What the 'Grievance Studies' Hoax Means October 09, 2018 Over the summer, the Wall Street Journal's Jillian Kay Melchior became suspicious of a bizarre-sounding academic journal article, "Human reactions to rape culture and queer performativity at urban dog parks in Portland, Oregon," published in the journal Gender, Place & Culture. She started investigating, and discovered that the article's author, "Helen Wilson," did not exist. The article was part of an elaborate hoax cooked up by Helen Pluckrose, the editor of the online magazine Areo, James A. Lindsay, a Ph.D. in math, and Peter Boghossian, an assistant professor of philosophy at Portland State University. "Sokal Squared," Yascha Mounk called it, and the label stuck. The trio of hoaxers, Melchior discovered, had written 20 fake papers and managed to get seven of them accepted at peer-reviewed journals, including "Our Struggle Is My Struggle: Solidarity Feminism as an Intersectional Reply to Neoliberal and Choice Feminism," composed of passages of Hitler's Mein Kampf rewritten so as to appear to be a theoretical argument about social justice. As the hoaxers explained in Areo, they targeted fields they pejoratively dub "grievance studies" - "gender studies, masculinities studies, queer studies, sexuality studies, psychoanalysis, critical race theory, critical whiteness theory, fat studies, sociology, and educational philosophy" - which they consider peculiarly susceptible to fashionable nonsense. Does the hoax identify something uniquely rotten in gender and sexuality studies, or could it just as easily have targeted other fields? Is it a salutary correction or a reactionary hit job? And what does it portend for already imperiled fields? The Chronicle Review asked scholars from a variety of disciplines. Here are their responses. To hoax morally suspect fields like economics, one of the fake papers concocted by James Lindsay, Helen Pluckrose, and Peter Boghossian and accepted for publication in Hypatia argued, is morally righteous. To hoax morally righteous fields like gender studies, on the other hand, is morally suspect. This hilarious little piece of meta-textualism shows that the scholars behind Sokal Squared are more conversant in postmodern discourse - and more attuned to its lighter modes - than some of their critics seem to assume. It also shows that they know their enemies well enough to predict their reactions with uncanny accuracy. What is most striking in the intense debate which this hoax has already occasioned is the sheer amount of tribal solidarity it has elicited among leftists and academics. Virtually the whole debate has focused on the supposedly malign motives, or the supposedly evident stupidity, of the authors. I don't find these criticisms to be particularly persuasive. Like Alan Sokal, Lindsay, Pluckrose, and Boghossian locate themselves on the left. And while it did them no favors to write up their hoax in the style of a social-scientific experiment, thus inviting the wrong standard of judgment, their mastery of postmodern jargon and their sly humor is evident in the corpus of work they have produced in the past year. If you don't believe me, dear "Sokal Squared" critics, I beseech you to actually skim some of the papers: you may even, despite yourself, end up having a good chuckle. But what I've found most striking - and debased - about this grand circling of the imperiled wagons is the ad hominem nature of so many of the reactions. So let me concede, for the sake of argument, that the motives behind the hoaxes were nasty; that they provided succor to the anti-intellectual enemies of the academy; that their hoax was, by its very nature (or, as Hypatia would have it, by its impermissible choice of target), immoral. What would follow from all of this? Practically nothing. Because, after all, it is possible to glean valuable information from the immoral actions of evil people. And even if all of the charges laid at the feet of Lindsay, Pluckrose, and Boghossian were true, they would have demonstrated a very worrying fact: Some of the leading journals in areas like gender studies have failed to distinguish between real scholarship and intellectually vacuous as well as morally troubling bullshit. Perhaps this does not mean that we should celebrate the perpetrators of the hoax as moral heroes. Perhaps it would have been possible to hoax other fields in similar ways. And as the hoaxers themselves emphasize, there is no reason to conclude that all of academia is rotten, or that we shouldn't devote serious attention and resources to studying sex, gender, and race. But for all of the caveats, one thing remains incontestable in my mind: Any academic who is not at least a little troubled by the ease with which the hoaxers passed satire off as wisdom has fallen foul to the same kind of motivated reasoning and naked partisanship that is currently engulfing the country as a whole. Yascha Mounk is a lecturer on government at Harvard University.
Category: 2018
RFE/RL Armenian Report – 10/16/2018
Tuesday,
Armenian Police General Named Provincial Governor
• Marine Khachatrian
• Sisak Gabrielian
Armenia - Hunan Poghosian, the newly appointed governor of Syunik province,
speaks to reporters in Yerevan, .
In a surprise move, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s government on Tuesday
appointed a retired general, who was Armenia’s second most powerful police
official during former President Serzh Sarkisian’s rule, as a provincial
governor.
Lieutenant-General Hunan Poghosian was named to run the southeastern Syunik
province five months after resigning as first deputy chief of the Armenian
police following Pashinian-led mass protests that toppled Sarkisian’s
government. He had held that position since 2010.
Poghosian tendered his resignation immediately after Pashinian appointed one of
his subordinates, Colonel Valeri Osipian, as new head of the national police
service on May 10. He gave no clear reasons for his exit.
Armenia - Opposition protesters clash with riot police in Yerevan, 16 April
2018.
The new government’s decision to give the vacant post of Syunik governor to
Poghosian therefore took many by surprise. Some Pashinian supporters criticized
it, saying that the police general was closely linked to the former ruling
regime accused of corruption and human rights abuses.
Pashinian acknowledged that the appointment may seem “strange” seeing as
Poghosian was “on the other side of the barricades” during his nationwide
campaign of anti-government protests. He said it is part of his efforts to
“consolidate” the nation after last spring’s dramatic upheavals.
“I find it very important to ensure that as a result of the revolution nobody
feels that their [professional] life in Armenia is finished,” Pashinian told a
cabinet meeting in Yerevan. “Accordingly, we must not allow the emergence of a
phenomenon which can tentatively be called political racism.”
“There are times for building barricades and dismantling them, and I hope that
we are getting close to the latter point,” he said.
Armenia - General Hunan Poghosian, the first deputy chief of the Armenian
police, speaks to reporters near a police building in Yerevan seized by
anti-government gunmen, 18Jul2016.
Poghosian, meanwhile, dismissed critics’ claims that he was a loyal “servant”
of the former ruling regime. “Only slavish people can probably think so,” he
told reporters. “I have always served the law and the people.”
“I’m a supporter of New Armenia and I will do everything to help ensure that
everything is alright in New Armenia,” added the 54-year-old.
Poghosian’s latest appointment was made possible by Pashinian’s decision
earlier this month to sack all government ministers and provincial governors
affiliated with the Prosperous Armenia and Dashnaktsutyun parties. The premier
accused his coalition partners parties of assisting Sarkisian’s Republicans in
their efforts to scuttle his plans to force snap parliamentary elections in
December.
U.S. Plans ‘Strategic’ Talks With Armenia
• Sargis Harutyunyan
• Emil Danielyan
Armenia - U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian
Affairs George Kent speaks at a press conference in Yerevan, .
The United States plans to hold early next year “strategic discussions” with
Armenia on ways of strengthening bilateral relations, a senior U.S. State
Department official said at the end of a visit to Yerevan on Tuesday.
George Kent, the U.S deputy assistant secretary of state for the European and
Eurasian affairs, met with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian as well as Armenian
parliamentarians, businesspeople and civil society members during the two-day
trip. He reaffirmed Washington’s readiness to help the new Armenian government
implement sweeping political and economic reforms promised by it.
“The U.S. remains ready to be a supportive partner as Armenia moves forward in
improving its quality of institutions,” Kent told a news conference.
“I believe after the [Armenian parliamentary] elections we will hold the next
round of U.S.-Armenia Task Force strategic discussions,” he said. “I expect
those will take place in Washington in the new year, perhaps in February. And I
think that will be an excellent moment or us to talk about how we can deepen
our relationship.”
Kent pointed out that the U.S. already provided Armenia with $14 million in
additional aid following last spring’s “velvet revolution” that brought
Pashinian to power. He said it can specifically support the Pashinian
government’s anti-corruption efforts and “programs on ways of diversifying the
Armenian economy.”
“U.S. companies will be prepared to invest in Armenia if the investment climate
is supportive of large-scale investment,” Kent went on. “So it was interesting
for me to hear the experience of U.S. companies [doing business in Armenia,]
whether they are in hydroelectric power or other areas.”
“I think there is a lot of discussion now about a large mining investment that
is under review, and as I told Armenian political leaders yesterday, it’s
critical that contracts are upheld in order that Armenia can continue to
attract investment that will create good jobs and allow Armenians to work with
dignity here in Armenia, rather than going overseas,” he stressed.
Armenia - Gold mining facilities constructed by Lydian International company at
Amulsar deposit, 18 May 2018.
The U.S. official clearly referred to the continuing disruption of operations
at the Amulsar gold deposit in southeastern Armenia which was developed by the
Anglo-American company Lydian International.
All roads leading to Amulsar have been blocked since June 23 by dozens of
people protesting against gold mining operations there which they say are
fraught with serious risks to the environment.
Lydian has dismissed these concerns, saying that it will use modern and safe
technology. The company, which claims to have invested more than $300 million
in Amulsar, has condemned the disruption of its operations as illegal.
The Armenian government, meanwhile, remains reluctant to forcibly unblock the
Amulsar roads. Pashinian said late last month that the government is now
seeking more evidence that open-pit mining would not contaminate water in the
area.
The Amulsar project is strongly supported by the U.S. and British governments.
The U.S. ambassador to Armenia, Richard Mills, has repeatedly warned that its
possible scrapping would discourage further U.S. investments in the Armenian
economy.
“As a friend of Armenia, I fear that if this issue is not resolved soon it
could put a large cloud over the attractiveness of Armenia as a place to do
business,” Mills warned last week. He noted “the absence of evidence of
significant violations of Armenian environmental laws” by Lydian.
Belgium - U.S. President Donald Trump and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol
Pashinian talk during a NATO summit in Brussels, 11 July 2018.
Pashinian briefed Kent on his government’s reform agenda when they met on
Monday. He had earlier expressed readiness to “strengthen and expand”
U.S.-Armenian relations.
The Armenian premier briefly chatted with U.S. President Donald Trump at a NATO
summit in Brussels in July. He hoped to hold his first talks with Trump on the
sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York in late September. The talks
did not take place, however.
“I’m sure there will be a [Trump-Pashinian] meeting but I can’t tell you
exactly where and when,” said Kent. He suggested that Trump’s national security
adviser, John Bolton, will discuss the matter with Pashinian when he visits
Yerevan later this month.
Kent said that Armenia’s relations with neighboring Iran and renewed U.S.
economic sanctions against Tehran will also be on the agenda of Bolton’s talks.
Trump re-imposed the sanctions earlier this year after pulling out of a 2015
international agreement on Iran’s nuclear program. The move was criticized by
the other world powers that signed it: France, Germany, Britain, Russia and
China.
Armenia too continues to support the 2015 deal and has made clear that it will
press ahead with joint economic projects with Iran. The Islamic Republic is one
of the landlocked country’s two commercial conduits to the outside world.
“While we understand the challenges for Armenia in terms of regional trade, we
remain very concerned about the behavior of elements of the Iranian military
and state in regional instability, not regional stability,” Kent said in this
regard. “So there are questions of legitimate trade but there are also
questions of how the [Iranian] Revolutionary Guards and Quds force sponsor
terrorism.”
“So I think you can expect a frank and active exchange of perspectives during
Ambassador Bolton’s visit about positive opportunities in the bilateral
relationship and challenges to regional stability,” added the U.S. official.
Security Chief Blames ‘Well-Known Armenian’ For Leaked Phone Calls
• Sisak Gabrielian
Armenia - Artur Vanetsian (L), director of the National Security Service (NSS),
and Special Investigative Service chief Sasun Khachatrian at a cabinet meeting
in Yerevan, 20 September 2018.
Artur Vanetsian, the National Security Service (NSS) director, claimed on
Tuesday that a “well-known” individual from Armenia commissioned the secret
recording of his sensitive phone conversations with the head of another
law-enforcement body.
Vanetsian refused to name that person, saying that investigators lack the
evidence to prosecute the latter.
“It is very, very difficult to document and substantiate the involvement of
that single orderer,” he told reporters. “Unfortunately, that cannot happen at
this stage.”
Vanetsian and Sasun Khachatrian, head of the Special Investigative Service
(SIS), spoke by phone in July shortly before former President Robert Kocharian
was arrested over his role in the 2008 post-election violence in Yerevan. Their
phone conversations were wiretapped and posted on the Internet by unknown
individuals in September.
In that audio, Vanetsian can be heard telling Khachatrian that he ordered a
judge to sanction Kocharian’s controversial arrest. Vanetsian also urged the
SIS not to arrest Yuri Khachaturov, the Armenian secretary general of the
Russian-led Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), warning of a
negative reaction from Russia. He noted that Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian
wants investigators to “lock up” Khachaturov.
Pashinian condemned the wiretapping and denied putting pressure on
investigators. For his part, Kocharian, who was released from pre-trial custody
in August, portrayed the audio as further proof that the criminal case against
him is politically motivated.
Vanetsian said on Tuesday that the audio was doctored to leave the impression
that he put pressure on the judge. He insisted that in fact he never spoke to
the judge and referred a senior SIS investigator instead.
The NSS chief also said that it was possible to wiretap his phone calls with
Khachatrian only because he made them from a foreign country.“Any mid-level
specialist could have secretly recorded them,” he said.
Vanetsian further claimed that the prominent Armenian commissioned the
wiretapping with the aim of forcing him to resign. He said the same person has
been paying some media outlets to discredit him. He refused to name them,
saying only that “they charge 3 million or 4 million drams ($6,200-$8,300) per
article.”
Last month, law-enforcement officers searched the offices of an Armenian news
website, Yerevan.Today, and confiscated some of its computer hard disks as part
of a criminal investigation into the leaked phone calls.
The website editor, Sevak Hakobian, strongly denied any involvement in the
wiretapping. He also dismissed claims that Yerevan.Today is controlled or
financed by Kocharian.
Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
Copyright (c) 2018 Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Inc.
1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.
www.rferl.org
Armenpress: Armenian FM to attend Eastern Partnership Foreign Ministers meeting in Luxembourg
Armenian FM to attend Eastern Partnership Foreign Ministers meeting in Luxembourg
16:39,
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 14, ARMENPRESS. Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia Zohrab Mnatsakanyan will visit Luxembourg to participate in the October 15 EU Eastern Partnership Foreign Ministers meeting, the foreign ministry said.
The Eastern Partnership (EaP) ministerial meeting will bring together EU foreign ministers and their counterparts from the six Eastern Partnership countries (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine), as well as key stakeholders involved in the region, the European Council said in a press release.
The High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini will chair the meeting.
The meeting will provide an opportunity to resume the political dialogue between the EU and its Eastern partners.
Foreign ministers will also take stock of the implementation of the partnership’s commitments, including the priorities identified as the ’20 deliverables for 2020′.
The latter were adopted at the last Eastern Partnership Summit in November 2017 with a view to achieve stronger economy, governance, connectivity and society.
The meeting will also be the opportunity to discuss first ideas to mark the 10th anniversary of the Eastern Partnership due in May next year.
Ahead of this meeting, EU ministers exchanged views on the Eastern Partnership at the Foreign Affairs Council meeting in July 2018.
They reaffirmed the EU’s commitment to the region, to the reform agenda and to the priorities identified as the ’20 deliverables for 2020′. They confirmed the relevance of the tailored-made and differentiated approach and underlined the need to step up reforms in several areas.
Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan
Armenpress: Armenian delegation thwarts Azerbaijani efforts in PACE on shutting down Metsamor NPP
Armenian delegation thwarts Azerbaijani efforts in PACE on shutting down Metsamor NPP
11:24,
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 15, ARMENPRESS. The Armenian delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) has prevented the Azerbaijani efforts on halting the Metsamor Armenian Nuclear Power Plant’s operations, PACE Armenia delegation head Arpine Hovhannisyan said on Facebook.
“The Nuclear Safety in Europe resolution was adopted during the PACE October session,” she said, adding that the motion’s goal is to set the actions which member states should implement to increase safety of nuclear power plants and decrease risks in the event of incidents of terrorism. She highlighted the fact that with this resolution the assembly is demanding Belarus to not launch the Ostrovets nuclear power plant, which is currently under development 45km from Vilnius, Lithuania, until it corresponds to international standards.
“On the occasion of this resolution the Azerbaijani delegation was attempting to include wordings in the resolution for halting the operations of the Metsamor Nuclear Power Plant. They failed, we prevented it,” she said.
Hovhannisyan also noted that she has thwarted the appointment of a biased co-rapporteur for Armenia in the EPP group. As a result, Slovenian Andrei Schirchel has been appointed as the new co-rapporteur from the EPP group, she said.
Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan
PM Pashinyan’s resignation expected on October 16 – spokesperson
PM Pashinyan’s resignation expected on October 16 – spokesperson
20:50,
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 15, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan is expected to resign on October 16, PM’s spokesperson Arman Yeghoyan told ARMENPRESS.
To the question if the PM will resign during the extraordinary session of the Cabinet, Yeghoyan answered, “I cannot answer that question. It may happen during the session, an hour after the session or 7 hours after the session”.
PM Pashinyan announced about his intention to resign on October 10. He told France 24 TV that he plans to resign until October 16, which means that the early parliamentary elections will take place on December 9 or 10.
Edited and translated by Tigran Sirekanyan
New Opportunities Introduced for Francophones in Armenia
AGBU Press Office 55 East 59th Street New York, NY 10022-1112 Website: www.agbu.org PRESS RELEASE Monday, NEW OPPORTUNITIES INTRODUCED FOR FRANCOPHONES IN ARMENIA AGBU CHAPTERS LAUNCH A NEW SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM AND WRITING COMPETITION TO ENCOURAGE ENHANCEMENT OF FRENCH-LANGUAGE EDUCATION IN ARMENIA In the light of this year's Francophonie Summit held in Yerevan, AGBU Montreal and AGBU France have launched new projects in an effort to support French-speaking youth in Armenia, as well as promote French language and culture. Every two years, the Francophonie Summit-the main decision-making body of the International Organization of the Francophonie (OIF)-brings together leaders and representatives of 84 member-states for a series of discussions. For 48 years, OIF has actively advocated French language, linguistic diversity and humanist values across the world. On October 12, the final day of the Summit, AGBU Montreal and the Agence universitaire de la Francophonie (AUF), a global network of French-language universities and research institutions, signed a framework agreement creating new educational opportunities for Armenia's Francophone students. Each year, four students from Armenia accepted to Quebec's French-language universities will get scholarships to pursue their doctoral degrees. AUF will grant the shortlisted candidates the exemption for tuition fees, while AGBU will oversee the selection process, provide some financial assistance to these students and facilitate their integration into the global Francophone community. The signing ceremony was held at the AGBU Armenia Office, with Armenia's Minister of Education and Science Arayik Harutyunyan, as well as government and university officials in attendance. "This agreement creates better opportunities for Armenian students to pursue higher education in French, thus targeting the objectives of OIF of spreading French language around the world," said Rector of AUF Jean-Paul de Gaudemar. Chairman of AGBU Montreal Chahé Tanachian noted that commitment to education is at the core of AGBU's mission. "It is a special agreement that we signed with AUF on the sidelines of the Francophonie Summit. Having students from Armenia in French universities will enhance cooperation in the field of education between Canada and Armenia and will make French language more popular in the Armenian society," Tanachian said. "AGBU is also looking forward to more closely working with Armenia's Ministry of Education to develop better expertise and skills in areas needed today." In an effort to promote French-Armenian connections and boost people's interest in French language, AGBU France-in partnership with the French Embassy in Armenia-announced the launch of a contest of short stories themed "Armenia of My Dreams in 2050 AGBU France-in partnership with the French Embassy in Armenia-announced the launch of a contest of short stories themed "Armenia of My Dreams in 2050." This contest is set to encourage the Francophones citizens of Armenia to imagine a better future for their homeland given the recent revival of democracy. "Taking advantage of this important moment, the Francophonie Summit in Yerevan, AGBU France contributes to the promotion of French language in Armenia through this contest. This contest is also a tribute to Charles Aznavour who skillfully used this language,'' said President of AGBU France and AGBU Europe Nadia Gortzounian. ''We hope that the contest's theme will inspire many applicants." The contest is open to the residents of Armenia who can submit their short stories in French -up to three pages or 4,500 characters-through December 15. Authors of the top three stories will receive monetary awards. For more information about the contest, please visit ugabfrance.org/2018/10/concours-recits/. The Armenian General Benevolent Union (AGBU) is the world's largest non-profit organization devoted to upholding the Armenian heritage through educational, cultural and humanitarian programs. Each year, AGBU is committed to making a difference in the lives of 500,000 people across Armenia, Artsakh and the Armenian diaspora. Since 1906, AGBU has remained true to one overarching goal: to create a foundation for the prosperity of all Armenians. To learn more visit www.agbu.org.
The California Courier Online, October 18, 2018
The California Courier Online, October 18, 2018
1 – Commentary
Britain Investigates Azeri Banker’s Wife
For Multi-Million Dollar Shopping Spree
By Harut Sassounian
Publisher, The California Courier
www.TheCaliforniaCourier.com
2- 17th Francophonie Summit Concludes in Armenia
3- Turkish court frees US pastor Andrew Brunson
4 – Trini-Canadian mother appeals to Trudeau for abducted son
5 – ABMDR walkathon in Glendale draws strong community support
6- Haigazian Hosts Cultural Evening with Lebanese Philharmonic Orchestra
7- U.S., Turkey, France at Ends about Saudi Arabia, Journalist Khashoggi
8- Armenia Chief Foreign Policy Adviser Gasparyan
Is a cigar entrepreneur afoul with debts
******************************************
1 – Britain Investigates Azeri Banker’s Wife
For Multi-Million Dollar Shopping Spree
By Harut Sassounian
Publisher, The California Courier
www.TheCaliforniaCourier.com
Another Azerbaijan-related major corruption scandal is brewing in
Europe. The country’s crooked officials have swindled billions of
petrodollars for their personal benefit while the majority of the
Azeri people live in abject poverty.
The latest example is on the front pages of most British newspapers.
Mrs. Zamira Hajiyeva, 55, the wife of an Azerbaijani banker, has spent
over $21 million by shopping at the Harrods luxury department store in
London between 2006 and 2016.
The United Kingdom’s National Crime Agency alleged that stolen funds
were used to buy a $15 million, five-bedroom house in the exclusive
London neighborhood of Knightsbridge, 100 yards from the doors of
Harrods. The house is now worth $20 million. She is also accused of
spending almost $14 million to purchase a golf and country club in
Ascot, The Guardian newspaper reported. Incredibly, Mrs. Hajiyeva owns
two reserved parking spaces in Harrods at a cost of $500,000 a year.
She was given permission to live in the UK eight years ago under a
visa scheme for wealthy investors, without checking her source of
funds.
“Mrs. Hajiyeva is the wife of Jahangir Hajiyev, 57, the former
chairman of the state-owned International Bank of Azerbaijan. In 2016
he was sentenced to 15 years in jail for defrauding the bank out of $3
billion,” according to Rupert Neate of The Guardian.
Mrs. Hajiyeva’s lawyers in London had petitioned to keep her name, the
husband’s name, their nationality and his bank a secret. However, the
British court of appeal lifted the veil of secrecy at the request of
the media.
The National Crime Agency stated that Mrs. Hajiyeva used 35 American
Express, Mastercard, and Visa credit cards issued by her husband’s
bank to fund her spending spree. On one trip to Harrods, she spent
$200,000 on Boucheron, a luxury jewelry, perfume and watches brand. On
another trip, she bought $132,000 of Cartier jewelry. She also
purchased a $42 million Gulfstream G550 jet. Her wine cellar is
stocked with some of the world’s most expensive bottles, The Guardian
reported. Meanwhile, Mrs. Hajiyeva’s daughter from a previous
marriage, who was a student in London, had shares worth $20 million
paying dividends of $1.3 million a year. Mrs. Hajiyeva also has two
sons from her current husband, ages 17 and 20, who were also educated
in private British schools.
Mrs. Hajiyeva’s husband gave her $1.3 million to invest in British
government bonds, and received $26,000 monthly expense allowance.
However, after her husband’s arrest, she fled Azerbaijan and began
selling her family’s silver at Christie’s auction house.
The Azerbaijani authorities are interested in questioning Mrs.
Hajiyeva in connection with her husband’s banking case, accusing her
and other family members of serving as conduits for Mr. Hajiyev’s
scheme to take money out of the country.
Mrs. Hajiyeva is the first person in the UK’s new anti-corruption law
– “Unexplained Wealth Order” – designed to target suspected corrupt
foreign officials who have potentially laundered stolen money. Justice
Supperstone demanded that she explain the source of the funds for her
lavish purchases. If she is unable to do so, her properties could be
seized. The Judge agreed that “this evidence is significant in the
light of the reports of Mr. Hajiyev’s trial allegations made against
him included abuse of his position at the Bank by issuing credit cards
in the names of family members, through which large debts were run up
against the Bank.”
Mr. Jahangir Hajiyev, as chairman of the IBA bank between 2001 and
2008, had an official salary of $71,000 a year. However, Werner
Capital, which manages property investment for wealthy people,
produced a report in 2011 disclosing that Mr. Hajiyev was worth $73
million, The Guardian reported. The prosecutor, Jonathan Hall, who
represented the National Crime Agency, announced: “As a state employee
between 1993 and 2015, it is very unlikely that such a position would
have generated sufficient income to fund the acquisition of the
property.”
In court, Mrs. Hajiyeva stated that she had no knowledge of the source
of funds for her purchases, claiming that her husband was responsible
for the payments. She described Mr. Hajiyev as “a man of substantial
means.” She has hired a team of highly paid British lawyers to defend
her in court.
For the time being Mrs. Hajiyeva’s expensive London mansion and the
golf and country club remain frozen and cannot be sold.
It remains to be seen if the British government would seize Mrs.
Hajiyeva’s properties in London. There are many more such cases which
will come before the courts in the coming months, exposing the
widespread corruption of Azeri officials who have stolen billions of
dollars from their country’s oil wealth, investing them for their
personal benefit in many countries around the world.
**************************************************************************************************
2- 17th Francophonie Summit Concludes in Armenia
YEREVAN (Combined Sources)—The 17th Summit of the International
Organization of the Francophonie concluded on Friday, October 12 in
Yerevan.
Representatives from 84 countries and leaders of 34 nations had
converged on the Karen Demirchyan Sports Complex on Thursday, October
11 to commence the much-anticipated Francophonie, where Armenia
assumed the presidency of the organization for the next two years. The
summit marks the largest international gathering to be hosted by
Armenia. Armenia and Moldova are the only former Soviet republics
among the Francophonie’s 54 full members. The three Baltic states,
Georgia and Ukraine have an observer status in the organization
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and his wife, Anna Hakopyan; as well as
President Armen Sarkissian and first lady, Nune Sarkissian; and
General-Secretary of the Francophonie, Michaëlle Jean, greeted and
received the delegates and leaders, among them French President
Emanuel Macron, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Lebanese
President Michel Aoun.
At the conclusion of the official welcoming ceremony, Pashinyan was
joined by Macron to dedicate a commemorative stamp in Aznavour’s
memory.
“He was a huge talent of singing, who sang about our happiness,
misfortunes, our light approaches toward life. He sang with a unique
sadness, which is unique to people living in wandering. We all know
that he is Armenian, he was singing and preserving Armenianness, was
encouraging courage. By fully acknowledging the great crime, the
Genocide, a victim of which was also he, I want to voice the name of
this great man, Charles Aznavour,” said Macron.
Pashinyan addressed the opening of the summit in French, paying a
special tribute to Aznavour, which was met with thunderous applause
and standing ovation by the participants. “I and all Armenian people
are happy to host in Yerevan the 17th summit of the heads of
Francophone states and governments. Welcome to Armenia!” said
Pashinyan. “Armenia is a young member of the Francophonie … and yet
there is no need to prove its commitment to promoting cultural and
linguistic diversity and fundamental values of the French language and
the Francophonie.”
Pashinyan said it is imperative to redouble the efforts to prevent the
emergence of new genocides, war crimes and crimes against humanity—and
to maintain a firm commitment to peaceful settlement of conflicts
within the framework of internationally recognized negotiating
formats.
“This is the case of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, negotiated in the
format of the OSCE Minsk Group with its three co-chairs—France, the
United States and Russia; a conflict that has been going on for
several decades now and that has caused so much suffering; a conflict
that opposes Nagorno-Karabakh, which for more than 25 years has
exercised its right to self-determination, and Azerbaijan, which
refuses any dialogue with the elected representatives of
Nagorno-Karabakh,” said Pashinyan. “We are convinced that
Nagorno-Karabakh should have a decisive voice in the peace process and
that its future status must be determined taking into account the
_expression_ of the legally-binding will of the people of
Nagorno-Karabakh. The issue of security has existential significance
for the population of Nagorno-Karabakh. The latter has so often been
subject to violations of its rights, discrimination and atrocities
that the rejection of dialogue and the renewed attempts to use force
against it endanger the physical existence of the population of
Nagorno-Karabagh.”
Trudeau, in turn, noted that Canada is for the continued peace
dialogue: “We hope the matter will be solved peacefully for all sides.
We call to continue the international process, the Minsk Group
process, to settle the conflict considering the interests of peoples
of the region,” Trudeau stressed.
“We do not have the same skin color, our gods do not bear the same
names and some of us do not believe in God,” said Macron in his
remarks at the opening of the Summit. “We also live in very different
climate zones and our songs are not similar. Our histories do not
originate from the same sources and there have been many wounds
between us which are only now starting to heal. Yet strangely enough,
this diverse family is united around a single language…That language
does not belong to anyone, it belongs to all of us.”
Macron also addressed Pashinyan. “I would also like to congratulate
you on organizing this summit at its best. You know what kind of a
high place your country has in the hearts of the French people. In
Paris, Marseille, Lyon, or elsewhere, the word Armenia causes very
delicate and emotional emotions in the souls of the French people,”
said Macron.
Macron announced Thursday that France will declare a national day of
remembrance for the Armenian Genocide April 24 as he honored the
victims of the Genocide first at Dzidzernagapert Memorial Complex and
later Charles Aznavour Cultural Center, where he attended a dedication
ceremony.
Macron visited the Dzidzernagapert and laid a wreath in memory of the
victims. He and his wife also planted a tree in the Memory Garden and
visited the Armenian Genocide Museum where they signed the Memory
Book.
“We are here today with difficult emotions and feelings. On behalf of
France, I pay homage to all those who fell with ‘the sun in their
eyes,’ those who ‘just wanted to live.’ France denounced the genocide
back in 1915 by its scholars. And it accepted the children and
families who were fleeing the genocide, who enriched our nation even
more,” Macron said in his note in the Memory Book. “France will never
forget and will fight for truth and recognition. We bow to those, who
fell for present and future generations.”
Thursday’s Francophonie events concluded with a jubilant concert at
Republic Square, attended by summit participants and open to the
public.
Pashinyan hosted the leaders at this residence for a welcoming dinner
reception where, a video posted on social media depicts Macron,
Trudeau and other leaders dancing to Armenian music. During the dinner
Pashinyan gave the photo taken during the visit of Trudeau’s father,
Pierre Trudeau to Armenia, as a present. The photo was taken from the
Archives of National Security Service.
Trudeau visited Armenia with his father, Pierre Trudeau during Soviet
times back in 1984. His father had also served as Canadian Prime
Minister however he was already retired during his visit to Armenia.
Trudeau does not appear in the photo, because he was a child and
therefore not surveilled.
The Francophonie Summit brought a celebratory atmosphere to Yerevan,
where international leaders, including Macron and Trudeau strolled the
streets of the capital meeting its residents and, at times, stopping
to take selfies—even with the prime minister and his wife. Anna
Hakobyan, Brigitte Macron and spouses of other heads of state and
government of OIF member countries visited several museums in Yerevan,
including the Yervand Kochar Museum, then the Cascade Complex, where
they viewed the Fernando Botero sculptures. Later, they visited the
Cafesjian Center for the Arts.
The summit consists of presentations by guests and discussions on
important issues for participating countries.
One of the highlights of the summit was the election of the new head
of the Francophonie. Rwanda’s Foreign Minister Louise Mushikiwabo
replaced Canadian Michaelle Jean as the organization’s secretary
general. “I am an African, but I am also a citizen of the world. I
will try to do everything possible so that young people can express
themselves and their talents, especially in Africa,” she said.
Tunisia was also approved as the venue for the next Francophonie summit.
Created in 1970, the Francophonie is a large international
organization which unites French-speaking countries. It has 58
members. Entrance into the organization is not governed by a country’s
public knowledge of French, but rather the level of cultural
connections and cooperation between the country and France. Armenia
joined in 2004. France is home to some 500,000 ethnic Armenians, and
sizable Armenian communities also live in Belgium, Switzerland,
Canada, and other Francophone countries.
*********************************************************************************************
3 – Turkish court frees US pastor Andrew Brunson
A Turkish court has freed U.S. pastor Andrew Brunson two years after
he was detained, charged with helping to plot a coup against President
Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
The case had soured relations between Turkey and the United States,
heightened by President Donald Trump’s defense of Brunson as his
administration elevated religious freedom as a cause.
The court on Friday, October 12 sentenced Brunson to three years and
one month in prison, but chose to release him based on his time
already served, as well as his manner during the proceedings, his
lawyer said. Prosecutors were seeking a 10-year jail term.
Trump tweeted after the verdict: “My thoughts and prayers are with
Pastor Brunson, and we hope to have him safely back home soon!”
Trump said on Saturday, October 13, Brunson’s release was a
“tremendous step” toward improved relations with Turkey, but he denied
cutting a deal with Ankara. “The only deal, if you could call it a
deal, is a psychological one. We feel much differently about Turkey
today than we did yesterday, and I think we have a chance of really
becoming much closer to Turkey,” Trump told reporters during
Saturday’s Oval Office meeting with Brunson. The pastor’s release
could signal a thaw in relations between the two NATO allies, which
worsened in August after a deal to free Brunson fell apart and Trump
authorized a doubling of duties on aluminum and steel imported from
Turkey, helping drive the lira currency down against the dollar.
Trump, who met with Brunson at the White House on Saturday, did not
pledge to lift the sanctions but said he welcomed an end to the “harsh
relationship” the countries had over the past two months.
In front of U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Trump’s national
security adviser John Bolton, U.S. lawmakers and Brunson’s family, the
pastor knelt beside Trump on the floor of the Oval Office, placed a
hand on his shoulder, and prayed for God to give him “supernatural
wisdom.”
Trump also thanked Erdogan at Saturday’s meeting for helping secure
Brunson’s release, despite a curt Twitter post from the Turkish leader
earlier on Saturday repeating that Brunson’s release was a court’s
decision to make, not his.
“Dear Mr. President, as I always pointed out, the Turkish judiciary
reached its decision independently,” Erdogan wrote on his Twitter
account. “I hope that the United States and Turkey will continue their
cooperation as the allies that they are, and fight together against
terrorist groups.”
Turkey detained Brunson in October 2016 in the aftermath of a failed
military coup. Brunson, a native of North Carolina, worked as an
evangelical Presbyterian pastor at the Izmir Resurrection Church.
He had lived in Turkey for more than 23 years with his wife and three children.
***************************************************************************************************
4 – Trini-Canadian mother appeals to Trudeau for abducted son
TRINIDAD AND TOBEGO (Loop News)—A Trinidadian-Canadian mother pleaded
to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to help her recover her son,
who was taken by his father to Armenia.
According to a report by the Toronto Sun, Chan, who is originally from
Trinidad and Tobago but has since moved to Canada, has a
three-year-old son with ex-husband Armen Avansi, who was originally
from Armenia.
She said in April 2018, Avansi took the child to Armenia without her
permission and despite a court order which gives her custody of her
son.
Chan said Avansi took Alex and told her it was for vacation, but he
never brought the child back home.
However, because Armenia is not a signatory to the Hague Convention,
which allows for the return of children who were removed unlawfully,
national security officials could not take action.
Chan, desperate for assistance, has decided to reach out to Trudeau
who was said to be in Armenia this week for the Francophonie summit.
Chan told the Toronto Sun she is pleading for her son to be returned home.
“I’m pleading with him to help me return my son to his rightful home
in Canada. I need Canada to step in and get Alex and me back home.”
The court also heard that Avansi warned Chan not to contact anyone
about the situation as it ‘might make it dangerous’.
Chan said at the end of May she flew to Armenia and was able to see
Alex for a short two-hour visit. The child was then taken from her
again.
“Alex became very sad and started to cry out for mommy. Armen quickly
hailed a cab, jumped in and took off with Alex crying for me. I begged
Armen every day to see Alex, but he would not allow me to see him,”
she said. Chan has since taken leave from her job and returned to
Armenia to try to have the Canadian court order recognized in
Armenia.She said she eventually won visitation rights via Armenian
courts, however as there is no enforcement, she only sees her son
briefly under the watchful eyes of her ex-husband and his parents.
She is pleading to Trudeau that her son can soon be returned home.
“It’s been six months now and I’ve been fighting every day. It’s just
been emotionally draining and exhausting. The only thing that has kept
me going is hope, hope that I will get him back and return to Canada,”
she said.
*****************************************************************************************************
5- ABMDR walkathon in Glendale draws strong community support
LOS ANGELES—The 13th annual Walk of Life, held on October 6 in
Glendale, drew strong community support, particularly from youth.
Close to 300 people participated in the event to walk and raise funds
for the life-saving mission of the Armenian Bone Marrow Donor Registry
(ABMDR), in a festive atmosphere that featured music and food.
Walkathon participants included state and local elected officials and
community leaders, and numerous teams representing schools,
universities, community organizations, and individual supporters.
Walk of Life’s opening ceremony took place at the plaza of the
Glendale City building. “It’s due to fundraisers like this that we are
able to move forward with the ABMDR mission to find donors for
patients in need of a bone marrow transplant. To date, this
organization, which is run entirely by volunteers, has registered over
29,000 donors from 29 countries, and facilitated 31 transplants. As
importantly, ABMDR has established and operates a world-class
tissue-typing laboratory and a state-of-the-art stem cell harvesting
center in Yerevan. All of these achievements are made possible by you,
our supporters,” said Walkathon Committee Chair Dr. Christina Ashjian.
Ashjian acknowledged attending dignitaries and Walk of Life’s honorary
chairs, including Father Vazken Atmajian of the Western Prelacy;
Father Hovsep Hagopian of the Western Diocese; California State
Senator Anthony Portantino; Talin Mangioglu, District Director for
Senator Portantino; Mary Hovagimian, representing US Congressman Adam
Schiff; California State Assembly member Laura Friedman; Glendale
Mayor Zareh Sinanyan; Glendale Unified School District Board of
Education members Dr. Armina Gharpetian and Shant Sahakian; and Areg
Boyamyan, Senior Vice President of Foundation Laboratory and an
executive with the Viazoi company.
“October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and I’m very happy that our
walkathon today is also dedicated to all our patients, as a source of
hope in their struggle to regain their health,” said ABMDR founder and
president Dr. Frieda Jordan. “When someone is diagnosed with cancer,
there are two critically important elements for the path toward
recovery. One is hope; and the other is the knowledge that there are
people who care for them and give them the encouragement they need in
their fight to get well again. I thank you all for participating in
our walkathons for the past 13 years, and for spreading the word and
spirit of our work throughout our community.”
“I’ve been attending Walk of Life for many years, and it’s wonderful
to see it grow. This is a truly extraordinary event, organized by a
truly extraordinary organization, through which you can literally save
a life, if you’re lucky enough to be a match for a patient in need of
a transplant. This is a very personal event for me because I’m a
cancer survivor. We will be walking today for all the Armenian and
non-Armenian patients who might find a bone marrow match because of
your efforts, because of your donations of time and money,” said State
Assembly member Laura Friedman, who presented Dr. Jordan with a
Certificate of Recognition, issued by the California State Assembly in
honor of Walk of Life.
“For almost 20 years now, it’s been our honor to support ABMDR through
Foundation Laboratory—and, this year, through Viazoi,” said Areg
Boyamyan on behalf of Foundation Laboratory and the Viazoi company.
“Today, Dr. Frieda Jordan’s vision has become a truly global
phenomenon, and I’d like to congratulate the organization’s tireless
leadership and volunteers, and our community here in Los Angeles and
across the world, for your wonderful dedication to this cause.”
“Seven years ago, I received a phone call that changed my life,” she
said. “I was identified as a bone marrow match for a three-year-old
child who had been given three-to-six months to live. With the bone
marrow stem cells I was able to donate, she received a transplant, and
today she’s ten years old and cancer-free. It’s thanks to
organizations like ABMDR that such life-saving procedures are made
possible, and I encourage every one of you to support the Registry’s
mission, so that you, too, might experience the deeply rewarding
opportunity to help save someone’s life,” said Arpine Zohrabyan.
State Senator Anthony Portantino presented Dr. Jordan with a
Certificate of Recognition from the California State Senate, in honor
of the walkathon.
The 5-K walk-run looped through central Glendale. The walkathon
concluded at the plaza of the Glendale City building, where the
festivities continued into the day.
The event also gave participants the opportunity to join the ranks of
ABMDR as potential bone marrow stem cell donors, as many volunteers
were on hand to answer questions and welcome new recruits.
**********************************************************************************************************************************************
6- Haigazian Hosts Cultural Evening with Lebanese Philharmonic Orchestra
BEIRUT—On October 5, the Lebanese Philharmonic Orchestra, under the
direction of Maestro Garo Avessian, presented a concert—sponsored by
Haigazian University—at the St. Joseph Church, in Ashrafieh, featuring
guest pianist Karen Hakobyan, from New York.
The Concert program included a rich selection of International and
Armenian music by renowned composers, Johann Strauss, Antonin Dvorak
and Aram Khatchaturian.
Hakobyan skillfully played Aram Khachaturian’s Piano Concerto in
D-flat major, op. 38. Hakobyan further enchanted the audience by
dedicating his encore, Armenian composer Arno Babajanian’s “Elegy”, to
the memory of the late French-Armenian singer Charles Aznavour.
Through this cultural collaboration with the Lebanese Philharmonic
Orchestra, Haigazian University fulfilled part of its mission as an
acclaimed institution of higher learning, that of contributing to the
“refinement of the mind, the language, the behavior, and eventually
the soul of the human being”, as stated by University President, Rev.
Dr. Paul Haidostian.
Hakobyan is a top prizewinner of multiple international piano and
composition competitions; Avessian, in addition to his many honors and
awards, was the First & Grand Prize Winner of the 14th Danube
International Conducting Masterclass & Competition in August 2018.
**********************************************************************************************************************************************
7- U.S., Turkey, France at Ends about Saudi Arabia, Journalist Khashoggi
By Julia Harte and Timothy Gardner
WASHINGTON (Reuters)—U.S. President Donald Trump said on Saturday,
October 13 the United States would be “punishing itself” by halting
military sales to Saudi Arabia even if it is proven that Saudi
journalist Jamal Khashoggi was killed inside the country’s consulate
in Istanbul.
Khashoggi, a prominent critic of Riyadh and a U.S. resident,
disappeared on Oct. 2 after visiting the Saudi consulate. Turkey’s
government believes he was deliberately killed inside the building and
his body removed.
Trump has forged closer ties with Saudi Arabia and is under
international and domestic pressure to help determine what happened to
Khashoggi and punish Saudi Arabia if investigations show its
government had him killed.
Republican and Democratic lawmakers alike have demanded firm action.
There was already mounting concern over civilian deaths caused by a
Saudi-led military coalition in Yemen’s civil war and some lawmakers
have said Washington should block military sales to Riyadh if the
allegations over Khashoggi are proven.
But Trump is firmly opposed.
“I actually think we’d be punishing ourselves if we did that,” Trump
told reporters at the White House on Saturday.
“There are other things we can do that are very, very powerful, very
strong and we’ll do them,” he added, without saying what those
measures might be.
Under U.S. law, major foreign military sales can be blocked by
Congress. An informal review process lets key lawmakers use a practice
known as a “hold” to stall deals if they have concerns such as whether
the weapons being supplied would be used to kill civilians.
Major U.S. defense contractors, including Lockheed Martin Corp. and
Raytheon Co, are among the beneficiaries of Washington’s close ties to
Riyadh and would be hurt by the halting of any major deal. Trump said
on Saturday his administration won a $110 billion military order from
Saudi Arabia and that it was worth 450,000 U.S. jobs.
“If they don’t buy it from us, they’re going to buy it from Russia or
they’re going to buy it from China,” he said. “Think of that, $110
billion, all they’re going to do is give it to other countries, and I
think that would be very foolish.”
It was unclear what measures Trump might take against Saudi Arabia,
which is the world’s largest oil exporter, and one of his top allies.
The Trump administration plans to reimpose sanctions on oil exports
from Iran on Nov. 5 and Trump has urged Saudi Arabia to boost oil
output to help make up for the loss.
French President Emmanuel Macron said on Friday, October 12, that he
was “extremely worried” by the disappearance of Khashoggi and would
speak on the issue with Saudi and Turkish leaders in the coming days.
“What has been described is serious, very serious,” Macron told French
broadcasters France 24 and RFI in Armenian capital Yerevan in his
first comments on the case. “I await the truth and complete clarity
being established. France wants everything to be done so that we have
all the truth on this case of which the first elements are extremely
worrying.”
Macron said that he had not spoken to Saudi King Salman or his son
Crown Prince Mohammed about Khashoggi.
Some commentators in France have criticized the lack of response by
the government, which like other Western allies of Saudi Arabia have
recently embraced Crown Prince Mohammed as a reformer of his kingdom.
Macron, who welcomed Prince Mohammed to Paris in April, said he would
speak on the matter with fellow world leaders “in the coming days.”
“Depending on what is established, I will take a position,” he said.
Turkey’s official line is that Khashoggi is missing but that based on
security footage and other evidence knows “for sure” the journalist
has been killed. The Turkish government has agreed to a joint
investigation with the Saudis, and a Saudi delegation arrived in
Turkey on Friday, October 12 to take part in talks throughout the
weekend.
Human rights activists and journalists have voiced deep concern over
the fact that Saudi Arabia may have used a diplomatic zone in a
foreign country to harm one of its own citizens.
**********************************************************************************************************************************************
8- Armenia Chief Foreign Policy Adviser Gasparyan
Is a cigar entrepreneur afoul with debts
By Grigor Atanesian
(Eurasianet.org)—As Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s chief foreign
policy adviser, Arsen Gasparyan manages one of Yerevan’s most
sensitive relationships: that with Russia. Since being appointed in
July, he has repeatedly met with senior Russian officials, and was
part of Pashinyan’s delegation to Moscow for a meeting with Vladimir
Putin in early September. At the same time, he has been fighting a
lawsuit about an unpaid debt in the United States. According to public
records examined by Eurasianet, three lawsuits over the last three
years have been filed against Gasparyan, a U.S.-Armenian dual citizen,
for unpaid debts totaling about $25,000. Two of the suits have been
settled, but the third is ongoing, with the most recent motion against
Gasparyan filed in a Florida court on October 1.
Though financial troubles are not unusual, and the amounts in this
case not huge, they inevitably raise questions about an individual’s
vulnerability and loyalty. Debt problems are typically disqualifying
for even low-level security clearances in many countries. For an
official in the United States, it would “raise red flags,” said Andy
Wright, who served as associate counsel in the Obama White House.
Of course Armenia has different traditions, but Pashinyan’s choice of
Gasparyan comes amid a string of foreign policy blunders and could
bolster critics who say the new leader’s team is problematic.
In a 2015 letter made public during a lawsuit filed by American
Express over an unpaid credit card debt, Gasparyan wrote that he was
facing “critical financial problems.” In 2016, Gasparyan traveled to
Armenia to sell some property in order to repay a debt of about
$10,000 to a friend. In emails submitted to the court, he tried to
explain his predicament to the friend, Greg Kahwajian, to whom
Gasparyan had promised to repay the money in 2014. Kahwajian, however,
was losing patience: “Get me my [expletive] money. Enough is enough.”
Gasparyan told Eurasianet he has no comment regarding the lawsuits.
“That is a civil lawsuit, and it doesn’t make sense to write about it
because it interests nobody,” Gasparyan said. “This is a strictly
personal matter.” He said that he didn’t plan to attend the next
hearing, because “those matters are taken care of by the lawyers.”
Court records, however, indicate that Gasparyan is representing
himself in the case.
Before being appointed by Pashinyan in July, Gasparyan, 52, was little
known in Armenia, having spent most of the last two decades in Russia
and the United States. He held a number of posts in the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs in the 1990s, including a stint as spokesman between
1996 and 1998. At the same time, he was befriending Pashinyan, who was
the editor of the newspaper Oragir when Gasparyan was MFA spokesman.
“We’ve known each other very well since then, and we keep in touch,”
Gasparyan said. “It’s an honor for me that he offered me this position
and trusted me with managing international relations and international
economic relations.”
One government official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that
in Pashinyan’s office, “as a rule, advisers and aides aren’t
nominated, they are [the prime minister’s] acquaintances.”
After leaving the foreign ministry, Gasparyan moved to Moscow,
establishing himself as a pioneer of what he called “the cigar-smoking
lifestyle.” In the early 2000s, Gasparyan founded and ran Russia’s
first cigar-themed magazine, Hecho a Mano, dubbed by Gasparyan as “the
exciting guide to the school of luxury.”
He later moved to Florida to start Arsen, his own brand of Dominican
cigars, along with cigarmaker and restaurateur Augusto Reyes. Arsen
cigars were distributed in the U.S., Russia, and Ukraine; product
lines included Pink for Men and Connoisseur Collection. Until 2014,
Gasparyan also served as president of Vitolier, a Florida-based cigar
importer.
Gasparyan’s official resume on the Armenian government website does
not list his cigar businesses, nor does it mention more recent work as
an executive at an oil company owned by a Russian energy mogul. In
2016, a business magazine listed him as “director of the U.S. Bureau”
of Esproenko International, an oil and gas corporation based in Spain.
Gasparyan confirmed his employment at Esproenko, but said that it had
ended by 2015.
“After 2014, I didn’t have any commercial interests whatsoever,
anywhere,” Gasparyan said. “I was in the publishing business in
Russia, and after that I had a small cigar business, cigar
manufacturing in the Dominican Republic, which I closed. After that,
after 2014, I didn’t have any business or commercial interest
anywhere.”
Such omissions on a resume “raise issues of potential
untrustworthiness,” said Mark Zaid, a national security lawyer in
Washington. “If this were an American case, there would be some real
red flags for whatever agency involved to consider whether or not this
person should have a security clearance or a job.”
Under Armenian law, an official can be denied or stripped of security
clearance if he or she “has presented deliberately false information.”
Access to sensitive information regarding “foreign policy” and
“foreign economic relations” requires a security clearance.
At the same time Gasparyan was juggling his business ventures, he was
pursuing an academic career in Florida. He completed his PhD in
political science 2017 at the University of Miami, with a dissertation
titled, “Energy Diplomacy: the United States of America and the
Russian Federation.”
He also was teaching at nearby Miami Dade College. While the official
resume says he has worked as a “lecturer” at both schools from 2006,
he started at the University of Miami in 2013, working as a teaching
assistant while enrolled as a graduate student. At Miami Dade, he has
taught since 2015, a school spokesperson told Eurasianet.
“I love the academy the most, I love to teach,” Gasparyan said.
Financially, he has been less successful. A review of court records
shows that Gasparyan has been sued three times since 2015 for unpaid
debts. In 2015 and 2016, he was sued by American Express and Capital
One Bank for failing to pay credits of $10,487 and $5,335,
respectively. In the first case, a judge ordered Gasparyan to pay the
debt plus costs; the second case was dropped by the bank.
The Kahwajian suit is still underway. On October 1, Kahwajian filed a
motion in Florida’s Eleventh Judicial Circuit for summary judgment
over the debt, plus damages of $19,600. He accuses Gasparyan of “civil
theft.” Kahwajian declined to comment, saying only that his legal
motions “speak for themselves.”
Meanwhile, Gasparyan has been managing Armenia’s Russia portfolio,
meeting with Russia’s deputy foreign minister and officials in the
Kremlin. Gasparyan told Eurasianet that his main responsibility is
managing “international economic relations and international
relations. Together with the prime minister, we think that after the
[upcoming parliamentary] elections, we should seriously consider the
economization of our foreign policy.” Gasparyan occasionally comments
publicly on other issues, as well. In early October, he was involved
in a minor political controversy when he said that there were no
obstacles to foreign investment in Armenia. Some media interpreted
that as contradicting Pashinyan’s regular claims that early
parliamentary elections are necessary to attract foreign investors,
and he was forced to call a press conference to clarify.
He has joined a foreign policy team beset by missteps, contributing to
perceptions that foreign policy under Pashinyan is a work in progress.
On a July visit to Brussels, Pashinyan publicly complained the
European Union wasn’t providing enough aid. The European envoy
responded by saying that the EU must first receive “concrete
proposals.” Later, the government brought charges against Yuriy
Khachaturov, the head of the Collective Security Treaty Organization,
a Russia-led military bloc, for his role in violently breaking up
protests in 2008. Moscow, which had not been consulted, was aghast. In
August, a widely publicized effort to set up a meeting between
Pashinyan and U.S. President Donald Trump fell flat. Gasparyan’s
predecessor resigned shortly after.
“This is a continuation of the old government’s policies—appointing
people with little knowledge about the positions they’re appointed
to,” Eduard Abrahamyan, a doctoral fellow and regional security
analyst at the University of Leicester in the United Kingdom, told
Eurasianet. Pashinyan’s people “have no foreign policy vision. They
have no understanding of how to channel Armenia’s international
stance.”
The lack of transparency behind some appointments also highlights the
concentration of power around Pashinyan, Abrahamyan said: “We are
seeing the closing of the political system in Armenia.”
This article appeared in Eurasianet.org on October 12, 2018.
**********************************************************************************************************************************************
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RFE/RL Armenian Report – 10/15/2018
Monday,
Senior U.S. Official Visits Armenia
Armenia - George Kent (R), the U.S. deputy assistant secretary of state for
European and Eurasian affairs, meets with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian in
Yerevan, .
A senior U.S. State Department official met with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian
in Yerevan on Monday for talks that reportedly focused on regional security and
the Armenian government’s ambitious reform agenda.
A government statement said Pashinian briefed George Kent, the U.S. deputy
assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs, on wide-ranging
reforms planned by his cabinet and its efforts to combat corruption. Armenia is
“firmly going down the path of democratic development,” he said.
The statement cited Kent as saying that the United States is interested in
Armenia’s democratization and economic development. The U.S. is therefore ready
to assist Pashinian’s government in implementing the promised reforms, the
diplomat was reported to add.
The outgoing U.S. ambassador in Yerevan, Richard Mills, revealed last week that
Washington provided Armenia with $14 million in additional aid following last
spring’s dramatic change of the country’s government.
In a September 21 message to Pashinian, U.S. President Donald Trump praised the
mass protests that brought the 43-year-old former journalist to power in May.
“A peaceful, popular movement ushered in a new era in Armenia, and we look
forward to working with you to help you execute the will of your people to
combat corruption and to establish representative, accountable governance, rule
of law buttressed by an independent judiciary, and political and economic
competition,” wrote Trump.
Trump’s national security adviser, John Bolton, is due to visit Yerevan later
this month as part of a tour of Russia and the three South Caucasus states.
Bolton said last week that the main purpose of the trip is to “advance American
interests on a range of security issues.”
Pashinian’s press office said international efforts to resolve the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and other “regional challenges” were also on the
agenda of the Armenian leader’s talks with Kent. But it did not elaborate.
Pashinian has expressed readiness to “strengthen and expand” Armenia’s
relationship with the U.S. But he has ruled major changes in Armenian foreign
policy traditionally oriented towards Russia
Pashinian Reaffirms Resignation Date
• Sisak Gabrielian
Armenia - Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian talks to reporters in Yerevan, 1
October 2018.
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian will tender his resignation on Tuesday to ensure
that snap parliamentary elections are held in Armenia in early December, his
spokesman said on Monday.
Under the Armenian constitution, the current parliament will be dissolved if it
fails to elect another prime minister within two weeks after Pashinian’s
resignation. None of the parliamentary factions is expected to try to replace
him by another premier.
The largest of those factions, which represents Serzh Sarkisian’s Republican
Party of Armenia (HHK), said on October 9 that it “did not and does not have an
intention to nominate a candidate” for the post of prime minister if Pashinian
steps down. The premier met with the top HHK lawmakers the following day.
Pashinian told the France24 TV channel afterwards that he will resign “by
October 16.” That means, he said, that the snap elections will take place in
the first half of December.
Pashinian’s press secretary, Arman Yeghoyan, did not specify whether he will
announce the resignation at an extraordinary cabinet meeting scheduled for
Tuesday. He said only that ministers will discuss amendments to the Electoral
Code drafted by an ad hoc government commission.
The HHK faction leader, Vahram Baghdasarian, told RFE/RL’s Armenian service
that its members will also meet on Tuesday to discuss the draft amendments. The
meeting will be held at the government’s request, he said.
Pashinian, who controls only a handful of seats in the current National
Assembly, stepped up his push for the early elections after his alliance won
more than 80 percent of the vote in the September 23 municipal elections in
Yerevan.
On October 2, the HHK and two other parliamentary parties passed a bill that
could have made it harder for the government to force the elections in
December. The move sparked angry protests by tens of thousands of Pashinian
supporters who rallied outside the parliament building in Yerevan.
The constitution allows Pashinian to continue to perform his prime-ministerial
duties at least until the inaugural session of the new parliament. Observers
believe that his political team will have a comfortable majority in it.
U.S. Envoy Upbeat On Democracy In Armenia
• Harry Tamrazian
• Sargis Harutyunyan
Armenia - Outgoing U.S. Ambassador Richard Mills delivers a farewell speech at
the American Chamber of Commerce in Yerevan, 9 October 2018.
Richard Mills, the outgoing U.S. ambassador in Yerevan, sounded optimistic on
Monday about Armenia’s chances of becoming an established democracy after the
recent dramatic change of its government.
“I am [optimistic] because I know it’s what the Armenian people want,” Mills
told RFE/RL’s Armenian service in an interview.
“Armenians know what they want and they will achieve that goal,” he said. “So
I’m confident. I think the democratic future here is bright.”
In that context, Mill pointed to last spring’s mass protests that brought down
the previous Armenian government, saying that they resulted from public demand
for sweeping changes in the country.
“What we saw in April and May were Armenian-led developments… Armenians wanted
a new society, a political will to solve problems,” he said.
The envoy, who is completing his more than three-year tour of duty in Armenia,
admitted, though, that he was not sure about the outcome of the protest
movement when it was launched by Nikol Pashinian, then an opposition leader, in
Gyumri.
The nationwide protests forced Armenia’s longtime leader Serzh Sarkisian to
resign on April 23. The Armenian parliament elected Pashinian prime minister on
May 8 under relentless pressure from scores of his supporters demonstrating in
Yerevan and other parts of the country.
Mills said that Pashinian has since been rapidly evolving from a protest leader
into a head of government.
“I’m impressed with the gravitas that he has,” he said, drawing parallels
between the 43-year-old former journalist and John Adams, one of the American
founding fathers who served as second president of the United States from
1797-1801.
Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
Copyright (c) 2018 Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Inc.
1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.
www.rferl.org
Armenian delegation to PACE managed to prevent Azerbaijan-proposed amendments
News.am, Armenia
Oct 15 2018
Armenian delegation to PACE managed to prevent Azerbaijan-proposed amendments Armenian delegation to PACE managed to prevent Azerbaijan-proposed amendments
12:27, 15.10.2018
YEREVAN. – The Armenian delegation to PACE managed to prevent Azerbaijan-proposed amendments to one of the resolutions, head of Armenian delegation Arpine Hovhannisyan wrote on Facebook.
“During the autumn session PACE adopted a resolution on “Nuclear safety and security in Europe”. The goal was to establish measures which have to be taken by the member states to increase nuclear safety in Europe and to reduce risks in the event of incidents or terrorist attacks. The Azerbaijani delegation tried to add a wording related to the activities of the Metsamor nuclear power plant. However, we managed to prevent the move,” wrote Hovhannisyan who is also deputy speaker of the Armenian parliament.
Chechnya’s leader Ramzan Kadirov invites Pashinyan, Macron to dance festival in Grozny
Aysor, Armenia
Oct 15 2018
Leader of Chechnya Ramzan Kadirov seeing how Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and French President Emmanuel Macron dance in Yerevan invited them to Grozny.
In his Telegram channel Ramzan Kadirov noted that he is a big lover of national dances and that dance unites Caucasian people, RIA Novosti agency reports.
“Why have I referred to it today? I remembered it seeing how beautiful Pashinyan and Macron dance. I think “Pashinyan-Macron” dance may give a launch to useful dance marathon for wonderful and kind peoples of Caucasus,” he said.
Kadirov noted that Mahmud Esambayev international festival-dance contest has launched in Grozny which hosts honorable guests. “We will be happy to see Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and French President Emmanuel Macron here,” Kadirov said.