By David Boyajian,

There may be no regime more loathsome and deserving of U.S./European condemnation and punitive sanctions than that of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and his crew of criminals and monsters.

Corrupt to the core

• OCCRP, the international crime/corruption watchdog, named Aliyev its 2012 “Organized Crime and Corruption Person of the Year.”

His family has secretly amassed major “stakes in the country’s … banks, construction companies, [and] gold mines” and snapped up over $140 million in luxury residences abroad.

By 2021, Aliyev’s crime syndicate had covertly accumulated British property worth $700 million.

• The Azerbaijani Laundromat was a $2.9 billion money laundering racket. It bribed British, German, Italian and various European officials to whitewash Azerbaijan’s repulsive reputation.
• In 2013, Azerbaijan surreptitiously bankrolled a propaganda junket to Baku for 10 members of Congress and over 30 staffers from six states. Aliyev showered them with jewelry, rugs and other goodies, which the Office of so-called Congressional Ethics belatedly forced them to surrender.
• “Respected” American publications and Congress’ Azerbaijan Caucus – including shifty co-chair Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, an FBI target – reportedly concealed Azerbaijan’s crimes.

State sponsor of terrorism

• Azerbaijan deployed thousands of terrorists/jihadis against Christian Armenians in the early 1990s, including Afghan Mujahedin, Chechens and Turkey’s Grey Wolves.
• Azerbaijan had long befriended Osama bin Laden. Baku’s al-Qaida cell belonged to the network that bombed American embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998. A dozen Americans and 212 others perished.
• Columbia University’s Peace-Building/Human Rights program and others have documented Aliyev’s using thousands of terrorist mercenaries in his unprovoked 2020 war against Armenian-populated Artsakh/Nagorno-Karabagh (N-K) and Armenia. Turkey openly transported them from Syria and Libya.

The jihadis included one-time ISIS commander/war criminal Sayf Balud and miscellaneous murderers, rapists and kidnappers. Reportedly, Pakistan also sent terrorists.

During the war, Azeri zealots chanted, “Jihad, jihad, jihad.” In Baku? No, in Washington, D.C.

• The EU Parliament denounced (Jan. 20, 2021) Baku and Ankara for using “foreign terrorists” against Armenians.
• The U.N.’s Working Group on Mercenaries condemned (Nov. 6, 2020) Baku’s and Ankara’s hiring of jihadis. Predictably, the U.N. probe has stalled, doubtless due to obstruction by the U.S. and others.
• The Senate Foreign Relations Committee grilled (July 21, 2021) the neocon under secretary of state for political affairs, potty-mouthed Victoria Nuland, about Turkey’s delivering terrorists to Azerbaijan. She refused to answer in open session.

That’s consistent with America’s scandalous and long-running downplaying of Azerbaijan’s and Turkey’s state sponsorship of terrorism.

Sheer evil

• Azerbaijan is unashamedly homicidal/genocidal.

Defense Minister Safar Abiyev (RFE/RL, Aug. 4, 2004): “[In] 25 years there will be no state of Armenia. … [Armenians] have no right to live in this region.”

Baku Mayor Hajibala Abutalybov to a Bavarian delegation (2006): ”Our goal is the complete elimination of Armenians. You, Nazis, already eliminated the Jews in the 1930s and ’40s, right?”

Nurlan Ibrahimov, a Baku soccer team’s public relations director (Facebook, October 2020): We must kill all Armenians – children, women and the elderly.”

• Azerbaijan has long been obliterating any evidence of Armenia’s three-millennia-long existence.

Using sledgehammers and dump trucks, Azerbaijani troops destroyed (YouTube: New Tears of Araxes) a huge ninth-century Armenian Christian cemetery in Nakhichevan. Stalin had cruelly assigned the latter Armenian territory (and Artsakh/N-K) to Azerbaijan in the 1920s.

Over time, Azerbaijanis murdered or expelled every Armenian in Nakhichevan. Baku plans the same for Artsakh/N-K.

• Baku’s claims to nearly all of 3,000-year-old Armenia are preposterous. No country/nation named Azerbaijan (a Persian/Iranian name) existed before 1918. The region was ethnically/religiously mixed. Some of its Muslims identified as Tartar/Turkish. Only in the 1930s did these start calling themselves Azerbaijanis.
• During/after the 2020 war, Azerbaijani perpetrated voluminous and varied evils and crimes (besides those in/after 1988).

U.S. lawmakers, the EU Parliament and others have decried the cemetery’s destruction and the ongoing eradication and vandalism of many Armenian churches/monuments, to no avail. The State Department’s reaction has been negligible.

Yet consider the uproar by American officials, media and conservative Evangelicals whenever Jewish cemeteries or synagogues are vandalized, attacked or destroyed.

Warning: Often graphic and disturbing:

• Executions of captured Armenian soldiers.
• Beheadings (video removed but available).
• Desecration of a dead, naked Armenian woman (videos removed but available).
• Armenian POWs are still imprisoned and tortured.
• Bombardment of Artsakh/N-K’s “hospitals, schools, local water supply.”
• Azerbaijan used banned white phosphorous and, reportedly, cluster munitions.
• Azerbaijan has illegally blockaded – food, electricity, gas, communications – the 120,000 indigenous Armenians of Artsakh/N-K. Baku has defied an International Court of Justice order to end the blockade. Moscow slyly allows the blockade.

Azerbaijan overrated

For about 30 years, Artsakh/N-K, with Yerevan’s help, outfought a better-armed, wealthier and far more populous Azerbaijan. Artsakh became self-governing, democratic and largely safe from Baku’s savagery.

Only Turkey’s and Israel’s military participation, and Moscow’s deliberate passivity, turned the tide against Armenians in 2020. It’s apparently Tel Aviv’s first martial campaign against a nearly all-Christian country.

Azerbaijan now aims to ethnically cleanse Artsakh and has seized chunks of Armenia.

Meanwhile, Washington and Europe needlessly kowtow to Baku, wildly embellishing its energy exporting value.

• Azerbaijan supplies a mere fraction (perhaps 3%) of the EU’s natural gas.
• Baku imports Russian gas and reportedly sells it to the West, thereby undermining Western sanctions against Russia.
• Russia owns part of Azerbaijan’s gas fields/pipelines. Aliyev is stuffing Putin’s pockets with Western cash.
• Azerbaijan has no choice but to send its gas westward due to binding contracts, existing pipelines and lack of alternative markets.

The right path

I’ve shown elsewhere that the Caucasus’ swing country is Armenia. Whichever direction it goes, so goes the Caucasus.

Russia’s stranglehold over Armenia and Artsakh remains. But the West’s rejection of sanctions against the obvious aggressor, Azerbaijan, unmasks the duplicity behind its sponsorship of talks between Yerevan and Baku.

Moreover, Washington’s flouting of Section 907’s restrictions on aid to Azerbaijan brings further dishonor upon America.

If Armenians are wise, they won’t agree to anything with Baku unless Yerevan gets rock-solid Western security guarantees, high-tech weapons and a long-term, armed international peace-keeping force in Artsakh.

Otherwise, given Azerbaijan’s blood-soaked, deceitful record, its signature on a “peace” agreement is worthless.

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David Boyajian’s main focus is the Caucasus. His work is archived at https://www.armeniapedia.org/wiki/David_Boyajian

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This article was originally published by the WND News Center.

When Azerbaijan starts a new aggression against Armenia, Turkey will protect Pashinyan

Azerbaijan is shooting at the settlements and infrastructures of Armenia. Armenian Defense Minister Suren Papikyan calls them “provocative actions” and promises to “advance the peace agenda” from the parliamentary podium. It seems that we are not talking about the Minister of Defense, whose immediate duty is to properly organize the defense of the country, to prevent the actions of the enemy, but a clergyman who urges not to give in to provocations, instead, “if you are slapped on the right cheek, slap the left one as well.” Something that Pashinyan said during the days of the 2018 coup when he called not to give in to police provocations. Azerbaijan shoots in the direction of Armenia, injuring civilians, destroying people’s property, and depriving them of the opportunity to work and earn. and Edmon Marukyan, who performs incomprehensible functions in Pashinyan’s staff, says. “The silence of the international community or the lack of clearly targeted measures towards Azerbaijan can cause new aggressions against democratic Armenia.”

An impression is created that the state of Armenia does not exist, that the state does not have the opportunity and ability to defend itself, and if Azerbaijan carries out aggression against Armenia and realizes its goals, the international community will be responsible for it.
The question arises: what about the government of Armenia, do the officials representing that government have any responsibility for Armenia’s self-defense? Or is their only job to appeal to the international community and condemn it, and then reveal the person responsible for another defeat? It is no longer difficult to blame the former or Putin for the defeat, most of the military personnel of the army are detained and persecuted, for this they have found a new target: Russia and the international community – faceless, unaddressed culprits. After another attack by Azerbaijan, they will say: what should we do? We, as a democratic country, were moving with a peace agenda, but terrorist and dictatorial Azerbaijan attacked and destroyed our country under the indifferent gaze of the international community.

Representatives of the Armenian authorities, including the Minister of Defense, say with the joy of a great discovery that Azerbaijan is preparing the ground for a new aggression. It doesn’t take much intelligence to see the preparation for that aggression. Azerbaijan refused to participate in the meeting of foreign ministers scheduled for June 12 in Washington, after that, the presidents of Azerbaijan and Turkey again announced in Baku that they consider the opening of the Zangezur corridor “inevitable”. The USA urges its citizens not to visit the border settlements of Armenia and the Syunik Marz in general. The United States government is probably informed about the direction of Azerbaijan’s next aggression, where Azerbaijan intends to open the “Zangezur Corridor”. Yesterday they started shooting and advancing in Kornidzor.

Expecting political responsibility from Pashinyan or members of his government, representatives of the government, for leaving the country defenseless or powerless, is a pointless activity. A serial killer does not think about the possible punishment when going to commit another crime. it doesn’t matter whether he will be sentenced for killing 8 or 10 people, there will be no excuse, no mitigating circumstance can reduce his sentence. But are Pashinyan and the representatives of his government concerned about their possible political or criminal responsibility when Azerbaijan and Turkey organize another attack and open a common border by conquering Syunik, or do they consider that they are insured against such responsibility?

At one time, I was convinced that in the event of a new aggression, Pashinyan’s government would collapse, the society would not tolerate a government that is subjecting the country to endless defeats and losses. But now the situation has changed. By leaving for Kishinev and Turkey, Pashinyan received security guarantees from the West and Turkey.

On June 4, the Ukrainian army started the long-awaited counter-offensive. It is going slowly, but the Ukrainian side is making progress. Azerbaijan and Turkey are also waiting for the course and results of this counterattack. If the resistance of the Russian army is broken, Azerbaijan will immediately enter Syunik, opening the “Zangezur Corridor”. There will be protests and civil disobedience actions in Armenia, but if something threatens Pashinyan’s power, Turkey will definitely send troops to Yerevan to protect Pashinyan. It is less than 40 kilometers from the Turkish border to Yerevan, the government building. The construction of the road from the border of Turkey to Yerevan is nearing completion, most likely it will be finished in a month. The Turkish army and special forces will come to Pashinyan’s aid in less than half an hour. If the Russian army is defeated on the Ukrainian front, it is impossible for the Russians to resist Turkey here. Thus, the new security architecture of the South Caucasus will be completed: the Russian army will be removed from Armenia, replaced by the Turkish army, a member of NATO.

Avetis Babajanyan

(Los Angeles, CA) – On June 14, 2023, Armenian National Committee of America Western Region representatives met with Los Angeles County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath to discuss the Armenian-American community and its current priorities. The meeting was held at Supervisor Horvath’s office at the Hall of Administration in Downtown Los Angeles.

The ANCA – Western Region delegation briefed Supervisor Horvath on the growing needs of the Armenian-American Community in Los Angeles County’s Third Supervisorial District. Supervisorial District Three extends across much of the San Fernando Valley, where a sizable portion of Southern California’s Armenian population resides. Topics of discussion included the various community initiatives that the ANCA Western Region has enacted to educate and ensure the Armenian-American community’s participation in all aspects of political and local advocacy, as well as opportunities for Supervisor Horvath to advance policy priorities of importance to her Armenian-American constituents.

The group thanked the Supervisor for co-authoring the county motion in February of 2023, which condemned Azerbaijan’s brutal blockade of Artsakh and called upon the Biden Administration to exert pressure on Azerbaijan to end the blockade. The blockade, which has continued for over six months, has deprived the 120,000 Armenians of Artsakh of their rights to access food, medicine, and other essential goods. The delegation also highlighted the importance of continued local support for Artsakh’s right to self-determination.

Supervisor Horvath expressed her solidarity with the Armenian people and her support for lifting the blockade. She also pledged to work with the ANCA Western Region to continue to raise awareness of the issue with her colleagues on the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors. “We are grateful to cultivate an impactful relationship with Supervisor Horvath, who has shown initiative to represent the needs and interests of her Armenian-American constituents,” said Nora Hovsepian, Esq. “Home to one of the largest Armenian diaspora communities in the world, Los Angeles County serves an important role in elevating the Armenian Cause and reverberating the calls of Armenian-Americans,” she concluded.

The Armenian National Committee of America-Western Region is the largest and most influential Armenian-American grassroots advocacy organization in the Western United States. Working in coordination with a network of offices, chapters, and supporters throughout the Western United States and affiliated organizations around the country, the ANCA Western Region advances the concerns of the Armenian American community on a broad range of issues.— 

Hetq In 2022, the Speaker of the National Assembly, Alen Simonyan, bought an apartment in the “Byuregh” residential district under construction on Arshakunyats Avenue, Yerevan. We learn about this from Alen Simonyan’s 2022 annual declaration of property and income.

Let’s remind: “Byuregh” residential district is being built by “Jermuk Group” CJSC, owned by former RPA deputy Ashot Arsenyan. Arsenyan now has close ties with the representatives of the government. His son, Vahagn Arsenyan, on the list of the ruling “Civil Agreement” party in 2021. became the mayor of Jermuk.

As stated in the statement of the Speaker of the National Assembly Alen Simonyan, he lent 53 million 920 thousand drams to “Jermuk Group” CJSC during 2022, which is, it can be said, the value of the apartment purchase transaction. For the purchase of an apartment, Alen Simonyan and his wife, Mariam Margaryan, took a mortgage loan from “Armeconombank” belonging to the family of businessman MP Khachatur Sukiasyan, the amount of the loan was 48 million 325 thousand drams. The amount was declared as income received in the accounting year.

In the 2022 income, Alen Simonyan also declared 7 million drams received from Ana Giorgi as rent payment. Alen Simonyan, as the chairman of the National Assembly, received a salary of 14 million 406 thousand drams last year. In the income section, the Speaker of the National Assembly also mentioned the 374 thousand drams received from Narek Mantashyan, co-chairman of “Alternative” NGO. That is the amount that the court obliged Mantashyan to compensate for insulting and slandering Simonyan.

Alen Simonyan declared 585,000 AMD and 705 USD in his bank accounts in the cash section. And as cash, the Speaker of the National Assembly declared 24 million 65 thousand drams.

Alen Simonyan has declared the apartment in the center of Yerevan, which he owns as a sole proprietorship, acquired in 2019, as real estate. The Speaker of the National Assembly did not declare vehicles.

Alen Simonyan’s wife, Mariam Margaryan, mentioned in her declaration the apartment purchased in 2014 in the center of Yerevan, and as a means of transport, the Land Rover of 2021, purchased in 2021.

As we already mentioned, Alen Simonyan and Mariam Margaryan took a loan of 48 million drams from “Armeconombank” to buy an apartment in “Byuregh” residential district. Among other incomes, the NA Speaker’s wife mentioned $159 from “Armeconombank” as interest or other compensation, a loan from “Ameriabank” in the amount of 726 thousand drams, as well as wages from “Free News” LLC in the amount of 11 million 285 thousand drams and “Efemef Group” ” from LLC in the amount of AMD 8 million. In “Free News” LLC, which represents the media of the same name, Mariam Margaryan holds the position of director, and in “Efemef Group” she, in addition to being a director, is also the owner of 100 percent of shares. According to the SRC data, that company is involved in the production of video films and television programs.

At the beginning of the year, Mariam Margaryan stated 159 dollars and 36 thousand drams as non-cash amount, which were no longer there at the end of the year, and the NA Speaker’s wife declared 2100 dollars and 2.5 million drams in cash.

Let us add that Alen Simonyan is not the only representative of the government who buys an apartment in the “Byuregh” residential district. Earlier, “Hetk” wrote that Minister of Defense Suren Papikyan bought an apartment in that district several times lower than the market price.

The head of the Prime Minister’s Office Arayik Harutyunyan and the Ambassador of Armenia to the USA Lilit Makunts also bought an apartment in the “Byuregh” district. These data appear in their declarations. Khachatur Sukiasyan’s “Armeconombank” provided loans to these officials in all the mentioned cases.

But he claims

I can’t imagine a person who loves my homeland more than me. if we do that, we’re saying destroy us read his word he says homeland, not Armenia.

In fact, normal people are no longer interested in how these authorities justify the destruction of Artsakh and their decision to hand over Armenia to the Turkish-Azerbaijani tandem from morning to night.

Any thinking citizen is absolutely no longer interested in completely false and absurd excuses that they are allegedly not guilty and that Artsakh was allegedly handed over by the “former”, “blacks”. Any self-respecting Armenian feels anger when hearing how this government “condemns the installation of a monument to the Nemesis operation”, or how the representatives of the government, with the expression “intelligent face”, tell about the fact that in the matter of handing over the sovereign territories of Armenia under the name of so-called enclaves ” proud citizens” should not “worry” because the loss is not great.

Any normal person cannot hear without disgust and shudder how these authorities shamelessly justify the need for national humiliation and, allegedly, this is the only formula for achieving “peace”. Society is already separated from them – a large number of people who do not want to live in a state of constant humiliation, do not want to become “material” for the construction of the Great Turan. People who do not agree to lose their homeland as a result of the pro-Turkish and pro-Azerbaijani policies of this government. And, of course, there are also those who, turning off all feelings and instincts, are ready to drag us all to the Turkish grave, which is called the “era of peace”. This is obvious, as it is also obvious that with all this, the Armenian society is in a state of deep stress and humiliation, as a result of which a social explosion is inevitable.

The most important thing is that the country does not remain under the rubble of the social explosion that will inevitably come very soon.

HG By the way, it is interesting to watch how one of the most important postulates of the velvet power is revealed by the hands of the Europeans, as if “Karabakh was soon handed over by the former” and they “have no choice”. And so… According to Josep Borel, EU foreign policy official, Armenia has recognized Nagorno Karabakh as part of Azerbaijan, and Nikol Pashinyan is the first leader of Armenia to make such a statement. Interesting isn’t it?

Arman Abovyan