Blog Archives
From Peace to Hit-Piece: Turkey’s New Lobbying Strategy Against Armenian Americans
By Taniel Koushakjian
FLArmenians Editor
Hit-Piece
On February 22, the Turkish Institute of Progress (TIP) retained Mercury Public Affairs, LLC to lobby on its behalf in Washington, D.C. According to the filing, Mercury will lobby specifically on “Turkish-US relations.” Two days later, Mercury’s Vice Chairman, Adam Ereli, a former U.S. Ambassador and Deputy Spokesperson at the State Department, penned a hit-piece on Armenia entitled “Putin’s Newest Satellite State,” on Forbes’ opinion page. However, Forbes originally neglected to mention the fact that Ereli’s firm is under contract with the anti-Armenian lobby group.
This is not the first time a high-priced Washington lobbyist has used the stroke of the pen to attack Armenian Americans. In 2014, Brenda Shaffer wrote a piece in the New York Times opinion page entitled “Russia’s next land grab.” The title sounds familiar. The story’s byline for Shaffer states that she “is a professor of political science at the University of Haifa and a visiting researcher at Georgetown.” However, Shaffer did not disclose her role as a paid consultant to Azerbaijan’s state-run oil company SOCAR. After the Times realized they had been duped, the editor’s rightly appended the story with the following statement: “This Op-Ed, about tensions between Armenia and Azerbaijan, did not disclose that the writer has been an adviser to Azerbaijan’s state-run oil company. Like other Op-Ed contributors, the writer, Brenda Shaffer, signed a contract obliging her to disclose conflicts of interest, actual or potential. Had editors been aware of her ties to the company, they would have insisted on disclosure.”
Hours after this article was posted on the Armenian Agenda, the by line at the top was moved to the bottom and a new description was added at the top acknowledging TIP as a client of Mercury. This is the right thing to do and I hope other publications will be aware of seriousness of the issue in future.
Peace?
The Turkish Institute of Progress, a New York based Turkish lobby group is the latest player trying to prop up Turkey by putting down Armenian Americans. The group was established months prior to the centennial anniversary of the Armenian Genocide to “provide a forum for dialogue in pursuit of peace and cooperation between Turkey and the international community,” according to its website.
Instead of outright opposing Armenian Genocide recognition efforts by American human rights activists, the Turkish lobby’s genocide denial strategy shifted its approach to the issue on the centennial anniversary. TIP’s other hired public relations firm, Levick, tried to get a counter genocide resolution introduced that “focused on the next 100 years” by Rep. Curt Clawson (R-FL) who had been recruited to introduce the bill by Clawson’s predecessor, Congressman Connie Mack (R-FL), now a lobbyist for Levick.
A pushback from Clawson’s own constituency thwarted the TIP’s efforts, and the resolution, H. Res. 226, was instead introduced by Rep. Jeff Sessions (R-TX). The bill currently has two cosponsors.
I am personally aware of the Turkish government’s coordinated anti-Armenian effort with TIP, Levick, and now Mercury, as I was in Clawson’s district on April 12, 2015. I was invited to give a presentation on the Armenian Genocide at the Holocaust Museum and Education Center of Southwest Florida in Naples. Upon my arrival to the Holocaust Museum, I was shown an intimidating letter by Ozgur Kivanc Altan, Consul General of the Republic of Turkey in Miami addressed to the Holocaust Museum demanding that they cancel my presentation.
From Peace to Hit-Piece
The Turkish lobby’s strategy of genocide denial cloaked as peace has now turned to attacking the Republic of Armenia itself in order to mask Azerbaijan’s $4 billion dollar arms purchase from Russia, not to mention Azerbaijan’s gross abuse of human rights, corruption scandals, jailing of journalists, and drift away from democracy and towards authoritarian rule.
The article originally appeared in the Armenian Agenda and is available here.
How Armenian American Candidates Fared in the 2015 Election
By Taniel Koushakjian
FLArmenians Managing Editor
*Updated 6:37pm.
**Updated Thursday, November 12, 2015 at 11:18am.
Although 2015 is not a national election year, Tuesday, November 3rd was Election Day in the United States, where non-federal candidates vied for several state and municipal seats. National attention was focused on marquee races for Kentucky Governor and control for the Virginia legislature, but Armenian Americans were watching smaller contests on the East Coast.
There were eight Armenian Americans on the ballot in the 2015 U.S. elections, one each in Florida, Maine, and Virginia, and five in New Jersey.
Beginning in the Sunshine State, Mark Samuelian was running for Miami Beach City Commissioner in Group VI, a non-partisan seat. Samuelian, originally from Boston, MA, ran a solid, grassroots campaign but fell just 77 votes short of victory. The Miami Herald recommended Samuelian, however, Florida Armenians withheld their endorsement. “It is telling when an Armenian American candidate fails to win the endorsement of the state’s largest Armenian American organization,” stated Florida Armenians Public Affairs Director Arsine Kaloustian. “We wish Mark the best of luck in his future endeavors,” Kaloustian said.
At the opposite end of Interstate-95, the Pine Tree State had a more well-known candidate on the ballot. Lawyer and author of “Nowhere, A Story of Exile,” Anna Astvatsaturian Turcotte ran a successful campaign as a Democrat for Westbrook City Council Ward III. “As a child, first coming to the U.S. as an Armenian refugee from Baku, Azerbaijan, I was always in awe of the American democratic process,” Turcotte said in an email statement to FLArmenians.com. “It inspired me to vote the very minute I could, becoming an American citizen at the age of 19. So, to actually run for office and garner 64% of the vote has been an incredibly meaningful and emotional process for me. I am very thankful to receive the people’s support and hope to make them proud in the years to come,” Turcotte said.
With her decisive victory, Turcotte becomes the city’s youngest and only female councilman. She is also the first Armenian refugee from Azerbaijan to win an election in the United States.
In Connecticut, Republican challenger for mayor of Newington Roy Zartarian unseated the Democratic incumbent 54% to 46%. In fact, on Tuesday night Republican’s swept the Newington mayor’s office, city council, and school board. “Our statement on our materials was, ‘Had enough already?'” Zartarian told the Hartford Courant. “People in Newington have had enough. Now it’s up to us to make this right.”
In the Garden State, five Armenian Americans were on the ballot in Bergen County, New Jersey. Haworth City Councilman Glenn Poosikian, the Democratic incumbent, was elected to his fourth term. Independent challenger Roger Tashjian was also elected to the Oradell City Council. In Old Tappan, John Shahdanian II won a seat on the City’s Board of Education. Unfortunately, Paramus Board of Education candidate Kohar Boyadjian and River Vale Board of Education candidate Dr. Armine Lulejian-Manookian were unsuccessful in their bids.
Finally, in the Old Dominion State, Democrat Martin
Mooradian, Jr. ran an unsuccessful campaign for State Assembly District 27. This Richmond-based, safe-Republican seat is home to a large Armenian American community. However, the majority of Armenian Americans in Richmond are registered Republicans. While Mooradian won the endorsement of the Armenian American community of Richmond, the district’s demographics were too much for the young Mooradian to overcome.
In total five out of nine Armenian American candidates on the ballot in 2015 won election, an 80% success rate. On the winning side, one incumbent retained his seat, while four challengers were successful. On the losing side were four political newcomers, but it’s too early to tell if they will seek office again in the future.
*This article was updated to reflect the fact that the Miami Herald recommendation for Mark Samuelian is their equivalent of an endorsement.
**This article was updated with Roy Zartarian’s election results.
Armenian Americans Congratulate New House Speaker Paul Ryan
Congressman Paul Ryan (R-WI) Speaking at the Armenian Assembly of America 2009 National Advocacy Conference and Banquet in Washington, D.C. (Photograph courtesy of Armenian Assembly of America)
By Taniel Koushakjian
FLArmenians Managing Editor
Yesterday, Representative Paul D. Ryan (R-WI) was elected the 54th Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives. The Armenian Assembly of America (Assembly) and Florida Armenians congratulate Speaker Ryan on his new leadership role and look forward to working with him in the months and years to come.
“I am very pleased with what this means for Republican leadership in Washington,” stated Florida Armenians Miami Chair Harout Samra. “Paul Ryan’s elevation to Speaker of the House is a welcome event and turns the page on some of the key challenges the Republican caucus in the House has faced over the last several years. At least in the short term, we should expect a more unified and ideas-driven caucus. Florida Armenians congratulate Speaker Ryan and we look forward to working with him and his leadership team to address issues of mutual concern,” Samra said.
Ryan began his political career as a congressional intern after college, went on to work as an aide for then-U.S. Senator Sam Brownback (R-KS), and later as a speech writer for 1996 Republican Vice Presidential nominee Jack Kemp. In 1998, Ryan was elected to his first term in the U.S. House of Representatives. Ryan, known as a policy and budget wonk, has ascended through the House Republican leadership, assuming the Chairmanship of the Budget Committee in 2011, and most recently as the Chairman of the powerful House Ways & Means Committee. Ryan received national attention when he was tapped by Governor Mitt Romney to be the Republican Vice Presidential nominee in 2012.
Speaker Ryan has a strong record in support of Armenia, Armenian American issues including genocide affirmation, and the safety and security of the people of Nagorno Karabakh. Paul Ryan represents the 1st district of Wisconsin, which is home to St. Mesrob Armenian Apostolic Church, in Racine.
During his first term in the House, Ryan was a cosponsor of H.Res.398, the Armenian Genocide resolution in the 106th Congress, and cosponsored subsequent Armenian Genocide reaffirmation resolutions, namely: H.Res.316 in the 109th Congress, H.Res.106 in the 110th Congress, H.Res.252 in the 111th Congress, and H.Res.304 in the 112th Congress. In addition to cosponsoring these resolutions, he signed five letters to President George W. Bush urging him to acknowledge the Armenian Genocide in 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005, and 2006.
“By properly recognizing the atrocities committed against the Armenian people as ‘genocide’ in your statement, you will honor the many Americans who helped launch our first international human rights campaign to end the carnage and protect the survivors. The official U.S. response mirrored the overwhelming reaction by the American public to this crime against humanity, and as such, constitutes a proud, irrefutable and groundbreaking chapter in U.S. diplomatic history,” reads the 2004 letter to President Bush signed by Ryan.
Rev. Fr. Hovsep Karapetyan, Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI), Taniel Koushakjian on Capitol Hill, March 3, 2009.
Having joined the Congressional Caucus on Armenian Issues in 2003, Ryan’s support of human rights issues extended beyond Armenia. That same year, Ryan cosponsored H.Res.193 in the 108th Congress, which stated U.S. policy “Reaffirming support of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide and anticipating the 15th anniversary of the enactment of the Genocide Convention Implementation Act of 1987 (the Proxmire Act) on November 4, 2003.”
Speaker Ryan was also a proponent of a stronger U.S.-Armenia relationship and increased bilateral trade and investment. He cosponsored H.Res.528 in the 108th Congress, “To authorize the extension of nondiscriminatory treatment (normal trade relations treatment) to the products of Armenia,” which extended U.S. Permanent Normal Trade Relations (PNTR) to Armenia.
Following the assassination of Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink, Ryan cosponsored the Assembly-backed H.Res.102 in the 110th Congress, “Condemning the assassination of human rights advocate and outspoken defender of freedom of the press, Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink on January 19, 2007.”
Speaker Ryan also signed a letter to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on February 15, 2008 urging the U.S. “to hold the government of Azerbaijan accountable for recent vitriolic comments made by Azeri President Ilham Aliyev in regard to the conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh,” and to “condemn these comments that go directly against the United State stated policy in the South Caucus region.”
Given his years of work with the Armenian Assembly of America, and decade-long record in support of Armenian American issues, Ryan agreed to serve as the co-master of ceremonies of the Assembly’s 2009 National Advocacy Conference & Banquet in Washington, D.C.
“At a time when Azerbaijan continues to violate international law, and Turkey’s international campaign of genocide denial continues, we look forward to the opportunity to work with the incoming Speaker to address these and other critically important issues,” stated Armenian Assembly Executive Director Bryan Ardouny.
Florida Armenians 