01:00,
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 23, ARMENPRESS Mercury Public Affairs has terminated its registration as a foreign agent of the Republic of Turkey in response to calls by the Armenian community demanding an end to the company’s association with the Turkish regime amidst its support for Azerbaijan’s genocidal war against Artsakh, ARMENPRESS was informed from the Armenian National Committee of America.
“As a result of our community’s persistent activism and the steadfast support of our friends in elected office, I was just informed by Fabian Núñez, who is a partner at Mercury’s Los Angeles office, that Mercury Public Affairs would be terminating its registration as a foreign agent of Turkey,” remarked Chair of the Armenian National Committee of America – Western Region (ANCA-WR) Board of Directors, Nora Hovsepian, Esq. “We welcome Mercury’s decision to stand on the right side of history in ending its association with the Government of Turkey and its genocidal policies, and we hope that this decision will serve as an example for every entity which works for or with the authoritarian regimes of Turkey and Azerbaijan.”
Mercury has a long history of working with not only the Turkish government but its many proxies. Mercury has rendered services to the American-Turkish Council Turkish-American Business Council (TAIK) – headed by close ally of Turkish President Erdogan, Mehmet Yalcindag. Last year, Foreign Agent Registration Act filings show Mercury contacted over 150 Congressional offices on behalf of TAIK to set up meetings for Turkish Economy Minister Berat Albayrak – who also happens to be President Erdogan’s son-in-law.
Mercury’s decision to terminate its registration as a foreign agent of Turkey also follows decisions by the Livingston Group and DLA Piper to end their representation of Azerbaijan amidst growing public outcry over Turkey and Azerbaijan’s genocidal aggression against the Armenians of Artsakh.
The Turkish and Azerbaijani governments have for years sought to enforce a gag-rule over United States human rights policy through their insidious attempts to deny the Armenian genocide, and undermine the fundamental rights of the Armenians of Artsakh. Both states rate amongst the worst in the world in terms of democratic standards, media freedoms, and basic civil and political rights.
“Both Turkey and Azerbaijan have spent millions throughout the years on hiring public affairs firms to clean up their public image – tainted by a deplorable track record on human rights, and a severe disregard for democratic freedoms,” said Hovsepian. “The actions taken by DLA Piper, the Livingston Group and now Mercury Public Affairs are an important step in bringing the Turkish-Azerbaijani influence machine to a grinding halt, and preventing their exertion of malign foreign influence here in the United States.”