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Presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy
It’s shameful that the US taxpayer has been used to fund the persecution of Armenian Christians by Azerbaijan. Entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, who has nominated his candidacy in the next US presidential elections, noted this on X—former Twitter.
“I’m astounded that not a single presidential candidate has even acknowledged the atrocity. Blocking military aid to Azerbaijan is the right step,” Ramaswamy added.
by James Carden
YEREVAN – Over the past month, legacy and social media have been saturated with reports of the Netanyahu regime’s war on Gaza, which is being met with growing calls from the international community to invoke the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.
Less known, however, is the role the Israeli government has played in another genocide that took place in West Asia only a month and a half ago. This genocide, little noted in the Western press, involved the ancient Christian community of Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh, known within Armenia as the Republic of Artsakh, that was ethnically cleansed by the Ilham Aliyev, the Shia dictator of Azerbaijan, in late September and early October. The muted response to Azerbaijan’s crime might plausibly be chalked up to the strength of its well-funded and influential lobby in Washington which profits off of the oil and gas revenue generated by SOCAR, the State Oil Company of the Azerbaijan Republic. SOCAR has links to the Podesta Group (co-founder John Podesta currently serves as a senior adviser to President Biden), lobbying powerhouse BGR Government Affairs, LLC, as well as numerous think tanks and academics associated with, among others, The Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) and the American Foreign Policy Council.
Yet another reason for the subdued response by Washington is the well documented ‘special relationship’ between the 51st US state, Israel, and Azerbaijan. A discussion I had last week with the Armenian academic Dr. Benyamin Poghosyan, who serves as Chairman of the Center for Political and Economic Strategic Studies and Senior Research Fellow on Foreign Policy at the Applied Policy Research Institute (APRI) of Armenia, shed some light on the role the Israeli government and its defense industry has played in enabling Azerbaijan – and why.
The relationship between the two countries began to deepen around 15 years ago when Azerbaijan, flush with revenue from its oil and gas deposits in the Caspian basin, began looking to purchase advanced weapons systems.
According to Poghosyan, “as late as September 2023, just before the most recent Azerbaijani attackseveral cargo planes went to Israel and came back to Azerbaijan full of weapons. And there is even information that Israel continued to supply weapons to Azerbaijan even after October 7th.”
The AP reports that it is estimated that Israel has supplied Azerbaijan with “nearly 70% of its arsenal between 2016 and 2020.”And just this week it was reported that Azerbaijan inked a $1.2 billion dollar deal with Israel Aerospace Industries to purchase the Barak MX air defense system, described as “a modular air defense system… designed to address missile and aircraft threats.”
The question then arises: Why is Israel, which claims to be under a near constant threat of missile attacks from the south in Gaza and potentially from the north by Hezbollah, doing this?
Poghosyan notes that he doesn’t think money is the reason, after all, fully 20 percent of the Israeli defense budget is covered by the American taxpayer.
The real reason has to do with Iran.
According to Poghosyan, Azerbaijan has agreed “to allow Israel to use their territory for anti-Iranian activities. And we are speaking about covert activities, foreign intelligence… Azerbaijan gave the green light to Israeli special services, especially its foreign intelligence service, to do whatever they want in Azerbaijan. Of course now they have access to that security zone around Nagorno-Karabakh, which borders Iran.”
Poghosyan notes that in recent years (in the aftermath of its earlier attempt to subjugate Nagorno Karabakh in 2020) Azerbaijan constructed two airports in the territory it gained around Nagorno Karabakh. “They are,” says Poghosyan “supposedly civilian airports, yet they are located very close to Azerbaijani-Iranian border – a distance of 30, 40 kilometers from the border. There are a lot of reports that Israeli military intelligence or foreign intelligence operatives are using these airports for operations against Iran.”
Israel’s role in assisting Azerbaijan’s ethnic cleansing of Nagorno-Karabakh is well known inside Israel, which it must be said, conducts a far more robust debate over Israel’s foreign policy than is allowed here in the United States.
The estimable Israeli newspaper Haaretz recently editorialized that Israel has, in their words, “its fingerprints” all over Azerbaijan’s ethnic cleansing in Nagorno-Karabakh. Haaretz also contends that “Israel hasn’t just supplied Azerbaijan with arms. It has also helped it distort history” by its refusal to recognize the Armenian genocide, which the Israeli regime merely defines as a “tragedy.”
Meanwhile, the situation in Armenia grows more ominous by the day, as Azerbaijan escalates its rhetoric (last week accusing Armenia of, among other things, illegally “occupying” eight villages on the Azerbaijan-Armenia border) and stands ready, with the eager help of Tel Aviv, to once again make a mockery of both international law and common decency.
James W. Carden is a columnist and former adviser to the US-Russia Bilateral Presidential Commission at the U.S. Department of State. His articles and essays have appeared in a wide variety of publications including The Nation, The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, The Spectator, UnHerd, The National Interest, Quartz, The Los Angeles Times, and American Affairs.
During the National Assembly-Government question-and-answer session, Lilit Galstyan, deputy of the Armenia faction, referred to the statement of Minister of Education and Culture Zhanna Andreasyan that the management councils of universities are not politicized.
“Today, in response to the question of the politicization of universities, Minister of Education and Culture, Zhanna Andreasyan first urged me, as before, not to talk about it or to bring at least one fact. Please, let me give you the facts: Suren Papikyan is the chairman of the YSU Management Board, Tigran Avinyan is the chairman of the Polytechnic Management Board, Vahagn Khachaturyan is the Chairman of the Economics Board, and you, Mrs. Andreasyan, are the Chairman of the Pedagogical Board. I would also like to add that there are screenings for political views in universities. Try to justify that these are not political purges or they are not talking about the politicization of universities,” said Lilit Galstyan. In response, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said:
“I have touched on that topic several times and said that when we say that there should be no party affiliation in universities, it does not mean that some parties and political groups should create secret cells there and make universities part of the political apparatus. I was listening to your speech, I want to pay attention to your wording. You said that they did not give me lessons at the university because of my political behavior. You did not say about my views or party affiliation. You answered your question. And who said that this opportunity should be abused, we gave that opportunity. We have given that opportunity to other sectors and groups, but, sorry, when that opportunity is misused and used against the goal, it does not mean that the government should just keep watching silently. Universities are all bodies founded by the government, and the government has the greatest authority in RA for these universities today and tomorrow.” Nikol Pashinyan also referred to the noise created around textbooks. “We are not saying that everything in the textbooks is perfect, we are saying that a new system has been created, which should enable us and RA to have more and more quality textbooks on the table of our students.”
Source: https://www.aravot.am/2023/11/15/1382720/?fbclid=IwAR2_agZ-0g9D9ve4rvYFj9gN58Q_z9_NF6lBSlLMumQ3CTnUkgm9aBGPJLs
During the question-and-answer session with the members of the government, Levon Kocharyan, who received the powers of a deputy yesterday, asked the Minister of Internal Affairs Vahe Ghazaryan a question related to “atrocities of the policemen”. According to him, the policemen beat people in front of the cameras, then the policemen give false testimony that the citizens used violence against them, and arrest people because there are no brave judges.
Deputy Kocharyan inquired that official investigations of a formal nature are being carried out, but in the end it does not cause any consequences. Levon Kocharyan mentioned that these policemen are being put under attack, because if these authorities detain them, it will not be like that later, they will be held criminally liable.
Minister of Internal Affairs Vahe Ghazaryan, answering the question, said that he has worked in the police for many years, about 20 years, and the police have never worked in such a patient and competent manner as they are serving now.
Levon Kocharyan mentioned that it is necessary to be original, not to make quotes related to the present and the former, because people are tired of all that. The deputy noted that the policemen tried to strangle the minor, hit the fallen person, etc. on video.
Vahe Ghazaryan mentioned again that today’s behavior of the police is restrained, no one had a nosebleed during the rallies, which is thanks to the police. The opponents immediately complained about the answer.
By Harut Sassounian
The FBI has now expanded its investigation of the alleged illegal fundraising links between New York City Mayor Eric Adams’ campaign and Turkish officials and individuals.
I reported last week that the FBI had raided the home of the Mayor’s campaign fundraiser, seizing three iPhones, two computers, and various files. Boyd Johnson, an attorney retained by Adams, said that after the raid, “it was discovered that an individual had recently acted improperly.”
Since then, the FBI unexpectedly stopped the Mayor in the street and took his two cellphones and iPad, after obtaining a search warrant from the court. The FBI copied the contents of his electronic devices and returned them to the Mayor. Adams canceled a planned trip to Puerto Rico to attend an important political conference.
There are three significant aspects to this latest development:
1) The Federal Government is getting closer to investigating the personal links between the Mayor and Turkish officials and individuals who may have made illegal contributions to his political campaign.
2) In order to obtain a search warrant from the court, the FBI had to present to the judge credible evidence of possible wrongdoing by the Mayor or his campaign. A similar warrant was obtained from court before searching the home of the Mayor’s fundraiser last week.
3) The reason the Mayor was unexpectedly stopped in the street to take his electronic devices was to prevent him from having the opportunity to delete or alter information on his devices.
The New York Times reported on Nov. 12, 2023, that the FBI is “examining whether Adams cleared Red Tape for the Turkish government.” According to the news report, “after winning the 2021 Democratic Mayoral primary, Eric Adams successfully pressed [New York] city officials to allow the opening of a Manhattan high-rise building housing the Turkish Consulate.”
The New York Times revealed that “the Federal authorities are investigating whether Mayor Eric Adams weeks before his election two years ago, pressured New York Fire Department officials to sign off on the Turkish government’s new high-rise consulate in Manhattan despite safety concerns with the building, three people with knowledge of the matter said.”
The New York Times added: “After winning the Democratic mayoral primary in July, Adams contacted then-Fire Commissioner Daniel A. Nigro in late summer 2021 and urged him to allow the Turkish government to occupy the building at least on a temporary basis. The building had yet to open because fire officials had cited safety issues and declined to sign off on its occupancy, the people said…. The building is still operating under a temporary certificate of occupancy, records show.”
The Mayor’s intervention made it possible for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan “to preside over the grand opening of the $300 million, 35-story tower on his September 2021 visit to New York for the U.N. General Assembly, despite numerous flaws in its fire safety system, according to the people familiar with the matter and city records,” according to The New York Times.
“The federal criminal inquiry has focused at least in part on whether Adams’ 2021 campaign conspired with the Turkish government, including its consulate general in New York, to illegally funnel foreign money into its coffers, according to a search warrant obtained by The New York Times for an F.B.I. search this month of the home of the mayor’s chief fund-raiser…. Adams’ ties to the Turkish government and community stretch back years. As Brooklyn borough president, he actively wooed wealthy members of the Turkish community in south Brooklyn. In August 2015, the Turkish consulate in New York paid for Adams’ airfare, hotel and ground transportation for a trip to Turkey, according to financial disclosure records. There, Adams signed a sister-city agreement with Istanbul’s Uskudar municipality, one of several he executed with foreign cities he traveled to as borough president. He also visited Bahcesehir University, founded by the same Turkish philanthropist who founded Bay Atlantic University in Washington, D.C.,” The New York Times reported.
Furthermore, the FBI is investigating “the role of KSK Construction, a Brooklyn building company owned by Turkish immigrants that organized a fund-raising event for Adams on May 7, 2021. On that day, 48 donors, including the company’s owners, employees and their families, along with others in the construction and real estate industries, donated $43,600, Adams’ campaign reports show. Those contributions enabled him to obtain another $48,000 in public matching funds for a total of nearly $92,000,” according to The New York Times.
Three American members of the board of the Turken Foundation, which was founded by Bilal Erdogan, the son of President Erdogan, donated $6,000 to Adams’ campaign between 2018 and 2021, according to The City website. The foundation is registered as a foreign agent with the U.S. Department of Justice.
Oddly, Eric Adams, then-Brooklyn borough president, played himself in a 2017 Turkish romantic comedy film, ‘Fairytale of New York,’ where two Turkish men ask him for political favors but he says he can’t understand them. Adams tells the Turks in the film: “Brooklyn loves Turkey. Brooklyn is the Istanbul of America. We love your food, we love your music, but I don’t understand Turkish, we can take a selfie though.”
Կորյուն Սիմոնյան
Լեհաստանում ՀՀ նախկին դեսպան Էդգար Ղազարյանը պատրաստվում է ԱԺ նախագահ Ալեն Սիմոնյանին նվիրված սթենդ ափ ներկայացում բեմադրել, որի վերնագիրը կլինի «Ոսկե հորթը»։ Մեզ հետ զրույցում Ղազարյանն ասաց, որ նման գաղափարի առաջացման պատճառ է դարձել Ալեն Սիմոնյանի՝ Ղազարյանի դեմ ներկայացրած դատական հայցը՝ կապված զրպարտություն համարվող տեղեկատվությունը հերքելու պահանջի հետ։
Ավելի վաղ «Հրապարակը» գրել էր, որ Ալեն Սիմոնյանն ընդդեմ Ղազարյանի հայց է ներկայացրել՝ իրեն «ամենամեծ կոռուպցիոներ» անվանելու համար․
«Երբ որ ես դատարանից ստացա գրությունը, որ իմ դեմ հայցադիմում կա և դատաքննություն է սկսվելու, որի օրը դեռ պարզ չէ, բայց դատարանը գործն ընդունել է վարույթ։ Մամուլից էլ տեղեկացա, թե ինչ պատճառով է դա եղել․ պարզվում է, որ դատական հայցի առարկան այն է, որ ես իրեն անվանել եմ «մեծ կոռուպցիոներ»։ Ես այստեղ, իհարկե, մի քիչ սխալվել եմ, որովհետև նյութերի ուսումնասիրությունը ցույց է տալիս, որ ինքը շատ մեծ կոռուպցիոներ է։ Երբ պատրաստվում էի դատարան հայցին ի պատասխան փաստարկներ ու հիմնավորումներ ներկայացնելու, և ուսումնասիրելով նրա անցյալն ու գործունեությունը, այս պահի դրությամբ առանձնացրել եմ առնվազն 20 ակնհայտ կոռուպցիոն դրվագներ Ալեն Սիմոնյանի գործունեության առաձին հանգամանքների վերաբերյալ։ Եվ քանի որ դրանք բոլորը փաստաթղթավորված են, այսինքն՝ հիմնավորված են իրավական ակտերով, որոշումներով, իր ինսթագրամյան և ֆեյսբուքյան էջերի, Ազգային ժողովի պաշտոնական էջի, նախագահականի պաշտոնական էջի լուսանկարներով, տեղեկատվությամբ, իր գործուղումների մասին որոշումներով և այլն, այդ հիմնավորումները, որոնք առարկայական են, ես որոշեցի մինչև դատական նիստը ներկայացնել սթենդ ափ ձևաչափում, այսինքն՝ փաստերը լուսանկարների հետ, իրականության հետ՝ ի տես հանրության, որովհետև շատ հարուստ նյութ է ստացվել։ Ես արդեն վերնագրել եմ այդ ներկայացումը, որը կոչվելու է «Ոսկե հորթը», և անդրադարձ է լինելու այդ ամբողջ կոռուպցիոն գործունեությանը, այսինքն՝ հիմնավորելու է այն պատասխանը , որը մենք պետք է ներկայացնենք դատարան։ Այսինքն՝ մինչև դատարան ներկայացնելը ես պատրաստվում եմ իմ ձեռքի տակ եղած ամբողջ նյութերը ներկայացնել հանրության ուշադրությանը»,- ասաց Ղազարյանը։
Հարցրինք՝ վայրը, օրը արդեն որոշե՞լ է, թե որտեղ ու երբ է լինելու, Ղազարյանը պատասխանեց․
«Ես, ճիշտն ասած, կուզենամ, որ դա լինի հանդիսատեսի առաջ, այսինքն՝ մարդիկ ներկա լինեն, կենդանի շփում լինի, բայց քանի որ դրա փորձառությունը չունեմ, այսինքն՝ երբևէ նման ձևով ես հանդես չեմ եկել, և որևէ համագործակցություն չեմ ունեցել որևէ կազմակերպության հետ․․․, գուցե հենց իրեն էլ դիմեմ, որովհետև ինքը մինչև ԱԺ նախագահ լինելը պրոդյուսեր է եղել, դերասանական գործունեությամբ է զբաղվել, կլիպեր է նկարել և այլն, իրեն կդիմեմ, կասեմ, որ այդպիսի գաղափար կա։ Իհարկե, որտեղ էլ լինի, իրեն անպայման կհրավիրեմ, իրեն և իր կոռուպցիոն դրվագների բոլոր հերոսներին, օրինակ՝ իր եղբորը՝ «Եվրոասֆալտ» ընկերության գլխավոր տնօրենին, որ այդ կոռուպցիոն դրվագի մի մասն է, իր մայրիկին, որը խուլիգանական պահվածք էր ցուցաբերել հանրության նկատմամբ, և միայն Ալեն Սիմոնյանի կոռուպցիոն ներգրավվածության հետևանքով ազատվեց պատասխանատվությունից։ Այսինքն՝ ես իրենց պատրաստ եմ հրավիրել, բայց կարծում եմ, որ ճիշտ կլինի կազմակերպական հարցերով իրեն դիմեմ, և կարծում եմ առաջիկայում կդիմեմ իրեն, որ ինքը իր փորձից ելնելով կազմակերպի, դառնա այդ նախագծի պրոդյուսերը, որովհետև ինքը այդ նախագծի գլխավոր հեղինակն է, լավ կլինի, որ պրոդյուսերական գործունեությունն էլ ինքը ծավալի, և դա կդիտիվի որպես ստեղծագործական աշխատանք, որը թույլատրելի է պատգամավորի պարագայում»,- ասաց Ղազարյանը։
Ամբողջական հոդվածը կարող եք կարդալ այս հասցեով՝ : https://hraparak.am/post/36c24aeedf6559c5a589fa5fc8ab2dc3?fbclid=IwAR1At7GI5uZLfvWAShK2DfLKoAmVkQlDG2tsygoXAlS426blhmGX3kcsP6k
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Ambassador with special assignments Edmon Marukyan put forward a number of CP theses in an interview given to 24 News yesterday. In addition to the fact that during the entire conversation,
Marukyan “washed Nikol Pashinyan’s face”, he also stated that preserving the lost institutions of Artsakh is a matter of national security for Armenia. “No institute of Artsakh will work in RA, it is a matter of national security,” said Marukyan. It is a fact that for thirty years, Azerbaijan consistently, step by step, achieved its goal – it finally occupied the Republic of Artsakh, and now Aliyev is making peace with Yerevan, Sevan and Syunik. And what are the current authorities of Armenia doing? They dissolve the various structures of Artsakh, fight with the opposition in the National Assembly and accuse them, blame the authorities of Artsakh for handing over Artsakh, and even remove the word “Artsakh” from our vocabulary. This statement of Marukyan was not accidental either. This is one of the defeatist theses of Nikol Pashinyan’s government today.
The authorities are even disbanding the operative headquarters of Artsakh, and are preparing to disband the representative office of Artsakh. All state institutions, universities, departments, and the Defense Ministry of Artsakh are being dissolved. A question arises. And how was Azerbaijan able to keep the dream of owning Karabakh for 30 years, how was it able to return the completely Armenian marz that was separated from it for 30 years? During that long-term struggle, Azerbaijan created many structures and public movements, financing and growing the artificial entity “Azerbaijani community of Karabakh” from Azerbaijanis who emigrated from Artsakh. He was campaigning all over the world about Artsakh being Azerbaijani and finally achieved his goal. And the Armenian government wants to erase the word “Artsakh” and the Artsakh state in just 10-15 days, which has existed for at least 30 years and is a historical Armenian land.
Why didn’t Azerbaijan, defeated 30 years ago, quickly abandon the idea of having Artsakh? Why does the Armenian government come up with theses to forget everything? These are questions that have one answer. An agency network serving Azerbaijan’s agenda has come to power in Armenia.
During the Second World War, the foundation was laid for the phenomenon of governments in exile. The most famous were the Polish and French governments-in-exile that operated in Great Britain. The French government-in-exile immediately took power in France after the end of the war. The Polish problem was more complicated, because the Soviet army that liberated Poland formed a government (naturally, with the participation of Polish communist forces). If we go further into the historical past, we can observe the initial version of this phenomenon in the form of Jewish communities. Which were operating in many European and Asian countries when year At the beginning of the 2nd century, they were almost completely expelled from their homeland.
In the case of Nikol’s prime ministership, it is not even theoretically possible to form an exiled government of Artsakh in Armenia. Nikol cuts the roots of everything related to Artsakh, why would he allow such a structure to be formed in Armenia? As Ambassador with Special Assignments Marukyan Edmon stated, “Preserving the lost Artsakh institutions is a matter of national security for Armenia.” But since for Marukyan and all other Nikolists, the maintenance of Nikol’s power is “a matter of national security”, it would be much more honest if the Nikolian instruction to forget everything related to Artsykh was presented just like that.
It turns out that the exiled government of Artsakh can be formed only in the diaspora. But whichever country you take, it will be against the existence of that structure in its territory. So, whether we like it or not, the issue of the existence of the exiled government of Artsakh under Nikol can be considered closed. Instead, the Armenian Apostolic Church creates a diocese in exile, or rather, preserves the diocese of Artsakh, with bishop Vrtanes Bishop Abrahamyan as the leader of the diocese. What was done during the regular meeting of the Supreme Spiritual Council of the AAS. Considering that in the absence of statehood, our church has always taken on management functions, the same can be the case in this case. But we must also take into account that the enemies who occupied our territories allowed the official existence of the church, and Nikol’s government will try to cause problems in terms of the activities of the Artsakh Diocese. So the diocesan leader must be ready and able to overcome such obstacles.
Matevos Asatryan, an MP of the ruling Civil Contract Faction of the National Assembly (NA) of Armenia, has died mysteriously
According to reports, he died unexpectedly.
Asatryan was 38 years old.
He was married with three children.
Haykaz Jomardyan was awarded a gold medal by Avinyan
Tigran Avinyan, who became the mayor of Yerevan, awarded Haykaz Jomardyan with a gold medal with one of his first decisions.
The press wrote that it was on his order that the red berets detained the parents of those killed in “Yerablur”.
“Guided by sub-point 1 and point 10 of paragraph 5 of appendix N 1 of the decision N 604-N of Yerevan city council of February 12, 2013.
He awarded 9 officials of the Ministry of Internal Affairs with a commemorative medal of the 2800th anniversary of Erebuni Yerevan for their significant contribution to the preservation of public order and conscientious activity.