Category: Authors

After major blackout in Azerbaijan is Baku’s bid for EXPO2025 still on?

A massive blackout hit Azerbaijan and affected most of the cities including the capital, Baku, the EXPO 2025 candidate, on Tuesday. The blackout reportedly became the worst power cut since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.

The accident was investigated under personal control of President Ilham Aliiyev at a power plant in Mingechavir that caused the blackout, according to officials. The Emergencies Ministry said the breakdown of a transformer in Mingechavir initiated a fire that was put out in 20 minutes. No deaths were reported, though.

Among the extra reasons of the power outage is the extreme hot weather in the Caspian region with temperatures exceeding 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) that caused power consumption to spike.

Officials said power was restored in Baku after several hours, but a number of subway stations in the capital remained closed for a while. Furthermore, on Tuesday evening, Baku and other regions suffered a second blackout.

Due to extremely dynamic economic and urban development of Azerbaijan such accidents are uncommon for the Caspian country. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union Baku has demonstrated fantastic development and became an attractive destination both for tourists and investors from all over the world. However, many experts believe that Baku’s victory to host EXPO2025 is most unlikely. For instance, Urso Chappell, the founder of digital ExpoMuseum said the city is perfectly designed for hosting national or regional events, but still lacks some key components of a smart city, e.g. automation systems, energy and water efficiency and others.

July 7, 2018
State Department Exposes Azerbaijan’s False Image of ‘Religious Tolerance’

The government of Azerbaijan spends a large fortune each year to convince the world that Azeris are tolerant people who respect the human rights of all minorities living in the country.

However, no matter how many fake ecumenical services Azerbaijan’s lobbyists in Europe and the United States organize by bribing Christian and Jewish leaders, the truth about Azeri intolerance is impossible to cover up.

Azerbaijan’s 10 million population is 96% Muslim, of which approximately 65% is Shia and 35% Sunni. Between 15,000 and 20,000 Jews live in Baku, while there are hardly any Armenians left after they were massacred or deported during the Artsakh war.

The U.S. State Department’s latest annual report (2017) on International Religious Freedom around the world indicates that Azerbaijan discriminates against certain religious groups, even though its laws prohibit the government from interfering in their activities.

Azerbaijan’s laws specify that “the government may dissolve religious organizations if they cause racial, national, religious, or social animosity; proselytize in a way that ‘degrades human dignity;’ and hinder secular education….” The State Dept. reports that “local human rights groups and others stated that the government continued to physically abuse, arrest, and imprison religious activists. The reported total incarcerated at the end of the year was 80…. In January and December courts sentenced leaders of the Muslim Unity Movement and others arrested in a 2015 police operation in Nardaran to long prison terms on charges many activists considered fabricated, including inciting religious hatred and terrorism. In July authorities sentenced a theologian to three years in prison for performing a religious ceremony after studying Islam abroad. Authorities detained, fined, or warned numerous individuals for holding unauthorized religious meetings. According to religious groups, the government continued to deny or delay registration to minority religious groups it considered ‘nontraditional,’ disrupting their religious services and fining participants. Groups previously registered but which authorities required to reregister continued to face obstacles in doing so. Authorities permitted some of these groups to operate freely, but others reported difficulties in trying to practice their faith.”

Furthermore, according to the State Department, “local religious experts stated the government continued to close mosques on the pretext of repairing them but said the actual reason was government concerns the mosques served as places for the propagation of extremist views. The government continued to control the importation, distribution, and sale of religious materials. The courts fined numerous individuals for the unauthorized sale or distribution of religious materials, although some individuals had their fines revoked on appeal. The government sponsored training sessions throughout the country to promote religious tolerance and combat what it considered religious extremism.”

The State Department also reported that “the punishment for the illegal production, distribution, or importation of religious literature can include fines ranging from $2,900 to $4,100 or up to two years’ imprisonment for first offenses, and fines of $4,100 to $5,300 or imprisonment of between two and five years for subsequent offenses.”

Despite the fact that Azerbaijan’s constitution “allows alternative service ‘in some cases’ when military service conflicts with personal beliefs, there is no legislation permitting alternative service, including on religious grounds, and refusal to perform military service is punishable under the criminal code with imprisonment of up to two years or forced conscription,” according to the State Department.

“On September 30, authorities detained 30 men who, in violation of local edict, were marching towards the Imamzadeh Mosque in Ganja to commemorate Ashura. Police charged four individuals with hooliganism and for resisting the police and placed them in pretrial detention. Human rights lawyers reported the police severely beat many of the detainees in custody,” the State Department reported.

There were also reports of illegal and bizarre actions by the Azeri government against opposition groups and individuals perceived to be radical Muslims. For example, on May 31, 2017, “the Sheki Court of Appeals upheld a fine of $880 imposed on Sunni Muslim Shahin Ahmadov for holding an ‘illegal’ religious meeting. Police had detained him for reading aloud from the works of theologian Said Nursi to three friends while picnicking on April 18,” as reported by the State Department.

Finally, “local religious experts stated the government continued to close mosques under the pretext of repairing or renovating them; they said the government’s real motivation was countering perceived religious extremism. Once closed, they said, the mosques remained closed. For example, after the Ashurbey Mosque in the Old City of Baku became popular with Salafis as a place of worship, authorities announced it needed renovation and closed it in July 2016.” The mosque was still closed by the end of 2017, according to the State Department.

The much-publicized ‘tolerant’ Azerbaijan turns out to be not so ‘tolerant’ after all. Its ‘lenient’ laws remain on paper and are often ignored by the police and the judges.

July 4, 2018
EXPO-2025 in Russia: what do international experts say?

Russia’s Ekaterinburg keeps the race for hosting EXPO-2025 getting in the top-candidate list. The city has chosen smart technologies and innovations as its main focus. Among the brightest objects of EXPO in Ekaterinburg is the monorail road project. Guests of the Forum, visiting the stand, will find themselves inside the cabin of the monorail and will have a chance to take a sightseeing tour through the territory of EXPO, as well as to experience life in the “Smart city”. Guests will also be able to enjoy a virtual tour with several stops and will experience the processes of “getting out” and “taking a walk” along the Verkh-Isetskiy promenade thanks to 3D modeling.

International experts in urban planning and development say that over just several years Ekaterinburg has become a modern international city which strikes the perfect balance- historical architecture with the 19th century buildings and smart city technologies. Stephen Roosa, PhD, an international expert on renewable energy and urban development based in Louisville, USA, a regular speaker of Russia’s biggest smart city forums, puts a special focus on Еkaterinburg’s creative infrastructure solutions, interesting architecture and modern parklands.

However, some experts say that Ekaterinburg will most likely not become the host of EXPO-2025 mainly due to political reasons. As Urso Chappell, the founder of digital ExpoMuseum, pointed out, Expo is basically a diplomatic event and the world’s political compass may not be favorable to Russia.

Nevertheless, Ekaterinburg became second to one in the race to host EXPO-2020 giving in the victory to Dubai. Considering the city’s dynamic development and solid experience in hosting large-scale international events (among them is the first BRICS summit in 2009, INNOPROM, the fastest-growing industrial exhibition that takes place in Ekaterinburg every year, and, finally, the WorldCup 2018), the city has all the facilities to accommodate international guests and to organize a warm welcome. Indeed, this time Ekaterinburg has all the trumps to become the capital of the planet’s top exhibition.

July 2, 2018
US State Department Slams Turkey In its Annual Religious Freedom Report

The US State Department just issued its 2017 report on International Religious Freedom in about 200 countries, including Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia. This week, we will focus our attention on the section on Turkey.

In general, all religious groups that are not Sunni Muslim suffer from discrimination and persecution in Turkey. Alevis, who constitute over a quarter of Turkey’s population of 81 million, are viewed by the state as “Heterodox Muslims” whose houses of worship are not recognized. Anti-Semitic articles vilifying Jews are frequently published in Turkish newspaper. Pres. Erdogan constantly provokes the public by his Anti-Israel rhetoric.

The State Department reports that “Religious minorities said they continued to experience difficulties obtaining exemptions from mandatory [Islamic] religion classes in public schools, operating or opening houses of worship, and in addressing land and property disputes. The government restricted minority religious groups’ efforts to train their clergy…. [Islamic] religion classes are two hours per week for students in grades four through 12. Only students who marked ‘Christian’ or ‘Jewish’ on their national identity cards may apply for an exemption from religion classes. Atheists, agnostics, Alevis or other non-Sunni Muslims, Bahais, Yezidis, or those who left the religion section blank on their national identity card may not be exempted.”

Approximately 90,000 members of the Armenian Apostolic Church live in Turkey, of which 60,000 are citizens and 30,000 are migrants from Armenia without legal residence. The U.S. Report states that “children of undocumented Armenian migrants and Armenian refugees from Syria” could attend public schools. “Because the government legally classified migrant and refugee children as ‘visitors,’ however, they were ineligible to receive a diploma from these schools.”

The Turkish government, as required by the 1923 Lausanne Treaty, grants a special status to “non-Muslim minorities” (Armenian Apostolic Christians, Jews, and Greek Orthodox Christians). However, according to the U.S. Religious Report, the government does not acknowledge “the leadership or administrative structures of non-Muslim minorities, such as the patriarchates and chief rabbinate, as legal entities, leaving them unable to buy or hold title to property or to press claims in court. These three groups, along with other minority religious communities, had to rely on independent foundations they previously organized, with separate governing boards, in order to hold and control individual religious properties. The foundations remained unable to hold elections to renew the membership of their governing boards because the government, despite promises to do so, had still not promulgated new regulations to replace those repealed in 2013 that would have allowed the election of foundation board members.”

Nevertheless, “The Armenian Apostolic Patriarchate and the [Greek] Ecumenical Patriarchate continued to seek legal recognition, and their communities operated as conglomerations of individual religious foundations. Because the patriarchates did not have legal personality, associated foundations controlled by individual boards held all the property of the religious communities, and the patriarchates had no legal authority to direct the use of any assets or otherwise govern their communities,” the U.S. Report states.

The Turkish government also obstructs the election of a new Patriarch for the Armenian Church in Turkey to succeed the incapacitated Patriarch. The U.S. Report states that “in March [2017] the Istanbul governor’s office suspended a decision by the Spiritual Assembly of the Armenian Patriarchate to elect a trustee to start the process for the election of a new patriarch. Incumbent Patriarch Mesrob II remained unable to perform his duties because of his medical condition, and an acting patriarch continued to fill the position. Some members of the community criticized the governorship’s notification as interference in the internal affairs of the church. Patriarchate sources said the government later recognized the March election to elect a trustee. In July the elected trustee applied to the government to hold the patriarchal election in December. At year’s end, the community had not received a response from the government about how to proceed with the patriarchal election.”

According to the U.S. Report, “Religious communities continued to challenge the government’s 2016 expropriation of their properties damaged in clashes between government security forces and the terrorist group Kurdistan Worker’s Party (PKK). The government expropriated those properties for their stated goal of ‘post-conflict reconstruction.’ By the end of the year, the government had not returned or completed repairs on any of the properties, including the historic and ancient Sur District of Diyarbakir Province, Kursunlu Mosque, Hasirli Mosque, Surp Giragos Armenian Church, Mar Petyun Chaldean Church, Syriac Protestant Church, and the Armenian Catholic Church. In April the Council of State, the top administrative court, issued an interim decision to suspend the expropriation of Surp Giragos Armenian Church.”

Armenian and other religious minority foundations had submitted 1,560 applications since 2011 for the return of their properties confiscated decades ago. The government returned only 333 properties and paid compensation for 21 others.

The U.S. Report also states that “various self-defined Islamist groups continued to threaten and vandalize Christian places of worship. In September an unidentified group threw stones at the Armenian Surp Tateos Church in the Narlikapi neighborhood of Istanbul, breaking windows. Some witnesses said the attackers shouted anti-Armenian slogans while a baptismal ceremony took place inside. In September the president of the Surp Giragos Armenian Church Foundation said unidentified looters had burglarized the church in Diyarbakir multiple times, despite a continuing curfew in the area.”

As expected, the Turkish Foreign Ministry rejected the U.S Report of the violations of religious rights calling it “a repetition of certain baseless claims.” However, the repetition confirms that there has not been an improvement in the protection of the religious rights of minorities. The Turkish government has continued to blatantly ignore the rights of Armenian, Assyrian and Greek religious minorities, as well as Jews and Alevis.

As an indication of the reign of terror prevailing in Turkey under Pres. Erdogan, the religious leaders of the Jewish, Armenian Apostolic, Armenian Catholic, and Syriac communities felt obligated to issue congratulations last Sunday for the re-election of Erdogan, the tyrant of Turkey!

June 26, 2018
Another Anti-Armenian Writer Exposed For Making Baseless Allegations

It seems that not a week passes without coming across another mysterious writer who undertakes to contribute a puff piece about Azerbaijan and to undermine the reputation of Armenia and Armenians around the world.

The latest such writer is Peter Tase who posted an article titled, “Russia’s Foreign Agents in America: Trump Connection of Armenian Lobbyists,” on June 11, 2018 on the Eurasia Review website.

This extremely biased article resorts to exaggerations and untrue allegations in order to link Armenia and various Armenian individuals to Russia, and even more surprisingly, to Pres. Donald Trump!

To begin with, Tase disparages Iranian-Armenian Gevork Vartanian’s praiseworthy actions during World War II by calling him “one of the most prolific Soviet Armenian spies.” In fact, Vartanian provided a major service to the entire world by thwarting Hitler’s plans to assassinate Stalin, Churchill, and Roosevelt while meeting as allies at the Tehran Conference in 1943. Tase undermines his own credibility by mentioning that CIA director Stansfield Turner and upper echelons of the agency trusted Vartanian. Why would they trust Vartanian if he were such a bad guy! Incredibly, Tase even states that he is suspicious of Vartanian because he spoke Armenian!

Tase then picks on two Russian Armenian journalists — Margarita Simonyan and Gayane Chichakyan — who work for RT (Russia Today) TV. Their only guilt is that they are “good looking” women, and without any evidence Tase accuses them of being “ethnically Armenian, as are many other ‘Russian’ agents of influence.”

Next is the turn of Artur Chilingarov, Vice Speaker of the Russian Duma, whom Tase attacks for being an Armenian. Chilingarov’s fault is that he was sitting at the next table over from Russian President Vladimir Putin at a banquet in Moscow. Chilingarov was honored by the Soviet Union and the Russian Federation for his exploits as a prominent polar explorer — and not for being an Armenian, as Tase claims!

Perhaps the most sinister part of Tase’s article is falsely claiming that Armenian-American reporter Emil Sanamyan is “a foreign agent.” This is a completely untrue allegation. Mr. Sanamyan told me that he is not now, nor has he ever been registered with the U.S. Justice Department as “a foreign agent.” I hope Mr. Sanamyan will sue Peter Tase and his website for damaging his reputation. To show the degree of Tase’s blind hatred for anything Armenian, he accuses Sanamyan of working for “Americans for Artsakh,” an organization “established to bring legitimacy to the war crimes and illegal occupation by the Russian-backed Armenian military that has been ruthlessly perpetrated (long before Ukraine and Georgia, the Russian government has used Armenian soldiers to occupy Azerbaijan’s sovereign territory, arrest development and derail a Pro-Western course of Azerbaijan).” Not a single word is true in that sentence. The Russian government did not use Armenian soldiers. Armenians liberated themselves from Azerbaijan’s oppressive regime which committed mass crimes against Armenians of Artsakh for decades! In fact, Russian soldiers sided with Azerbaijan and killed many innocent inhabitants of Artsakh. Furthermore, “Americans for Artsakh” was a non-profit funded by Armenian-Americans. Sanamyan told me that he worked there as an unpaid employee. In addition, when Sanamyan worked at the Office of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic in Washington, D.C., the organization was not yet registered with the U.S. Justice Department as “a foreign agent.” Also, Tase makes up a fake title by claiming that “Sanamyan was in charge of information warfare and propaganda as Director of the NKR Public Affairs Office.”

There are also several minor errors in Tase’s article which show his lack of knowledge of Armenian issues. For example, Tase writes about Armenia’s independence from “Soviet Russia,” instead of the Soviet Union. The second nonsense is Tase’s comment on a photo of Pres. Serzh Sargsyan with Pres. and Mrs. Trump at the United Nations in New York. Tase attributes the photo to the lobbying effort of the Armenian-American community. However, no lobbying was necessary. If Tase did a little more research, he would have discovered another photo of Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev with Pres. and Mrs. Trump at the UN, along with photos of many other heads of state. Another intentional misrepresentation by Tase is that Sanamyan’s wife, a graduate of Cass Business School, City University London, was one of the “Major Donors and Sponsors” of the University in 2012. Tase fails to mention that Sanamyan’s wife was listed under the smallest amount category — less than $1,000 — which does not make her a major donor!

Tase’s next attack on Armenians is their alleged connection to Pres. Trump. This is where Tase makes his most ignorant accusation. The reality is that there are hardly any Armenians who know Pres. Trump; so Tase invents imaginary connections. Tase even dares to misrepresent my 2016 article headlined, “Armenians Should Reach Out to Trump Through Republican Friends in Congress.” If Tase was an honest reporter, he would have quoted from my article which stated: “Armenian-American ties with the President-elect are practically non-existent.”

Tase also misrepresents the statement posted by Aram Hamparian, Executive Director of ANCA, offering to work with the newly-elected President. There is no indication in that sentence of any link between Armenian-Americans and Trump. Scraping the bottom of the barrel, Tase comes up with a totally unknown name, Andy Surabian, as “another Armenian political operative deep inside the Trump White House.” Surabian is described as “Steve Bannon’s political advisor in the Trump administration and a campaign veteran.” Unfortunately for Tase, neither Bannon nor Surabian work at the White House anymore.

Tase then mentions the name of Keith Nahigian, as “perhaps the most influential and high-ranking Armenian Diaspora member and registered lobbyist associated with the Trump campaign…who was tapped to head Trump’s transition team in 2017.” This is yet another red herring. Nahigian has no connection with the Armenian community. I sent him an email two years ago and I am still waiting for his answer. That’s how close Nahigian is to the Armenian community!

Tase prematurely refers to congressional candidate Danny Tarkanian (R-Nevada) as a member of “the Armenian lobby with access to President Trump.” Should Tarkanian win his House seat in November, we shall be able to determine how close is his connection to the White House?

Incredibly, Tase mentions Kim Kardashian as an Armenian “home-porn-turned-Twitter lobbyist” who has met Trump on numerous occasions — most recently in May 2018,” successfully securing a pardon from Pres. Trump for a (non-Armenian) grandmother serving a life-sentence in prison. Tase would have made a more convincing case if Kardashian had made a request from Pres. Trump on an Armenian issue. There has been no link between Kardashian as “an Armenian lobbyist” and Pres. Trump!

Tase falsely concludes his baseless and shameful article by stating: “These extensive and deep links to the incumbent inexperienced president and his campaign create potential national security implications and deserve scrutiny to ensure that Putin’s ongoing meddling into the U. S. Homeland would crumble and miserably fail.”

I don’t think Pres. Trump needs Armenian-Americans to establish communication with Pres. Putin. Contrary to Tase’s unfounded allegations, Pres. Trump has had a direct link to the Kremlin for a long time and does not need anyone else’s assistance!

June 19, 2018
Azerbaijan’s Secret ‘Laundromat’ Scheme Pays $1.5 Million to US Lobbying Firm

The website of Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) revealed last week the possibly illegal lobbying in the United States funded by Azerbaijani sources.

Investigative journalist Jonny Wrate reported on May 23, 2018 that “some of the money that passed through the Azerbaijani Laundromat, a secret money laundering scheme and slush fund that saw $2.9 billion flow out of the country between 2012 and 2014, ended up in the hands of a purportedly private Azerbaijani organization that hired a Virginia firm to lobby the US government for more than a decade.”

OCCRP had reported earlier that “other monies from the fund were used to advance the Azerbaijani government’s political agenda, with some ending up in bank accounts belonging to European politicians who spoke highly of President Ilham Aliyev’s regime even as it arrested journalists and political activists. The precise origins of the funds are unknown, hidden behind secretive shell companies. But there is ample evidence that the authoritarian country’s ruling elite is behind them.”

Last week, OCCRP revealed that two shell companies established by Azerbaijan “funneled over a million and a half dollars to a mysterious Baku-based organization called Renaissance Associates” which in turn hired “a US lobbying firm to orchestrate praise for Azerbaijan and had its representatives make thousands of dollars in campaign donations, including to Senators and Representatives who sat on committees that determine foreign aid budgets.”

At the center of this scheme is Elkhan Suleymanov who “runs a pro-regime organization in Baku which appears to work hand-in-hand with Renaissance, even using the same office space…. Other payments were made to an influential oil and gas consultant with close ties to President Aliyev who presents himself as an immigration success story and lives in Dayton Ohio — even as he also lobbies the US government on his homeland’s behalf.”

According to OCCRP, two offshore shell companies — Metastar Invest and Hilux Services — made 18 payments totaling $1.7 million to Renaissance Associates S.A. from September 2012 to December 2014 through two separate bank accounts at Volksbank AG in Liechtenstein and Privatbank IHAG Zurich AG in Switzerland. US Justice Department reports filed by Bob Lawrence & Associates (BL&A), a lobbying firm in Alexandria, Virginia, showed that it received $1.5 million from Renaissance — which almost equals the amount transferred by the Azeri shell companies to Renaissance, BL&A’s sole international client.

Since 2004, BL&A has handled the visit of Pres. Ilham Aliyev to the White House and three years later arranged for Pres. Obama’s former campaign manager, David Plouffe, to visit Baku and meet with Azeri officials. BL&A has also lobbied for US Defense appropriations to Azerbaijan, against Karabagh (Artsakh), and for the oil pipeline from Azerbaijan to Turkey. Between 2008 and 2016, BL&A president Bob Lawrence has testified before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations and Related Matters, recommending foreign aid to Azerbaijan. In his testimony, Lawrence called Armenia “a rogue nation… clearly protecting criminals” and that it commits human rights violations.

US Justice Department reports indicate that BL&A paid $250,000 in 2015 to hire the Crane Group to lobby on behalf of Azerbaijan. At the same time, BL&A contracted former Cong. Solomon Ortiz (D-TX) and his firm, Solomon P. Ortiz Holdings LLC, to lobby for the interests of Azerbaijan.

OCCRP also reported that “between 2012 and 2015, individuals registered as lobbyists acting directly or indirectly on behalf of Renaissance made thousands of dollars in donations to political candidates, including to Senators and Representatives who were sitting on, or chaired, appropriations subcommittees at the time.”

Surprisingly, and possibly illegally, BL&A has not registered with the US Justice Department as a lobbyist for Azerbaijan. On its website, BL&A states that it “does not work for, report to, or take directions from the Azerbaijani government or any member of the Azerbaijani government.” OCCRP stated that “in 2005 — a year after BL&A first began working with Renaissance — Azerbaijan’s independent Turan News Agency reported that it had received a letter identifying Renaissance as a lobbying firm representing the Azerbaijan government in Washington.”

Furthermore, “between at least 2006 and 2008, BL&A’s website listed the country of Azerbaijan, rather than Renaissance, as its client. In May 2012, BL&A agreed to represent the Embassy of Azerbaijan and disclosed this under FARA [Foreign Agents Registration Act] before quickly annulling the registration, claiming that no services had actually been performed and no payments received.”

BL&A acknowledges on its website that it collaborates with the Association for Civil Society Development in Azerbaijan (ACSDA), a pro-regime non-profit organization based in Baku and controlled by Elkhan Suleymanov, a member of Azerbaijan’s parliament. According to BL&A’s website, Renaissance “supports and nurtures ACSDA. The two organizations share the same Baku apartment.” OCCRP also reported that “when in April 2016, ACSDA signed a three-month contract with US lobbying firm Greenberg Traurig, the firm’s FARA filing shows that the $25,000 per month fees had been paid by Renaissance.”

OCCRP’s extensive report revealed many other lobbying activities funded by this secret slush fund. All these efforts should be reported to the US Congress asking for a thorough investigation. A lawsuit should also be filed against BL&A to block its unregistered lobbying campaigns!

May 29, 2018