Category: Authors

VOTE FOR TURKEY! NOT AMERICA
(Photo: Reuters) Supporters of Turkey’s main opposition Republican People’s Party wave flags during an election rally in I

24 May 2015

Istanbul

When Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, party leader of the Peoples Republican Party (CHP), had a delicious dinner with the American ambassador in Ankara on 22 October 2013, he forgot to complain about the gas. Instead, he just booked a happy-talk trip to Washington, DC. No need for uncomfortable discussions.

And everyone, particularly the American ambassador, was thrilled. Members of Congress and the Executive branch would be interested in seeing Kılıçdaroğlu, said the ambassador. Even the Brookings Institute! Oh good, thought Kılıçdaroğlu, not wanting to dampen the warming glow of the American ambassador’s vacuous ambassadorial smile. So he swallowed the idea (if he even had one) of mentioning the gas. Such a polite, discrete leader of the party of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. So discrete that the words “we are Mustafa Kemal’s soldiers” stuck in his throat, the definitive word “soldiers” becoming bland, impotent “citizens.”

No, the gas was not of the discomforting, gastric kind. It was the poisonous kind, the kind that kills, destroys eye sockets, maims and infects, crushes skulls. Pepper gas. The pepper that is sprayed not shaken, shot in canisters at youthful heads not passed politely from diner to diner. The American ambassador failed to note his treacherous contribution to Erdoğan’s Gezi Park Menu of Death. And party leader Kılıçdaroğlu failed to remind him.

Forty-three tons of pepper gas (labeled “firearms”) rushed from America to Ankara on 23 June 2013 for $365 thousand dollars. Why did he fail to confront? Well the answer is obvious, pathetically obvious. And all you Atatürk-lovers and Atatürk-experts and even Atatürk-haters, know the answer. Still wondering? Would you like a hint? It’s about leadership, responsibility and courage, their absence. And treachery, its overwhelming presence. And so marks Kılıçdaroğlu’s political party.

We come to today. The good old days are back. Just like in 1980, the good old military coup times. The American “boys,” within and without, are again “doing it” to the Turkish nation, which means the Turkish people. Turkish youth die in the mean streets of Gezi and the CHP, once the party of the eternally young Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, can’t even raise a whimper of protest to the American ambassador. Instead, off Kılıçdaroğlu dutifully trotted to America. Met with some members of America’s warmongering Congess. Met with the neocon, imperialisim-mongers at Brookings Institute. And chatted with a sprinkling of the Gülen Movement gangsters, those traffickers in moderately violent Islam and other hallucinatory narcotics. Then, full of American “wisdom,” he returned to Turkey with a “new” CHP.

No Atatürk followers needed. Kılıçdaroğlu purged them. His traveling companion, Faruk Loğoğlu, former ambassador to the USA, became the party’s designated criticizer of all things youthful and courageous. Metin Fezioğlu, the dashing, youthful head of the Turkish Bar Association, spoke at the Council of State in Ankara. As the saying goes, he made a monkey out of Erdoğan. Embarrassingly irate, Erdoğan heckled him in a fine imitation of Third Reich manners. So what does the CHP’s mouthpiece say? Fezioğlu spoke too long showing poor manners.

The Turkish Youth League (TGB), the most valiantly patriotic of all organizations, symbolically rub and wave hoods to a few American sailors to highlight the continuing affront of American imperialism. And recall to the collective Turkish memory the hooding of Turkish soldiers by the Americans in Iraq. Tut-tut, for shame, said Loğoğlu, bad manners. Such paternalistic slop is typical fare for the CHP. And a big reason why genuine Turkish youth avoid it.

Last year’s presidential election campaign was even more pathetic. The “secular” candidate to face the meatgrinder Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was selected by a collaboration of CHP and MHP. After much stressing, straining and pre-natal interviewing, they labored to bring forth a 72 year-old political mouse, a scholarly Islamic obscurity named Ekmeleddin İhsanoğlu. America had also whispered his name into a willing CHP ear.

His first name contained the first four letters of the Turkish word for bread, “ekmek.” For reasons as obscure as those for his candidacy, the collective brains of the two parties thought the phrase “Ekmek için Ekmeleddin”( “For bread, Ekmeleddin”) would be an exciting slogan. It is surely possible that in world political history there has been a worse slogan, but not likely. Enhancing the bread image, he also toted a baby in his campaign photograph. Ah, the empowering powers of bread.

Still, Kılıçdaroğlu was optimistic. Why not? It was his idea. Party members were outraged. They had this weak fait-accompli crammed down their throats. This counter reaction inspired Kılıçdaroğlu to rise to Erdoğanian levels of authoritarianism. He demanded, in language a parent would use to a toddler, that everyone just be quiet and vote. “Tıpış tıpış,” he said, just do it! But they just did NOT! Fed up with a ridiculous candidate to represent Atatürk’s party, millions of usual CHP voters boycotted the polls. Predictably, Erdoğan made toast crumbs of “Ekmek için Ekmeleddin.” And that’s how America made sure that Erdoğan would be president. And how the CHP lost millions of loyal voters.

Yet despite Kılıçdaroğlu’s catastrophic decision-making, incompetent leadership and total failure at the polls, he remains the party leader singing the same tired tune. That is, that his party is the only choice to stand against the fascist government. The truth? CHP is fascist, too. But incompetently fascist. The truth? CHP is the worst choice to stand for anything.

AND SO WE COME TO TODAY

Turkey is being dismembered.
- It has lost its East to Joe Biden’s favorite cause, Kurdistan.
- Its democratic governmental system, especially the judiciary, has collapsed.
- The Turkish president’s insistence on acting without constitutional permission is causing severe and dangerous diplomatic upheavals. These outlandish, illegal, bully-boy tactics in a supposedly mature country casts great embarrassment and defamation of character on the Turkish people. It vividly demonstrates the lack of a constitutional justice system, indeed of any justice system whatsoever.
- The Turkish army was destroyed by America and its agents inside and outside Turkey. Thus serious security threats prevail for the Turkish people given the outrageously risky policies of its government and its president. The command and staff structure of the Turkish Army remains problematic since the rupture of its chain of command and its drift away from NATO mobilization standards. It all seems reminiscent of the fate of politicized armies whose forgotten ashes litter the battlefields of history.
- The presidential paranoiac fantasy of a parallel state is delusional. If there is a parallel state it is Erdoğan himself illegally intruding into affairs that are the constitutional responsibility of the elected government. Only low-grade morons believe that Fethullah Gülen acted alone for 8 years destroying the Turkish Army while the AKP spent all its time being completely deceived. That is, until 17 December 2013 when the police found their shoe boxes stashed with billions of dollars.
- What passes for justice is completely in the hands of the government and the presidency. In other words, there is none.
- Syria is being destroyed by Sunni forces under the leadership and sponsorship of America, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Jordan. All are committing crimes of aggression and crimes against humanity. Formal criminal complaints have been filed with the International Criminal Court at The Hague.
- Borderlands in southern Turkey, particularly in Hatay, are porous and unstable. They are used as staging areas (as is Jordanian land) for a massive assault on Syria, in particular its secular, Alevite government. This can easily be perceived as a genocidal attack. This conclusion is reinforced by the angry, disdainful remarks of the Turkish president towards Alevites in his own country and generally. It is difficult to believe that the people of Turkey would continue to tolerate a government of accused war criminals.
- The big plan calls for a dismemberment of Turkey in the east and in the south. This is not news. The main idea is to give the coming Kurdistan a corridor to the sea. This means a passage for Kurdish oil through Syria. It will be a Sunni passage. So too bad for the Alevites. This also means an added bonus named Hatay, in particular Iskenderun harbor. It will become a Kurdish Sunni harbor. Too bad for the Alevites. And this genocide will be a real one for Turkey to swallow.
Blood must flow. So must oil. “Not a gallon you burn, but at least one drop of man’s blood was spilled for it,” wrote Herman Melville about whale oil over 160 years ago. Now we spill gallons of blood for a drop of oil. We destroy nations and races and cultures. We grow beards to celebrate beheadings and crucifixions. Starving children in our streets annoy us. Welcome to the pursuit of the happiness of advanced democracy.

Welcome to hell.

THE COMING ELECTION

The major political parties are the same. They smell of America.

CHP

Kılıçdaroğlu and his CHP are solidly in the American camp. Kermal Derviş, the darling of America’s imperial banking and finance system is back over the ocean with the CHP. And Kılıçdaroğlu is happy. Expect nothing good for Turkey from either. Ever today’s man, the party is loaded with Gülen sympathizers in hopes of capturing religious votes from AKP, the cheapest of short-term tactics. While all Atatürk influences have been cleansed, that doesn’t stop Kılıçdaroğlu and CHP from making money from his name. The CHP TV channel hawks all varieties of Atatürk books, videos, inspirational music, clothing and jewelry. More need not be said why this political party is an inappropriate steward for our sacred homeland.

MHP

The other opposition party, the MHP, the right-wing nationalist party, was born in the bloody run-up to America’s 1980 military coup in Turkey. It helped the USA butcher-boy general, Kenan Evren, do his dirty work thereafter. Evren, Turkey’s Pinochet, both courtesy of the CIA. No party has been more treacherous in helping Recep Tayyip Erdoğan remain in power than the MHP. It has even stooped to resurrect the political baking fiasco called Ekmeleddin İhsanoğlu. He will run for a parliamentary seat in Istanbul as a MHP candidate, presumably without his bread loaves.

GDP

The other “so-called” opposition party is the Kurdish Party, the HDP. The HDP supports everything that benefits Kurdish autonomy and separation from Turkey including the PKK, an international terrorist group. . The HDP also supports a new constitution which will help solidify Erdoğan’s death-grip on power. This is a quid-pro-quo for separation. Thus HDP is exactly like AKP.

The ISIS/ISID fiasco is a planned clearance operation of eastern and southern Turkish territories for eventual sovereign habitation by the Kurds. Now the Kurds are cleansing ISIS/ISID along the Turkish-Syrian border. A Criminal Cabal comprised of Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Jordan, America and other international terrorist organizations are preparing to mop-up the remainder of ISIS/ISID resistance in northern Syria. ISIS/ISID has done its job very well and will slowly disappear from the scene. The Criminal Cabal (and the Kurds) will then emerge victorious in northern Syria. Then on to Damascus to clean out Assad. Thus the Kurds will get their oil-rich homeland down to the former Syrian seacoast including the former Turkish region of Hatay. America is incredibly generous with other peoples’ property.

There is also pressure applied on the Kurds by the Turkish Islamist government to make the coming nation of Kurdistan an Islamic republic. This is alienating the Alevite Kurds who want no part of the Sunnis and historic Sunni oppression. Assassinations of Alevite Kurdish women in Paris a few years ago were a precursor to this sectarian inner conflict within the PKK. That’s what Turkey and its Middle East backers want. Sunni. Sunni. Sunni. It also increases the genocidal pressure on the Alevites. And no secularism in sight, anywhere.

CONCLUSION

Not really knowing what it wants, that’s what America will get. Chaos, genocide, fascism and religious-inspired terror, a lovely victory for Erdoğan’s advanced democracy and a clueless America.

The deplorable condition of Turkey was brought to us by the interaction of all the above political entities. The violence, dishonesty and antidemocratic political process is killing the Turkish people. But from

America’s perspective the process has done admirably well.

But we, the people, are neither in America nor are Americans. We are members of a fatherland, Turkey. As logical, patriotic people, we should vote for the interests of that fatherland. None of the above political parties serve those interests. Treacherous connivers, they speak with twisted tongues and sold-out souls. We all know this. It is time to fix it.

If you take the easy route and vote for CHP because they will likely be seated as a majority opposition party you are missing the big picture. Surely you now see the quality of the “new” CHP. Turkey needs a new party but not this regurgitated one. It needs a clean, intelligent, patriotic party to serve the interests of similar-minded people. A political entity is needed to describe a buffer and a balance between the fascists and the neo-fascists, that is, between the AKP and the others. We desperately need a parliamentary position that is reliable and America-free. Our children’s needs are not the needs of the Erdoğan family or the Saud family. We need brains, honesty and enlightenment in parliament not bullying, hatred and darkness.

If we are left to be the only true heirs of the enlightened principles of Mustaf Kemal Atatürk and the western Enlightenment…then what? Should we go “tıpış tıpış” like toddlers because there is some false security in CHP or because we are so clever that we can scheme our one vote? What did Mustafa Kemal Atatürk say in situations exactly like today’s? You all know what he said! And you all know what he did! And you all know what he did NOT do!

He did not go to the Sultan’s palace and play cute until the time was right. That remains the CHP strategy, a guaranteed loser against bullying fascists. Atatürk went to Samsun. And we also have a Samsun. Don’t betray your birthright. And don’t think that by collaborating with the sold-out-to-America parties you are doing a good thing. Remember the loaf of bread candidate! It will recur to you like a bad dream in a wet bed.

Don’t vote for the “American mandate” parties. Vote for intelligence, morality and independence. Vote for the interests of your fatherland. Vote for yourself, for your real country, your real fatherland, your home.

VOTE VATAN!

James (Cem) Ryan

24 May 2015
May 24, 2015
Holocaust Museum Championing Armenian Cause

By Ferruh Demirmen, Ph.D.

Make no mistake about it: The U.S. Holocaust Museum is now unabashedly championing the Armenian cause and the Armenian lobby’s efforts to slander Turkey. This became evident when the Houston branch (Holocaust Museum Houston, HMH) announced earlier this year that it would feature Taner Akçam as a speaker on May 4 (2015). The announcement was accompanied by a short paragraph containing the usual genocide accusations. From April 1 to August 7 the Museum is displaying the controversial, prejudice-laden Armin Wegner exhibit. In cooperation with the local Armenian community, in March the Museum hosted a lecture by Peter Balakian.

The Dallas branch also screened on April 30 the hatred-filled “The Armenian Genocide” pseudo-documentary by Andrew Goldberg.

Although the Akçam talk at HMH was cancelled (due to “sickness”) at the last minute, the Museum didn’t waste time scheduling a talk by UCLA professor-emeritus Richard Hovannisian, on May 27 (2015). It is the same Hovannisian who, having invited Akçam and two other “genocide” proponents (F.M. Göçek and E. Shafak) to a special “forum” at UCLA in 2005, declared at the conclusion of the meeting that, “a future conference would deal with the issues of reparations and territorial demands from Turkey.”

The Turkish-American community in Houston, and Texas in general, is not amused by such naked advocacy of the Holocaust Museum.

The HMH website used to contain a short article entitled “Genocide in Armenia (1915-1923).” The article, in its reference to 1923, and connoting that “genocide” took place in the Armenian territory, is brazenly misleading just by its title alone. That article is now replaced by a longer one, the title of which still carries the 1923 nonsense. The body of the article contains the usual allegations taken from an Armenian script. Ingeniously, the article mentions the 1948 UN Convention on Genocide, but without discussing its substance and caveats.

The intensity of anti-Turkish events by the Museum is unparalleled. Where is the gratitude for the friendship Turks, from the Spanish inquisition in 15^th century to World War II, extended to Jews, one wonders. Thanks to Turkish help, thousands of Jews from Vichy France found their way by train to Istanbul during the war. That memory is still fresh, as there are Turkish Jews settled in Turkey that benefitted from that humanitarian effort.

And could it be that the Museum is not aware of the Dashnak-Nazi collaboration in World War II, including the Armenian 812th Battalion created by the Wehrmacht in 1941, as revealed by the Nazi-era German magazine Deutsch-Armenischen Gesselschaft? The 20,000-men-strong battalion was commanded by General Dro Drastamat Kanayan, a war criminal on his own from the time he was a guerilla leader in eastern Anatolia and later the army chief in the short-lived First Republic of Armenia in 1919-1920. The whole idea of the Dashnak-Nazi cooperation was to prove that the Armenians were “Aryans.” Armenian recruits also joined the Panzer Corps and Gestapo in France and Germany.

Interestingly, General “Dro” is one of those “titans” Prof. Hovannisian remarked recently that he had met in his “younger days.”

After the war “Dro” was arrested by American forces, and soon released. He died in Boston in 1956. Years later his remains were taken to Armenia where he was given a hero’s ceremony. Of Dro’s past deeds in the First Republic of Armenia, “The Jewish Times” wrote (June 21, 1990): “An appropriate analogy with the Jewish Holocaust might be the systematic extermination of the entire Muslim population of the independent Republic of Armenia which consisted of at least 30-40 percent of the population of that republic.” Indeed, according to Russian historian A.A. Lalaian, 225,000 Muslims, or nearly 80% of the resident Muslim population, perished in the First Republic of Armenia over a period of two and half years.

One wonders whether the professor will reminisce during his talk his younger days when he met his hero “Dro.” Regardless, it will be a deep irony that a Holocaust institution will be featuring someone for whom a prominent Nazi collaborator was a “titan.”

There is little doubt that the actions of the Houston (as well, Dallas) branches of the Holocaust Museum are reflective of the Jewish lobby’s position in general. The Museum’s stance cannot be divorced from the current realpolitik between Turkey and Israel. But just as in the case of the hideous “Hitler Quote” (a deception!) displayed in the U.S. Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C., one cannot withhold the strong suspicion that generous donations from the Armenian lobby played a major role in shaping the Museum’s attitude toward the Armenian assertions.

One should never underestimate what such donations can deliver!

Back in March (2015), I wrote a 5-page long letter to the Managing Director of HMH protesting the Akçam event and suggested that the Museum give “equal time” to a scholar from the Turkish side. The director stonewalled my suggestion and replied with a cliché-type letter. Her reply, and my further comments in bold italics, are reproduced below.

“Dear Mr. Demirmen,

Thank you for your e-mail of March 2 regarding our upcoming program with Dr. Taner Akçam.

As you know, the mission of Holocaust Museum Houston is to educate the public about the dangers of hatred, prejudice and apathy using the lessons of the Holocaust and other genocides. Thus, we feel it is important that we take the 100th anniversary of atrocities during World War I as a time to examine that history and what can be learned from it.”

The Holocaust Museum’s mission is commendable. But shouldn’t the atrocities inflicted by the armed Armenian bands on the Muslim population likewise be remembered and the lessons there from learned? As I noted in my detailed letter, more than half a million Muslim civilians lost their lives to Armenian terror.

“We understand that Turkey disputes the use of the word “genocide.” Whatever term is used, it is historically clear that more than 1 million Armenians perished as a result of execution, starvation, disease, the harsh environment and physical abuse.”

It is not just that Turkey disputes the word “genocide.” In fact, there was no genocide. In the context of 1915 events, the genocidal intent (dolus specialis), as required in accordance with the 1948 UN Convention on Genocide (Article 2), is missing. We must respect the law. In its February 3, 2015 decision (Croatia vs. Serbia), the International Court of Justice underlined the vital importance of dolus specialis for genocide determination. Other points the court made also support the Turkish position.

“As of 2014, more than 22 countries and 42 of the 50 states in the U.S., have declared those acts “genocide,” according to the International Association of Genocide Scholars. At least 126 leading scholars of the Holocaust have urged western democracies to acknowledge it as well.”

Political entities and scholars are not authorized to establish the crime of genocide. Only a duly authorized court can. This is what the Convention on Genocide (Article 6) says. For the alleged Armenian genocide, there is no such court verdict. Further, if we take note of the opinion of “126 genocide scholars,” how can we ignore the opinion more than 100 other scholars who disagree? Separate from Holocaust, the two events accepted as genocide under international law are the Rwanda and Srebrenica atrocities.

“For all these reasons, we will not change our messaging regarding this talk.”

It is deeply ironic that HMH is sponsoring a program that is distinctly anti-Turkish but supportive of the Armenian position. As noted in my detailed letter, while Turks have extended their warm welcome to Jewish people in their history, Armenians collaborated with the Nazi Germany.

For your information, I am also attaching a sworn testimony by rabbi Albert J. Amateau, now deceased, who lived the tumultuous days of the Ottoman period just before the 1915 events and observed what the Armenian gangs were doing to local population including Jews.

“Sincerely, Kelly J. Zuniga, Ed.D., CFRE

Executive Director, Holocaust Museum Houston”

May 18, 2015
Turkish Obsession with Armenian Territorial Demands

On the occasion of the Armenian Genocide Centennial, Turkish reporters insistently inquired about Armenia’s territorial claims from Turkey.

In an interview published on April 25, 2015, in the Turkish Hurriyet newspaper, a reporter asked Pres. Serzh Sargsyan if Armenia had territorial demands from Turkey. Below is my translation of Hurriyet’s Turkish text of Pres. Sargsyan’s response:

“Since its independence, the Republic of Armenia has not had any territorial claims from Turkey or any other country. Our government’s foreign policy agenda has not had such an issue, and does not have it today. This is clear. We are a full and responsible member of the international community. As a UN member state, we understand our role in the international community; we respect the principles of international law.… If you pay close attention, Armenia’s demands for land from Turkey are discussed in Turkey, not in Armenia! As to why this is so, I let everyone draw their own conclusions.”

During a meeting with representatives of the Armenian-American community on May 7 in Washington, DC, I asked Pres. Sargsyan to clarify his comments to Hurriyet which were misunderstood or misinterpreted by some Armenians and Turks. The President explained that he had not said that Armenia did not have territorial demands from Turkey. He had simply stated that Armenia did not present such demands, and added: “We have no right to say that we have no territorial demands from Turkey. We also have no right to say that we have such demands.” The President went on to say that “Armenian political parties in the Diaspora are free to present such demands.”

Pres. Sargsyan is clearly indicating that as a head of state, demanding land from Turkey — a powerful and menacing neighbor — could have serious consequences on Armenia’s national security, which is not the case when such claims are made by individuals or organizations.

Earlier that same day, the morning of May 7, during Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian’s press conference at the National Press Club in Washington, DC, another Turkish journalist asked the same question about Armenian territorial claims from Turkey. Nalbandian gave the same answer as the President: “Armenia has not made territorial claims from Turkey.” He also wondered why is this issue raised in Ankara rather than Yerevan?

Four years ago, on July 23, 2011, Pres. Sargsyan gave a firmer answer when an Armenian student asked him about the eventual return of Mount Ararat and Western Armenia:

“It all depends on you and your generation. I believe my generation fulfilled its task when it was necessary in the early 1990’s to defend a part of our homeland — Karabagh — from enemies. We were able to do that…. My point is that each generation has its own task, and it must be able to carry it out, and carry it out well.”

The Armenian President’s answer created a huge storm of controversy in Turkey and Azerbaijan. Journalists and officials in both countries mounted hysterical attacks on Armenia, accusing Pres. Sargsyan of “urging Armenian youth to occupy Mt. Ararat and Eastern Turkey.” Insulting adjectives were hurled at Pres. Sargsyan by Turkey’s then Prime Minister Erdogan, Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc, Minister Egemen Bagis, Pres. Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan, and the Foreign Ministries of both countries. Erdogan even demanded an apology from Armenia’s President. To incite the masses, protests were organized in Turkish cities where photographs of Pres. Sargsyan were burned!

It is understandable why Turkish leaders are so apprehensive when the issue of Armenian territorial demands is raised. Knowing full well that their ancestors eliminated the Armenian population from their native lands, Turkish officials are haunted by the fear that Armenians would reclaim their historic homeland of Western Armenia, today’s Eastern Turkey!

In order to unite Armenians around the same set of demands, I believe we should adopt the slogan — “seeking justice” — which includes all Armenian claims from Turkey as expressed in the Pan-Armenian Declaration of the Armenian Genocide Centennial adopted in Yerevan on January 29, 2015, by the governments of Armenia and Artsakh, and leaders of major Diasporan organizations. Paragraph 6 of that Declaration calls for “restoring individual, communal and pan-Armenian rights and legitimate interests.” Furthermore, the Declaration’s preamble specifically mentions “the dispossession of the Homeland,” the Treaty of Sevres of August 10, 1920, and Pres. Woodrow Wilson’s Arbitral Award of Nov. 22, 1920, which granted Armenia a territory several times larger than today’s Armenian Republic.

May 13, 2015
Museum Exhibits Armenian Artifacts A Century After Rescue by Russians

On my way back from the Centennial events in Yerevan last week, I stopped in Saint Petersburg, Russia, to attend the inauguration of an unprecedented exhibit of Armenian artifacts rescued by Russian ethnographers from Western Armenia during the Genocide.

Here is the incredible background story of that unique exhibit. In 1916, during the Russian military campaign which temporarily liberated Western Armenia from Ottoman Turkey, Saint Petersburg’s Russian Museum of Ethnography sought Czar Nicholas II’s permission to dispatch a scholarly expedition to the Van area to collect Armenian artifacts from imminent loss. The Czar gave immediate consent in his handwriting: “Approve. Need to hurry.”

A small team of ethnographers led by Alexander Miller arrived in Van on June 10, 1916, after a lengthy and perilous journey. During their two-week stay, they managed to purchase from local inhabitants a total of 513 objects: 396 Armenian, 110 Assyrian, 5 Kurdish, and 2 Turkish. The artifacts included traditional Armenian costumes, jewelry, and carpets from the City of Van, the towns of Alur, Bitlis, Moks, Mush, Shatakh, and neighboring villages. During their visit, the scholars took 60 photographs of natural landscapes, historical monuments, buildings, and some residents. All of these materials were hauled back to Saint Petersburg under the protection of the Russian military.

Surprisingly, these painstakingly-collected cultural objects remained in the Russian museum’s basement for 100 years and were never displayed! No one seemed to remember their existence, until two years ago, when Armenia’s Consul General Vardan Hakopyan in Saint Petersburg learned about these artifacts and informed the authorities in Armenia, local community leaders, and the Armenian Jewelry Association.

After extensive joint efforts between the Armenian Jewelers Foundation and the Russian Museum of Ethnography, the items that were kept in storage for a century were finally put on display in Saint Petersburg last week. The Jewelers Foundation and the Russian Museum published an impressive catalog titled, “Treasures of Western Armenia,” which showcased the artifacts collected from the region of Van in 1916, before its recapture and genocidal destruction by Ottoman Turkish forces.

The exhibit was officially opened on April 27, 2015, at the Russian Museum of Ethnography. It was attended by Vigen Sargsyan, the Armenian President’s Chief of Staff, Olga Kazanskaya, Vice Governor of Saint Petersburg, Vladimir Grusman, Director of Russian Museum of Ethnography, Pierre Akkelian, Chairman of Armenian Jewelers Foundation, Gagik Gevorkyan, President of Armenian Jewelry Association, and Karen Mkrtchyan, the Armenian community leader of Saint Petersburg.

Not surprisingly, after it became known that the Museum of Ethnography had in its possession valuable artifacts from the Van region, the Consulate of Turkey in Saint Petersburg contacted the Museum claiming that these items are the property of the Turkish Republic and sought their return. The Museum’s leadership rejected the Turkish request as the objects were purchased from their owners in 1916.

It is ironic that Turkish diplomats had the audacity to request these Armenian artifacts, after having killed their owners, burned their homes, and stolen their possessions! One would hope that the Turkish government would be foolish enough to go ahead and file a lawsuit against the Russian Museum, trying to claim these items. Such a lawsuit would further publicize Turkish responsibility for the Armenian Genocide, the looting of Armenian cultural objects, and occupation of their ancestral homeland!

One hundred years later, another expedition should be dispatched to Turkish museums and libraries to locate and recover all Armenian artifacts, manuscripts and other valuable items plundered during the Genocide. Lawsuits should be filed against all Turkish institutions holding such Armenian materials. If local Turkish courts reject the demand, Armenians should then appeal to the European Court of Human Rights in order to recover these long lost and precious fragments of Armenian cultural heritage. Such a legal effort would be yet another means of seeking restitution for the massive Genocide-era losses suffered by Armenians a century ago!

The Russian Museum’s remarkable exhibit should go on tour to Armenian communities around the world: Athens, Beirut, Berlin, Boston, Buenos Aires, London, Los Angeles, Montreal, Moscow, New York, Paris, Tehran, Toronto, San Francisco, San Paulo, Sydney, Yerevan and many other cities. Let the world see a small sampling of the vast quantities of valuable cultural artifacts that the Armenian nation lost during the Genocide in addition to the 1.5 million human souls.

May 5, 2015
Armenians Should Now Pursue Legal Claims Rather Than Further Genocide Recognition

Armenians experienced unforgettable days last week during the Centennial commemorations of the Armenian Genocide. In many respects, Turkish denialists’ much-feared ‘Tsunami’ became a reality! While Armenians around the world were busy organizing commemorative events in recent years, their efforts were amplified by some unexpected developments, including Turkish President Erdogan’s irrational rhetoric and reaction.

The year began with Erdogan’s childish maneuver, switching the Gallipoli War Centennial to April 24, to derail the observances planned for the Armenian Genocide Centennial. The international media quickly exposed the Turkish President’s ploy, providing extensive publicity for the upcoming genocide anniversary.

In early April, the Kardashians’ visit to Armenia generated thousands of articles and TV reports, and millions of social media posts. A few days later, Pope Francis created his own ‘Tsunami’ by uttering his courageous words on the Armenian Genocide. Once again, Erdogan made matters worse for Turkey by insulting not only the Pope, but also one billion Catholics, and the nation of Argentina, the Pontiff’s birthplace. Shortly thereafter, the European Parliament adopted a resolution on the Armenian Genocide providing further media coverage of this issue.

Being in Armenia for the first time on April 24, and on the occasion of the Centennial, was a deeply moving experience. The Armenian government did monumental work inviting 1,000 dignitaries from 60 countries, including prominent scholars, legal experts, political leaders, parliamentarians from 30 countries, and survivors of other genocides. On April 22-23, the distinguished guests participated in a Global Forum “Against the Crime of Genocide,” where I delivered brief remarks castigating Pres. Obama’s failure to keep his promise on using the term Armenian Genocide. I explained that contrary to a widely-held misperception, the United States has repeatedly recognized the Armenian Genocide.

On April 23, all six political parties represented in the Austrian Parliament issued a joint declaration recognizing the Armenian Genocide. As expected, Turkey overreacted by withdrawing its Ambassador from Vienna. This is the second Turkish Ambassador to be recalled to Ankara this month. As an increasing number of countries recognize the Armenian Genocide, Turkey may soon have fewer envoys, isolating itself from much of the world!

Also on April 23, German President Joachim Gauck delivered a powerful speech at a memorial service in Berlin, acknowledging not only the Armenian Genocide, but also Germany’s complicity in the Ottoman Turkish genocidal campaign. Despite heavy pressures from Turkish leaders, the German Bundestag is expected shortly to adopt a similarly-worded resolution which would send shock waves throughout the 1,000 rooms of Pres. Erdogan’s newly-built palace, since Germany was Turkey’s ally in 1915, and continues its close relationship until today!

In the evening of April 23, the Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin II and the Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia Aram I jointly presided over a historic rite of canonization in Etchmiadzin, declaring the Armenian Genocide victims to be Saints. Following this moving ritual, at the exact hour of 19:15 or 7:15 pm, churches throughout the world began ringing their bells 100 times. Later that night, the System of a Down band performed a free concert at Yerevan’s Republic Square. The thousands of young people in attendance were highly energized despite the heavy downpour. The concert was aired live, disseminating the band’s Genocide message to millions of people worldwide.

On April 24, a memorable observance took place on the grounds of Tsitsernagapert, the Armenian Genocide Monument in Yerevan, with the participation of hundreds of religious leaders, Ambassadors, officials, and presidents of Russia, France, Cyprus and Serbia. While the heads of two superpowers came to Yerevan on April 24, Turkey was unable to attract to Gallipoli the same caliber of leaders, despite its considerable efforts. It was perfectly fitting to this solemn occasion that the distinguished guests at the Yerevan Memorial spent several hours huddled in blankets like refugees, in freezing temperatures, sheltered under a large canvass from the rain.

One of the most stunning developments last week was Turkish Prime Minister Davutoglu’s declaration that the Armenian “deportations were a Crime Against Humanity” — which under international law is tantamount to recognizing the Armenian Genocide. No one should be surprised if Erdogan dismisses Davutoglu after the June Parliamentary elections.

Now that the Centennial is behind us, it is high time that Armenians turn the page on Armenian Genocide recognition and begin to systematically pursue their claims from Turkey through international, regional and local tribunals.

April 28, 2015
Erdogan Became Best Publicist For Armenian Genocide Centennial

www.TheCaliforiaCourier.com

A couple of years ago, when Armenians throughout the world began making plans for the Armenian Genocide Centennial, they had two major concerns: What kind of events to organize that would be most appropriate for this solemn occasion? And, how to conceal their plans from the Turkish government so it would be unable to undermine or disrupt them?

Little did Armenians know that inadvertently Turkish leaders would end up being their best ‘ally,’ and instead of disrupting Armenians’ Centennial plans, they would make such preposterous statements that would globally propagate the Armenian Genocide beyond anyone’s wildest expectations.

A Hollywood scriptwriter could not have done a better job than what Erdogan as Prime Minister and then President did to ensure that the Armenian Centennial is commemorated with the greatest possible audience in the world.

Long before the start of the Centennial year, Erdogan set the stage by undermining his own credibility and that of his country by making outlandish declarations: He claimed that Muslims discovered America before Columbus; that it was impossible for Muslims to commit genocide; and told TV host Charlie Rose that since there are still Armenians in Istanbul, there could not have been a genocide.

Erdogan went on to shut down Youtube and Twitter because he disliked some of their content; had a teenage student arrested for writing an essay the Modern Day Sultan didn’t approve; jailed journalists and cartoonists for criticizing his policies; prosecuted Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen’s followers and high-ranking military officers under the pretext that they were plotting against His Highness; ordered the shooting of peaceful protesters in Istanbul’s Gezi Park; and instructed his son during a secretly recorded phone conversation on how to conceal tens of millions of dollars in cash!

With his harsh statements and rude outbursts, Erdogan managed to antagonize leaders of many of the countries he dealt with, including the United States, France, Germany, Iran, Iraq, Egypt, Greece, Cyprus, Russia, and Syria. In effect, he turned his foreign policy of “zero problems with neighbors,” to “zero neighbors without problems!”

At the start of this year, as the Genocide Centennial drew near, Erdogan shifted to high gear. He came up with the ‘brilliant’ idea of rescheduling the Gallipoli commemoration to April 24, and inviting leaders of over 100 countries to Turkey in order to steal the limelight away from the Armenian Genocide commemorations in Yerevan on that date. The Turkish President sought to rewrite history by accusing Armenians of changing the Genocide Centennial Date to April 24!

Such childish maneuvers did not go unnoticed by the international community. Countless articles were written exposing Erdogan’s dirty tricks. Instead of undermining the Armenian commemorations, the Turkish leader ended up propagating the Genocide Centennial, long before Armenians had organized a single event!

Then came the memorable sermon of Pope Francis on April 12, accusing Turkey of committing “the first genocide of the 20th century” against the Armenian people! In response, Erdogan recalled his Ambassador from the Vatican, and then, along with his normally cool-headed Prime Minister Davutoglu and the entire cast of Turkish officialdom started insulting the Pope, the Catholic Church, and even Argentina, the Pope’s birthplace! Thus, within a few days, Turkey’s leaders managed to antagonize over a billion Catholics around the world.

Erdogan warned the Pope that he would take additional actions against the Catholic Church, implying that he would convert Istanbul’s ancient Greek Hagia Sophia Church to a mosque. Should he take such an extreme action, he would be antagonizing the rest of the Christian world against Turkey.

Within days of the Pope’s history-making sermon, the European Parliament adopted yet another resolution acknowledging the Armenian Genocide. Meanwhile, Erdogan continued his anti-European and anti-Christian diatribe by accusing Europeans of being anti-Turkish and anti-Islam. Naturally, Europeans began to question how such a lunatic leader could ever join the European family of nations!

Thousands of newspapers, TV stations, and websites reported the Turkish leaders’ berserk reaction, and criticized their denial of the Armenian Genocide. The world’s attention to Armenians has been quite overwhelming with the extensive coverage of Kardashians’ trip to Armenia, the Pope’s remarkable sermon, and the European Parliament’s Resolution on the Armenian Genocide. Armenians could not have gained such immense publicity on the eve of the Armenian Genocide Centennial, if they had spent a billion dollars and hired 100 PR firms!

April 19, 2015