The California
Courier Online, July 6, 2023
1- Pashinyan’s
Ankara Visit Used by Turkish
Officials
to Undermine Diaspora Efforts
By Harut
Sassounian
Publisher,
The California
Courier
www.TheCaliforniaCourier.com
2- Four
soldiers killed in Azerbaijani artillery attack, air strikes in Artsakh
3- Community
Gathers at CV Armenian
Center
to Discuss
Concerns with Glendale Mayor Brotman
4- 200
Supporters Attend
‘Celebrating
with Pride: An Evening of Poetry and Performance
———-‐—————————————————————–
1- Pashinyan’s
Ankara Visit Used by Turkish
Officials
to Undermine Diaspora Efforts
By Harut
Sassounian
Publisher,
The California
Courier
www.TheCaliforniaCourier.com
There is a good reason why many Armenians around the world
reacted negatively to Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s unwise decision to
attend Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s inauguration in Ankara on June 3, 2023.
First of all, it was inappropriate for Pashinyan to attend
Erdogan’s inauguration, particularly since as recently as in 2020, Turkish
drones killed thousands of young Armenian soldiers during the Artsakh War, and Turkey recruited thousands of Islamist
terrorists from Syria
to fight against Artsakh. Furthermore, the Ottoman Empire
committed the Genocide of 1.5 million Armenians which the Turkish government
still denies a century later.
Secondly, since the 2020 War,
Turkey has been a staunch
military, economic and political ally of Azerbaijan. Several times, Erdogan
traveled Azerbaijan
and Artsakh, including Shushi, making anti-Armenian statements. As recently as
June 13, during his visit to Artsakh, Erdogan announced that Turkey will open a consulate in Shushi, which
“would be a message to the world and especially to Armenia.” Erdogan made a similar
visit on June 15, 2021, during which he and Pres. Aliyev signed a joint
Ankara-Baku “Shushi Declaration.” Erdogan declared that Turkey will cooperate with Azerbaijan in
“the restoration of Nagorno Karabakh.” Armenia’s
Foreign Ministry condemned Erdogan’s and Aliyev’s visit to Shushi, stating that
“these provocative actions clearly reveal that Ankara’s
and Baku’s statements on normalization of
relations with Armenia
and the Armenian people are false and misleading,”
Thirdly, Armenia
and Turkey
have met several times during the past year and a half to open their mutual
border “without any preconditions.” The border is still closed which shows Turkey’s unwillingness to open the border,
unless Armenia meets certain
preconditions like signing “a peace treaty” with Azerbaijan,
allowing a “Corridor” to cross Armenia
into Nakhichevan, and dismantling the monument in Yerevan in honor of the avengers of the
Turkish masterminds of the Armenian Genocide. Turkey immediately banned from its
skies Armenian overflights and threatened further action if the monument is not
dismantled.
Fourthly, if Pashinyan had knowledgeable advisors, and if he
listened to them, they would have suggested to him that it would have been
wiser if he had designated another official to represent him at the
inauguration in Ankara.
Begging for normalized relations with Turkey
is not in Armenia’s
interest.
Nevertheless, the damage is done and Turkish officials are
shrewd enough to take advantage of Pashinyan’s faux pas.
Sinan Kuzum, Turkey’s Consul General in Los
Angeles, sent a very clever letter to members of the California
State Assembly and Senate on June 6, taking quick advantage of Pashinyan’s June
3 visit to Ankara, to discredit the lobbying
efforts of Armenian-American organizations in California.
Here are excerpts from the Turkish letter: “I am writing to
you to inform you about positive developments in Turkish-Armenian relations, as
I am aware that you are interested in this issue, considering your statements
in the past. Last weekend marked a historical moment in modern Turkish-Armenian
relations. On June 3rd, the Armenian Prime Minister, Mr. Nikol Pashinyan,
attended the inauguration ceremony of the Turkish President, Mr. Recep Tayyip
Erdogan, following his re-election. On the occasion of the Prime Minister’s
visit to Ankara,
President Erdogan came together with prominent members of the Armenian-Turkish
community, including the Armenian Patriarch of Istanbul Sahag II Mashalian. (I
enclose herewith a picture taken during this visit where Mr. President is seen
with his Armenian counterpart, the Patriarch and other members of the
Armenian-Turkish community).”
The Turkish letter continued: “I am bringing this to your
attention because I realize that this kind of positive developments are often
ignored. Instead, a rhetoric of hatred of my country is prevailing here in Los Angeles and California.
Having said that I invite you to consider whether what you are being told by
certain groups here in Los Angeles is in line with the reality of the current state
of relations between the two countries or not. The Turkish and Armenian
governments are making a historic effort to normalize their relations. Please
do not turn a blind eye to this effort.”
The Turkish Consul General concluded his letter: “I, therefore,
kindly ask you to put these facts into consideration in the future while you
are making any statement or taking any decision on Turkish-Armenian issues.
This approach would be much more conducive to peace between the Armenian and
Turkish people.”
When asked for a reaction, an anonymous high-ranking
official in Armenia
stated: “Pure opportunism. There is no positive development at all. The
negotiations have not yielded any positive results.”
Fortunately, the Turkish Consul General’s letter will have
very little effect on California’s
legislators. He is just writing this letter to show to his bosses in Ankara that he is doing
some work. California legislators are not
going to take the forked-tongued words of a foreign diplomat over the wishes of
their citizens in California.
We assume that the Turkish Ambassador in Washington has sent a similar letter to
members of Congress. Turkish diplomats around the world probably did the same
thing in their respective countries.
Armenians cannot blame Turkish diplomats for doing what’s in
the best interest of their country, since the Prime Minister of Armenia,
Pashinyan, has handed to Turkey
this opportunity on a silver platter!
************************************************************************************************************************************************
2- Four soldiers killed in
Azerbaijani artillery attack, air strikes in Artsakh
YEREVAN
(Combined Sources)—Four Artsakh servicemen were killed when Azerbaijani forces
began bombarding Artsakh positions with major artillery and drone strikes in
the early hours of Wednesday, June 28 the Arstakh Ministry of Defense said in a
statement.
“On June 28, starting
from 1:30 a.m., the units of the Azerbaijani armed forces opened artillery fire
in the direction of Martuni and Martakert, using UAVs as well. There are four
casualties from the Armenian side. The Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Artsakh will make an additional
statement,” the ministry said.
On June 27, Baku claimed an
Azerbaijani soldier had been wounded by firing from Artsakh Armenian
positions—an assertion that Artsakh’s Defense Army denied and called an attempt
to “lay the informational groundwork” for Azerbaijan’s own attack.
The fatal incident followed two claims by Artsakh officials
of ceasefire violations by Azerbaijan
on June 27.
There have been numerous light escalations in the region
recently, with both sides trading accusations that are recorded in the Russian
peacekeepers’ daily bulletins. In several cases, the Armenian side reported
civilians getting shot by Azerbaijani combat units while performing
agricultural work in bordering villages. Azerbaijan denied targeting
farmers.
A day earlier, on June 26, Azerbaijan’s
defense minister talked tough on the Artsakh Defense Army, which is referred to
in Baku as a
collection of “illegal armed units”.
“We do not rate the capabilities of the illegal armed units
in Azerbaijan’s
Karabakh Economic Zone particularly highly. We know their number, armaments,
moral-psychological state, and we know what they can do,” Zakir Hasanov told
local CBC TV. “If they resort to some kind of provocations or illegal actions,
it will only take one corps of the Azerbaijani army—not even a whole one—to
resolve the issue of these illegal armed formations.”
Things escalated on the ground just as the foreign ministers
of Armenia and Azerbaijan were convening in Washington for talks on a comprehensive peace
agreement aimed at ending the neighboring states’ decades-long rivalry.
On June 27, US Secretary Anthony Blinken announced the start
of the latest round of negotiations. “We support Armenia
and Azerbaijan
working together toward a durable and dignified agreement. Dialogue is key to
lasting peace,” he wrote.
Two separate tracks of talks, one mediated by the United States and EU and the other by Russia, have
seemed to achieve little progress in recent months.
After an EU-mediated meeting in May, Prime Minister Nikol
Pashinyan for the first time explicitly stated Armenia’s
readiness to recognize Azerbaijan’s
sovereignty over Nagorno-Karabakh.
The biggest sticking point in the talks is the fate of the
Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh. Armenia
and Western mediators seek “international guarantees” for Karabakhi Armenians
once they are under Azerbaijani rule. Baku
has flatly rejected this demand claiming the issue is an internal affair. Many
Armenians fear the establishment of Azerbaijani sovereignty will be tantamount
to “ethnic cleansing.”
Baku has signaled recently
that it is in no hurry to reach a permanent settlement with Armenia.
Tigran Grigoryan, an analyst originally from Artsakh, said
in a tweet that the timing of the latest incident held a clear message from Azerbaijan: “if
you refuse to make concessions during the talks, we will force them on the
ground.”
“There is another obvious reason why Baku started this escalation amid the talks
in DC: they will use it to promote their agenda of disarming NK’s self-defense
force,” he added.
Artsakh and Armenia
were sharply at odds on how to respond to the latest incident. Artsakh’s
parliament in a statement demanded that Yerevan
“immediately stop the negotiations” until a full ceasefire can be put in place.
Engaging in talks at such a time amounts to “encouragement of Azerbaijan’s
aggressive actions,” it added.
Alen Simonyan,
Armenia’s
parliament speaker, said in response that there was no alternative to the
negotiations and advised against making “hasty statements.”
Meanwhile, Artsakh has been totally cut off from the outside
world for over two weeks, since Azerbaijan
closed its checkpoint on the Armenian border to all traffic following a
shooting incident. The region has effectively been under blockade since December
12; on June 15, limited supplies could be brought in and emergency patients
could be transported out through the Russian peacekeepers and the International
Committee of the Red Cross.
The United States on June 29 said it is ‘deeply disturbed’
by the loss of life in Nagorno Karabakh, U.S. State Department Principal Deputy
Spokesperson Vedant Patel has said regarding the June 28 unprovoked Azerbaijani
attack on Nagorno Karabakh which killed four Nagorno Karabakh troops.
Patel said there’s been no change in the schedule of the
Armenia-Azerbaijan ongoing foreign ministerial talks in Washington D.C.
“We are deeply disturbed by the loss of life in
Nagorno-Karabakh, and we offer our condolences to the families of all of those
who were killed. These latest incidents underscore the need to refrain from
hostilities and for a durable and dignified peace. The U.S. is
committed to assisting the parties in achieving this goal, and Secretary
Blinken is directly engaged in the peace process. Direct dialogue is key to resolving
issues and reaching a durable and dignified peace. Yesterday’s meetings with
the foreign ministers were constructive, and we continue to build on those
discussions today and tomorrow as the peace talks continue. So there’s no
change in the schedule,” Patel said, adding that the U.S. will continue to work on this.
************************************************************************************************************************************************
3- Community Gathers at CV Armenian Center
to Discuss
Concerns with Glendale Mayor Brotman
By Jenny Yettem
On Thursday, June 29, the CV Meher and Satig Der Ohanessian
Youth Center hosted “Ask The Mayor” with Glendale City Mayor Dan Brotman, as
well as city council members Ardy Kassakhian and Glendale City Manager Roubik
Golanian.
The questions and comments included many issues important to
the livelihood of Glendale
residents, such as rent control, affordable housing, traffic congestion, and
concerns about the public education curriculum.
A number of city officials were also present, including
councilwoman Paula Devine; Glendale Fire Chief Timothy Ernst; Glendale Police
Chief Manny Cid; and former Mayor Vartan Gharpetian.
Brotman said that environmental issues—such as a safer,
sustainable system of water delivery, as well as 100% clean energy by 2035—are
at the core of his efforts on the council. Brotman also touched on the
importance of electrification of buildings and vehicles, and creating a better
infrastructure for people to charge electric cars. Brotman said that the city
is well on its way to eliminate the use of gas equipment in Glendale parks, and would have entirely
electric equipment for parks and maintenance by the end of 2023.
Brotman said that Glendale
needs more affordable housing, so that people can live closer to work thereby
reducing pollution and other negative social effects.
Brotman said the biggest issue facing Glendale right now is becoming a six-district
city that votes for its mayor. Kassakhian and Brotman explained that it was a
mandatory redistricting, and that the city would be sued if it did not comply
with the California Voting Rights Act.
Among the comments that came up were the recent anti-GUSD
protests and concerns from parents about what they believe is being included in
the curriculum about LGBTQ+IA subject matter.
In a June 29 Facebook post, Brotman said that Glendale is “not immune”
to hate crimes that have been predicated on “demonizing an ‘out group’, often
with suggestions that they are after our kids. It’s always about the kids. The
public becomes primed to see the group as a threat that needs to be dealt with.
The rest follows, to a greater or lesser extent, in a way that any descendent
of genocide survivors can understand. We’re not there yet. Hopefully we’ll
never get there.”
Brotman wrote, “Of course, not all of those protesting GUSD
policies and practices are engaging in this kind of dangerous speech, or have
hate in their heart. I’ve been accused of suggesting that, and I didn’t mean
to. In the last few weeks, I’ve spoken to many parents who have legitimate
concerns about what their kids are learning. I truly believe that many, if not
most, of those concerns are based on a distorted view of what’s actually
happening in school. But some warrant real, honest discussion and efforts to
find solutions. I want to find a way to bring people of good faith together to
engage in constructive dialogue.”
Brotman said in his post that extremist agitators have been
brought from the outside, which then has resulted in counter agitators coming
in to oppose them—leading to the violence that has erupted at the GUSD Board of
Education meetings in recent months. “I have no interest in engaging these bad
faith actors. The only way to deal with them is to stand together as a
community and soundly defeat them at the polls in 2024.”
Brotman was criticized for this post by several
participants—one who said Brotman labeled parents as "bigots, homophobes
and fascists," another who uggested that he did not address the presence of
Antifa at the protests, and another who said that she had done considerable
research on the curriculum and did not have a “distorted” view of the issue,
and further demanded an apology from Brotman for his post.
Brotman said he had anticipated the GUSD issue would come
up, but that he would not let the topic dominate the evening’s conversation.
Brotman rejected the misinterpretation of his Facebook post. “I spoke to what I
think is the core issue. I don’t think Antifa is the core issue. I never said
what you said. I never said that all parents are all these things that you just
said. and you’re paraphrasing. you’re not using my words. and that is a problem
when people twist facts to create a narrative that fits their political
perspective,” said Brotman.
Brotman said he has met with a lot of people over the last
few weeks to talk about the issue. “If you’re willing to talk to me, I will
take my personal time. I’ve been accosted. People have hurled expletives while
I am walking down the street. This is not acceptable in our city,” said
Brotman. He went on to say he would not apologize for his Facebook post because
he has “heard a lot of distorted views that are blatantly false. ‘Teachers are
providing hormone replacement therapy for kids’—false.”
Kassakhian noted that parents who attend these meetings show
they care about their children—and that city representatives value the
relationships with parents. Kassakhian said schools help children grow into
law-abiding citizens who contribute to their communities. “Our schools are
there to help our children to grow into law-abiding citizens who contribute to
our community.” Kassakhian echoed Brotman’s sentiments about outside agitators
such as Antifa—and also indicated that there have been agitators within the parents’
side. “Two wrongs don’t make a right. We can and should do better—and not allow
outside narratives to cloud the discussion.”
The meeting continued for nearly two hours, and Brotman
reiterated his offer to meet with concerned residents. Brotman said that he has
an open table coffee on the 1st and 3rd Wednesdays of each month at Urartu
Coffee (119 N Artsakh Ave.),
and the 2nd and 4th Wednesdays of each month at rotating locations that are
posted in advance to Twitter, on the page @MyGlendale.
**********************************************************************************************************************************************
4- 200
Supporters Attend
‘Celebrating
with Pride: An Evening of Poetry and Performance’
By Jenny Yettem
On Friday, June 30, GALAS LGBTQ+ Armenian Society and
Glendale’s Poet Laureate Raffi Joe Wartanian hosted ‘Celebrating with Pride: An
Evening of Poetry and Performance’ at Glendale Community College (GCC)
featuring a number of renowned Armenian-American writers, comedians and
scholars—including Mary Basmadjian, Aline Ohanesian, Mashinka Firunts Hakopian,
Arthur Kayzakian, Armen Davoudian, Armine Iknadossian, Sophia Armen, Hrayr
Varaz Khanjian, Anahid Yahjian, Alene Terzian-Zeitounian, and James Adomian.
Some 200 community members—many of them also artists, poets
and activists—gathered in the student center to participate in the event. The
Los Angeles Times covered the event along with The California Courier.
“Tonight we gather to celebrate love, solidarity and
creativity. Why do we do this? Well, first, because it’s the right thing to do,
and because it’s always a good time to celebrate love,” said Wartanian. “But
second, because we’re witnessing today one of history’s most important lessons:
progress cannot be taken for granted. Across the country, LA County and right
here in Glendale,
we’ve seen an increased emboldening of alt-right provocateurs who seek to erase
our society’s progress by distorting, politicizing and attacking the
fundamental civil and human rights of the LGBTQ+ community. Despite Glendale’s troubled history, we’re here to say that this
hateful conduct does not represent the people of Glendale
or the values of Jewel
City. Rather the true
character of Glendale
and LA County is present right here in this room where we’re united in the
spirit of love, community and solidarity for the Armenian LGBTQ+ community.
This is the love. I’m proud we can close Pride month on this note and reflect Jewel City’s
true character.”
Wartanian thanked GCC for its generosity in allowing the
event to take place; and recognized the support of Senator Anthony Portantino;
Glendale Mayor Dan Brotman; and Glendale City Clerk Suzie Abajian.
The event was co-sponsored by the Armenian American Action
Network; Ground Game Los Angeles; International Armenian Literary Alliance;
North Figueroa Bookshop; and Glendale Library Arts and Culture.
“As the International Armenian Literary Alliance, we stand
in solidarity with Queer Armenians who wish to enjoy the freedom of their
identity. We, of all people, should know the tyranny of being silenced, the
pain it causes not to be accepted for who we are, to be killed for what we
are,” said Arthur Kayzakian, the poetry chair of the IALA.
The event included a special message along with two poems
from Senator Portantino, who recounted that he grew up in the 1970s with a gay
older brother—the late Michael G. Portantino—who was a long-time civil rights
and LGBTQ+ rights champion. Senator Portantino has often credited his brother’s
life’s work and legacy as the inspiration for his ardent support of LGBTQ+
community and positive behavioral health policies. “I thought it was behind us,
and that we had turned a corner. It breaks my heart to know what’s going on out
there. Picking on kids, kids who need love and kindness—it’s heartbreaking.”
Michael G. Portantino was the publisher of Gay and Lesbian Times; he and his
then partner were the first gay couple in California to legally adopt a child—a
little girl who had been abandoned near a dumpster by her biological mother. In
remembering that, and how his niece Tatiana prospered throughout her life,
Portantino said, “We have to believe tomorrow is going to be better.”
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