Category: News

More than 93 percent of the Congressional candidates backed by the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) prevailed in Tuesday’s hard-fought elections, as U.S. voters elected Donald Trump President and maintained Republican majorities in the Senate and House.

“We congratulate Donald Trump on his victory, commend Secretary Clinton on a hard-fought campaign, and thank Armenian American voters who went to the polls in record numbers to back federal, state, and local candidates who champion issues of special concern to our community,” said ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian.  “We look forward to getting to work right away in engaging with the Trump Administration and the incoming Congress to make progress on the full range of the Armenian American community’s public policy priorities.”

“We were greatly gratified to see such a large percentage of our Congressional endorsees win their races, including powerful advocates such as Maryland Senator Elect Chris Van Hollen, House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce, Representatives Adam Schiff, Frank Pallone, David Valadao, Jackie Speier, and many others.”

On the Senate side, 7 out of 11 ANCA endorsed candidates emerged victorious, including Senior New York Senator Charles Schumer, a long-time advocate of Armenian Genocide justice, who is slated to replace the retiring Harry Reid (D-NV) as Senate Democratic Leader.  Also re-elected were Vermont Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT), a strong supporter of demining efforts in Nagorno Karabakh and Foreign Affairs Committee member Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain (R-AZ), who were instrumental in Committee passage of Armenian Genocide legislation in 2014.  Also winning re-election were Senators Brian Schatz (D-HI) and Michael Bennett (D-CO).  Long-time Armenian American issues advocate, Maryland Congressman Chris Van Hollen (D), will succeed retiring Senator Barbara Mikulski.  Illinois Senator Mark Kirk (R), a champion on U.S. assistance to Artsakh and Armenia and a lead sponsor of Armenian Genocide legislation lost a hard-fought re-election bid to challenger Rep. Tammy Duckworth (D).  Other ANCA endorsed Senate candidates who were unsuccessful in their Senate election bids were Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-CA), Rep. Joe Heck (R-NV) and former Senator Russ Feingold (D-WI).

On the House side, the ANCA endorsed 122 candidates, of which only 5 were reported to have lost their election bids. Congressional Armenian Caucus Co-Chairs Frank Pallone (D-NJ), Jackie Speier (D-CA) and David Valadao (R-CA) won their elections comfortably, while Illinois Congressman Robert Dold (R) lost re-election in a tightly contested race. Armenian Caucus Vice-Chairs Adam Schiff (D-CA) and David Trott (R-MI) won re-election handily.

The two Armenian American Members of Congress – California Democrats Anna Eshoo and Jackie Speier – each won broad support of the electorate, but Republican Danny Tarkanian, who sought election in Nevada’s third Congressional district fell short by 1%.

Among the key House races that the ANCA was following throughout the evening included House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI), House Appropriations Committee Ranking Democrat Nita Lowey (D-NY) and Armed Services Committee Ranking Democrat Adam Smith (D-WA), all of whom emerged victorious. Other important House races included House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce (R-CA) and Ranking Democrat Eliot Engel (D-NY), lead authors of the Royce-Engel Karabakh peace initiative, and Committee members Chris Smith (R-NJ), Brad Sherman (D-CA), Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA), David Cicilline (D-RI), Karen Bass (D-CA), Alan Lowenthal (D-CA), Ted Deutch (D-FL), Lois Frankel (D-FL), Albio Sires (D-NJ), Grace Meng (D-NY) and Daniel Donovan (R-NY) – all of whom won re-election.

Among the House races in which ANCA endorsed candidates were not successful were those involving New Jersey Republican Scott Garrett, Nevada Republican Cresent Hardy, and Florida Republican John Mica.

Unprecedented Armenian American Community and Campaign Outreach:

In over 30 states and hundreds of Congressional Districts across the United States in which the ANCA endorsed candidates ran, the ANCA sent hundreds of thousands of customized e-mail messages and shared specialized social media posts with Armenian American voters. These messages featured the ANCA grade for each candidate, news about whether the ANCA has endorsed their campaign, and a listing of ANCA records and ratings for their state’s full Congressional delegation.

The ANCA’s final push built upon months of voter registration campaigns and community education and empowerment programs – led with the remarkably successful ANCA Western Region Hye Votes campaign. ANCA regional and local activists volunteered on campaigns and encouraged candidates to fill out the ANCA Candidate Questionnaire.

A key element of this effort, as in years past, has been ANCA Congressional Report Cards, a detailed review and rating of the records of each Congressional incumbent on more than a dozen individual legislative initiatives of special concern to Armenian American voters.

UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in Armenia today announced the appointment of the newest National Goodwill Ambassador, Manchester United player and Armenia National Team captain Henrikh Mkhitaryan, who will support UNICEF in advocating for children’s right to education, sports and play and use his voice to bring awareness to the rights of the most marginalized children in Armenia. The appointment comes on the occasion of UNICEF’s global 70^th anniversary, which is marked in December 2016.

Together with UNICEF, Mkhitaryan will encourage Armenian families to get active and enable a fair chance for every child in the country with a focus on children’s and young people’s rights to get quality learning from early years and quality education in an inclusive environment.

“It’s very sad to see that not all children have the same opportunities to attend school and they don’t get access to quality early learning and education. All children should be able to enjoy the opportunity to reach their full potential so they can become productive citizens,” said Mkhitaryan. “I am truly honoured to become a Goodwill Ambassador for UNICEF. I want to utilise my platform to help UNICEF advocate for every child’s right to education in Armenia, especially for those who are most vulnerable,” he added.

Over the past two decades, Armenia has seen considerable progress in expanding access to pre-primary education, introducing inclusive education, and committing to improve quality of learning. However many children are still left behind, including children with disabilities and children living in remote rural areas.

“We are excited to have Mkhitaryan join us as the newest UNICEF Ambassador in Armenia. As a passionate advocate for children and healthy living, Mkhitaryan demonstrates deep commitment to our mission,” said UNICEF Representative in Armenia Tanja Radocaj. “Education contributes to reducing inequalities and eradicating poverty, while supporting the expansion of more inclusive societies. We are thrilled to join together in advocating to make every child’s right to quality, inclusive and early education a priority in Armenia.“

Henrikh Mkhitaryan is an Armenian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for English club Manchester United, as well as leads the Armenia national team. Mkhitaryan is Armenia’s all-time top goal-scorer since his debut in January 2007. His previous clubs include Pyunik, Metalurh Donetsk, Shakhtar Donetsk and Borussia Dortmund. Mkhitaryan was voted Best Field Player of the season 2015/2016 in Bundesliga; he was also recognized as the best Armenian and CIS player in 2015/2016.

Mkhitaryan joins a large number of most prominent people from sports and culture who support UNICEF work for children all over the world.

Donald Trump will become the 45th US president after a stunning victory over Democrat Hillary Clinton, the Associated Press news agency reports.

The Republican nominee’s projected victory came down to a handful of key swing states, despite months of polling that favoured Mrs Clinton.

The battlegrounds of Florida, Ohio and North Carolina cleared the way for his Brexit-style upset.

Global markets plummeted, with the Dow set to open 800 points down.

Mr Trump’s projected victory in Wisconsin put him over the 270 out of 538 electoral college votes needed to win the White House.

The US president-elect took to the stage at his victory rally in New York and said: “I just received a call from Secretary Clinton. She congratulated us on our victory.”

“Hillary has worked very hard and very hard over a very long period of time and we owe her a major debt of gratitude for her service to this country,” Mr Trump said. “Now it is time for America to bind the wounds of division.”

“It is time for us to come together as one united people.”

“I pledge to every citizen of our land that I will be president for every American. And that is very important to me,” said Mr Trump.

“For those that have chosen not to support me in the past, of which there were a few people, I’m reaching out to you for your guidance and you help so we can work together and unify our great country.”

“I expect to have great, great relationships” with other countries, Mr Trump said.

“No dream is too big; no challenge too big. America will no longer settle for anything less than the best. We must reclaim our country’s destiny and dream big and bold and daring.

“I will always keep America first,” he said.

The Republican Party has retained its majority in the US House of Representatives, projections suggest, the BBC reports.

The TV networks ABC and NBC both projected a Republican majority in the 435-seat chamber, which the party has controlled since 2010.

Republicans also appeared to be set to keep control of the 100-seat Senate, where 34 seats were being contested.

The Democrats need to gain four seats if Hillary Clinton wins the presidency and five if Donald Trump wins.

That is because the vice-president is automatically a member of the Senate.

Photo: Getty Images

 

By Harut Sassounian
The California Courier

With each passing day, Turkish President Erdogan is becoming increasingly dictatorial. The arrest of 11 members of the opposition pro-Kurdish party, HDP, is the latest in a long string of Erdogan’s dictatorial policies.

Michael Rubin, a former Pentagon official and resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, wrote a devastating exposé on Erdogan last week, listing some of his scandalous actions!

I have summarized Rubin’s lengthy article which was posted on Newsweek magazine’s European edition website, under the title, “Twelve Questions Turkish Journalists Dare not Ask”:

1. How did Erdogan become a billionaire?

Erdogan was raised in a poor family until he became Mayor of Istanbul when he faced 13 corruption probes. In 2004, when he was Prime Minister, the U.S. embassy in Ankara reported in a cable to Washington that “he had at least eight Swiss bank accounts.” In addition, secret phone recordings revealed his instructions “to liquidate perhaps a billion dollars in cash. Erdogan used his power over the courts to quash the case and arrest prosecutors and judges who sought to pursue it.”

2. Where is Erdogan’s university diploma?

Erdogan claims to have graduated from Istanbul’s Marmara University in 1981. His degree may have been forged. “A four-year degree is a prerequisite for the presidency. If Erdogan lied about having a degree, can he remain as president?”

3. Is there another story behind the coup attempt?

Erdogan fired and jailed thousands of his political opponents, accusing them of being the followers of Fethullah Gulen, the alleged mastermind of the July 15 coup attempt, which the Turkish President called “a gift from God.”

4. If there is a FETO, is there also an ETO?

Erdogan called Gulen’s movement “the Fethullahist Terror Organization (FETO)…. If it is permissible to talk about FETO as a terror group, would it be equally acceptable to refer to the Erdoganist Terror Organization (ETO)?”

5. If Gulen is a terrorist, why did Erdogan work with him till 2013?

Gulen and Erdogan had practically identical religious philosophies until their split in 2013. Why is Gulen a ‘terrorist’ now?

6. Why is it OK to report on PKK attacks but not on ISIS?

“When the PKK or fringe Kurdish groups attack, it often dominates the headlines in Turkey for days as the investigation continues, authorities name suspects, etc…. But when ISIS has attacked, the Turkish government has put an embargo on reports about the investigation.”

7. Why did Turkish intelligence help the Nusra Front? And ISIS?

“Evidence is overwhelming that both the Nusra Front, an Al-Qaeda affiliate in Syria, and ISIS itself, have received arms, support and equipment from authorities in Turkey. When journalists broke the story — and provided photographic evidence — Erdogan’s response was to arrest the editor of the newspaper that published the scoop. Likewise, when Turkish soldiers stopped an arms shipment into Syria, Erdogan ordered the soldiers’ arrest rather than the smugglers….”

8. Was a Turkish death squad behind the Paris assassinations?

“In 2013, assassins executed three Kurdish activists in their office in Paris. All three were PKK members…. The French captured Omer Guney, a 32-year-old Turk who had arrived in France at age 9.Telephone intercepts after the murders show him calling back to handlers in Turkey’s intelligence agency….”

9. Why did Erdogan appoint his son-in-law oil minister?

“Berat Albayrak, Erdogan’s 37-year-old son-in-law, became Turkey’s energy minister on November 24, 2015. Was he the best qualified? Or were other factors at play?”

10. Can we talk about Erdogan’s associations?

Erdogan is a close friend of Yasin al-Qadi, a Saudi businessman, who, according to the U.S. Treasury Department “had alleged ties to Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden until 2014.” Erdogan persistently declared: “I know Mr. Qadi. I believe in him as I believe in myself. For Mr. Qadi to associate with a terrorist organization, or support one, is impossible.” Erdogan is also close to Gulbuddin Hekmatyar of Afghanistan who has “allied himself with the Taliban and Al-Qaeda.” Another friend, Khalid Meshaal (the militant leader of Hamas), visited Turkey as Erdogan’s personal guest!

11. What deal have you struck with Putin?

After Erdogan and Putin buried the hatchet earlier this year, they agreed on a pipeline deal and held talks on the Turkish purchase of a Russian missile system. Were there any secret agreements?

12. What explains the court’s 2008 refusal to close the AKP?

In 2008, Turkey’s constitutional court came close to dissolving Erdogan’s ruling party. But, at the last-minute, one justice switched his vote. It is alleged that “a businessman, long hounded by Erdogan, wired money into that justice’s account just before the vote.”

During a November 6 ceremony in Istanbul to receive an honorary doctorate, Erdogan proudly proclaimed: “I don’t care if they call me a dictator or whatever else. It goes in one ear, out the other!”

Photo: AP

 

Two people have been killed and two injured in a shooting near a California polling station, the BBC reports.

However police say the incident in Azusa, about 25 miles (40km) east of Los Angeles, “had nothing to do with the ballot or voting”.

Officers were called to the scene following reports of a shooting and exchanged gunfire with the suspect.

After securing the area, police discovered a body, who they believe was the gunman, inside a house.

The man has not been identified. Police say another person was killed and two other wounded during the shooting incident but gave no details.

 

 

 

Donald Trump’s election as 45th President of the United States will not bringserious changes in the country’s long-established policy, but will lead to a shift in the country’s position at least on some issues, Head of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation Bureau’s Hay Dat and Political Affairs Office Giro Manoyan said in an interview with Public Radio of Armenia.

He believes that the improvement of relations with Russia can open up opportunities for us.

However, he said “we have to take into consideration the relations between Turkey and the US, the President-elect’s relations with the Azerbaijani leadership, which will also inevitably influence the Armenia-US relations, and the US stance on the Karabakh issue and other Armenia-related issues.”

He won Florida, Ohio, Iowa and North Carolina, while Democrat Mrs Clinton took Virginia and Nevada, ABC projects. Pennsylvania is too close to call.

New Hampshire, Michigan and Wisconsin – which were meant to be part of the Clinton firewall – are deadlocked, too.

Mr Trump’s Ohio win was a big boost to him, as no Republican has ever taken the White House without winning the Midwestern bellwether.

Iowa last voted for a Republican in 2004.

“Everything is OK at Manchester United,” Armenia international Henrikh Mkhitaryan told reporters in Yerevan today.

Despite receiving little playing time at Man Utd, Mkhitaryan says nothing can prevent him from moving forward.

“I have passed a long way to reach where I am now. Nothing can prevent me from achieving my dream,” Mkhitaryan said.

“If I give in now, it will mean I have achieved nothing and done nothing to reach there,” he said.

“I will find the strength to struggle in this situation,” the midfielder said.

Mkhitaryan pledged to do his best to reach his goal.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan talked to reporters after being appointed .

ranks Armenia international Henrikh Mkhitaryan 36th (between Mesut Ozil – 37th and Harry Kane – 35th) in its list of world’s 50 best football players of 2016.

Chief editors and correspondents from Goal‘s 38 editions across the globe all cast their votes. Players were judged on their level of consistency over the past year, their big-game performances, footballing legacy and the success of their team at both club and international level.

“The 27-year-old’s Old Trafford career may not have got off to the best start but the attacking midfielder was sensational for Borussia Dortmund last season, racking up 11 goals and 15 assists in the Bundesliga alone. One imagines that if he gets a regular run of Premier League games, then Mkhitaryan will quickly set about proving just why United paid £35.7m (€42m) for his services,” Goal writes.

Chief editors and correspondents from Goal‘s 38 editions across the globe all cast their votes. Players were judged on their level of consistency over the past year, their big-game performances, footballing legacy and the success of their team at both club and international level.