By Wally Sarkeesian

1. Vidkun Quisling – Norway

During World War II, Quisling collaborated with Nazi Germany and helped facilitate the German occupation of Norway. After the war, he was executed for high treason. His name became synonymous with “traitor” across Europe.

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2. Wang Jingwei – China

A high-ranking Chinese official who broke away from the main Nationalist government, Wang formed a puppet regime under Japanese occupation in Nanjing during the Second Sino-Japanese War. He is widely regarded as a national traitor in Chinese history.

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3. Marshal Philippe Pétain – Vichy France

Once a World War I hero, Pétain became the head of the Vichy government that collaborated with Nazi Germany after France’s defeat in 1940. He was condemned after the war for betraying the French Republic and sentenced to death, later commuted to life imprisonment.

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4. Neville Chamberlain – United Kingdom

The British Prime Minister signed the Munich Agreement in 1938, allowing Adolf Hitler to annex the Sudetenland from Czechoslovakia. Meant to avoid war, the move is widely seen as appeasement, and many believe it emboldened Hitler, leading directly to WWII.

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5. Mikhail Gorbachev – Soviet Union

Gorbachev’s reforms—glasnost (openness) and perestroika (restructuring)—were intended to modernize the Soviet Union but instead accelerated its collapse. While praised abroad, he was heavily criticized at home for presiding over the loss of Soviet territories and influence.

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6. Anwar Sadat – Egypt

In 1979, Sadat signed the Camp David Accords, officially recognizing Israel and returning the Sinai Peninsula. While the peace treaty earned him a Nobel Prize, many in the Arab world viewed it as betrayal. He was assassinated in 1981 by extremists within his own military.

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7. Nikol Pashinyan – Armenia

Following the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan signed a Russian-brokered ceasefire with Azerbaijan, which resulted in Armenia ceding significant territory. Many Armenians accused him of surrender and betrayal, though others argued it prevented greater loss of life and further devastation.

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Conclusion:

What one generation sees as betrayal, another may view as a painful but necessary compromise. These leaders faced impossible choices—some acted out of pragmatism, others out of self-interest or delusion. What they all share is the lasting impact of their decisions, and the fierce debates that continue long after their time.

By Wally Sarkeesian

Pashinyan’s Rule: A Decade of Decline for Armenia?

A Controversial Past

Institutional Dismantling

Once in office, Pashinyan began dissolving key governmental institutions, including the Ministry of Diaspora. He pursued legal actions against former presidents and political rivals, often without presenting clear or conclusive evidence. Over time, he reshaped the judiciary by replacing judges and weakening independent legal oversight, leading many to believe Armenia’s legal system had been politically compromised.

The Artsakh Crisis

Perhaps the most devastating chapter of Pashinyan’s tenure came in 2020 with the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War. Accusations have surfaced that the conflict was mishandled—or even provoked—behind the scenes. The eventual defeat led to Armenia’s forced capitulation and the de facto transfer of Artsakh to Azerbaijan, triggering a mass exodus of ethnic Armenians. While Pashinyan portrayed the outcome as inevitable, critics allege he coordinated with Western powers, including the EU and the United States, to facilitate the handover. To date, the leadership of Artsakh remains imprisoned.

Normalizing with Turkey Amid Historical Denial

Cracking Down on Church and Civil Society

A Silenced Nation?

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Conclusion

Pashinyan’s time in power has been marked by deep polarization, institutional collapse, and national crisis. Whether viewed as a reformer gone astray or a calculated opportunist, his legacy is likely to be one of the most contentious in Armenia’s modern history.

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Letter from the leader of the Sacred Struggle, political prisoner Bagrat Archbishop Galstanyan from the “Yerevan-Center” CEC in the NSS building.

Terrorist is looking for a “terrorist”…

It is true that “the thief is screaming, catch the thief”.

The terrorist who stole our homeland, life, biography, and honor is looking for a “terrorist”.

The Machine of Evil, with all its “inspiration,” continues to spray terror and threat to its satellites and slaves, whose “god” is the authority of their money and fraud, thus willing to extend the empire of lies they have built for a few more moments.

In a state of information, being in the field of unequal opportunities, in prison freedom, my only source of my limited information related to an external “prisoner” are my gifted and dedicated lawyers who are fighting for the truth in spirit. These past two days again with cynicism and lies, not turning each other in line, the terrorists of our lives and biography. They are especially violating all the rules and boundaries, and the blood of the innocents is being cheated.

I’m not going to talk about the amount of lying they are engaged in, ranging from apparently edited records and their combinations to the NA chair. I’m going to talk about what we want, for which, as I said, I don’t regret for a minute.

Just a very brief assessment that if I and our struggle sympathizers are terrorists and criminals, then it is a fact that 2018 is. Terrorists and criminals have taken over the power. No matter what you do or say, you are bloodstained to our heritage and history, our fathers, martyrs, and lost Artsakh. The subject of the homeland, forever tattooed on your foreheads.

I do not regret that I have struggled and I am fighting for a strong, powerful, and safe Armenia, whose borders do not change according to the wish of a “terrorist”.

I do not regret having fought and am fighting for the lost Artsakh’s hundreds of thousands of my deported sisters and brothers, homeless tombs and sanctuaries, brothers being served in hostile prisons.

I do not regret that I have struggled and struggle for the sake of the Holy Church, which lives freely and without persecution in its own homeland, with whose sacrifice the Armenian Statehood has also been upheld.

I do not regret struggling and am fighting for a healthy and dignified young generation free from the fear, stigma, laziness, intoxication and gambling that prevail in the ranks of today’s “government”.

I have no regrets in fighting and will fight for love, peace, justice and truth, which are the only and exclusive guarantees to the fortitude and existence of our national and public life.

I do not regret that I have fought and will fight for the value of the blood shed of our hero martyr fathers, brothers, children, mothers, sisters and daughters, to whom I have made an obligation to return their homeland, their own victory.

I am deeply sorry for our sympathizers and their families in detention at this moment who are in persecution embracing the Motherland, for which I sincerely apologize for the pain and distress caused.

According to the apostolic word, our bonds are our glory, by which you terrorists have enriched and valued our biography, a huge part of which you have robbed.

I have said it and I repeat it, whether I am alone or not, in prison or in the grave, I will fight until my Homeland and State is freed from evil, because Victory has no alternative…

By Harut Sassounian,

The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) announced last week that on April 14, 2025, a U.S. District Court dismissed a $500 million lawsuit filed by Aynur Baghirzade, an Azeri lawyer based in Laguna Beach, CA, against the ANCA and 29 others.

Baghirzade’s 198-page lawsuit “leveled unfounded accusations,” the ANCA stated. “The court struck the plaintiff’s [Baghirzade’s] Third Amended Complaint, dismissing this action, denying remaining motions as moot, and declaring the case closed.” She later tweeted that she intends to appeal the ruling.

The ANCA noted that for months, Baghirzade had engaged in a “lengthy series of incendiary social media posts,” describing Armenia as “a carcinoma” that “shall be deleted from South Caucasus.” In multiple posts on X, she referred to herself as a “U.S. Immigration and Business attorney…. If the truth scares you I will terrify you….” She also wrote: “You fight a terrorist organization and find out that it has its own judges, police, state officials and even congressmen as members.” She added: “Imagine your power that people go and bribe judges to harm you….” She even ridiculed the Armenian Genocide, claiming Armenians shed “crocodile tears about the events back in 1915.”

In addition to her inflammatory rhetoric, Baghirzade posted numerous tweets raising concerns about her professionalism and mental state. For example, she criticized a policeman who issued her a ticket for traffic violation: “Just got a letter from police ‘fining’ me for illegal stop — another candidate to be a defendant.” She also wrote, “if police watches your steps and then relays this information to the terrorists — this is called a state backed terrorism.” In a direct attack on Federal Judge Robert Huie who dismissed her case, Baghirzade accused him of being “corrupt,” threatening to sue him!

Interestingly, when Baghirzade filed her case on June 21, 2024, she failed to pay the required $350 civil filing fee, claiming “in forma pauperis” — meaning she was too poor to pay the fee. The Judge rejected her request. She submitted a new request on July 2, 2024, which was also denied. The Court noted that her annual income of $50,952 exceeded the federal poverty threshold by 325%. The Judge imposed a $55 administrative fee on top of the initial $350.

Baghirzade sued the following 30 individuals and entities: “Alphabet Inc.; Aram Hamparian; Armen Sahakyan; Armenian National Committee of America; Armenian National Committee of America, Western Region; Attorney Search Network; Coco Su; Estrella Sanchez; Google, Inc.; Jake Baloian; Jeremy Stoppelman; Legal Match; Martindale-Nolo; Los Angeles County Bar Association; Orange County Bar Association; Seth Chavez; Teresa Vuki; Trudy Levindofske; Yelp, Inc.; YouTube; Sundar Pichai; Zartonk Media; Zaven Kouroghlian; Van Megerdichian; Ani Tchaglasian; Legalshield; Parker-Stanbury, LLP; Greystar California, Inc.; Kia America, Inc.; and ARF Eastern USA, Inc.

On Feb. 27, 2025, the Federal Court “dismissed Baghirzade’s Second Amended Complaint [which was 78-pages-long] pursuant to Defendants’ motion to dismiss.” The Court determined that her claims failed to meet the legal standard for federal claims and granted Plaintiff “leave to amend Claims One through Five to address the deficiencies described in this order.” The Court said that her lawsuit “is a failure to adequately plead a single cognizable federal claim against any one of the defendants she has sued.” The Judge further stated: “Plaintiff’s filings to date have consistently failed to comply with the applicable rules, but the Court has accepted them nonetheless — even without a request from Plaintiff to excuse the non-compliance. Failure to follow applicable rules or orders in the future may result in filings being stricken.”

On April 10, 2025, Baghirzade filed her Third Amended Complaint which was 198 pages long. In her latest filing, she had added as a new defendant, the “ARF Eastern USA, Inc., mentioning it 100 times,” even though she was told by the Judge that she could not add any new defendants. She alleged that the ARF had been “plotting for centuries to annex two regions of Azerbaijan” — a baseless claim, given that neither the ARF nor Azerbaijan had existed for ‘centuries.’ The Court stated that Baghirzade had not complied with its instructions. “None of her claims has survived dismissal.”

The Court further accused Baghirzade of suing “over 30 defendants, has amended her complaint more than once, and has failed to state a single claim against a single defendant that is not subject to dismissal. Plaintiff accuses Defendants of extensive criminal conduct, and her pleadings frequently adopt a tone of animus, hostility, suspicion, or sarcasm in referring to Defendants.” Her complaint “repeats and seeks to vindicate her past statements that another ethnic group’s home country is a ‘carcinoma’ and that ‘we have to delete [that ethnic group’s] project as soon as possible.’” Her complaint also “fancifully alleged that all Defendants — most of whom appear completely unrelated to each other, and some of which are public companies — conspired together for the single-minded purpose of harming her.”

The Judge further stated that Baghirzade’s third complaint, “over two-and-a-half times as long, appears to contain similar fanciful allegations while expanding the alleged conspiracy ever wider.” Like her second complaint, the third complaint “continues to ascribe events in her life — such as discovering flies in her apartment on one occasion, finding a cockroach in her hotel room, or having her car towed after parking in someone else’s spot in her building — to the malevolent conspiracy of Defendants without any factual basis for this ascription plausibly alleged.” Her third complaint “now sweeps even more broadly, accusing the Defendants of (among other things) international terrorism as well as engaging the U.S. Congress to persecute her. Plaintiff also adds numerous ‘non-party co-conspirators,’ including seven California state court judges or justices; the implication is that persons who have displeased Plaintiff are thereby part of a criminal conspiracy against her. In other words, Defendants are seemingly required to respond to expanding pleadings that diverge even further from plausibility. This factor weighs in favor of dismissal.”

Federal Judge Robert Huie had no choice but to dismiss Baghirzade’s lawsuit, stating: “Anything short of dismissal in these circumstances would disserve the interests of justice.”

by MEG KINNARD / AP

WASHINGTON — Dozens of Social Security Administration offices across the country are slated to close this year due to actions taken by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency as part of the Trump administration’s unprecedented effort to shrink the size of government.

DOGE has published a list of nearly 800 federal real estate leases that it is seeking to cancel. The Associated Press has obtained an internal planning document from the General Services Administration, which manages federal real estate, which shows when nearly two-thirds of those cancellations are expected to go into effect.

Related: DOGE Lease Cancellations: Which Government Offices Could Close This Year

The offices are closing despite a new requirement that tighter identity-proofing measures be put in place to prevent fraud and abuse. These steps will require millions of recipients and applicants to visit agency field offices rather than interact with agency employees over the phone.

The AP also obtained more information about each lease on DOGE’s list through other publicly available datasets, including their addresses, the dates the leases had started and were originally expected to expire, and the landlords who own the properties.

Of the 47 Social Security Administration offices listed for closure, only some had anticipated dates for when those lease cancellations would take effect. Here’s a state-by-state breakdown of the 26 offices listed as expected to close this year, along with the termination date for each lease, according to the General Services data:

Alabama

634 Broad St., Gadsden: Sept. 30

Arkansas

965 Holiday Drive, Forrest City: April 25

4083 Jefferson Ave., Texarkana: May 25

Colorado

825 N. Crest Drive, Grand Junction: June 21

Florida

4740 Dairy Road, Melbourne: May 16

Georgia

1338 Broadway, Columbus: Sept. 30

Kentucky

825 High St., Hazard: April 24

Louisiana

178 Civic Center Drive, Houma: April 25

Mississippi

4717 26th St., Meridian: June 1

604 Yalobusha St., Greenwood: June 1

2383 Sunset Drive, Grenada: May 1

Montana

3701 American Way, Missoula: June 21

North Carolina

730 Roanoke Ave., Roanoke Rapids: Aug. 1

2123 Lakeside Drive, Franklin: June 23

2805 Charles Blvd., Greenville: June 24

1865 W. City Drive, Elizabeth City: June 24

North Dakota

1414 20th Ave. SW, Minot: June 21

Nevada

701 Bridger Ave., Las Vegas: June 1

New York

75 S. Broadway, White Plains: May 31

332 Main St., Poughkeepsie: July 31

Ohio

30 N. Diamond St., Mansfield: May 17

Oklahoma

1610 SW Lee Blvd., Lawton: April 25

Texas

1122 N. University Drive, Nacogdoches: May 7

8208 NE Zac Lentz Parkway, May 25

West Virginia

1103 George Kostas Drive, Logan: April 30

Wyoming

79 Winston Drive, Rock Springs: June 20

By Wally Sarkeesian

Pashinyan regime has filed charges against public figure Edgar Ghazaryan, former governor of Vayots Dzor and Armenia’s ambassador to Poland. He faces an offense punishable by up to five years in prison.

According to his lawyer, Ruben Melikyan, the prosecution launched a public criminal case against Ghazaryan following a decision by the prosecutor. The charge, filed under Article 490, is based on excerpts from his public statements.

One of the key statements cited in the case was made after a Constitutional Court ruling that, in Ghazaryan’s view, undermined the Declaration of Independence. He allegedly claimed that the judges responsible were either ignorant or traitors. The indictment also references his assertion that Vahe Grigoryan was appointed as a Constitutional Court judge illegally.

Melikyan stressed that Ghazaryan’s remarks were purely critical, without profanity or insults.

As a preventive measure, Ghazaryan has been barred from leaving the country, and a motion has been filed to place him under administrative supervision. This measure, according to Melikyan, could impose broad restrictions, including limitations on his activities or the amount of time he can spend outside his home each day.

A court hearing on the administrative supervision request is set for tomorrow.

Ghazaryan’s case is not an isolated incident. Previously, Narek Samsonyan and Vazgen Saghatelyan, hosts of the Imnemnimi podcast, were arrested for their public statements, detained, and held in custody for two months.

Garen Yegparian: In California’s 30th congressional district, an Armenian is running as a Republican against the Democratic party’s candidate.

In this district, voter registration is more than 3-to-1 Democratic-to-Republican, and it’s about the same if the minor parties are factored in based on their ideological proximity to the two major parties. Plus, over 23% of registered voters are unaffiliated, and they tend to break down in about the same proportions as those who are affiliated when considering which way they lean, Democratic or Republican. Armenians who are registered in the district constitute something under 20% of the total.

Why all these numbers? To show that no Republican can be elected from this district, barring some earth-shattering scandal involving the Democratic candidate. In this case, even if all the Armenians in the district voted for the Republican Armenian candidate, he still would not get elected. Do the math yourself, remembering that if Armenians are registered 50-50 in each of the parties, you should only add about half the Armenians to the Republican tally since half are already included there!

The ANCA has received a lot of criticism for endorsing the Democratic candidate over the Republican Armenian one. The implication here is that the ANCA should act irresponsibly and support an Armenian candidate at the cost of losing the ability to pursue Armenian concerns with the candidate who is assuredly going to win.

I hope I have made clear how important it is to think rationally, informedly, and practically about whom we should support as a community.

By Wally Sarkeesian

Why Trump Might Be More Beneficial for the Armenian Cause than Kamala Harris

There are several reasons why a Trump administration could be more advantageous for the Armenian cause. If re-elected, Trump is expected to include three prominent pro-Armenian figures in his circle: Tulsi Gabbard, Vivek Ramaswamy, and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. All three have previously expressed their support for Armenian issues on multiple occasions.

With these allies potentially influencing policy, there’s a stronger likelihood of Trump taking action in favor of Armenia. For those viewing this from an Armenian perspective, this is a compelling reason to consider supporting Trump.

“I don’t even know if he will come or not. We are going to Sardarapat to traditionally celebrate May 28, like September 21, like the day of Mount Musa,” Bagrat Srbazan, leader of the “Tavush for the Motherland” movement, told reporters, answering the question if RA Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan would celebrate May 28. When he goes to Sardarapat, are they going to take action? Bagrat Srbazan answered, “If Nikol Pashinyan enters the Sardarapat Memorial, what will they do?” “Let him try.” The journalists were interested in what the reaction of the law enforcement officers would be, Srbazan said. “They are not law enforcement officers; they are police officers.” To clarify, if you succeed and become the prime minister, how will you solve the problem from the legal side, Bagrat Srbazan answered that it is not a question to be answered on your feet. Journalists reminded that there were people on the side of the movement who were there at the beginning, but then did not appear, for example, Arman Tatoyan, Bagrat Srbazan responded: “Arman Tatoyan is my brother, he is always present from the beginning and the end of the movement.” To the question of how he will overcome the constitutional ban on dual citizenship in order to become prime minister, Bagrat Srbazan answered: “Now, what does that have to do with going to Sardarapat?” The Bishop responded to the journalist’s observation, which is one of the most important questions. “The most important issue is the removal of this person, which will happen. the rest is derivative. After the removal, there will be a very good job.”

Yerevan: On Sunday, thousands of Armenians gathered to protest against the government, calling for Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s resignation due to territorial concessions made to neighboring Azerbaijan.

The protests began last month after the Armenian government agreed to cede territory to Azerbaijan, land it had controlled since the 1990s. This area is strategically significant for Armenia, a landlocked country, as it includes key sections of a vital highway to Georgia.

Residents of nearby Armenian settlements argue that this decision isolates them from the rest of the country and accuses Pashinyan of relinquishing territory without any benefit in return.

Bagrat Galstanyan, a charismatic and outspoken clergyman who has become the leader of the growing anti-government movement, was named on Sunday as the opposition’s preferred candidate to replace Pashinyan as prime minister.

Gurgen Melikyan, a former dean at Yerevan State University and a well-known public intellectual, announced the news to tens of thousands gathered in Yerevan’s central Republic Square.

“For a month, we held meetings with representatives from all sectors, including political parties and public entities, to select a candidate for prime minister. The vast majority agreed that person should be Archbishop Bagrat,” Melikyan said. Galstanyan then urged his supporters to engage in acts of civil disobedience across Yerevan starting Monday morning to paralyze city traffic.

Galstanyan stated that he had asked Catholicos Garegin II, the head of the Armenian Apostolic Church, to “freeze my 30-year spiritual service” so that he could enter politics.

The Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, the church’s governing body, has not yet commented on the matter.

Following the rally, Galstanyan led thousands of demonstrators to the gated residential area where Pashinyan and his family live, demanding a private meeting with the prime minister.