How could the war-mongering president of Azerbaijan be permitted to chair the UN Security Council, the august body that is supposed to promote peace and security in the world? Unfortunately, such an outrage is possible simply because it is Azerbaijan’s turn to take over the rotating chairmanship of the Security Council in the month of May.
Given Ilham Aliyev’s persistent anti-Armenian rhetoric, no one should be surprised when he transforms the UN podium into a battlefield. Fortunately, his military has neither the training nor the motivation to use its highly sophisticated weapons, including those purchased recently from Israel for $1.6 billion. Given Azerbaijan’s inability to unleash an actual war against Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabagh), and fearing that such a confrontation may end with the loss of more territory and devastate his country’s petroleum industry and oil pipelines, Aliyev is trying to distract his destitute people’s attention by issuing threats and launching a war of words against Armenians.
The problem is that Azeris at home won’t be the only ones listening to Aliyev’s hostile statements. The countries bordering Azerbaijan—Iran, Turkey, and Russia—will be taking special note of his saber-rattling at the UN. These neighboring states are alarmed by Azerbaijan acting as a surrogate for Israel in their backyard. Should Israel attack Iran by using Azerbaijan’s air bases, Iran may retaliate by annexing Azerbaijan, since there are many more Azeris in northern Iran than in all of Azerbaijan.
Aliyev’s UN diatribe will probably include some of the same hostile words that he has used recently in Baku. He called Armenians “fascists” and described them as Azerbaijan’s chief adversary. He then blamed “the Armenian lobby” for being his “number one enemy.” Using language borrowed from anti-Semites, and substituting “Armenians” for “Jews,” Aliyev made the following racist accusation: “The scope of their influence is quite broad. They [Armenians] are represented in the leading print media outlets of various countries. Sometimes they go under different names and hide their ethnic origin.” Aliyev’s ongoing hateful speeches provide the best evidence as to why Artsakh-Armenians can never again live under his despotic regime.
The Azeri president also objected to Armenians calling Azerbaijan “backward and undemocratic,” which accurately describes his country’s dismal human rights record. Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, the European Parliament, the State Department, and the Western media have repeatedly criticized Azerbaijan for violating the rights of countless journalists, bloggers, dissidents, opposition members, and common citizens.
Eduard Sharmazanov, the deputy speaker of Armenia’s Parliament, gave a fitting response to Aliyev last week, when he bragged that “the day will come when the Azerbaijani flag will fly in Khankendi [Stepanakert] and Shusha [Shushi].” Sharmazanov quipped that the Azeri flag can fly in Azerbaijan’s embassy in Artsakh only after Baku recognizes the independence of the Republic of Artsakh and establishes diplomatic relations with it.
To counter Aliyev’s war of words, Armenian Americans, along with human rights activists and Azeri dissidents, will certainly raise their voices in protest in front of the UN headquarters in early May, as Azerbaijan’s president begins spewing his usual anti-Armenian venom.
Unfortunately, Aliyev has no plans to come to the West Coast, where the large Armenian community would surely welcome him with massive protests against his Armenophobic speeches and activities. However, the California Armenian community could take advantage of Aliyev’s U.S visit by urging the state legislature to adopt Assembly Concurrent Resolution 96, which commemorates the massacres of Armenians in the Azeri cities of Sumgait, Kirovabad, and Baku.
Violating U.S. laws and established diplomatic protocol, the consulate general of Azerbaijan in Los Angeles sent a lengthy letter to all members of the California State Assembly urging them not to support this resolution. The letter, signed by Ramil Gurbanov, the acting consul general of Azerbaijan, is clearly drafted by one of its lobbying firms. This piece of propaganda contains many ridiculous statements, but that is not the concern of the “hired guns,” which will do anything to keep their Azeri paymasters happy, as long as they are compensated handsomely for their dirty work.
West Coast Armenian Americans should contact their state legislators, in particular the co-authors of Resolution 96—Assemblymen Felipe Fuentes, Katcho Achadjian, and Mike Gatto—and urge them to bring this bill to a vote while Aliyev is still on U.S. soil. Meanwhile, East Coast Armenian Americans should turn out in large numbers in front of the UN headquarters in early May to protest Aliyev’s racist remarks as “chairman” of the UN Security Council.
Furthermore, the Armenian community should complain to federal and state authorities about the Azerbaijani Consulate’s illegal interference in internal U.S. affairs and demand expulsion of Ramil Gurbanov from the United States as “persona non grata.”
Harut Sassounian
Same scenario happened to dictator Gaddafi, when he gave a “rightful speech” at UN, he was killed a year later in a sewage pipe like a rat!!! The history is our witness, that world most recent dictators either have been killed, or end up, for life in prison!!
It seems like Sultan Aliev is ready to take the blame for starting the 3rd world war.
Unlike Caddafi he will be crusified by his own cabinet members.
we need lobby power- lobby power- lobby power. only those with strong connections in the right places win. that’s been proven time and time again.
if president obama keeps his word, then we will be a step ahead.
but then, president reagan used the word genocide, where did it get us.
we need luck but more importantly, we need connections, lots of connections in the right places. i hope we will overcome. there are too many vipers out there. the fact that we survived thousands of years doesn’t cut it any more. this is the moment of truth for us.
I happened to stumble*come across this OLD column by Sassounian*April,2012,wherein I read Gerard’s above post dated today Nov.25,2012.
I beg to differ totally.If we had even 10 Armenian Origin Americans as Congressmen a few senators, better yet more Pallone and Schiff *instead of two twelve of them there we could not achieve accomplish anything.
TODAY’S DIPLOMACY THAT DERIVES FROM POLITICS, IS BASED ON……
P O L I T I C A L E C O N O MY.Latter two go hand in hand these days…
without the MATERIAL* read economy objective diplomacy in extension politics do not count much.I’ d say zero .
I agree and few realize this,the utterance of wrod Genocide by this that power is not effective at all.Turks have a very thick face-like the Armenia saying goes…they would not care less what Sarkozy,Obama or lavrov etc., say. Armenians have to seek other closer aprtners adn I mean litterally close like IRAN and Geporgia or both.Be intermediary in between of these two to pass railway through gas and oil pipelines to supply Georgia and export Iranian goods to Europe via Black sea*not Dardanelees.Turkey is not a reliable neighbour…at all..
rgds
ADDENDUM to above,
Georgia plays the role quite sucessfully.Now leaning towadrs RF now west.
WE hsould copy it from them.Not just that, play alongside them,as this, e.g.
Now that Russia threatends to cut off oil and gas to Georgia,Armenia should move fast and ask Iran to come closer and acting as intermediary between them and Georgia make preparations for Oil and gas to be supplied Via Armenia to Georgia and also to Armenia indeed,I repeated that from above. But my intention is to prove that THIS CAN BE DONE. No need to panic that uncle Sam or Russia will be furious.After all business is business!!!!!!!
Georgia does have agood army and togetherwith Armenia´s and Iran´s will be a formidable force to OFFSET THE MYTH THAT THE TURKISH ONE IS THE BIGGEST AND STRONGEST IN THAT AREA. nOT TO MENTION-HEAVEN FORBID-IF WAR BREAKS OUT gREECE, sYRIA, bULGARIA MAY ALSO BUT IN..FOR THEY ALSO HAVE SOME ACCOUNTS TO SETTLE with great Turkey.These are not speculations but real facts.
Best of all now is the time of dealing and wheeling as the saying goes…
dear people- there is a soft cover book called, “FIVE YEARS OF KEGHART.COM 2007-2012” written by dikran abrahamian and jirair j. tutunjian.
anyone that does not have a copy or anyone that has not read it should put their hands on it. 396 pages of unbelievable facts and figures.
more info if you e-mail dikran@keghart.com
this book serves as reference and is an unbelievable “matter of fact” read.
i incourage everyone to arm themselves with this publication. i’m reading it now
and am learning so much about our country and it’s history and all the endless problems that confronts it everyday.
bravo dikran and jirair
When it comes to history book reading,we have plenty more,either by armenians or non -Armenians.
I think best is to begin with prof. Richard G.Hpovannissian´s 4 volume ¨Republic of Armenia¨ his other books are Armenia on the road to Independenc eand a few others.
Thjen pick upAkabi Nassibian´s ¨¨Great Britian and the Armenian Question¨. follow it up with prof. Vahagn Dadrian´s ,Ottoman turkish Military Tribunals, then in Fench Arthur Beylerian´s ¨´Les grandes ^Puissence,L´Empire Óttoman et La Question Armenienne¨.Plus Own ore two odar´s . Like ¨The armenians¨by JOHN M DOUGLASS. WE can also read many more of our writers in Armenian.I shall later if I get time go through my library and name a half dozen more..
The issue is these days what is actually happening on the armenian political scene,both within the Homeland and outside of it.
What the OSCE like establishments are trying to accomplish and in whose favour/benefit.Always trampling upon our rights…LIKE…
They are advising The Artsakh authorities not to start operating the Newly opned ariport at Stepanakert…
They did nothing when the Axe murderer was released by the Hungarian Gov.t when it had condemned the man for 30 yrs in jail.
Then again they did nothing when our Khatchkars in Nkhijevan were being destroyed.
We must muster up clout within our however weak structures(not well organized) and make our voices heard VERY LOUDLY IN PRESS, T.V. of foreign countries ,outside of RA.That is where we are weak and the Turco Azeris are making the best of it by buying space in said Mass Media.
We are content by disseminating in our own media and that just a few..
Wehreas the battle is being waged as above mentioned…