Category: Harut Sassounian

Throughout their long history, Armenians have always expected that some foreign power would rescue them from their enemies. Over the centuries, they hoped for assistance from the Romans, Byzantines, Russians, French, Americans, and now Iranians. But, no one has ever come to save them. One would think that after such a long string of disappointments, Armenians would finally learn the lesson that no one will rescue them. They need to save themselves.

Given such unrealistic expectations, Armenians keep going from one potential rescuer to another, attempting to find anyone that would assist them. No one helped save the Armenians when Ottoman Turkey was committing genocide against them; no one saved them when the survivors returned to Cilicia only to be attacked and killed by Ataturk’s armies; no one helped them in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s when Azeris were massacring Armenians in Artsakh; and no one helped Armenians when Azeris with the support of Jihadist terrorists, Israel and Turkey conquered most of Artsakh, killing and maiming thousands of Armenian soldiers and civilians.

After all of these disappointing experiences, Armenians were hoping that Russia would step in and save Artsakh. When that didn’t happen, Armenians loudly complained that Russia had betrayed them. Armenians kept demanding that the CSTO (Collective Security Treaty Organization) protect Armenia from repeated Azeri encroachments on its borders.

Armenians don’t seem to understand that each nation’s priority is to defend its own national interest, not that of Armenia. No one is obliged to help Armenia, even when a treaty of mutual defense is signed, which is viewed as a mere “a piece of paper.” Rather than abandoning their unrealistic expectations, Armenians have now turned to France and the United States hoping they would come to their rescue!

It is encouraging that in recent months Armenia signed contracts with India to purchase a large number of missiles and artillery. Finally, the Armenian Government is realizing that it needs to defend the country rather than rely on the mercy of others.

Last week, Armenians around the world were elated that the French Senate adopted a pro-Armenian resolution. However, Armenians should neither exaggerate nor minimize the significance of this resolution. The French Armenian community has carried out commendable lobbying activities for many years to create such a sympathetic atmosphere about Armenians and Armenia. That is the main reason why this resolution was adopted by the French Senate with the near unanimous vote of 295 in favor and one against.

The comprehensive French resolution strongly condemned Azerbaijan’s invasion of the sovereign territory of the Republic of Armenia and demanded:

— The immediate withdrawal of Azeri forces from Armenia;

— The release of all Armenian prisoners of war held by Baku since the 2020 war;

— The preservation of Armenian cultural and religious monuments;

— That the French government with the United Nations Security Council refer Azerbaijan’s aggression to the International Criminal Court;

— That France sanction Azerbaijan, seize the assets of its leaders, and place an embargo on the importation of Azeri oil and gas;

— The establishment of a French humanitarian office in Artsakh;

— The strengthening of the defense capability of Armenia;

— The deployment of an interposition force under the aegis of the international community;

— The recognition of the Nagorno Karabagh (Artsakh) Republic;

— That France ensure Azerbaijan engages in peaceful negotiation with Armenia to establish a lasting peace.

Azerbaijan reacted harshly and condemned the French Senate for adopting this resolution. By taking counter-measures, Azerbaijan risks disrupting its diplomatic and economic relations with France. However, for this non-binding resolution to have any effect, it must be adopted by the French National Assembly and backed by the President and Government of France.

Armenians need to have a cool-headed assessment of the French Senate resolution. They should not expect France to save Artsakh or Armenia. They need to continue developing Armenia’s military so they can defend the country’s borders, while welcoming the assistance of any country, without having any unrealistic expectations. Remember that the French Senate and Parliament adopted resolutions after the 2020 war, urging the French government to recognize the Artsakh Republic, which did not materialize. This is not surprising as Armenia itself does not recognize the independence of Artsakh. To avoid further disappointments, Armenians need to view the French Senate resolution as an important moral and diplomatic support, but not a military one.

Another message of support for Armenia and Artsakh came this week when 120 prominent celebrities and intellectuals issued a joint statement in the French “Le Figaro Magazine,” including Claudia Cardinale, Gerard Chaliand, Costa-Gavras, Alain Delon, Bernard-Henri Levy, Yves Ternon, etc. They wrote: “More than a century after the perpetration of the genocide of Armenians by the Ottoman leaders in 1915, the same people are once again victims of two authoritarian regimes which, in Baku as in Ankara, provoke inter-ethnic hatred to endow their unchallenged power with a bloody new trophy….”

It is now up to the Armenian Government and Armenians around the world to see to it that the French Senate resolution and the statement of the 120 celebrities are used to provide additional support for Armenians in Armenia and Artsakh.

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For many years, dozens of reports have been written about the Turkish government’s large-scale kidnapping of Turkish citizens from around the world for criticizing Pres. Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s regime.

Exiled investigative Turkish journalist Abdullah Bozkurt has exposed these illegal Turkish activities, providing copies of confidential documents he has received from sources inside the Turkish government. Not surprisingly, Turkey has issued a warrant for his arrest. He publishes the Nordic Monitor in Sweden.

Bozkurt wrote an article on Nov. 3, 2022, in Nordic Monitor, titled: “Spying by Turkish diplomats continued in 2022 with new targets in Norway, Netherlands, Greece.”

Bozkurt published a secret Turkish document issued by the Security General Directorate on June 7, 2022. He revealed that Turkish diplomats stationed at embassies and consulates overseas continue “the unlawful practice of intelligence gathering on critics and opponents in Europe.”

Bozkurt reported that “Two Turkish diplomats, then-Press Attaché Hacı Mehmet Gani and Hakan Kamil Yerge, then-second secretary at the Turkish Embassy in Bern, plotted to drug and kidnap a Swiss-Turkish businessman in 2016. In June 2018, the Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland issued arrest warrants for the two Turkish diplomats.”

In addition to attempting to seize and return home its opponents, the Turkish government jails their relatives at home and confiscates their assets.

In a second article published in Nordic Monitor on Nov. 4, 2022, titled: “Turkish intelligence continues to spy on journalists in Sweden,” Bozkurt reported that Levent Kenez, editor of Nordic Monitor in Sweden, “was spied on by Turkey’s intelligence agency, which leaked his private information to the Turkish media. [Sabah], a newspaper run by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s family, published photos of Kenez last Tuesday in front of his apartment in Stockholm, where he lives with his family, and disclosed his address and details of his daily routine,” endangering their lives. It is clear that after silencing his domestic critics, Erdogan is now trying to silence his critics abroad.

A third article titled, “Turkish diplomats exploited US Homeland Security website to track a dissident in the US,” was published by Bozkurt in Nordic Monitor on Nov. 2, 2022.

Bozkurt revealed a secret Turkish document which showed that the Turkish intelligence agency used the website of US Customs and Border Protection to track a Turkish doctor in the United States who is critical of the Turkish government. It is a crime to access the personal information of individuals on the U.S. government’s website.

Bozkurt reported that in the years 2016-17 alone, Turkish embassies and consulates profiled 4,386 critics of Turkey who were residing abroad. In 2021, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu stated that Turkish diplomats assigned to embassies and consulates have officially been instructed by the government to conduct clandestine spying operations on foreign soil. In addition, pro-Erdogan Turkish networks and organizations overseas have acted as the long arm of the Turkish regime.

In 2019, the U.S. government convicted Kamil Ekim Alptekin, a Turkish government operative, for running surveillance on opponents of Erdogan in the United States. Alptekin remains a fugitive and is currently hiding in Turkey, while his associate Bijan Rafiekian was tried and convicted of acting covertly in 2019 as an agent of the Turkish government in the United States, without disclosing that relationship to the U.S. government, according to Bozkurt.

Matthew Amlot published in Al Arabiya an article on July 12, 2020, titled: “Turkey signed secret agreements with countries to abduct dissidents from abroad.” According to a joint letter written by four UN rapporteurs, “Turkey signed secret agreements with multiple countries [Azerbaijan, Albania, Cambodia, and Gabon] in order to conduct extraterritorial abductions of suspected state dissidents … Turkey also targeted [its] nationals in Afghanistan, Kosovo, Kazakhstan, Lebanon and Pakistan, according to the letter.”

The UN letter stated that “The Government of Turkey, in coordination with other States, is reported to have forcibly transferred over 100 Turkish nationals to Turkey, of which 40 individuals have been subjected to enforced disappearance, mostly abducted off the streets or from their homes all over the world, and in multiple instances along with their children.”

Alice Taylor wrote in “Exit News” that “in November 2018, the Turkish Foreign Minister informed Parliament that 452 extradition requests had been sent to a total of 83 countries.”

Yasir Gokce wrote an article published on Nov. 25, 2018 in Harvard University’s Kennedy School Review, titled: “Turkey’s Kidnappings Abroad Defy International Law.” These illegal abductions should be brought in front of the U.N. Security Council and the International Court of Justice, Gokce suggested.

In 2020, Johan Heymans in collaboration with International Observatory of Human Rights published a 128-page report, based partly on a report by the Ankara Bar Association, documenting the specific cases of deportation or abductions of Turkish citizens from 17 countries: Moldova, Azerbaijan, Gabon, Sudan, Kosovo, Myanmar, Saudi Arabia, Bulgaria, Bahrain, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Pakistan, Ukraine, Lebanon, Malaysia, Switzerland, and Mongolia.

Finally, OpenDemocracy.net published an article by Serdar San on June 16, 2021, titled: “Turkish spies are abducting Erdogan’s political opponents abroad.”

Serdar San correctly observed that “emboldened by a lack of repercussions from NATO and the EU, President Erdogan’s regime is kidnapping dissidents” to silence political dissent. This is the fault of Western governments for turning a blind eye to the illegal behavior of successive Turkish governments, encouraging them to continue violating domestic and international laws for decades.

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In a few days, we will witness once again an unfortunate manifestation of Armenia’s leadership dividing the Armenian nation, while claiming to unify it.

The High Commissioner for Diaspora Affairs of the Republic of Armenia, Zareh Sinanyan, has organized what he arrogantly calls a ‘Global Armenian Summit,’ to take place in Yerevan, Oct. 28-31.

This is yet another example of the Armenian government’s inability to properly promote Armenia’s national interests. On the contrary, the Armenian government is undermining Armenian interests through divisive and ill-conceived schemes.

Ever since Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan came to power, he has spoken more harshly against his domestic opponents than against Armenia’s enemies — Azerbaijan and Turkey. He has frequently talked about blacks vs. whites — the good guys (his supporters) vs. the bad guys (his political opponents). Shockingly, Pashinyan waved a hammer in the air during his campaign speeches, threatening to bash the heads of his opponents, squash them on the asphalt and slam them to the wall! He has pitted Armenia’s population against Artsakh and alienated Diasporans from Armenia. Yet, those of us who criticize his divisive actions are lectured by his supporters not to divide the nation!

Prime Minister Pashinyan abolished the Ministry of Diaspora and replaced it in 2019 with Sinanyan, the High Commissioner for Diaspora Affairs. Judging by Pashinyan’s many other appointments, the sole reason he appointed Sinanyan was that he backed the ‘velvet revolution.’ Competence does not seem to be an important criteria for Pashinyan, blind support is!

In the last three years, Sinanyan toured the world, at Armenia’s taxpayers’ expense, accomplishing very little, but causing more internal dissension in the Diaspora. Rather than trying to unify Armenians, he has played partisan politics siding with Pashinyan’s political party. Sinanyan does not seem to understand that he is getting a salary, not to be the Chief Propagandist for Pashinyan’s political party, but to pursue the best interests of all Diaspora Armenians regardless of their differing persuasions.

I have described in previous columns my criticisms of Sinanyan’s misguided and false statements. He has announced many plans that have remained unfulfilled, such as his questionable idea to appoint partisan representatives in various Diaspora communities. Another one of Sinanyan’s half-baked ideas is encouraging Arabs to immigrate to Armenia. He is not aware that his duties are to deal exclusively with Diaspora Armenians, not foreign immigrants.

Sinanyan should not be blamed as much as Prime Minister Pashinyan who appointed him. In any normal country, apparatchiks like Sinanyan would have been fired long ago, but not in Pashinyan’s administration, where incompetence and blind loyalty are prerequisites for appointments.

Therefore, it is not surprising that Sinanyan, with the blessing of his boss, announced a “Global Armenian Summit,” to be attended by supporters of the regime. Not surprisingly, Sinanyan has not invited some of the major Armenian Diaspora organizations, just because they oppose the regime.

In an astounding blow, both leaders of the Armenian Apostolic Church, His Holiness Karekin II, Catholicos of All Armenians, and His Holiness Aram I, Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia, announced that they will boycott Sinanyan’s poorly organized partisan “Summit.’ A spokesman for Karekin II said that the ‘Summit’ “could cause new sensitivities and tensions in our national life and will not be effective.” Given the strained relations between the Church and Armenia’s government, the Primate of the Diocese of Shirak, Archbishop Mikael Ajapahyan, bluntly asked: “why should we [the Church] participate in their [the government’s] PR action?”

To make matters worse, Hetq, the website of investigative journalists in Armenia, reported that the Armenian government is paying $768,000 to an outfit named Factory Production LLC, to organize the ‘Summit.’ I read the contract which indicates that it was signed on Oct. 21, 2022, just one week before the ‘Summit.’

The lack of seriousness of the organizers of the ‘Summit’ is indicated by the fact that in four days of meetings only one hour is devoted to Artsakh, with the participation of representatives of the Artsakh government along with Armenia’s Foreign Ministry and Security Council. This does not do justice to a critical issue which is of utmost importance for all Armenians, but sadly, not the government of Armenia.

Two ‘panel discussions’ are planned for the ‘Summit’: “How Diaspora communities organize for local and national-level representation within their countries” and “Diaspora representation within the Republic of Armenia’s governing structures: Models to consider.” Both of these topics require serious discussions with the participation of major Armenian organizations and knowledgeable individuals who were not invited. I presented to Prime Minister Pashinyan, during my visit to Armenia in 2019, a concrete plan for the formation of a Diaspora Armenian Parliament which Pashinyan enthusiastically welcomed. Regrettably, along with many others, I have not received an invitation to present this important plan to the ‘Summit.’

There are also three simultaneous ‘Breakout Sessions’: 1) “Appointing Republic of Armenia state representatives in Diaspora communities,” 2) “Models for Diaspora representation in Parliament,” and 3) “Models for Diaspora participation in governance and within the executive.”

Hopefully, a future Armenian government, which is less inclined to divide the nation, will reconvene a proper “Diaspora-Armenia-Artsakh Conference” with the participation of all Armenian organizations and influential individuals, regardless of their affiliation, to deal with the existential challenges facing Armenia and Artsakh.

At a time when Armenia and Artsakh stand at the edge of the precipice, there is no need to play self-defeating partisan politics and divide the nation further. Recently, Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mavlut Cavusoglu complained once again about the Diaspora’s anti-Azerbaijan and anti-Turkey activism. The last thing Armenians need is having the Armenian government help Azerbaijan and Turkey to weaken and neutralize the Diaspora. No wonder I did not see on the agenda of the ‘Summit’ the topic: how to counter Azerbaijan’s and Turkey’s anti-Armenian activities.

Last week, the nine leaders of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), composed of former Soviet Republics, met in Astana, Kazakhstan. In attendance were the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, the Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan and the heads of Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.

At this meeting, the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan confronted each other about the conflict between their countries in front of the other participants, primarily Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Aliyev’s remarks were full of falsehoods. He alleged that after the 2020 war, Armenia planted “1,400 anti-personnel mines made in Armenia…near the border with Lachin district in 2021. The roads leading from one Azerbaijani military position to another were also mined.” He claimed that “the clashes, their active phase, lasted a maximum of eight hours,” even though Azerbaijan continues violating the ceasefire to this day. He lied, saying that “Azerbaijan had no intention of occupying the territory of Armenia, as some may assume.” He ignored the fact that the Azeri army continues to remain inside Armenia’s borders since its earlier incursion on May 12, 2021.

Aliyev tried to ingratiate himself to Putin, by claiming that “As a result of the mediation efforts of the Russian side, I would like to emphasize that it was the Russian side that came up with a ceasefire proposal. Some attribute this to other countries which is completely unfounded. As a result of the mediation efforts of the Russian side, the clashes, as I said, were stopped.” Aliyev was thus contradicting reports that the United States brokered the ceasefire. He also acknowledged that Azerbaijan “resolutely rejected” the offer by the European Union to place a civilian mission on the Azerbaijani side of the border. “Therefore, the mission will be located on the territory of Armenia,” he said.

Aliyev harshly criticized French President Emmanuel Macron who had made sympathetic remarks about Armenia. Aliyev complained that Macron “made insulting, unacceptable, false and provocative statements…. He accused Azerbaijan of engaging in a horrific war….” Once again, Aliyev tried to ingratiate himself to Putin by telling him that Micron made “biased statements…against the Russian Federation, namely, that ‘Russia played the Azerbaijani game.’” As a result, Aliyev said he rejected any future mediating role for France in the Karabagh conflict. He also complained about “anti-Azerbaijan statements” made by the French foreign minister, the French Senate recognizing Karabagh, and a second resolution “being prepared in the French Senate in mid-November.” He blamed these developments on the influence of “the Armenian Diaspora in France.”

Aliyev accused Armenia of organizing ‘provocations’ against the Embassies of Azerbaijan in France, Lebanon and the United States. He falsely claimed that: “we have no doubts that the acts of terror and vandalism were organized by Armenia. Why am I saying this? Because in the 1990’s, Armenian special services carried out [in Azerbaijan] 32 terrorist acts — explosions in the subway, buses, ferries and trains. As a result of those heinous terrorist acts, more than 2,000 Azerbaijan civilians were killed!”

Aliyev then tried to turn the Karabagh conflict into a religious war accusing Armenians of “extreme degree of hatred for the Azerbaijani people and the entire Muslim world,” forgetting that Armenia and Armenians enjoy the most cordial relations with many Islamic countries.

Aliyev lied once again by claiming that Azerbaijan has fulfilled “all the provisions of the November 2020 agreement after the war.” Dozens of Armenian prisoners of war remain in Baku jails, two years after the war. He also lied about Armenia not providing “unhindered access from Azerbaijan to its exclave of Nakhichevan.” However, Armenia repeatedly announced its readiness to provide such a road, while Azerbaijan has not reciprocated.

Aliyev concluded his speech by stating that his ‘patience’ is ‘not unlimited,’ and threatened that unless he gets what he demands from Armenia, “we will be left with no other option but to act accordingly.”

Prime Minister Pashinyan spoke next, countering Aliyev’s lies. Calling Azerbaijan’s September attack “an unprovoked military aggression against Armenia,” Pashinyan condemned Azeri soldiers for committing war crimes by executing Armenian prisoners of war in contravention of the Geneva Convention.

Pashinyan also accused Azerbaijan of intending “to occupy more territories of Armenia.” He blamed “the inadequate response of the regional security organizations [Collective Security Treaty Organization] … which has caused very sharp questions in the Armenian society.” He asked if the CSTO recognized the borders of the former Soviet Republics.

Pashinyan said that Azerbaijan is only now demanding to know the fate of missing Azeri soldiers in the Karabagh war of 1990’s, revealing that 777 Armenians are missing from that war and 217 from the 2020 war.

Pashinyan criticized Azerbaijan for falsely describing as ‘corridor’ the agreed upon road between Azerbaijan and Nakhichevan. He said that despite the fact that the 2020 agreement “clearly mentions” Karabagh, Azerbaijan claims that it “does not exist.”

Pashinyan also responded to Aliyev’s false claim that Armenia had mined Azeri territories after the 2020 war. Pashinyan stated that “such mining has taken place entirely within the sovereign territory of the Republic of Armenia. And it is our right to take some security steps to protect the territorial integrity of our country.”

Pashinyan also contradicted Aliyev’s false claim that the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan was of religious nature. Pashinyan reiterated Armenia’s close relations with many Muslim countries.

Pashinyan denied that Armenia had organized any attacks on Azerbaijani embassies in foreign countries. Where is the evidence, he asked.

Concluding his remarks, Pashinyan once again spoke about his baseless expectation of peace with Azerbaijan and Turkey, given their ongoing hostility toward Armenia. Peace cannot be achieved by one side while the other side is trying to kill you.

An enemy who is constantly attacking you and pointing a gun to your head cannot be considered a reliable partner for peace.