at least 5 mass graves buried 400 unknowns in the Gu Da Pyin village of Buthidaung province, northern part of the province of Arakan province, has been confirmed. (Atwood, 2018)

    According to Amor Mashovic, president of the DNA Center in Tuzla,
    “…When you include the year 2015, the number of public cemeteries in the country is 800. I cannot believe that the war in which 32 thousand 152 people were “lost” to records is still not officially considered “genocide”. In 1995, the mass graves of the corpses were buried with shovels and were seen by the American satellites. Some mass graves have 1200, some have 200 people…”

    To sum up, Amor Mashovic declares that 32,152 people have been massacred and that these people have buried 800 mass graves that have been replaced three times. (Masovic, 2015)

    According to the news of Yeni Safak Newspaper dated March 24, 2018; “110 ÖSO soldiers were killed by the PKK / PYD’deki in Syria in the empty square of the Hallubi village, mass graves were found near the dam.” (Yeni Şafak, 2018)

    According to Türkiye Newspaper’s news on 24 April 2001;
    “Algeria (UAE) – The traces of the massacres carried out by the French during 1954-1962 in Algeria have still not disappeared. In the city of Tebessa, east of Algeria, there was a body of 300 Algerian fighters who were estimated to have been killed during the Algerian-French war between 1954 and 1962, the corpses were found during a water-pipe dig. The spokesman of the Ministry of War explained that the corpses belonged to the soldiers of the National Liberation Front and that there were traces of torture on their skeletons. It was stated that this mass grave was the largest mass grave in the last decade. ” (Türkiye, 2001)

    The news about the three different regions of genocide and mass graves in the world reveals that the mass graves buried after the massacres are revealed that investigations prove that no mass grave can be hidden, despite the fact that the burial sits have been changed three time, as is the case in Bosnia.

    Dimensions of the Human Body

    In order to be able to generalize calculations, it is necessary to take the average of the dimensions of the human body.

    The average size of people living in Eastern Anatolia region:
    Shoulder width: 0.50 m.
    Height: 1.68 m.
    Body thickness: 0.35 m.
    The body is covered horizontally Area: 0.84 m2
    The volume produced horizontally by the body: 0.294 m3

    HUman Body

    According to unfounded Armenian allegations that 1,5 million Armenians were killed in five and a half months, the average number of people killed per day: 10,000 people.

    Assuming that three people were placed on top of a mass grave:
    Man in each horizontal row: 3334 people
    The height of the volume created by three people on top of each other: 1.05 m.
    The minimum soil height that must be covered by 3 people: minimum 0.65 m.
    Total excavation depth: Minimum 1.05 + 0.65 = 1.70 m.

    Total excavation area: 3334 (one horizontal row human figure) x 0.84 (horizontal area of the body) = 2800 m2 Volume to be excavated: 1.70 m. (Excavation depth) x 2,800 m2 (Total excavation area) = 4760 m3

    Size of a football field
    Football field measurements are in the form of a rectangle. The width of the football field should be between 45 and 90 meters and the length between 90 and 120 meters. Regular football stadiums made in international standards are between 64 and 75 meters in size and between 105 and 120 meters in height.

    The average width of a football field is 50 m and the length is 100 m. , the soccer field covers an area of about 5,000 m2.

    Football field

    Since the area of the mass grave to be excavated must be at least 2800 m2, in terms of making comparisons this field is about 1/2 football field or 50 m. in width and 56 m. It can be defined as a rectangle in its length.

    Excavator excavation capacity
    Today, with an excavator capacity of 0.75 m3 bucket capacity and 90 percent bucket capacity, an excavator is able to excavate only 258 m3 in one hour with easy, medium and medium difficulty. Such a scoop can excavate a 4760 m3 cavern at 18.5 hours without stopping and 22.5 hours with food and catering. (Celal et al, )

    Manual excavation capacity
    According to calculations of King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, the excavation capacity of 3 workers and the top head is 40 m 2 per 16 hours or 2-4 m3/hour according to soil structure. According to this finding, the average excavation capacity of a worker for 1 hour is 0.5 m3. (King Fahd, 2017)

    According to another source; the average amount of excavation that a person can do in a total of about 10 hours by working 2 hours per day for a 15 minute break and for a 45 minute break during lunch is about 4.0 m3. (Calin et al, 2003: p 201). According to this finding, the average excavation capacity of 1 hour is 0.4 m3.

    According to the empirical findings of Goldenseal, 1 worker can excavate 1,308 m3 in 2.5 hours. (Goldenseal, 2017) According to this finding, the excavation capacity of one worker is 0.52 m3 per hour according to soil structure.

    When the average of these 3 differences are taken, the excavation capacity of 1 worker can be taken as 0.48 m3 per hour according to soil structure.

    According to the empirical findings of Goldenseal, a worker can emit 1,308 cubic meters of excavated soil in an excavation pit in 2.5 hours. According to this finding, the earth-throwing capacity of one worker is 0.52 m3 per hour according to the soil structure. (Goldenseal, 2017)
    Another worker puts this land in a hand-held car with an average capacity of 1,308 cubic meters in 2.6 hours and pours back 10 meters away. According to this finding, the carrying capacity of one worker is 0.50 m3 per hour according to soil structure. (Goldenseal, 2017) According to these findings, on average 3 workers are required to excavate 0.5 m3 of soil in 1 hour, to be thrown out of the shovel and to be taken out of the buried area.

    Minimum mass grave area required to bury 10,000 people: 2800 m2 Minimum excavation depth: 1.70 m. Soil volume to be excavated: 2800 m2 x 1.70 m = 4760 m3

    4760 m3 Number of persons required to be able to perform soil excavation in maximum 10 hours: 4760 m3 ÷ 10 hours ÷ 0.48 m3 / hour / worker = 992 workers. (Digging the pit)

    Amount of soil excavated in 1 hour = 4760 m3 ÷ 10 hours = 476 m3 The number of workers required to discharge 476 m3 of land excavated in 1 hour; 476 m3 ÷ 0.52 = 916 workers (landing)

    The number of workers required to move one third of the land (1.70 – 1.05 = 0.65 m) out of the excavation pit in one hour to outside the excavation area: One third of the soil mined in one hour = 476 m3 ÷ 3 = 159 m3
    Number of workers required to remove 159 m3 of soil from the excavation area: 159 m3 ÷ 0.5 m3 = 318 workers (carrying the surplus of the disposable soil out of the field)

    Possible excavation method

    Movement of the bodies of the slaughtered people to the burial site to be thrown immediately to the pits without waiting for it to finish, 3 rows above and 65 cm above them. The number of additional people required for each 1 m2 excavation area to be covered with soil is 2.

    Excavation area = 2800 m2
    Area to be excavated per 1 hour over 10 hours = 2800 m2 ÷ 10 hours = 280 m2
    280 m2 Number of additional people required for burial in the excavation area:
    280 m2 x 2 people = 560 people (burial and covering)

    The number of workers required for excavation (992 persons), landing out (916 persons), carrying out the land (318), burial and covering (560 persons) within 1 day with a working time of 10 hours: 992 + 916 + 318 + 560 = 2786 people.
    The minimum total number of workers required for 5 days shifts and 2 teams per day is estimated to be 2786 x 2 = 5572 workers, since it is not possible for the mentioned workers to work 10 hours each day without interruption for 150 days.

    The number of people required to meet the food, drinking water, rest, sleep, cigarette, disease, treatment, first aid, wash water and toilet needs of 5,572 people working five hours a day, two shifts, this being the most optimistic and minimum estimate;
    Delivery of food: 25 people
    Travel kitchen and dishwashing: 50 people
    Drinking water and washing water supply: 45 people and 20 water transport vehicles, 40 cows and caring.
    Establishment and deterioration of the traveling dormitory: 50 people
    Expedition hospital and treatment hospital: 15 people
    Total service staff: 185 people

    Even assuming that tens of thousands of captured prisoners are left hungry and thirsty, if there are no prisoners surrounded by barbed wire around the Nazis, and the prisoners are confiscated outdoors, the minimum number of soldiers required to prevent such prisoners from escaping and revolt is at least 2500.

    Systematically slaughtering 10 thousand people a day, so that 1.5 million people can be slaughtered in the timeframe of five and a half months, the opening of the pits in the size 50 x 56 m., the burial of the slaughtered and the covering of them. A total of at least 8257 people are required to perform these operations. (5572 workers + 185 kitchens and supply + 2500 soldiers)

    In addition to human power, there are approximately 1,000 digging tools (992 people for excavation), 1000 shovels (916 people for throwing out land), 200 shovels (318 people for carrying out land), and 600 shovels for burial and 560 people to cover it), in total: 1000 pieces of digging and 1800 shovels are required together with the backups.

    Armenian population in Anatolia in 1915

    The archives have censuses from 1882 to 1915. Instead of Ottoman documents, the population declarations given by the French, British, Germans, Americans and the missionaries there, and especially the Armenian Patriarch to the Ottoman Empire in relation to taxes, helped the determination of the Armenian population in Eastern Anatolia in 1915.

    The Armenian population declared by the Armenian Patriarch N. Varjabedian in 1881:

    According to the Armenian Patriarchate, the figures of Catholic and Protestant Armenians in six provinces are explained as follows. (Atun, 2013)
    State Year 1881
    Erzurum 128,478
    Van 133,859
    Bitlis 130,460
    Diyarbekir –
    Elaziz 107,059
    Sivas 243,515
    Total 743,371
    According to the explanation made in 1882; (Atun, 2013)
    State Year 1882
    Erzurum 280,000
    Van 400,000
    Bitlis 250,000
    Diyarbekir –
    Elaziz 270,000
    Sivas 280,000
    Total 1,630,371

    When the lists are placed side by side, it is seen that the population increase within a year is 887 thousand people, 120 percent, it appears that the increase is not normal and quite misleading.

    Colonel Henry Trotter, the British Embassy specialist concerning population reports noticed inconsistent figures in the explanation of Patriarch and made a report. On February 15, 1882, the number of Armenians residing in the regions of Erzurum and Van was 372,500 and Nasuri was 85,000. (Atun, 2013)

    Other official documents and explanations about the Armenian population in Anatolia:

    The total number of the population living in Erzurum, Van, Bitlis, Harput, Diyarbakır and Sivas regions is 2,615,000 – 666,000 Muslims and 1,018,000 Armenian population in a 1912 study by Marcel Leart. (Atun, 2013)

    In his book “Armenia On The Road To Independence”, Richard Hovannisian explains that the population of Armenians living in the borders of the Ottoman State in 1914 is between one and two million, including Istanbul.

    In his book “Histoire de l’Armenie”, Hrant Pasdermadjian explains that 2,100,000 Armenians lived in 1914, including Istanbul, within the borders of the Ottoman Empire, while the world had an Armenian population of 4,100,000. The number of Armenians living in Anatolia as of that date is 1,400,000 according to the content of the memorandum signed by A. Aharonian and Boghos Nubar on February 12, 1919 and submitted to the Paris Peace Conference by the Armenian Delegation. (Atun, 2013)

    The number of Armenians living in Anatolia is about 1,400,000, according to the content presented by the Greek Prime Minister Venizelos at the Paris Peace Conference on 12 February 1919. (Atun, 2013)

    Near East Relief Report on Armenians living in Syria in 1921: (Near East Relief Report)
    According to the report, after the F. Boullion Agreement signed with the Government of Ankara, the British-French occupations subsequently returned to the 300,000 Armenian Cilicia region and emigrated from the region in 1921. The report clearly states that between 200,000 and 300,000 Armenians are alive in the Syrian territory and that they want humanitarian assistance. (Atun, 2013)
    Near East Relief Report on Armenians living in Armenia in 1921: (Near East Relief Report)
    The report says that the number of Armenians living in Armenia in the Caucasus in 1921 was one million and half of them (500,000) applied to the Aid Group for help. (Atun, 2013)

    According to the US Senate’s Resolution 266 of 22 April 1922, the number of Armenians living in Anatolia, Syria and Russia as of December 31, 1921 was 1,414,000 and no mention of genocide by any word, meaning or implication. (Atun, 2013)

    The total population of Armenians living in the world according to the contents of the Proof of Entitlement 1-8-58, a US government document signed by US Secretary of State W. R. Anderson in 1922, was 3,004,000.
    817,873 of them have migrated from Anatolia and 281,000 of them still live in Anatolia. (Atun, 2013)

    760,000 Armenians were living in the Ottoman territories according to the content of Andıç on 2 February 1923 presented to the Lausanne Peace Conference in 1923. (Atun, 2013)

    According to the information given by Şükrü Server Aya in the conclusion of the US Senate’s review of the “Near East Assistance Report” dated December 31, 1929, the number of Armenians alive in history is 1,300,000 and the number of Armenians who died is incredibly low. The number of Armenians who die as a result of hunger, poverty, illness and regional conflicts is at most 300,000 if the official report of the US Senate is trusted. (Atun, 2013 & Aya, 2013)

    Conclusion

    According to the records in the Ottoman archives, the death was not found in the deportation records starting in May of 1915, to November. The Report of the Near East Assistance Group, created by the US Government, does not refer to the deportation as a massacre or genocide.
    (Atun, 2013 & Aya, 2013 &

    If one and a half million (1,500,000) Armenians were killed within the five-month period of migration as the Armenians claimed, an average of ten thousand (10,000) people a day should be killed by a simple mathematical calculation. According to this average, at least 150, 2800 m2 in size, about 50 x 56 m. is necessary as a mass grave in its dimensions to be found.

    According to the most basic principle of law, in order for a murder claim to be prosecuted in court, the body of the person killed must also be found and presented to the court as proof. (David, 2003, 817) Despite the fact that the mass graves of 8 thousand Bosnians, which were slaughtered by the Serbs mercilessly and the location changed 3 times, were found, some people doubt the alleged Armenian genocide allegations as they have not been revealed.

    The fact that none of the 8,257 people involved in such a massacre or genocide have not opened their mouths or and that no one has even been able to show a mass grave involving people killed in the alleged genocide, casts a shadow over the claims of genocide and undermines its credibility .

    When the reports on Armenians living in Anatolia, Syria, Iraq and Armenia in 1915 were examined, it is seen that the number of Armenians ranged from 600 hundred to 1 million 700 thousand. If one and a half million Armenians were slaughtered in 1915 as it was alleged, as in the reports published by the US Senate after the war, the number of Armenians living in Anatolia, Syria and Russia in 1923 could not be 1,414,000 and the number of Armenians migrating to USA and Europe could not be 817,873.
    These mathematical calculations and population censuses made in various years, given by the French, British, Germans, Americans and the missionaries there, especially the Armenian Patriarch, to the Ottoman Empire every year, and especially after the First World War reveal that the Armenian Genocide allegation is met with doubt, is groundless, and unfounded.

    References

    Celal Karpuz, A. Günhan Paşamehmetoğlu, Yadigar Müftüoğlu. Hidrolik Ekskavatör Performanslarıyım Kazılabilirlik Tayini.

    Slumber Jack, (12.2.2011). Hand Excavation Productivity. Contractor Talk.

    Calin M. Popescu, Kan Phaobunjong Nuntapone Ovararin. (2003). Estimating Building Costs, New York: Marcel Dekker Inc. s.201

    Goldenseal Reference Manual. (2017). Goldenseal Unit Costs. Soil Removal Cost, Difficult Hand Loading. USA. 15 Nisan 2018 tarihinde alıntı yapılan yer;
    https://www.turtlesoft.com/Construction-Costs/Excavation/Remove_Soil_Hand_Hard.htm

    King Fahd University. (2017). Pricing Excavation & Backfill. King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Saudi Arabia.
    15 Nisan 2018 tarihinde alıntı yapılan yer;

    David A. Moran. (2003). In Defense of the Corpus Delicti Rule. Detroit: Wayne State University Law School, Detroit, Michigan. Ohio State Law Journal. Vol. 64 no. 3 (2003). 817-854

    Halaçoğlu, Yusuf. (2015). Sürgünden Soykırıma Ermeni İddiaları. İstanbul: Babıali Kültür yayınları.

    TASAM. (2011). Tarihi Gerçekler Işığında Ermeni İddiaları. İstanbul: Türk Asya Stratejik Araştırmalar Merkezi.

    Atwood, Haleigh. (2018). AP finds evidence of mass graves, systematic killings in Myanmar.
    AP, February 5, 2018. 15 Nisan 2018 tarihinde alıntı yapılan site;

    Masoviç, Amor. (24.12. 2015). Bosna Hersekteki Soykırım unutulmaz.
    15 Nisan 2018 tarihinde alıntı yapılan site;

    Yeni Şafak Gazetesi. (2018). PKK/PYD’nin şehit ettiği ÖSO’lulara ait toplu mezar bulundu. İstanbul: Yeni Şafak basımevi, 24 Mart 2018
    15 Nisan 2018 tarihinde aşağıdaki siteden alınmıştır.

    Türkiye Gazetesi. (2001). Cezayir’de Fransızlar’a ait bir toplu mezar daha. İstanbul: Türkiye Gazetesi Basımevi.
    15 Nisan 2018 tarihinde aşağıdaki siteden alınmıştır.

    Atun, Ata. (2016). Armenian Population in Eastern Anatolia between Years 1878-1915.

    Atun, Ata. (2013). ARMENIAN POPULATION IN EASTERN ANATOLIA AROUND 1915: A BRIEF HISTORY OF ARMENIAN HOAXES. Asian Journal Social Sciences & Humanities

    Atun, Ata. (2013). ARMENIAN POPULATION IN EASTERN ANATOLIA AROUND 1915.Academic Research International

    Hovanissian, Richard. (1963). Armenia On The Road To Independence, Los Angeles, s.9

    Pastermadjian, Hrant. (1949). Histoire de l’Armenie, Paris, 1949, 2.nd Ed. Douredjián, 1987, s.374

    Aya, Şükrü Server. (2013) Review of Near East Relief Report 31 Dec 1921, US Senate, 67th Congress 2nd Edition, Document No. 192, Washington, Government printing Office, 1922

  • Another Major Erdogan Corruption Scandal; This Time on US Soil

    Another Major Erdogan Corruption Scandal; This Time on US Soil

     
     
    Not a week passes without the disclosure of another major scandal in Azerbaijan or Turkey. The latest such scandal was exposed by the Stockholm Center for Freedom in an article written by exiled Turkish writer Abdullah Bozkurt, titled: “Utah case exposes more dirt on Turkey’s Erdogan.”
     
    The article reveals that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s corrupt tentacles reach into the United States, which makes the subject of this scandal of particular interest to Special Counsel Robert Mueller in connection with his Russia probe and “international organized crime network,” according to Bozkurt.
     
    “A federal grand jury in Utah returned a sealed indictment on Aug. 1, 2018, naming Erdogan as the leader of a foreign country who met with highly controversial businesspeople in California and Utah in what was claimed to be a major money laundering and tax fraud case,” Bozkurt reported.
     
    The indictment, unsealed on Aug. 24, 2018, charged that “Jacob Ortell Kingston, the chief executive officer, and Isaiah Kingston, the chief financial officer of Washakie Renewable Energy (WRE), by filing false claims for tax credits, obtained over $511 million in renewable fuel tax credits that were designed to increase the amount of renewable fuel used and produced in the US. Lev Aslan Dermen (Levon Termendzhyan), owner of California-based fuel company NOIL Energy Group with links to a transnational criminal enterprise, is also identified as a partner in this grand scheme. From 2010 through 2016, they fabricated documents and rotated products within the US as well as overseas to make it appear that they were engaging in real trade to qualify for the tax credits,” Bozkurt wrote.
     
    The indictment stated that Jacob Kingston was arrested on Aug. 23, 2018, while on his way to Salt Lake City international airport headed to Turkey after he was tipped off. Bozkurt reported: “The Kingstons had already bought a luxury mansion in a seaside town in Turkey according to a wire transfer from a WRE account to Termendzhyan’s account at Turkey’s Garanti Bank on March 5, 2014. More wire transfers to Turkey were listed in the indictment. Jacob Kingston, who frequently traveled to Turkey to meet with top Turkish officials including Erdoğan, was often greeted like a VIP at the Turkish airport, was provided a police escort and did not even use his passport to enter Turkey according to witness testimony in the US indictment.”
     
    Jacob Kingston first met Erdogan in New York in September 2017 when the Turkish President came to the US to attend the UN General Assembly. This meeting took place “after FBI raided the Kingston group’s properties on Feb. 10, 2016, and the revelations of the fuel tax scam had already made the headlines in Utah,” according to Bozkurt.
     
    “In early November 2017, Jacob flew to Turkey to hold a series of high-level meetings in both Ankara and Istanbul. He tapped Sezgin Baran Korkmaz, the chairman of SBK Holding LLC, as the main conduit in Turkey, while he kept a separate investment and asset management firm, Mega Varlık Yönetim A.Ş., which was set up with equity of $450 million in Turkey,” Bozkurt wrote.
     
    “Termendzhyan also has a company named SBK Holdings USA, which is a sister company to Korkmaz’s SBK Holding LLC in Turkey. Korkmaz was quoted as telling the Turkish press that his partnership with WRE has resulted in an investment valued at $1 billion and thanked Erdoğan for personally facilitating the business deals. According to the press release issued on Sept. 9, 2016, by the Turkish government’s Investment Support and Promotion Agency (ISPAT), WRE, the Noil Energy Group and SBK Holding LLC have made significant investments in Turkey and planned to do more. The partnership with SBK Holding began in 2013 with Noil Energy making the first batch of investments in real estate. Construction and real estate businesses comprise the prime source for ill-gotten proceeds for Erdoğan’s massive multi-billion-dollar wealth. The total investment reached $500 million with another half million dollars assigned to a Mergers and Acquisitions fund for operations in Turkey. The trio has made investments in all types of sectors including pharmaceuticals, automotive, chemicals, technology, glass, and food,” according to Bozkurt.
     
    “With Erdoğan’s political backing and cover, SBK Holding has expanded its operations into various areas including finance, energy, real estate, defense, mining, industry, tourism, technology, and logistics. The company is mainly active in the finance industry through investment banking, asset management, and raw materials financing. It also has substantial interests in the energy sector that span both the US and Russian markets. Erdoğan was not bothered at all by the fact that Termendzhyan was already implicated in a major probe that was being conducted by the Department of Homeland Security for money laundering, tax evasion, and stolen oil. Edgar Sargsyan, the ex-president and former legal counsel for SBK Holdings USA, stated in his declaration filed in court on July 14, 2017, that Termendzhyan, a Russian [Armenian], is the head of a criminal organization. It is worth remembering that he was arrested in 1993 for a gas tax scam in the US, where the Russian mafia was known to have been actively involved in similar scams in the ’80s and ’90s. He was also charged with tax fraud and armed assault in the past and was convicted of battery in 2013,” Bozkurt reported.
     
    Interestingly, “Korkmaz appears to be the main conduit linking the Kingstons and Termendzhyan to pro-Erdoğan businessman Ekim Alptekin, whose Dutch shell company Inovo BV hired former national security advisor Mike Flynn’s Flynn Intel Group to run a smear campaign and defame Muslim scholar Fethullah Gülen, a US-based cleric who emerged as the main critic of the Erdoğan regime. Flynn tapped former CIA director James Woolsey to do the work against Gülen in a meeting held with Korkmaz in California in August 2016. Woolsey and his wife had a meeting with both Korkmaz and Alptekin in New York City on Sept. 20, 2016, to discuss the proposal. On Sept. 19, 2016, Flynn met with Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, the foreign minister of Turkey, and Berat Albayrak, Erdoğan’s son-in-law who is also a minister in his cabinet, to discuss another proposal to kidnap Gülen and whisk him away from US soil to Turkey. Two months later, on Nov. 8, 2016, Flynn published a poorly written, derogatory op-ed on The Hill news website about Gülen, which many suspected was penned by Turkish operatives, not Flynn. Flynn later admitted to making false statements including lying about the fact that Turkish government officials were supervising and directing the work. He also misrepresented his lobbying on behalf of the Erdoğan government and lied about the op-ed he published on The Hill website,” Bozkurt wrote.
     
    Alptekin fled to Turkey after he was interviewed by the Mueller team in May 2017 and dodged the subpoena that was subsequently issued after investigators concluded that he had lied to them. Korkmaz was also ordered to testify before a grand jury in Washington on Sept. 22, 2017, over possible violations of federal criminal laws including the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA). He also did not comply with this subpoena. “It was believed that money in the amount of some $450,000 that Alptekin’s Dutch shell company paid to Flynn, in fact, came from Korkmaz. The Utah indictment reveals that Termendzhyan fled to Turkey in August 2017 on the day state search warrants were executed on his home and office,” Bozkurt revealed.
     
    “If there was an independent judiciary in Turkey, this would have been addressed first and foremost by the Turkish criminal justice system, and Erdoğan would have been forced to leave office in disgrace, at the very least. Most likely he and his thugs would have been sentenced to prison for breaking about a dozen Turkish laws. That is no longer possible since the corrupt Turkish president has crippled the judiciary, destroyed the independent media and suspended the rule of law in the aftermath of a major graft investigation in December 2013 that uncovered his corrupt practices involving highly controversial Iranian and Saudi businesspeople. Now we see US judicial action on Erdoğan’s crimes that extended all the way to American soil. This time he won’t have the political clout to cash in to derail or hush up the legal cases that implicate him. He unsuccessfully tried before in the Hakan Atilla case in New York, and he will likely suffer the same fate in the Utah case as well,” Bozkurt concluded.
  • Britain investigates Azeri Banker’s Wife For Multi-Million dollar Shopping Spree

    Britain investigates Azeri Banker’s Wife For Multi-Million dollar Shopping Spree

    Another Azerbaijan-related major corruption scandal is brewing in Europe. The country’s crooked officials have swindled billions of petrodollars for their personal benefit while the majority of the Azeri people live in abject poverty.

    The latest example is on the front pages of most British newspapers. Mrs. Zamira Hajiyeva, 55, the wife of an Azerbaijani banker, has spent over $21 million by shopping at the Harrods luxury department store in London between 2006 and 2016.

    The United Kingdom’s National Crime Agency alleged that stolen funds were used to buy a $15 million, five-bedroom house in the exclusive London neighborhood of Knightsbridge, 100 yards from the doors of Harrods. The house is now worth $20 million. She is also accused of spending almost $14 million to purchase a golf and country club in Ascot, The Guardian newspaper reported. Incredibly, Mrs. Hajiyeva owns two reserved parking spaces in Harrods at a cost of $500,000 a year. She was given permission to live in the UK eight years ago under a visa scheme for wealthy investors, without checking her source of funds.

    “Mrs. Hajiyeva is the wife of Jahangir Hajiyev, 57, the former chairman of the state-owned International Bank of Azerbaijan. In 2016 he was sentenced to 15 years in jail for defrauding the bank out of $3 billion,” according to Rupert Neate of The Guardian.

    Mrs. Hajiyeva’s lawyers in London had petitioned to keep her name, the husband’s name, their nationality and his bank a secret. However, the British court of appeal lifted the veil of secrecy at the request of the media.

    The National Crime Agency stated that Mrs. Hajiyeva used 35 American Express, Mastercard, and Visa credit cards issued by her husband’s bank to fund her spending spree. On one trip to Harrods she spent $200,000 on Boucheron, a luxury jewelry, perfume and watches brand. On another trip she bought $132,000 of Cartier jewelry. She also purchased a $42 million Gulfstream G550 jet. Her wine cellar is stocked with some of the world’s most expensive bottles, The Guardian reported. Meanwhile, Mrs. Hajiyeva’s daughter from a previous marriage, who was a student in London, had shares worth $20 million paying dividends of $1.3 million a year. Mrs. Hajiyeva also has two 17 and 20 year old sons from her current husband, who were also educated in private British schools.

    Mrs. Hajiyeva’s husband gave her $1.3 million to invest in British government bonds, and received $26,000 monthly expense allowance. However, after her husband’s arrest, she fled Azerbaijan and began selling her family’s silver at Christie’s auction house.

    The Azerbaijani authorities are interested in questioning Mrs. Hajiyeva in connection with her husband’s banking case, accusing her and other family members of serving as conduits for Mr. Hajiyev’s scheme to take money out of the country.

    Mrs. Hajiyeva is the first person in the UK’s new anti-corruption law — “Unexplained Wealth Order” — designed to target suspected corrupt foreign officials who have potentially laundered stolen money. Justice Supperstone demanded that she explain the source of the funds for her lavish purchases. If she is unable to do so, her properties could be seized. The Judge agreed that “this evidence is significant in the light of the reports of Mr. Hajiyev’s trial allegations made against him included abuse of his position at the Bank by issuing credit cards in the names of family members, through which large debts were run up against the Bank.”

    Mr. Jahangir Hajiyev, as chairman of the IBA bank between 2001 and 2008, had an official salary of $71,000 a year. However, Werner Capital, which manages property investment for wealthy people, produced a report in 2011 disclosing that Mr. Hajiyev was worth $73 million, The Guardian reported. The prosecutor, Jonathan Hall, who represented the National Crime Agency, announced: “As a state employee between 1993 and 2015, it is very unlikely that such a position would have generated sufficient income to fund the acquisition of the property.”

    In court, Mrs. Hajiyeva stated that she had no knowledge of the source of funds for her purchases, claiming that her husband was responsible for the payments. She described Mr. Hajiyev as “a man of substantial means.” She has hired a team of highly paid British lawyers to defend her in court.

    For the time being Mrs. Hajiyeva’s expensive London mansion and the golf and country club remain frozen and cannot be sold.

    It remains to be seen if the British government would seize Mrs. Hajiyeva’s properties in London. There are many more such cases which will come before the courts in the coming months, exposing the widespread corruption of Azeri officials who have stolen billions of dollars from their country’s oil wealth, investing them for their personal benefit in many countries around the world!

  • Trump Administration Cancels Two More International Treaties

    Trump Administration Cancels Two More International Treaties

    I wrote an article in September criticizing the Trump administration’s dismissal of the International Criminal Court. I considered the U.S. action to be a lack of respect for justice and the rule of law.

    Last week, the Trump administration took two more scandalous actions further flouting international law and avoiding the peaceful option of legal recourse to conflict resolution.

    Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced that the United States was terminating the Treaty of Amity signed in 1955 between the U.S. and Iran, after a unanimous ruling on October 3, 2018, by the International Court of Justice (ICJ), also known as the World Court, that the United States had to resume the export of humanitarian goods and spare parts for civil aviation safety services to Iran, despite U.S. sanctions. This was certainly a victory for Iran as it had sued the United States in the World Court. The U.S. withdrawal from the treaty made it look like a sore loser!

    President Trump renewed the U.S. sanctions after withdrawing this May from the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran and several other major powers. The sanctions covered dollar transactions, food exports and sales of aluminum and steel. In November, the U.S. will add new sanctions against Iran’s oil sales, energy and shipping sectors and foreign financial transactions.

    After the verdict, ICJ President Abdulqawi Yusuf announced that “the court’s order applies to medicines and medical devices; foodstuffs and agricultural commodities; and spare parts, equipment and repair services for civil aviation. The United States must also ensure that licenses and authorizations are granted and that payment for such goods and services are not subject to any restrictions,” the Washington Post reported.

    Although the rulings of the International Court of Justice are binding, they are not enforceable. U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton, during his appearance at the White House press briefing on Oct. 3, stated that Iran had “made a mockery” of the Amity Treaty. In response, Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif called the United States “an outlaw regime.”

    Ironically, the United States files cases against other countries in the International Court of Justice when it suits its interests. Back in 1979, the United States sued the government of Iran after the takeover of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran by Iranian militants. The U.S. won that case and the ICJ ordered Iran to release all American hostages and pay compensation. It is strange that the United States government is now cancelling its treaty with Iran and not in 1979 during the hostage crisis!

    The Washington Post reported that “during meetings at the United Nations last week, Trump, Pompeo and Bolton railed against Iran and berated various other member states and U.N. bodies for not bending to American interests. Their approach elicited an icy reaction. At a Security Council session chaired by President Trump, every other member of the U.N.’s most powerful body scolded Washington for its rejection of the nuclear deal, an agreement the council had endorsed.”

    On Oct. 3, 2018, Bolton also announced that the United States would withdraw from the “optional protocol” under the Vienna Convention of Diplomatic Relations. This decision was prompted by the filing of an ICJ complaint in September 2018 by the Palestinian Authority against the United States for moving the U.S. Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

    The Vienna Convention is an international treaty which sets out diplomatic relations between states and provides immunity to diplomats. Ironically, Bolton stated: “the United States remains a party to the underlying Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations and we expect all other parties to abide by their international obligations under the convention.”

    Bolton further announced that the United States will review all other international agreements to safeguard U.S. sovereignty. In less than two years of Trump’s presidency, the United States has withdrawn from the nuclear agreement with Iran, the global climate agreement, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, threatened to distance itself from NATO, left the UN Human Rights Council, and cut off funding to UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency) which has been providing humanitarian aid to millions of Palestinian refugees for the past 70 years!

    Constitutional lawyers may question the legal right of the Trump administration to abrogate international treaties which are ratified by the U.S. Senate. Shouldn’t the Senate give its consent to the White House before it withdraws from such treaties? In the first 189 years of America’s history, 40 treaties were abrogated after both houses of Congress agreed to do so. Just two treaties were abrogated by the Senate only, after a vote by two-thirds of its members. Unfortunately, in recent years, due to congressional ineptitude and historical inactivity, the Executive Branch has taken the initiative of unilaterally abrogating international treaties. This is an issue that the U.S. Congress should review, particularly if Democrats win the majority, in order to restrain Pres. Trump’s arbitrary decisions which embarrass the United States in the eyes of the world.

    Hopefully, the next more responsible U.S. President will reverse Trump’s deeply flawed decisions on international agreements and other vital issues.

  • Armenia Needs Both Charity & Investments, Not Only Investments!

    Armenia Needs Both Charity & Investments, Not Only Investments!

    Throughout the years, since Armenia’s independence in 1991, I have had the unique opportunity of spending hundreds of hours with the country’s three previous Presidents, discussing privately with them Armenia’s many problems. I offered them my professional assessments and frequently my criticisms of the way they were running the country. Although the Presidents were not pleased that I was pointing out their shortcomings and mistakes, they understood that my intent was not to disparage them, but to help them improve the living conditions of the population.

    Ever since the earthquake of 1988, I have been doing charitable work in Armenia and Artsakh, initially as President of the United Armenian Fund (UAF), subsequently the Armenia Artsakh Fund (AAF), and as Vice Chairman of Kirk Kerkorian’s Lincy Foundation, delivering over $800 million of humanitarian aid to Armenia and Artsakh by the UAF and AAF, and managing $242 million of infrastructure projects funded by Lincy. Despite all the corruption prevailing in Armenia during those years, I fought hard to protect the humanitarian supplies and funds, persistently bringing to the attention of the Presidents the abuses by high-rankling officials, and demanding that they be disciplined or fired.

    During my 58 trips to Armenia and Artsakh, I saw firsthand the miserable conditions of most people in our homeland, deprived of money, food, medicines, clothing and other basic needs. Seeing the Presidents’ neglect of the people’s deprivations, I frequently and forcefully brought their dismal situation to the attention of the country’s leadership.

    I was particularly upset when I heard government officials speaking about Armenia needing investments, not charity. I found such remarks to be callous of the people’s suffering. After each such pronouncement, I confronted these officials explaining the negative effect of their statements.

    Consequently, I was surprised when Armenia’s new Prime Minister, Nikol Pashinyan, a man of the people, during his remarks in New York on September 23, 2018, announced that in the context of Armenia-Diaspora relations, work must be encouraged, not charity: “Armenians can assist Armenia only with one option: carry out economic activity in Armenia, establish any business, and work. Today, Armenia’s understanding is the following: It is a country where it is possible to carry out economic activity, establish a business, earn profits, get rich and enrich. Our message to all of you is the following: get rich and enrich. We want Armenia to be known as such a country. Not charitable, but developmental projects must be implemented in Armenia….”

    To be fair to the Prime Minister, in his speech, he also spoke about many other topics which I agree with whole-heartedly. He has tremendous support both in Armenia and around the world! He has practically eliminated corruption in Armenian society and has represented the voice of the people who had remained voiceless for more than a quarter of a century since independence. However, just as I have told the previous Presidents, I would like to provide the following explanations to the new Prime Minister:

    1) I fully support the Prime Minister’s initiative that Armenia needs economic investments in order to create jobs and expand exports. By creating jobs, not only the people will have the income to pay for their daily expenses, but the government will also have the tax revenues to support the country’s and population’s multiple needs.

    2)  However, the Prime Minister’s urging that “work must be encouraged, not charity,” would deprive hundreds of thousands of poor people of their basic necessities. Investments take time to trickle down to the people and produce results. In the meantime, if charitable efforts are discouraged, many poor people will not survive!

    3) Not all Diaspora Armenians can invest in the Armenian Republic. There are dozens of charitable organizations which by law cannot get involved in economic activities, as they can only do charity. Since the earthquake and Armenia’s independence, Armenian and international charities have provided a large amount of aid to Armenia and Artsakh. If it were not for this humanitarian assistance, the standard of living would have been even lower, jeopardizing the survival of many Armenians. By discouraging charity, we are simply asking charitable organizations not to help the needy people of Armenia.

    4) Armenian governments so far have been unable to meet the many needs of their population due to lack of money. Diaspora’s charitable organizations have provided the aid that the government could not. If there were no charitable assistance in Armenia ever since independence, the people’s many needs would not have been taken care of and Armenia would have been a poorer country!

    5) Even if the Diaspora would start investing in Armenia today, that does not mean that the influx of new funds would take care of all the needs of the people overnight. Certainly, a large number of people would eventually be employed, but many others, such as the elderly, would still be left with hardly any income from their negligible pensions. Those who are unaware of the extent of appalling poverty in Armenia should read the Guardian newspaper’s Sept. 29, 2018 article by Nick Danziger, titled: “‘It’s better to die’: the struggle to survive poverty in Armenia.”

    6) There is the mistaken notion that if there were many investments in Armenia, there would be no need for charity. In almost all countries, even in the most advanced ones, there are hundreds of charitable organizations that tend to the needs of the poor people. In the United States alone, billions of dollars are provided annually to needy individuals and families by charitable organizations. If the Americans require charity, Armenians would certainly need charitable assistance for a long time to come!

    Paradoxically, Prime Minister Pashinyan’s wife, Anna Hakopyan, recently launched her own charitable organization “My Step Foundation” to support educational, healthcare, social and cultural projects. She is doing what’s absolutely necessary because the people of Armenia desperately need help!

  • Prominent Pro-Erdogan Istanbul Armenian Engages in Pro-Turkish Propaganda

    Prominent Pro-Erdogan Istanbul Armenian Engages in Pro-Turkish Propaganda

    Despite the many violations of Armenian cultural and religious rights in Turkey, there are some Armenians in Istanbul who praise the Turkish regime and particularly its fascist President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

    These few pro-Erdogan Armenians, who enjoy special privileges and access to high-ranking Turkish officials, represent themselves as protectors of the local Armenian community’s interests. But in reality, they have selfish motives. They either have personal business interests with corrupt Turkish leaders or seek to maintain their undeserved positions in Armenian community institutions. One such individual is Bedros Sirinoglu, Chairman of the Board of Sourp Prgich Armenian Hospital in Istanbul.

    In a recent interview with journalist Pinar Isik Ardor of Forum USA, a Turkish American newspaper, Sirinoglu made several false statements about the Armenian community in Turkey and distorted the facts of the Armenian Genocide.

    Sirinoglu’s words were “shocking,” according to Istanbul’s Nor Marmara Armenian newspaper. Sirinoglu told Forum USA that Armenians have never lived as comfortably as they have been during Erdogan’s leadership! He also made untrue statements about the Armenian Genocide, stating that “the events of 1915 were organized by outside powers intending to dismantle and overthrow the Ottoman Empire.”

    Furthermore, Sirinoglu told Forum USA: “Before Erdogan’s time, we could not even paint or repair our churches. We could only do it when the state pretended not to notice such actions.” Sirinoglu repeatedly claimed he has done good deeds for the Armenian community in Turkey. Several years ago, he said he had requested a meeting with Erdogan which was immediately granted. He asked Erdogan to permit the placement of a cross on the dome of the Holy Cross Armenian Church in Akhtamar. He reportedly told Erdogan: “Just as you cannot have a mosque without a minaret, similarly you cannot have a church without a cross.” Sirinoglu claimed that “Erdogan had the cross placed overnight on the Akhtamar church.” If Sirinoglu was so influential, why didn’t he ask Erdogan to restore the status of the Akhtamar as a Armenian church instead of designating it a “museum,” allowing religious services to be performed only once a year! Sirinoglu also ignored the fact that Armenians and others worldwide, including the Armenian Patriarch of Istanbul, had demanded the placement of the cross on the dome of the church. Sirinoglu was not the only one to make such a request.

    Calling them “fictional scenarios,” Sirinoglu contradicted the various Western reports that Armenian religious rights are restricted in Turkey. The 67-year-old Sirinoglu told the Turkish newspaper: “Since my childhood days Armenians have not had any problems.”

    When the Turkish journalist reminded Sirinoglu that some Armenians are not pleased with his words, he responded: “If you don’t speak as they wish, they become hostile. I stand by the state. I do not betray my own country. I am an Armenian, but I am a Turkish compatriot. Our faith orders us to be faithful to the state. Our Bible preaches likewise.”

    Sirinoglu’s most controversial remarks pertain to his misinterpretation of the Armenian Genocide. He stated that “he approaches with suspicion the [Armenian victims’] numbers used regarding 1915.” He added that “Armenians, Jews and Greeks were wealthy in that period, which is why there was enmity against them. Now the Armenian population is gradually decreasing. The birth rate is low. The death rate is high. There are also mixed marriages.”

    When the Turkish journalist asked Sirinoglu if the Armenians, Greeks and Jews share the same point of view, Sirinolglu answered affirmatively and added: “We only disagree about the events of 1915. Greek Patriarch Bartholomew has a reserved and principled position, also regarding the government. The Jews also like the state, but they are also men of principle. They do not abandon their principles. The Jews living here do not betray Turkey, but they are tied to Israel.”

    Finally, Sirinoglu responded to a question regarding the recent decrease in the value of the Turkish Lira. Repeating the same answer given by Erdogan, Sirinoglu blamed foreign powers for orchestrating “this game against the Turkish economy.”

    This is not the first time that Sirinoglu has made such false statements on the Armenian Genocide. For example, after meeting with then Prime Minister Erdogan in 2010, he told the Turkish media that “1915 was nothing more than a feud between loving friends, instigated by third parties.” He went on to say that his “grandfather was among the victims, but so were many Turks.”

    Back in 2010, Armenians in Istanbul launched a petition announcing that Sirinoglu is not their leader and does not represent the Armenian community. Angered by Sirinoglu’s statements, the petitioners stressed: “We live in a different Turkey,” not the Turkey described by Sirinoglu!