By Harut SassounianPublisher, The California Courierwww.TheCaliforniaCourier.comFor many years, the Armenian-American community has been dissatisfied with United States policy on Artsakh (Nagorno Karabagh).Under the guise of neutrality, OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair James Warlick and his predecessors have put the blame on both sides of the conflict each time that Azerbaijan has opened fire on Armenia and Artsakh. Such an unfair approach has encouraged Pres. Aliyev to escalate his attacks.

By Harut SassounianPublisher, The California Courierwww.TheCaliforniaCourier.comGiven the joyful spirit of the holiday season, I wanted to dedicate my article to a cheerful subject. However, when I saw the text of the bizarre Resolution submitted to Azerbaijan’s Parliament on Christmas Eve, I knew that I could not pick a more disgustingly amusing topic.The proposed Azeri bill is in response to the U.S. House Resolution 4264 (Azerbaijan Democracy Act of 2015) introduced by Helsinki Commission Chair ...

By Harut SassounianPublisher, The California Courierwww.TheCaliforniaCourier.comEven the most uninformed person on earth is aware by now that Turkey is a major accomplice of ISIS. There have been countless news reports in the global media documenting Turkish complicity. Amazingly, there is one American diplomat who seems to be clueless about Turkey’s destructive role in the region, not only in Syria and Iraq, but also in Artsakh (Nagorno Karabagh)!How could the U.S. Ambassador to the Organization ...

By Harut SassounianPublisher, The California Courierwww.TheCaliforniaCourier.comFor over two decades, the international community, led by OSCE Minsk Group mediators representing the United States, France and Russia, has been trying to negotiate a peaceful resolution to the Artsakh (Karabagh) conflict.The main obstacle is Azerbaijan’s persistence in shooting while negotiating, and intensifying its attacks on the eve of every crucial meeting for settlement of the conflict. Such unconstructive ...

By Harut SassounianPublisher, The California Courierwww.TheCaliforniaCourier.comLast month, I reported in this column the results of the Zogby Analytics survey, which found that 35% of the American public was aware of the Armenian Genocide. I thought this was a low figure, having expected that a larger percentage of Americans would be cognizant of the Armenian Genocide.Several readers correctly pointed out that the 35% figure is not low at all since:1) One third of the US population of over 300 million ...

By Harut SassounianPublisher, The California Courierwww.TheCaliforniaCourier.comLeaders around the world have been pandering to Recep Tayyip Erdogan for years, trying to win him over to their side. They flattered the Turkish President so much that the lavish compliments went to his head. As the self-appointed Grand Sultan of the neo-Ottoman Empire, Erdogan started meddling in the internal affairs of neighboring countries, and jailing scores of his own citizens who dared to point out that the Sultan ...

By Harut SassounianPublisher, The California Courierwww.TheCaliforniaCourier.comA team of Columbia University researchers from the United States, Europe, and Turkey confirmed last week that the Turkish government has provided to ISIS: military cooperation, weapons, logistical support, financial assistance, and medical services. This detailed investigation was headed by David L. Phillips, Director of the Program on Peace-building and Rights at Columbia University’s Institute for the Study of Human ...

By Harut SassounianPublisher, The California Courierwww.TheCaliforniaCourier.comLast week I spoke at the first conference on the Armenian Genocide in Israel, gave a lecture at the Armenian Patriarchate in Jerusalem, and attended a meeting with Israel’s President Reuven Rivlin.Pres. Rivlin was a staunch supporter of Armenian Genocide recognition while he was Chairman of the Knesset (parliament). As President, he is now more circumspect, not wishing to contradict his government’s reprehensible silence ...

By Harut Sassounian,Publisher, The California Courierwww.TheCaliforniaCourier.comAs relations between Israel and Turkey have become increasingly strained in recent years, shifting from strategic alliance to outright hostility, many analysts began to wonder about the Israeli government's uncharacteristically muted reaction to Turkish Pres. Erdogan's anti-Semitic diatribes and anti-Israeli actions.Under these circumstances, Armenians and their supporters are puzzled by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's ...

By Harut SassounianPublisher, The Calfornia Courierwww.TheCaliforniaCourier.comThe Armenian Genocide Centennial State Committee unanimously adopted a resolution on September 26 in Yerevan to form a Pan-Armenian Council. Also present were representatives of Armenian Genocide Centennial Committees (AGCC) from 40 countries, with the exception of the AGCC’s of the Eastern and Western United States.An Organizing Committee was formed composed of 12 individuals: Gagik Harutyunyan, President of the Constitutional ...