“I do not love writing ‘open letters’. But I have no other way out.”
“Chairman of the Seimas Anti-corruption commission Vitalijus Gailius did not answer any of my questions I asked back in 2015. Therefore, I do not believe that he will condescend to giving explanations this year, in 2017.”
Gintaras Visockas, famous Lithuanian journalist and head of www.slaptai.lt internet edition, has commented on the report published on the official website of the Seimas and undersigned by head of the Seimas anti-corruption commission Vitalijus Gailius. In an official letter: “In response to the information provided in the report of the International Center for Journalistic Investigations ‘Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project’ (OCCRP), about possible money laundering, that Azerbaijan transferred large sums of money to European officials, the Anti-Corruption Commission appealed to the Financial Crimes Investigation Service (SRFA). It asks to inform the commission about the preventive measures taken in relation to the persons mentioned in the information and their possible ties with Lithuania, which is within the competence of the service under the Prevention of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Law. “
Seimas member Gailius seems to be behaving correctly.
Vigilance is necessary. But let’s look more closely..
Does Gailius have a moral right to undersign such a letter? No. In the name of justice, he should have withdrawn, since he takes an obviously prejudiced stance on the issue of relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
Those Lithuanian citizens who love Armenia and are suspicious about Azerbaijan do nothing wrong. Lithuanian laws do not prohibit thinking that Armenia is closer to Lithuania than Azerbaijan. However, the danger arises when representatives of Lithuania, especially officials, start, albeit indirectly, to challenge Azerbaijan’s right to Nagorno-Karabakh, recognized by NATO, the European Union, and Lithuania itself. In this case, there is a clear ambiguity: if we respect the territorial integrity of Ukraine, Georgia, Moldova, we must support the right of Azerbaijan to regain Nagorno-Karabakh.
Gailius is one of those who indirectly doubts Lithuania’s stance on Nagorno-Karabakh. In the Seimas of the previous convocation, he belonged to the group of Friendship with Nagorno-Karabakh (not with Armenia, but with the regime that occupied Nagorno-Karabakh), led by liberal Dalia Kuodite. So it’s easy to understand which side of the barricades he is on (in early 2015, I sent a request to explain why he agreed to participate in the activities of this group, but never received an answer).
It was precisely because of this strange “friendship” that the chairman of the Anti-Corruption Commission, at least for “diverting one’s eyes,” had to allow his deputy to sign the letter. If he had openly acknowledged his pro-Armenian convictions, today he would look much more solid.
A strange haste
However, attempts to publicly “fraternize” with the forces that occupied Nagorno-Karabakh and simultaneous latent doubts about the official view of Lithuania are not the only strange move by Gailius.
Gailius’ strange haste seems surprising. As soon as 15min.lt published an article on the probable wiping out of money in early September, the Anti-Corruption Commission submitted a petition to SRFP with a request to find out whether Azerbaijan bribes Lithuanian politicians.
I’m not going to support or deny the article published at 15min.lt. In Europe, there are really corrupt, dishonest, self-serving politicians. Europe is not a holy cow.
And still, why did the chairman of the Anti-Corruption Commission not ask his deputies to take a more thorough eye on this journalistic investigation? After all, during the day it is difficult to clarify all the nuances. Are there the journalists of Armenian origin in the West among the initiators of the journalistic investigation?
A strange silence
However, the most interesting is why Mr. Gailius was silent when reports of Armenia’s attempts to bribe the European Parliamentarians for the purpose of deliberately vilifying the Azerbaijani leadership came out nearly six months ago?
I publicly remind the Anti-Corruption Commission of the Seimas about the announcement made by the European Strategic Intelligence and Security Center in the spring and summer of this year. This intelligence organization was established in Brussels in 2002.
One of the leaders of the European Strategic Intelligence and Security Center is the 59-year-old Claude Monique. He is a former employee of French intelligence (General Directorate of Foreign Intelligence of France). The specific of his work is the intelligence analyst. Journalistic activity was his cover. Monique specialized in terrorism, espionage, organized crime, international conflicts. He wrote a book about the September 11 terrorist attacks in New York. His wooks won great popularity.
The second person in the organization is Genovife Etienne, engaged in investigative journalism for more than 20 years. The third is a 57-year-old sociologist, well-known expert on the Middle East, William Racimora.
The field of interest of the European Center for Strategic Intelligence and Security encompasses the challenges threatening the Western civilization.
So what did this organization publish on its official website www.esisc.org? It cited the biased group of European parliamentarians, supported by lobbyists from the Armenian diaspora, whose goal is to exert a strong influence on the governments of Europe in communicating with the states of Central and Eastern Europe. Azerbaijan is in the spotlight of the biased parliamentarians of Europe. According to ESISC analysts, this group has a whole arsenal of measures against Azerbaijan, with the help of which a huge but secret pressure is exerted on the international opinion.
But the most interesting is that, according to the authors of the ESISC report, an influential, numerous, anti-Azerbaijani and at the same time pro-Armenian lobby group of European parliamentarians was formed precisely in 2012, when the ‘well-known person’ was appointed to an important post in European structures.
According to ESISC analysts, this is Latvian Nile Muižnieks, who worked for more than five years as a Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe. In a word, the ESISC report listing the secret links between the politicians of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe with the foreign Armenian diaspora, Armenian officials and the George Soros Foundation, for Nagorno-Karabakh to be recognized as the territory of Armenia is no less sensational.
By the way, in the second part of the report, special attention is paid to Muižnieks. Elected in PACE in 2012, he became the main representative of the secret network uniting European diplomats, Armenian officials, Armenian lobbyists, non-governmental organizations and George Soros Foundation, according to ESISC.
According to ESISC analysis, on his influential official position in European structures, this Latvian plays an important role in imposing the interests of official Yerevan regarding Nagorno-Karabakh on Europe. He also tried to draw in new influential politicians in Europe in his pro-Armenian activities. It should be noted that a particularly zealous “hunt” targeted the politicians of the Nordic countries and the Baltic states (the author’s note), the Netherlands and Germany.
The ESISC report provides a table showing that during the last five years when Muižnieks became the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, anti-Azerbaijani sentiments were growing in Europe.
It was during his leadership that, in addition to the official PACE plenary sessions, informal events were held to benefit Armenia and cause harm to Azerbaijan, which lost Nagorno-Karabakh (in Azerbaijani – the Black Garden) because of the aggression of the Armenian-Russian armed formation
Muižnieks’ group did not care that their activities were obviously violating the international law and the established European principles of territorial integrity. Muižnieks acted as if he knew nothing about the resolutions of the OSCE Security Council (822, 853, 874, 884), which condemned Armenia for occupying Azerbaijan’s Nagorno-Karabakh and forcing all Azerbaijanis to flee it.
Along with Muižnieks several other European politicians artificially promoting Armenia’s position are mentioned in the report. These are Peter Omzigt, Christoph Strasser, Frank Schwabbe and Tini Cox. They are attributed to Muižnieks’ group which constantly criticizes Azerbaijan and declares Armenia an almost exemplary state in the region.
By the way, a new intrigue has already begun. Muižnieks’ mandate will not be eternal. Who will replace him?
In a word, Gailius missed the two-part report that appeared on esisc.org in the middle of this year. In my opinion, this is an unforgivable negligence. Since the European Union should not become a hostage to the interests of aggressive Armenia (and thus – Russia, since the Russian military base is currently deployed in Armenia).
Therefore, the question why the head of the Anti-Corruption Commission of the Seimas in Lithuania is looking for persons bribed only by politicians of Azerbaijan, and not by Armenia, remains open. The author of these lines, who is interested in the history of Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia and Turkey, believes that the positions of Armenians in Lithuania are very strong. Suspiciously strong.
Suspiciously strong influence of Armenia
It is only necessary to calculate how many Armenian crosses – khachkars were set in Klaipeda, Kaunas and Siauliai. But Azerbaijanis are not allowed to put a monument in Lithuania in honor of the victims of Khojaly. Accident?
In the Seimas of Lithuania, a friendship group was established with the Nagorno-Karabakh separated from Azerbaijan. But have you heard the Seimasas Committee on National Security, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or the Lithuanian State Security Department warn publicly that such a Lithuanian “friendship” is similar to friendship with separatists that terrorize Moldova, Georgia and Ukraine?
Every year painful dates for both Armenia and Azerbaijan are marked in Lithuania. But the director of the Center for Studies of Genocide and Resistance of Lithuanians, Birutė Burauskaitė and director of the Victims Museum Eugenijus Peikštanis attend only Armenia-related events.
An Armenian delegation of representatives of the ‘Nagorno Karabakh Republic’ not recognized anywhere in the world has visited Lithuania this year. The Armenian delegation was accompanied by at least one member of the Seimasas – Povilas Urbsis. The delegation was also received by the Mayor of the Varėna District Algis Kaset. But did the Foreign Ministry condemn the embrace of our official politicians with the unrecognized state in the world?
Lithuanian editions also demonstrate a strange approach. Serious shootings were recorded between Armenia and Azerbaijan this summer. I did not find any reports in the Lithuanian press about the killing of Azerbaijani civilians, including a toddler and her grandmother. Meanwhile, most of the Lithuanian publications rushed to report the killing of several Armenian soldiers following Azerbaijan’s counterattack.
Here 15min.lt never misses the opportunity to publish articles unfavorable for Azerbaijan. And it does not publish the articles about the disorder in Armenia, corrupt Armenian president Serzh Sargsyan and the regime of his entourage. They do not even explain why. Perhaps they think that Serzh Sargsyan is crystal clear?
Which edition in Lithuania will at least occasionally print Azerbaijani arguments? For example, the thoughts of Elmira Tariverdieva, head of the Trend Russian service, about the aforementioned anti-Azerbaijani investigation.
Azerbaijani arguments
A few excerpts for your attention: “(…) At the same time, the resolution mentions only one country – Azerbaijan, which serves as a clear proof of the selective anti-Azerbaijan approach of the resolution (…).
“And all this is built around the “investigation” of journalists, some of which are of Armenian origin. Is it not a coincidence? However, none of the journalists thought about the strange result of the alleged lobbying of Baku’s interests in the EP – 9 critical resolutions on Azerbaijan were adopted in 2009 alone. Did Azerbaijan pay someone for its own criticism? But journalists and MEPs apparently are not at all interested in such trifles (…).
It is noteworthy that the so-called “exposures” of the schemes invented by journalists were published on September 5, and the amendment on Azerbaijan, added to the EP resolution, was ready for September 7. The authors seem to have been waiting for a signal with the ready draft document in hand. This serves as an excellent illustration of the synchronized actions against Baku, ordered from a single center. The goal is also transparent: the destruction of the developing relations between Baku and the EU on the eve of the Brussels Eastern Partnership summit and hindering participation of the high-level Azerbaijani delegation in this summit.
Need more evidence? Just look who the author of the amendment against Azerbaijan is: EP deputy Petras Austrevicius, the closest friend of Renatas Juska sadly famous in Azerbaijan
“In addition, a significant role in the adoption of this resolution was played by Petras Aštryavičius, one of the co-founders of the Liberal Movement of Lithuania, and in 2006-2008 the chairman of this party, who has been a member of the EP since 2014. There is a well-known saying: “Tell me who your friend is and I’ll tell you who you are.” So Renatas Juska is a close friend of Aštryavičius. The same Juska whose voice record with the voice record of another responsible officer of the Lithuanian Foreign Ministry Zenonas Kumetaitis came viral on youtube. In his voice record she expressed hate towards Azerbaijan and Muslims and his love for Armenia saying that Lithuania should support Armenians because they are Christian.”
So, it is imperative to investigate the number of politicians in Europe holding a biased position on the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict. But it should not be one-sided, should it, Mr.Gailius?