Video analysis: Erdoğan’s bodyguards were given command to attack protestors

May 19, 2017 By administrator

Erdogan terrorize,washington Audiovisual analysis of the incident footage recorded outside the Turkish embassy in Washington on Tuesday showed the Turkish president giving verbal commands to his bodyguards to attack a group of peaceful protesters.

A professional sound editor Salih Ferad Ferad determined that Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s bodyguards shouted out the phrases “he says attack” and “come, come, come,” The Daily Caller reports.

In the video of that scene, Erdoğan’s bodyguard gets out of the Mercedes and relays a message to another man who was positioned closer to the protestors. The man then turns and rushes quickly in the direction of the protestors.

The video—recorded by Voice of America Turkish news service—also shows Erdoğan calmly watching the occurrence.

Using noise isolation techniques, Ferad determined that the bodyguard uttered the words “dalın diyor, servet abi dalın diyor” just after Erdoğan was seen speaking with him.

That phrase translates to “he says attack servet abi, he says attack,” another word-for-word translation of the phrase being “he says dive in” or “plunge in.”

Mayor of Washington condemns the violence of Erdogan’s guards

May 18, 2017 By administrator

Muriel Bowser, the mayor of Washington, condemned the attacks of security personnel of Turkish President Recep Erdogan against peaceful demonstrators near the Turkish embassy on May 16 in Washington. According to Mr. Bowser this violence exercised by the Turkish president’s bodyguards “is an injury to the values of Washington and Americans.” Washington police chief Peter Newchem said that all the light will be made on the violence, which is “the expression of violations of the rights of citizens”. Aram Hamparian, the executive director of the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA), thanked the mayor and police chief of Washington for their quick reaction after the incident. “President Erdogan can order this violence and attacks in Turkey, but we can not allow such actions in Washington the capital of the United States,” said Aram Hamparian. Recall that Erdogan’s men, aided by some Turkish nationalist demonstrators, attacked a group of Greeks, Armenians and Kurds who came to denounce peacefully President Erdogan’s presence in Washington. Several protesters were wounded in these attacks.

Krikor Amirzayan

American Armenians to protest Erdogan’s visit to Washington

May 16, 2017 By administrator

Armenians of America will stage a protest action in front of the White House on May 16 to protest Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s visit to Washington and his meeting with President Donald Trump.

“This is President Trump’s chance to stand up to Erdogan. It’s time to challenge Erdogan’s arm-twisting and – even more importantly – to call out the Turkish government’s covert campaign to hijack U.S. policy through questionable payments to foreign agents, lobbyists, and other influence peddlers,” said Aram Hamparian, Armenian National Committee of America Executive Director.

“He can start putting American principles and priorities first by rejecting Ankara’s gag-rule against honest U.S. remembrance of the Armenian Genocide.”

The Armenian National Committee of America will be joining with a broad array of human rights, religious freedom, Kurdish, Hellenic and Assyrian groups in front of the White House to call attention to President Erdogan’s repression at home and aggression abroad.

Washington Armenian Genocide again victim of Jewish lobbyist Near East Policy (WINEP)

January 14, 2017 By administrator

The Washington Institute for Near East Policy (WINEP) has called on United States President-Elect Donald J. Trump to “guarantee” to Turkey that the Armenian Genocide will not be properly acknowledged by the U.S. Congress, in a recently published set of proposals regarding “U.S. Policy on Turkey,” The Armenian Weekly reports.

“The United States can quietly guarantee Turkey that the Armenian Genocide resolution in Congress will not pass. This has always been critical in the relationship, and most Turks care deeply about the issue,” reads a part of the paper authored by former U.S. ambassador to Ankara James F. Jeffrey and Turkish scholar Dr. Soner Cagaptay.

The paper on U.S.-Turkey relations is the first in a series of WINEP presidential transition papers addressing key policy challenges across the Middle East. In it, the two authors argue that the Trump administration should “revamp policy toward Turkey to emphasize a transactional approach to critical bilateral issues.”

A new approach to Turkey, Jeffrey and Cagaptay suggest, would restore focus to each side’s most important interests. “For Turkey, this includes the extradition of reputed coup plotter Fethullah Gulen; increased engagement on issues from Cyprus to Israel; and closer attention to Turkish equities in the Syria conflict. For the United States, a new approach would entail a stronger commitment to fighting the Islamic State; a return to peace talks with the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK); closer cooperation on military moves, especially in Syria; and renewed respect for democratic freedoms,” reads a part of a statement released by the Washington Institute about its first “Transition 2017” paper.

The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) reacted to the news of the publication via social media and other channels. “Why is [the Washington Institute] providing a platform for calls to block remembrance of a known case of genocide?” asked the ANCA in a tweet to Washington Institute Executive Director Robert Satloff.

Video The Media you watch & the Politicians You re-elect whom they work for Moyers & Leibovich expose Turkey and Washington

October 25, 2016 By administrator

Mark Leibovich on Glitz and Greed in Washington

Mark Leibovich on Glitz and Greed in Washington

August 23, 2013

Bill talks with journalist Mark Leibovich about his latest book, This Town, a city where money rules the day and status is determined by who you know and what they can do for you. “If you can sell yourself as someone who knows how Washington works, someone who has these relationships,” Leibovich explains, “that’s a very marketable commodity. If you’re seen as someone who knows how this town works, someone who is a usual suspect in this town, you can dine out for years — that’s why no one leaves.”

zInterview Producer: Gina Kim. Editor: Rob Kuhns.

Sputniknews Report: Washington and Riyadh ‘Plan to Let 9,000 Daesh Leave Mosul and Move to Syria’

October 13, 2016 By administrator

deash-move-to-syria Intelligence agencies of the United States and Saudi Arabia plan to allow more than 9,000 Daesh fighters leave the Iraqi city of Mosul and travel to eastern Syria where they will take part in a major offensive to recapture Deir ez-Zor and Palmyra among over things, an unnamed source in military and diplomatic circles in Moscow told RIA Novosti.

“American and Saudi intelligence services have reached an agreement to provide all militants a safe passage to leave the city with their families before” Iraqi security forces and their allies launch the operation to free Mosul, he suggested. The matter was ostensibly settled during the preliminary phase of the offensive.

When the Mosul campaign begins, “coalition warplanes will launch airstrikes solely against isolated and abandoned houses within the city,” the source noted, adding that these targets have been chosen in coordination with the militants.

Daesh fighters, he said, will then move to Syria.

“More than 9,000 Daesh fighters from Mosul will be redeployed to eastern Syria to carry out a large-scale offensive which will involve among other things taking control over Deir ez-Zor and Palmyra,” the source detailed.

For Washington, this plan, the source suggested, will be an attempt to diminish Russia’s success in Syria. Moscow has been credited with helping the Syrian Arab Army turn the tide of war that has seen Damascus fighting against foreign-sponsored terrorist groups for more than five years. “Apart from political dividends, the other goal of this operation clearly involves discrediting the achievements of the Russian Aerospace Forces. Surely, this is also an attempt to undermine [Bashar] al-Assad,” the source said.

Senior officials at the General Intelligence Directorate, Saudi Arabia’s primary intelligence, served as mediators between the US and the militants, the source said, adding that they will also guarantee that Washington delivers on the deal. He explained that a similar idea was previously employed in Fallujah.

Baghdad-led forces freed Fallujah in late June after a three-months-long siege. Political analyst Alexander Perendzhiev doubted that this plan will work. Daesh “has Iraqi roots; Mosul is their stronghold and they will clearly be unwilling to leave Iraq,” he told RIA Novosti. “Mosul will probably remain in the hands of terrorists. Some of them will travel to Syria and the rest will pretend that they surrender.” The expert further said that the Democrats will try to claim any success in Mosul, whether perceived or real.

WASHINGTON: Catholicos Aram I Salutes ANCA Advocacy for the Armenian Cause

September 29, 2016 By administrator

Bestows “Knight of Cilicia” Medal on Executive Director Aram Hamparian
WASHINGTON—His Holiness Aram I, Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia, recognized the Armenian National Committee of America’s (ANCA) leadership in advancing the Armenian Cause, bestowing the Knight of Cilicia Medal on Executive Director Aram Hamparian, in honor of the ongoing and tireless work of the ANCA Board, staff, volunteers and supporters across the United States.

“The advocacy, the enhancement, the promotion of the Armenian Cause has been a priority item on the agenda of the Catholicosate of Cilicia and its Prelacies,” explained His Holiness during a special visit to the ANCA offices on Wednesday, noting that the work of the ANCA is “very close to our hearts, to our minds, and to our mission as a church.”

Thanking the ANCA Board, staff, volunteers, and donors across the U.S., His Holiness noted, “All of us, in different ways, in different forms, in different levels to different degrees should participate in the work of such centers because what you are doing is part of the agenda of our nation – strengthening the independence of Armenia, strengthening the self-determination of the Armenians in Karabakh and all the things that you are doing in the form of advocacy – the promotion of the Armenian Cause.”

Bestowing the Knight of Cilicia medal, His Holiness explained, “in decorating Aram, I decorate all of you, your colleagues, your assistants, all of you, who together – I would like to underscore ‘together’ – engage in this sacred mission. And I am sure, now that Aram becomes Knight, he will continue this mission with renewed engagement – with the spirit of a Knight of Cilicia.”

Hamparian humbly accepted the award on behalf of all who strive to realize the just national and democratic aspirations of the Armenian nation, including those who work in the public spotlight and, of course, the many more whose devotion and hard work remain largely unheralded.

His Holiness Aram I’s delegation visiting the ANCA included Archbishop Oshagan Choloyan, Prelate of the Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church of Eastern US; Very Rev. Housig Mardirossian, Director of Ecumenical Relations; Rev. Bedros Manuelian, Director of the Audio Visual Department and staff-bearer; and Dr. Dertad Manguikian, a member of the Catholicosate of Cilicia Central Committee.

The ANCA team was joined by Soorp Khatch Armenian Church Board of Trustees members Hrant Jamgochian and Jemma Simonian; local representatives of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation and Armenian Relief Society; and community advocates, who engaged in a lively discussion with His Holiness on a broad range of topics, from the Catholicosate’s efforts to secure the return of its historic seat in Sis from Turkish authorities, to the challenges facing Armenian American communities in expanding Armenian language and cultural education and broadening community participation.

Turkish Terrorism from Syria to Washington state mall shooting: Turkish man arrested over five killed in Macy’s

September 25, 2016 By administrator

Suspected Cascade Mall shooter Arcan Cetin at Skagit County Jail in Mount Vernon, Washington, after his arrest in Oak Harbor Credit: Jeff Ritter/KIRO7.com via AP

David Millward, US Correspondent
20-year-old Turkish man is expected to appear in court on Monday on charges of killing five people at a Macy’s department store in Washington state, as the FBI said they were not ruling out an act of terrorism.

Arcan Cetin from Oak Harbor, Washington, offered no resistance when he was arrested on Saturday night, saying nothing and appearing to be in a “zombie-like” state, police said.

On Friday night he had entered a branch of Macy’s at the Cascade Mall in Burlington, just over 65 miles north of Seattle, and opened fire at the make-up counter. He killed four women, aged 16 to 95, instantly. A fifth victim, a man who was airlifted away from the scene, died later.

Cetin had a violent past, had been arrested for drunk driving and was recommended by a judge not to be allowed to own a firearm.

Skagit County court records show three domestic-violence assault charges against Cetin, with the victim identified as his stepfather.

Cetin was told by an Island County district court judge on December 29 that he was not to possess a firearm, but the stepfather urged the judge not to impose a no-contact order, which would require him to surrender his gun – saying his stepson was “going through a hard time”.

Cetin’s social media postings gave little hint of extremist tendencies, with his Twitter feed musing over Miley Cyrus, Turkish food, and the computer game Halo.

He also posted childhood photos with his family, and photos from a February 2015 paintballing day.

The previous month he had tweeted: “We win I vote for Hillary Clinton” – his only political reference.

But in April 2015, he had showed a flash of anger, tweeting: “Crazy how when you crack open someone’s shell they’re everything you spent your time running from.”

Marty Baldwin told The Seattle Times he allowed the suspected gunman, who was homeless at the time, to move in with him and his wife.

But Mr Baldwin kicked him out a few months later after learning the younger man was using and selling drugs, he said.

Mr Baldwin said he called 911 on Friday night, after recognising the man he knew as “Frankie” on TV.

Police on Saturday were unable to confirm reports he had yelled a woman’s name before opening fire.

It was unclear whether he knew his victims – Sarai Lara, 16, a cancer survivor and high school sophomore; Belinda Galde, 64, and her mother, 95-year-old Beatrice Dotson, and Shyla Martin, a 52-year-old Macy’s makeup counter employee.

Chuck Eagan, a Boeing maintenance worker, was also killed – shot while helping his wife flee the store.

Following the shooting Cetin was seen walking to a nearby interstate.

The FBI said that while they had no indication the attack was a “terrorism act,” it could not be ruled out.

Lt Mike Hawley, Island County sheriff, said he spotted Cetin from a patrol car on Saturday evening in Oak Harbor and immediately recognised him as the suspect. Lt Hawley said at a news conference they had received information that Cetin was in the area.

“I literally hit my brakes, did a quick turn, I jumped out,” he said. “We both jumped out with our guns, and he just froze.”

Cetin was unarmed and was carrying a satchel with a computer in it.

“He was kind of zombie-like,” said Lt Hawley.

Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/09/25/suspect-in-washington-state-shooting-captured/

Washington: Saudi has lobbyists to confront 9/11 bill: Report

April 20, 2016 By administrator

Saudi Arabia has an army of Washington lobbyists to deploy as it tries to stop US Congress from passing legislation that could expose the country to litigation over the 9/11 terrorist attacks, a report says.

According to The Hill newspaper, which is published by Capitol Hill Publishing and covers congressional news, the kingdom employs a total of eight American firms that perform lobbying, consulting, public relations and legal work.

Five of the firms work for the Saudi Arabia embassy, while another two have registered to represent the Center for Studies and Media Affairs at the Saudi Royal Court, an arm of the government, it said.

PR giant Edelman, meanwhile, is working for the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority to encourage international investment, the paper added.

If signed into law, the act would allow the families of 9/11 victims to sue the Saudi government for any role it may have had in the attacks.

Riyadh has threatened to sell off USD 750 billion in American assets held by Saudi Arabia if the bill is passed. The selling of the assets would prevent them from being frozen by US courts if American victims are enabled to sue Saudi Arabia.

The White House has, however, indicated that Obama, who is currently on a trip to Riyadh, will veto the legislation if it is passed.

According to The Hill, the hiring spree began early last year when Saudi Arabia signed six K Street firms and added BGR to its roster last month.

The K Street Project is an effort by the Republican Party to pressure Washington lobbying firms to hire Republicans in top positions, and to reward loyal GOP lobbyists with access to influential officials, an arrangement known as crony capitalism.

BGR Group is a lobbying firm based in Washington DC, three blocks from the White House, and also has an office in London.

According to disclosure records filed to the US Justice Department, Saudi Arabia spent more than $9.4 million on advocacy in Washington for all of 2015.

Separate from the legislative push, members of US Congress are discussing the declassification of 28 pages from the 2002 congressional inquiry that reportedly examined the link between forces in Saudi Arabia and 9/11.

The dispute is causing a diplomatic storm for the Obama administration. Saudi Arabia has long been an ally of the US despite the country’s history of abusing human rights.

WASHINGTON: Representative Schiff Condemns Azerbaijan’s Military Assault Against Nagorno Karabakh

April 2, 2016 By administrator

Representative Adam Schiff, a California

WASHINGTON–Representative Adam Schiff (D-CA), the Ranking Member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, on Saturday released the following statement:

“I am deeply disturbed by and condemn this terrible new escalation in Azerbaijan’s aggression against Nagorno Karabakh in the form of a significant military assault which killed 18 Armenian soldiers and at least one civilian — a young boy. That this attack comes just hours after Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev returned from meetings in Washington, D.C. with Vice President Biden and Secretary Kerry demonstrates that the policy of the United States and the Minsk Group is simply not working.

“Until Azerbaijan faces strong and meaningful consequences over their policy of escalation and violence and its self-serving refusal to agree to international monitoring of the Line of Contact, there is little chance of resolving the conflict and avoiding further bloodshed. The true victims of this policy are the people of Artsakh who simply want to live free of sniper fire and mortar barrages and to exercise their right of self determination.”