BY GAREN CHAHE JINBACHIAN

No airport welcome, no VIP photo ops, no City Hall visit.

Not for Turkish dictator Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

He is, by all accounts, set to attend the World Cup match between the United States and Turkey at SoFi Stadium on June 25.

His aim is clear: to hijack the World Cup as a political platform to normalize Ankara’s state-sponsored intolerance, repression, violence, and genocide denial; to cover up his crimes and rehabilitate his reputation; and to elevate himself at the expense of Los Angeles’s standing as a global beacon of diversity, tolerance, and inclusion.

This is classic sports-washing: using the goodwill, global attention, and unifying spirit of international sport – the world’s most celebrated athletic competition – to distract from his government’s abuses and burnish the image of his authoritarian regime. This is hardly new. Erdogan has repeatedly used major sporting events – from international football tournaments to Formula One races – as opportunities to divert attention from his government’s repression at home and aggression abroad – including military and material support for Azerbaijan’s genocide of Artsakh’s Armenians.

The leaders of the City of Angels – and the State of California—must be clear in refusing to let themselves be used as props in Erdogan’s political theater.

We must not allow international sport to be weaponized as a platform for propaganda. The World Cup should bring people together across nations and cultures, not provide authoritarian leaders with a platform to launder their reputations, obscure their abuses, and advance agendas fundamentally at odds with the values of Los Angeles.

Very simply, our civic leaders should neither embrace nor endorse him.

He should be shunned by city and state leaders.

No red carpets. No staged smiles. No photo ops.

Instead: principled distance, public accountability, and moral clarity.

We cannot – must not – let Erdogan abuse Los Angeles’s legendary hospitality to promote his ugly brand of hatred and intolerance.

Garen Chahe Jinbachian is the Community Coordinator of the Armenian National Committee of America-Western Region.

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Hellenic leaders on Capitol Hill for the 41st annual PSEKA Cyprus conference

Urges Washington to End “Quiet Diplomacy,” Impose Real Costs on Ankara in Address at 41st Annual PSEKA Cyprus Conference

WASHINGTON – Armenian National Committee of America Executive Director Aram Hamparian called on Washington to stop rewarding Turkish aggression and start imposing real consequences for Ankara’s illegal occupation of Cyprus and its unpunished genocide against Armenians, Greeks, and other Christians.

Hamparian made the statements at the 41st Annual PSEKA Cyprus Conference held in Washington last week. Speaking to an assembled gathering of senior Hellenic leaders and advocates, Hamparian underscored the enduring Armenian-Hellenic alliance as the force best positioned to compel that accountability and urged both communities to press the case with renewed urgency.

Hamparian offered remarks during the conference’s strategy session – “The Republic of Cyprus: A Strong Strategic Partner of the United States” – opening with a bold declaration: “There is no community closer to the Armenian heart than the Hellenic community. There is no cause dearer to the Armenian soul than the cause of Cyprus. Justice. Freedom. Reunification. An end to Turkish occupation.”

He pointed to a geopolitical moment he sees as uniquely favorable for both communities. “I see a Greece and Cyprus better positioned geo-politically than ever. I see a Turkish state more isolated — even reviled — than ever. The time is now.”

Hamparian was unsparing in his assessment of Washington’s record. “History has always been on our side. International law has always been on our side. The American people — and our Congress — have always been on our side. Now, the American government — this and all future Administrations — must stand on our side.”

He named the failure directly. America must act, “not as a ‘neutral’ observer. Not as an ‘honest broker.’ Not as a practitioner of endless ‘quiet diplomacy.’ Decade after decade. Generation after generation. Lifetime after lifetime. They’re slow-dancing justice — managing our expectations while carrying Ankara’s water. Locking in Turkey’s occupation. Rewarding its aggression. Consolidating its genocidal gains.”

Hamparian called for a clear shift in U.S. posture — one that matched diplomacy with real consequences. “The time is now. To hit — and hit hard. To strike the right balance — between being at the table, and — in equal measure — at their throats. For the fate of a free people is at stake.”

He pointed to a proven track record of Armenian-Hellenic advocacy moving U.S. policy. “We’ve done it before — blocking jets to Turkey, enforcing sanctions on Ankara, recognizing the Armenian Genocide. Time and the tides of history are on your side.”

Hamparian closed with a word in Greek — and a pledge of continued solidarity. “Justice — THEE-KAI-O-SEE-NEE (Δικαιοσύνη) — is on our side. As is the Armenian American community.”

The three-day conference brought together Cyprus Minister of Energy, Commerce and Industry Michael Damianos, Cyprus Government Spokesman Konstantinos Letymbiotis; Ambassador of Cyprus Evangelos Savva; Ambassador of Greece Antonis Alexandridis, and former CIA officer and commentator John Kiriakou.

On the conference’s second day, twenty-five Members of Congress and six U.S. Senators met with and addressed an assembled delegation of more than 80 Hellenic advocates on Capitol Hill. Congressional leaders included Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Jim Risch (R-ID), Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), Senate Minority Whip Richard Durbin (D-IL), Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), House Foreign Affairs Committee Ranking Member Gregory Meeks (D-NY), and Senators Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Cory Booker (D-NJ), and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), among many others.

PSEKA — the International Coordinating Committee “Justice for Cyprus” — is the leading umbrella organization in the United States advancing the cause of a free and reunified Cyprus. The conference was co-sponsored by AHEPA, AHI, HABA, the Cyprus-US Chamber of Commerce, FCAO, the Chian Federation, the Hellenic American Leadership Council, and the Pancyprian Association of America, and coordinated by Manatos & Manatos/Coordinated Effort of Hellenes.

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Troops participating in Eagle Partner 26 military drills in Armenia on Jun. 17

The Eagle Partner 2026 joint military exercises, with the participation of troops from the United States, France and Greece, officially kicked off in Armenia on Thursday, the U.S. Embassy in Armenia said on Wednesday.

The exercises are to continue through June 25 and are the fourth annual such drills that builds on longstanding U.S.-Armenia defense cooperation and supports preparation for international peacekeeping operations, the embassy said.

This year, Eagle Partner expands with the participation of service members from the Armed Forces of the French Republic and the Hellenic Republic, alongside the Armenian Armed Forces Peacekeeping Brigade, U.S. Army Europe and Africa, and the Kansas National Guard.

Through joint multilateral training, Eagle Partner 2026 strengthens interoperability, supports the exchange of best practices, and enhances peacekeeping readiness.

The Armenian Ministry of Defense earlier reported that the military exercises will involve 250 servicemen from the Armenian Armed Forces Peacekeeping Brigade, alongside 58 personnel from U.S. Army Europe and Africa and the Kansas National Guard, 24 from the French Armed Forces, and 11 from the Hellenic Armed Forces.

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Former president Robert Kocharian enters the Karen Demirchyan Sports Complex in Yerevan on Mar. 16

Armenia’s Central Election Commission has approved a request by the Prosecutor General’s Office to lift the parliamentary immunity of former president Robert Kocharian, leader of the opposition Armenia Alliance.

The decision was announced Thursday by Kocharian’s lawyer Aram Orbelyan following the CEC meeting.

Orbelyan said Kocharian is expected to be charged with abuse of official authority and money laundering.

Earlier, the lawyer explained that the Prosecutor General’s Office had sought the CEC’s consent within the framework of a case related to a transaction approved by the Armenian government in 2004 during Kocharian’s presidency.

According to Orbelyan, the transaction has never been legally challenged and neither Kocharian nor members of his family were involved in it.

He said that in 2008, after Kocharian had left office, his son, Sedrak, purchased a stake in the company involved in the transaction, paying what he described as a substantial sum. Prosecutors are now allegedly attempting to link that purchase to the 2004 deal.

“The case concerns the Master Class tennis complex. The property had been leased, and the tenant had begun construction using its own funds. In 2008, facing financial difficulties, the company sought investors and made an offer to Sedrak Kocharian, who subsequently became involved in the project,” Orbelyan said.

On June 16, it was announced that the Prosecutor General’s Office had formally requested the CEC’s consent to lift Kocharyan’s immunity.

The Armenia Alliance, led by Kocharyan, passed the electoral threshold in the June 7 parliamentary elections and is set to hold 12 seats in the new parliament. As the head of the alliance’s electoral list, Kocharian enjoys legal protections that require CEC approval before criminal proceedings can be initiated against him or restrictions placed on his liberty.

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