STRATFOR claims in report, Belarus and Armenia Re-Evaluate Relations with Russia, "and on Jan. 27 Armenian Defense Minister Seyran Ohanian admitted that the helicopter that was shot down had deviated from its course and said that officials were dismissed as a result." STRATFOR asks for feedback comments (internal only) in association with their reports. I submitted the following comment:
STRATFOR wrote, "Seyran Ohanian admitted that the helicopter that was shot down had deviated from its course and said that officials were dismissed as a result." Clearly, I have not read everything that exists in print and in every language, but I would like to see a reference for this as I have not even heard even a rumor of such an admission. Is this claim from an Azerbaijani source?
I live in Yerevan, Armenia.
Let's see what STRATFOR responds with, if anything.
Saturday, January 31, 2015
Monday, January 26, 2015
The Guardian published an article, Jewish leaders call for Europe-wide legislation outlawing antisemitism
On January 26, 2015 The Guardian published an article, Jewish leaders call for Europe-wide legislation outlawing antisemitism
In that article it stated:
"The yardstick, say the drafters, should be that if an international tribunal has ruled genocide has taken place, it should be accepted everywhere in Europe as criminal conduct to contest that in public. The Holocaust, the Rwanda genocide, and the mass murder of Muslims by Serbs in Srebrenica, Bosnia, in 1995 would be covered. The Turkish massacre of Armenians in 1915, for example, would not be covered."
This article was subsequently picked by at least two other outlets: http://www.wpxnews.com/business/jewish-leaders-contact-for-europe-wide-legislation-outlawing-antisemitism-h6938.html and http://www.uniongazette.com/business/jewish-leaders-get-in-touch-with-for-europe-wide-legislation-outlawing-antisemitism-h15659.html
I posted the same reader comment text to both sites:
d.davidian
Apparently, Jewish leaders specifically reject the genocide of the Armenian as not worthy. Raphael Lemkin specifically highlighted the Turkish genocide of the Armenians when his coined the term genocide. What kind of anti-Armenian legislation is this! Frankly, it is an outrage!
Yerevan, Armenia
Later on in the day both of these non-Guardian sites pulled the article. What remains is the original Guardian article, providing no reader comments
In that article it stated:
"The yardstick, say the drafters, should be that if an international tribunal has ruled genocide has taken place, it should be accepted everywhere in Europe as criminal conduct to contest that in public. The Holocaust, the Rwanda genocide, and the mass murder of Muslims by Serbs in Srebrenica, Bosnia, in 1995 would be covered. The Turkish massacre of Armenians in 1915, for example, would not be covered."
This article was subsequently picked by at least two other outlets: http://www.wpxnews.com/business/jewish-leaders-contact-for-europe-wide-legislation-outlawing-antisemitism-h6938.html and http://www.uniongazette.com/business/jewish-leaders-get-in-touch-with-for-europe-wide-legislation-outlawing-antisemitism-h15659.html
I posted the same reader comment text to both sites:
d.davidian
Apparently, Jewish leaders specifically reject the genocide of the Armenian as not worthy. Raphael Lemkin specifically highlighted the Turkish genocide of the Armenians when his coined the term genocide. What kind of anti-Armenian legislation is this! Frankly, it is an outrage!
Yerevan, Armenia
Later on in the day both of these non-Guardian sites pulled the article. What remains is the original Guardian article, providing no reader comments
Friday, January 23, 2015
Armenia can't count on Russia any more
Al Jazeera refused to post my reader comment (twice attempted, 24 hrs apart) on an Opinion piece they published. I am posting that reader comment here, using the same title as the original article: Armenia can't count on Russia any more. Sending feedback to Al Jazeera asking what possible reason this comment wasn't posted resulted in a standard template reply. Below is my comment:
David Davidian
Your comment is awaiting moderation
The title of this article is in contrast with its content. Little of the content provides evidence that Armenia cannot count on Russia. Clearly, there are issues with operations at the Gyumri base and legal jurisdiction overall, brought to the surface through the horrible murder of an entire family. None of this demonstrates to Armenia that Russia cannot live up to its agreements, which are far reaching.
It is sometimes easy to become complacent. Russia operates Armenia's nuclear plant providing almost half of the county's electrical power, it supplies gas so cheaply that the vast majority of vehicles in Armenia have converted from gasoline to gas. This list goes on. The part of this list that doesn't get much notice is that every morning Armenians wake up to another day of peace, enough so that enterprises such as the author's think tank can write these opinion pieces. This only comes from the Russian military patrolling the Turkish-Armenian border. Turkey has made direct military moves across many of its other borders, but has not threatened its Armenian border. This is no accident. If there is an equal or better replacement for this condition, we would all love to see its plan and execution.
Yerevan, Armenia
David Davidian
Your comment is awaiting moderation
The title of this article is in contrast with its content. Little of the content provides evidence that Armenia cannot count on Russia. Clearly, there are issues with operations at the Gyumri base and legal jurisdiction overall, brought to the surface through the horrible murder of an entire family. None of this demonstrates to Armenia that Russia cannot live up to its agreements, which are far reaching.
It is sometimes easy to become complacent. Russia operates Armenia's nuclear plant providing almost half of the county's electrical power, it supplies gas so cheaply that the vast majority of vehicles in Armenia have converted from gasoline to gas. This list goes on. The part of this list that doesn't get much notice is that every morning Armenians wake up to another day of peace, enough so that enterprises such as the author's think tank can write these opinion pieces. This only comes from the Russian military patrolling the Turkish-Armenian border. Turkey has made direct military moves across many of its other borders, but has not threatened its Armenian border. This is no accident. If there is an equal or better replacement for this condition, we would all love to see its plan and execution.
Yerevan, Armenia
Monday, March 25, 2013
B'nai B'rith Welcomes the Normalization of Relations between Israel and Turkey
It is hypocritical of any organization devoted to “intolerance around the world” to welcome normalizing of relations of any kind with the Republic of Turkey. Turkey has more reporters in jail than Iran, China or Eritria – so much for one of “the region’s only two democracies”. If this weren’t enough, the foundation of the Republic of Turkey is the genocide, under guise of a world war, of a million and a half Armenian men, women, children, and further, the codified dispossession of their wealth, property, and the organized destruction of any vestiges of their 2,500 year old culture. Turkey continues to deny it murdered a nation. According to the renowned historian, scholar and expert specializing in Holocaust, Genocide studies and racism, Yair Auron , “Germany used the fact that committers of the Armenian Genocide remained to be unpunished, so it is necessary to recognize and condemn Armenian Genocide, in order to avoid such phenomenon in future".
It should be noted that comments on this declaration were closed on B’nai B’rith’s web site. In fact, none appeared allowed.
Monday, September 24, 2012
In Facing Its Adversaries, America’s Got a Hidden Lever: Armenia
Truman National Security Project’s, Daniel Gaynor, in In Facing Its Adversaries, America’s Got a Hidden Lever: Armenia, left his readership with a set of suggestions with no basis in logic or reality. A response is being posed here due to the lack of reader commentary on Gaynor’s blog.
First, there was no war between Armenians and Turks in 1915 to have resulted in the genocide of a million and half Armenians, as Gaynor claims, and further, he uses a NY Times quote as evidence of Turkey being “the historic nemesis of the Armenians”. Gaynor could have simply taken a second to research the topic, but clearly didn’t. The International Association of Genocide Scholars states:
“ In three previous statements of the International Association of Genocide Scholars—first, a unanimous resolution declaring that the Turkish massacres of Armenians in 1915-1918 constituted genocide; second, an Open Letter to Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan calling upon him to acknowledge the Armenian Genocide; and third, an Open Letter concerning scholars who deny the Armenian Genocide—we have made our position clear: the historical record on the Armenian Genocide is unambiguous and documented by overwhelming evidence. It is proven by foreign office records of the United States, France, Great Britain, Russia, and perhaps most importantly, of Turkey’s World War I allies, Germany and Austria-Hungary, as well as by the records of the Ottoman Courts-Martial of 1918-1920, and by decades of scholarship.”
On this single issue alone Gaynor’s post should be dismissed. However, he further claims that Armenia’s geopolitical position provides a unique platform with which the US can advance its foreign policy goals. Gaynor fails to provide any evidence of how Armenia could advance US policy interests. Armenia has been in the same geographic area since declaring independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. In two decades what has the US done to persuade Armenia that much of its strategic interests coincide or at least parallel those of the US? Apparently little or the US was simply not persuasive enough. Perhaps, Armenia does not provide any Hidden Lever for the US at all. Gaynor never states what Armenian interests the US could promote?
Unfortunately, Armenia is viewed as little more than a nuisance to US foreign policy interests, even if has positioned itself at a functional median political position between Iran, Russia, and NATO. Is the US going to provide the political clout necessary to extract genocide reparations from the Republic of Turkey including the return of land (with significant borders changes) and monetary reparations? Is Armenia going to unilaterally declare itself mortal enemies of Iran, Russia or both, which might in passing, be in the temporal interest of the US? Gaynor does not tell us. What Armenian interest would be served and replaced by US influence that would not radically upset the tenable regional balance? Again, Gaynor is silent.
It is not clear what the Truman National Security Project is engaged in, but basing political projection on erroneous history and proposing national interest void of content does not fit the Project’s mission, “to provide the skills, knowledge, and network to create an influential force of leaders across the country who advance strong progressive national security policy through advocacy initiatives, media appearances, and public service in elected and appointed office.”
First, there was no war between Armenians and Turks in 1915 to have resulted in the genocide of a million and half Armenians, as Gaynor claims, and further, he uses a NY Times quote as evidence of Turkey being “the historic nemesis of the Armenians”. Gaynor could have simply taken a second to research the topic, but clearly didn’t. The International Association of Genocide Scholars states:
“ In three previous statements of the International Association of Genocide Scholars—first, a unanimous resolution declaring that the Turkish massacres of Armenians in 1915-1918 constituted genocide; second, an Open Letter to Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan calling upon him to acknowledge the Armenian Genocide; and third, an Open Letter concerning scholars who deny the Armenian Genocide—we have made our position clear: the historical record on the Armenian Genocide is unambiguous and documented by overwhelming evidence. It is proven by foreign office records of the United States, France, Great Britain, Russia, and perhaps most importantly, of Turkey’s World War I allies, Germany and Austria-Hungary, as well as by the records of the Ottoman Courts-Martial of 1918-1920, and by decades of scholarship.”
On this single issue alone Gaynor’s post should be dismissed. However, he further claims that Armenia’s geopolitical position provides a unique platform with which the US can advance its foreign policy goals. Gaynor fails to provide any evidence of how Armenia could advance US policy interests. Armenia has been in the same geographic area since declaring independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. In two decades what has the US done to persuade Armenia that much of its strategic interests coincide or at least parallel those of the US? Apparently little or the US was simply not persuasive enough. Perhaps, Armenia does not provide any Hidden Lever for the US at all. Gaynor never states what Armenian interests the US could promote?
Unfortunately, Armenia is viewed as little more than a nuisance to US foreign policy interests, even if has positioned itself at a functional median political position between Iran, Russia, and NATO. Is the US going to provide the political clout necessary to extract genocide reparations from the Republic of Turkey including the return of land (with significant borders changes) and monetary reparations? Is Armenia going to unilaterally declare itself mortal enemies of Iran, Russia or both, which might in passing, be in the temporal interest of the US? Gaynor does not tell us. What Armenian interest would be served and replaced by US influence that would not radically upset the tenable regional balance? Again, Gaynor is silent.
It is not clear what the Truman National Security Project is engaged in, but basing political projection on erroneous history and proposing national interest void of content does not fit the Project’s mission, “to provide the skills, knowledge, and network to create an influential force of leaders across the country who advance strong progressive national security policy through advocacy initiatives, media appearances, and public service in elected and appointed office.”
Monday, June 11, 2012
The rise of genocide memorials By Clare Spencer BBC News
This anti-Armenian article can be viewed here. The BBC did not mention any monuments dedicated to the Turkish genocide of the Armenians -- not a single mention! This could not possibly be an oversight based on ignorance considering even Wikipedia's entry on Genocide, states, in paragraphs two and three:
The preamble to the CPPCG [United Nations Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide] states that instances of genocide have taken place throughout history,[3] but it was not until Raphael Lemkin coined the term and the prosecution of perpetrators of the Holocaust at the Nuremberg trials that the United Nations agreed to the CPPCG which defined the crime of genocide under international law. During a video interview with Raphael Lemkin, the interviewer asked him about how he came to be interested in this genocide. He replied; "I became interested in genocide because it happened so many times. First to the Armenians, then after the Armenians, Hitler took action."[4][5]The BBC also didn't allow any comments in response to their article. The BBC and the British Foreign Office would rather selectively delete facts than to upset the Republic of Turkey, who denies such a genocide ever occurred. BBC's blatant disregard for clearly established facts places its editorial policy in the genocide denial camp. There are over 135 monuments dedicated to the Turkish genocide of the Armenians in over 30 countries.
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Comment on RFE/RL Armenian Service: Azeri Drone Reported Shot Down Over Karabakh
In article, http://www.azatutyun.am/content/article/24328198.html, a response to a comment was sent in twice and apparently did not pass RFE/RL moderators. Below is the comment in question and my response.
US , : US
14.09.2011 20:19
The UAV appears to have been down due to a malfunction. Had it been "downed" by Armenia's army, it would have fallen into smaller pieces. Here we can see it in very large chunks. Also, REGNUM reported that the price tag of this UAV is "up to $18 million" - glad to see journalism standards here higher than at REgnum, because this UAV costs under $2 million. And Azerbaijan has 100 more of them.
My response (submitted 9/25/11 and 9/27/11):
One cannot conclude that this UAV could not have been downed by "Armenia's army" simply because it is in large pieces. A single bullet could have damaged the UAV and it could subsequently have exhibited characteristics of an on-board malfunction. There was no mention of it being hit by a rocket or other such ordnance which could have dismembered the UAV in flight. In any case, this is a political embarrassment for Azerbaijan.
Also, it is very unclear how much a single UAV costs because they are part of a much larger system. Without ground stations and supporting infrastructure, UAVs are useless, and I doubt any of us have seen the receipt given to Baku.
US , : US
14.09.2011 20:19
The UAV appears to have been down due to a malfunction. Had it been "downed" by Armenia's army, it would have fallen into smaller pieces. Here we can see it in very large chunks. Also, REGNUM reported that the price tag of this UAV is "up to $18 million" - glad to see journalism standards here higher than at REgnum, because this UAV costs under $2 million. And Azerbaijan has 100 more of them.
My response (submitted 9/25/11 and 9/27/11):
One cannot conclude that this UAV could not have been downed by "Armenia's army" simply because it is in large pieces. A single bullet could have damaged the UAV and it could subsequently have exhibited characteristics of an on-board malfunction. There was no mention of it being hit by a rocket or other such ordnance which could have dismembered the UAV in flight. In any case, this is a political embarrassment for Azerbaijan.
Also, it is very unclear how much a single UAV costs because they are part of a much larger system. Without ground stations and supporting infrastructure, UAVs are useless, and I doubt any of us have seen the receipt given to Baku.
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