Author: Hambardsumian Paul

The California Courier Online, June 7, 2018

1-         Commentary
            Azeri-American Adil Baguirov Receives

            $250,000 to Lobby for Azerbaijan

            By Harut Sassounian

            Publisher, The California Courier

            www.TheCaliforniaCourier.com

2-         Nikol Pashinyan’s son enlists in Armenian Military

            By Bradley Jardine

3 –        Telma Ghazarian Altoon Runs Wild, Wild West Ultramarathon

4 –        Run With Telma Altoon at Pasadena’s Rose Bowl

5 –        Visit Vakifli, Turkey’s Last Armenian Village… Before It Disappears

            By Kristen McTighe

6 –        Commentary: A Stunted Celebration

            By Rostom Sarkissian

7-         Commentary: The Third Republic

            By Rostom Sarkissian

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1 –        Commentary

            Azeri-American Adil Baguirov Receives

            $250,000 to Lobby for Azerbaijan

            By Harut Sassounian

            Publisher, The California Courier

            www.TheCaliforniaCourier.com

In my last week’s article on secret funding for Azerbaijan’s lobbying
in the United States, I referred to the payment made to “an
influential oil and gas consultant with close ties to President Aliyev
who presents himself as an immigration success story and lives in
Dayton Ohio—even as he also lobbies the U.S. government on his
homeland’s behalf.”

Jonny Wrate, in his article, “Baku’s Man in America,” on the Organized
Crime and Corruption Reporting Project website (www.occrp.org),
provided extensive details of Adil Baguirov’s activities and the large
payment he had received from Azeri sources to lobby on behalf of
Azerbaijan in the United States.

Wrate reported that Baguirov, “a vocal member of the Azerbaijani
diaspora, received the $253,150 transfer just months after a
non-profit organization he runs, the Houston-based US Azeris Network,
helped host a conference in Baku, Azerbaijan’s capital, that was
attended by 10 members of Congress. The junket was widely criticized,
and investigated by the House Ethics Committee, for being secretly
funded by Azerbaijan’s state oil company…The precise origins of the
money Baguirov received are unknown, hidden behind secretive shell
companies. But there is ample evidence that the authoritarian
country’s ruling elite is behind it.”

Baguirov, who “also helped organize other U.S.-Azeri conferences in
Washington, repeatedly testified before the House [of Representatives]
in favor of US military aid to Azerbaijan, served as the coordinator
of the Congressional Azerbaijan Caucus, and worked prominently in a
Houston-based company that claims to have organized a trip by the
country’s president, Ilham Aliyev, to the White House,” wrote Wrate.

Baguirov and his family have extensive ties with Pres. Ilham Aliyev
who awarded him a medal for his services in the United States on
behalf of Azerbaijan. However, Baguirov had not registered as a
lobbyist, as required by U.S. law, under the Foreign Agents
Registration Act (FARA). When contacted by OCCRP reporters, Baguirov
said that the payment he had received was none of their business.

Baguirov moved to the United States at the age of 16. He graduated
from the University of Southern California in international relations
and business administration. Subsequently, he received a Ph.D. in
political science in Moscow. Interestingly, Baguirov “was elected to
Dayton’s school board, a position he held until 2017, when he resigned
more than a month before the end of his term after local activist
David Esrati discovered that he appeared to have lied about his
residential address.”

Wrate revealed that Turbillion LLC, a consulting company Baguirov
runs, received a payment of $253,150 from Hilux Services, a shell firm
that is part of the Azerbaijani Laundromat. Turbillion is registered
in Wyoming, “a state popular with those looking to create secretive
companies due to its tax-free incentives and provision of anonymity.”
Another Wyoming company controlled by Baguirov, which has the same
mailing address as Turbillion, is called “Nobel Brothers Pictures
LLC,” which is “allegedly producing a Hollywood movie about the
history of the Azerbaijani oil industry.”

Six months before Baguirov received the payment of $253,150, his
Houston-based non-profit U.S. Azeris Network (USAN) “helped organize a
two-day conference in Baku called “U.S.-Azerbaijan Relations: Vision
for Future.” Wrate revealed that two other conferences were organized
by USAN in Washington.

“The Baku meeting in 2013 was attended by 11 members of [U.S.]
Congress, 10 of whom were paid for, and over 30 of their staff—and
that, according to a confidential report by the Office of
Congressional Ethics (OCE) obtained by the Washington Post, they were
lavished with silk scarves, crystal tea sets and Azerbaijani rugs
valued at $2,500 to $10,000,” Wrate reported.

 In addition, Baguirov worked for Cong. Curt Weldon (R-Pa.) as Special
Advisor on Russia and the former Soviet Union. Weldon lost his seat in
2006 “after the Justice Department investigated him for allegedly
steering to his daughter’s lobbying firm almost $1 million in
consulting contracts from two Russian companies and a Serbian
foundation,” according to Wrate. Weldon founded the Congressional
Azerbaijan Caucus in 2004 together with fellow Congressman Solomon
Ortiz (D-Tex.) who subsequently worked for Azerbaijan as a lobbyist.
Baguirov “served as the Caucus’ coordinator and allegedly traveled
with Congressional delegations to the former Soviet Union in 2003 and
2004.”

Furthermore, Wrate revealed that “between 2008 and 2016, Baguirov was
also invited almost annually to recommend foreign economic and
military aid budgets for Azerbaijan and Armenia to the House
Appropriations Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations and Related
Matters. In some years, other representatives of USAN and the Karabakh
Foundation—another of Baguirov’s non-profit organizations—also
testified.” In his congressional testimonies, Baguirov urged the U.S.
Congress to reduce the aid for Armenia to zero, while requesting that
Azerbaijan receive $26 million from USAID and $3.9 million in military
aid.

Baguirov was also the Executive Vice President of International
Affairs for Worldwide Strategic Energy, Inc., a Houston-based company
that offered its “strong business and political ties” to help
prospective clients capitalize on hydrocarbon development
opportunities in “politically complicated countries,” including
Azerbaijan.

The U.S. Justice Department should be asked to investigate Baguirov’s
unregistered lobbying activities in the United States on behalf of
Azerbaijan to see if any illegalities have been committed!

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2-         Nikol Pashinyan’s Son Enlists in Armenian Military

            By Bradley Jardine

(EurasiaNet)—Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s son has
enlisted in the military and will be deployed to Nagorno Karabakh, a
relatively rare move in a region whose elites don’t typically send
their sons to fight.

In a live broadcast on his Facebook page on May 29, Pashinyan appeared
alongside his son Ashot, who turned 18 in March.

Ashot Pashinyan said that he had decided to serve in Karabakh in order
to provide strength to the army and work toward a “peaceful solution”
to the conflict.

Pashinyan said the gesture was not intended to elicit “praise for
myself” but to encourage more Armenians to enlist in the army. The
prime minister called on compatriots abroad as well as those under the
age of 27 who had deferred service to go to their nearest recruitment
office and join the armed forces.

“There is no place for such [shirking] in the new Armenia,” he said.

Pashinyan’s gesture did nevertheless receive widespread praise on
social media, including a post on the Azerbaijani satirical Hamam
Times making an unflattering comparison with Azerbaijani President
Ilham Aliyev, whose son recently graduated from university but does
not serve in the military.

Citizens of both countries have complained over the years that the
poor bear the heaviest costs of the conflict. The sons of government
officials, by contrast, are commonly believed to be exempt from such
service—though the claims are difficult to verify since neither
country releases data on their recruitment process.

Armenians have long argued that bribery has allowed wealthy families
to ensure their children receive safe assignments. Others allegedly
let their children avoid conscription altogether by leaving the
country.

Azerbaijanis also believe bribes are prevalent in the conscription system.

In February 2015, the doctor at the head of military medical
commission tasked with conscription was arrested for allegedly taking
bribes in exchange for declaring men unfit for military service.

Pashinyan’s move generated scorn from official Azerbaijan; Foreign
Ministry Spokesman Hikmet Hajiyev called it “populist.”

Hajiyev also argued that Pashinyan’s son’s service in Karabakh
bolsters Baku’s claim that the situation in Karabakh amounts to an
Armenian “occupation.” Karabakh is currently controlled by a de facto
Nagorno Karabakh Republic, which is not recognized by any country
(including Armenia) but which is heavily propped up by Armenia.“By
this move, Armenia’s leadership yet again confirms that international
legal responsibility for the occupation of Azerbaijani territory rests
with Armenia,” he told the news agency Azertac.

Military service in both countries is obligatory for males once they
turn 18. Most Armenians serve two years; Azerbaijanis serve 18 months.

Bradley Jardine is a freelance journalist who covers the Caucasus.

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3 –        Telma Ghazarian Altoon Runs Wild, Wild West Ultramarathon

LONE PINE, Calif.—Two weeks ago, on Saturday, May 5, Telma Ghazarian
Altoon ran the 50-mile Wild, Wild West race in the Alabama Hills near
Lone Pine, California.

Running this kind of course, the equivalent of roughly two marathons,
in desert heat is just part of the intense training ultra-marathon
runners undergo. In this case, Telma is preparing for the Badwater
135—named so for its distance—with a 14,600-foot gain from the lowest
point in North America to Whitney Portal, gateway to the highest point
in the continental United States. It is known as the world’s toughest
footrace.

Along with a few other runners, she ended up running six extra miles,
because of a wrong turn. This is one of the risks of races in
wilderness settings. Despite that snafu, she finished eighth among the
women. It is also important to note that not all participants are
always able to finish the race.

The race location has stunning scenery. The Alabama Hills are jumbled,
ancient stone formations that protrude from the floor of California’s
Owens valley. As runners wend their way through these mounds of rocks,
they are treated to views of the majestic Sierra Nevada mountain range
which serves as the backdrop. This area has been used to film
countless Western films. In fact, there is now a museum dedicated to
those films in the town of Lone Pine.

The temperatures on that day ranged from the low 40s (F) to the high
80s. “Part of the appeal of this race for me is its proximity to the
location of the Badwater 135 race,” observed Telma. “This way I got a
feel for the area, the terrain, and can better prepare for the race.”
Since she is more frequently a participant in ultra races located in
mountainous terrain, it is important for her to adapt to the desert’s
conditions. Telma is now in Armenia to continue her training while
showing an ultra-marathon organizer the Armenian Highland’s beauty.
She will run the Janapar Trail with Hans Keifer who is mountain biking
it. Hans is heavily involved in trail building in the Republic of
Armenia and is training local residents in that specialized field of
construction which is his business.

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4 –        Run With Telma Altoon at Pasadena’s Rose Bowl

PASADENA, Calif.—On June 9, between 4 and 7 p.m., fans and supporters
of Telma Ghazarian Altoon will have a chance to get a first-hand sense
of how difficult it is to prepare for the Badwater 135, the world’s
toughest footrace.

The training is an everyday, intense, time-consuming activity for
Altoon, the first Armenian accepted as a competitor. It’s not just
running hills and flats, daily—8 to 10 miles and 22 to 25 miles on
Saturdays and Sundays, but also some weight and upper body training,
some bicycling, and stairs (both machine and real ones, while at
work). But since Badwater is a desert race, heat training is another,
unusual, component.

Running in 80-degree or 90-degree heat is not enough since the
temperature during the race can get well into the 120s!. She runs
dressed in winter clothing to simulate that sort of intense heat.  And
it’s not only she that must prepare for these temperatures, but her
support team of four must also. “My team will be taking turns running
with me—supplying water, nutrition, foot care, any many other needs.
That’s why they train hard,” said Altoon.

She also has a regimen of steam room sessions, two or three times per
week, again to simulate the brutal July conditions Badwater racers
encounter in the deserts of Death Valley and Owens Valley. Imagine
having to stay awake two consecutive nights while running through
dozens and dozens of shadeless miles of terrain on asphalt that
sometimes melts shoe rubber. Another major aspect of the preparation
is sleeplessness endurance. The race spans up to 48 hours, and the
most racers can do is catch very short naps.

All these workouts build up and intensify over the weeks leading up to
the race.  Then, in the days immediately preceding it, the training
tapers down to allow the body to recover fully and be at its strongest
during the race.

Supporters and fans—who are encouraged to wear running shoes, and have
plenty of water on hand—can join Altoon at The Rose Bowl in Pasadena,
on Saturday, June 9.

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5 –        Visit Vakifli, Turkey’s Last Armenian Village…Before it Disappears

            By Kristen McTighe

It survived the Ottomans and later the Syrians before managing to stay
alive in modern-day Turkey. But a new implacable foe may spell its
doom.

More than 100 years after the villages of Musa Dagh waged a successful
resistance and survived the mass killings of Armenians during World
War I, Vakifli is the last remaining Armenian village in Turkey. As
its population dwindles, the village is drawing tourists with its
stunning views of the surrounding mountains and Mediterranean Sea,
complicated history, and a chance to experience its culture before it
disappears.

Perched on the slopes of Musa Dagh, in the southern Turkish province
of Hatay near the Syrian border, Vakifli is a 15-minute drive by car
or taxi from Samandag, a dusty beach town at the mouth of the Asi
River on the Mediterranean sea. Leaving Samandag, travelers ascend
rugged, mountain roads past hills blanketed in fruit trees.

At the entrance of Vakifli, the bumpy roads make way to a newly paved
street, lined with fragrant orange and lemon trees. Bright pink and
red roses fill gardens near old stone houses. Windmills rotate on
hilltops off in the distance to the east. Looking out to the more to
the west, lush green hills roll out to meet the Mediterranean sea.

On a breezy afternoon earlier this spring, two men picked loquats from
a tree off the main road that loops through the village, giving
handfuls to tourists as they walked by.

Home to some 135 mostly middle-aged and elderly residents who are the
descendants of the Armenians who stood up to the Ottoman army in 1915,
every corner of this tiny, tranquil village is suffused with its past.

Upon the return of Musa Dagh refugees from Egypt in the summer and
fall of 1919, the mountain villages became part of Syria under the
French mandate. But in 1939, after a controversial referendum, Turkey
annexed the land, a move that remains unrecognized by Syria to this
day. With the atrocities of World War I still fresh in their heads,
all but six percent of the Armenians from Musa Dagh fled, mostly to
Anjar, in Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley. The vast majority of those who
stayed were from Vakifli.

“I would never leave this village,” said Panos Caparyan, who at 86
years old is one of the oldest residents of Vakifli. “Tell Americans
to visit, Vakifli is safe,” he said, before pulling out his wooden
flute, to play traditional Armenian tunes. Like most of the village’s
men, Caparyan spends his days at Garbis’ Place, the town’s only cafe.
In spring and summer, the cafe fills with tourists, and large,
Turkish-style breakfasts of cheeses, jams, olives, bread and eggs are
served. On weekends, they serve large flat bread covered in spicy
harissa and baked in a traditional oven outside the cafe. Men sit
outside playing backgammon on plastic chairs from morning to sunset,
across from a shop that sells homemade jams, spices, olives fruit
liquors and wine.

Up from the cafe is the main square, where women from the village also
sit labeling and selling jams and preserves, including sweet preserved
eggplant and walnuts.

There are homemade liquors and an array of wines made in villagers’
homes, including mulberry, blueberry, cherry, and other fruit wines.
Laurel soap and handcrafts are also sold.

Beyond the square is the church, originally built in 1910 but restored
and inaugurated in 1997 with the approval Turkish authorities.

 There is no resident priest. Every two weeks Father Avedis comes,
splitting his time between Vakifli and Iskanderun, another larger town
in Hatay.

Past the church is the cemetery, where stone tombs bear the names of
residents from the past two centuries, witnesses to the village’s
tumultuous history. Although Vakifli’s identity was shaped by the
events of 1915, most residents avoid speaking about the subject to
curious outsiders fascinated by the history.

In a country where using the word genocide to describe the events of
1915 has led to prosecution, observing and protecting traditions has
not always been easy for Turkey’s Armenian minorities.

After 1939, the residents were forced to change their family names and
the only school where the Armenian language was taught was closed.
When it reopened years later, there was only one Turkish teacher.
Villagers had to send children to Istanbul to study Armenian.

The village also lacked economic opportunities, which led many
residents to leave for larger cities over the years. Men also greatly
outnumber women, who often leave when they marry men from outside the
village.

In 1997, as Turkey moved towards membership in the European Union,
authorities approved the renovation of Vakifli’s church, which helped
jump-start tourism, as did an ecotourism program.

Then in 2004, the town was chosen for an organic farming project and
became one of the first and only places in the region to receive EU
certification. In recent years, however, that project was abandoned
because it became too expensive to keep their certificate updated,
according to Berc Karton, the moktar, or village leader. Their produce
and food products are still natural, he said, and help  the village
financially.

Several festivals during late summer and early fall also draw crowds,
including the Holy Mother of God feast in mid-August, which coincides
with the village’s traditional blessing of grapes. In the main square,
villagers serve harissa to those who gather. In September, the village
celebrates Holy Cross Sunday, which often draws Armenian pilgrims from
Istanbul and across the globe.

While the village is safe, more recently, the war in neighboring
Syria, which is within eyesight of Vakifli, caused alarm and deterred
tourists. In March 2014, residents watched with unease as the Syrian
town of Kessab, was overrun by extremists, some linked to Al Qaeda.
Twenty of Kessab’s Armenian residents from briefly took refuge in
Vakifli.

“In Antakya there are Christian churches and Jewish synagogues, but
now politicians don’t care,” Cigdem Turkmen said, fearing that the
country’s diverse cultures are being neglected.

While the Armenian population, and Vakifli as it stands today could
all but disappear within a generation, today’s villagers and their
families are fighting to keep their village, culture and traditions
alive.

A new museum is planned, where artifacts from villagers, stories of
its people will and recordings of the local dialect which is fading
away will be documented, preserved and on display.

“I feel a deep sadness thinking about how our village might disappear,
but we are looking forward,” said Cem Capar, sitting in the empty hall
that will soon house the museum. Outside, the evening call to prayer
echoes out over the hills from a former Armenian church that was
converted to a mosque after the village’s Armenians left in 1939.

“We know the past and we remember the past, but we live for now and
protect our future,” Capar said.

This article appeared in The Daily Beast on May 21, 2018.

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6 –        Commentary: A Stunted Celebration

            By Rostom Sarkissian

For most Americans, June 1 was an unassuming Friday. But in Armenia,
it was a cause for celebration. “Children’s Day” is marked around the
world, but in Yerevan, it’s an extravaganza. The city hosts multiple
official and unofficial events across the city, with the largest one
taking place in front of the Opera House.

Throughout the capitol: there are pop-up stands and spaces that
celebrate children, radio stations fill the air with music that makes
young and old dance in the streets, and the general energy around
Yerevan makes one wish they were five again. Yerevan in the summer is
filled with children’s amusement areas, parks and playground dot the
communal areas of nearly all housing complexes and children can be
seen enjoying themselves at all time of the day.

The veneer of Armenia’s child loving ethos belies a critical health
problem that is severely restricting the long-term health and
well-being of the Armenian Nation: the stunted growth of its youth.

Stunting is a condition in which children do not grow and develop
relative to their age. It is a global issue that mostly occurs in Asia
and Africa, but it has a strong correlation with level of poverty.
While there are many indicators which lead to stunting, the primary
cause is malnourishment and poor hygiene.

Stunting affects nearly 1 in 5 children in Armenia with the rate being
as high as 1 in 3 in certain regions. Stunting can begin in utero
through the malnourishment of the mother, and continues until the age
of 5, at which point it becomes irreversible.

Aside from a shorter stature and lower weight, children who are
stunted have higher risks of illness, delayed mental development,
reduced cognitive abilities and therefore worse school performance.

Women who are stunted also have greater risks of complication during
child birth, and stunting runs the risk of becoming an
intergenerational problem.

Based on World Bank data, Armenia’s rate of stunting increased from
1998 to 2010, from 14.8 to 21.7 percent, but has decreased to 19
percent as of most recent estimates due in part to the work of
organizations like World Vision and the United Nation’s World Food
Program, and an increased emphasis on this issue by the Armenian
government.

On June 10, we in the United States will have a chance to celebrate
Children’s Day, and let’s do so in part by committing ourselves to
helping future generations of Armenians grow and develop into the
healthy and hearty sons and daughters of Vartan—and not the meek and
weak foundlings of a developing country.

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7-         Commentary: The Third Republic

            By Rostom Sarkissian

On May 28, 1918, the First Armenian Republic was born from the still
burning fire of the Armenian Genocide. During the battle of
Sardarabad, a slaughtered and uprooted nation stood resolute and
proclaimed a new Armenia after 500+ years of Ottoman subjugation. The
victory at Sardarabad signaled the will of Armenians to survive, even
in the face of the greatest tragedy the nation had ever experienced.

On May 28, 1988, activists in Soviet Armenia unfurled the flag of the
First Republic for the first time in 70 years. During this period, the
Artsakh movement was gaining steam, the Soviet Union’s grip on power
was disintegrating and Armenia would soon face a devastating
earthquake and a war for Artsakh’s liberation that would test its
mettle. None of these events would stop the momentum of the founding
of the Second Republic. On September 21, 1991, Armenia declared its
independence once again from a foreign power.

On May 28, 2018, the new Armenian Prime Minister, Nikol Pashinyan,
oversaw the ceremony marking the 100 year Anniversary of the founding
of the First Republic. In April/May of this year, he led a revolution
that has the potential to herald the start of the Third Armenian
Republic. The revolution was fueled by the energy and hopes of a
generation of young Armenians who were fighting to break the chains of
not a foreign power, but an internal threat, which at times behaved as
cruelly and ruthlessly as our foreign oppressors have in the past.

The leaders of the Second Republic brought Armenia independence, but
also ushered in an era where impunity ruled and oligarchy thrived.
These leaders went on to steal Armenia’s wealth, drove its population
to foreign lands and nearly extinguished Armenia’s hope for
development. Nearly. This year, the youth revolted against these
internal enemies and demanded a new Armenia that will nurture their
talents, provide opportunity commensurate with their skills, and will
strive to fulfil their aspirations for a better life.
100 years ago, a nearly defeated Armenian nation rose to defend its
rights and proclaimed its First Republic. Today, a new generation has
done so again. ************************************************************************************************

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