1- Erdogan Expands Political Reach
To France and Throughout Europe
By Harut Sassounian
Publisher, The California Courier
www.TheCaliforniaCourier.com
2- Dr. Oz Wins Republican PA Senate Primary, ANCA Calls for
Investigation
3- California’s Contemporary Artists from Joan and Jack Quinn
Family Collection Makes Debut in Boston
4- Schiff Honors Ramella Markarian as Woman of the Year
5- Armenia Continues Fight Against COVID-19
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1- Erdogan Expands Political Reach
To France and Throughout Europe
By Harut Sassounian
Publisher, The California Courier
www.TheCaliforniaCourier.com
I wrote last week about Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s plans
to collect votes from Turkish Americans for his reelection next year
by opening an office in Washington for his ruling party (AKP) and
hiring his cousin, Dr. Halil Mutlu, as a registered lobbyist. Already,
Erdogan has scored an initial political success in the United States
with the victory of Turkish-American Dr. Mehmet Oz’s in the
Pennsylvania Republican primary for the U.S. Senate.
This week, I would like to report Pres. Erdogan’s similar political
efforts in France by planting Turkish moles in the French legislature.
This has been the long-term objective of Erdogan ever since 2010, when
he urged his compatriots in France, during his visit to Paris, to run
for political office.
Naturally, no one can object to Turks in France and the United States
to run for political office. However, when such political action is
prompted and supported by a foreign government, in this case Turkey,
and its autocratic leader, serious concerns are raised that these
Turkish politicians can become a tool in the hands of Erdogan to
export his despotic policies beyond Turkish borders and propagate
anti-Armenian positions.
Heeding Erdogan’s marching orders, Ali Gedikoglu, founder of the
Strasbourg-based Equality and Justice Party, “presented 50 candidates
in the 2017 [French] legislative elections,” Intelligence Online
reported. “Gedikoglu is also known to be a long-time close associate
of the Turkish foreign affairs minister and founding AKP member,
Mevlüt Çavusoglu.”
For the upcoming June 12 and 19, 2022 French Parliamentary elections,
the Turkish news website Medyaturk, in collaboration with the French
version of Turkish government-owned Anadolu Agency, has been promoting
three Turkish candidates: “French-Turkish dual citizens Celil Yilmaz
(for 5th constituency of Ain); Yalcin Ayvali (14th constituency of
Rhône); and Ramazan Calli (5th constituency of Saône-et-Loire),” a
candidate of the Union of French Muslim Democrats. All three are
“involved in the Strasbourg-based association Cojep (Conseil pour la
justice, l’égalité et la paix), whose name translates as council for
justice, equality and peace,” according to Intelligence Online.
Created in 1985, Cojep has an annual budget of 300,000 euros. It
“advocates for the interests of the Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ‘Turkish
Justice and Development Party’ or AKP, to which its leadership is
close.”
Candidate Celil Yilmaz is President of the Cojep association and
former town councilor for Nantua (east of France). Cojep’s director
Gedikoglu is an active denialist of the Armenian Genocide in the
European Parliament where he is registered as a lobbyist with the
Parliament’s Transparency Registry. He is also described as “the
driving force behind the AKP’s media presence and charity work in
France,” according to Intelligence Online.
Given the widespread recognition of the Armenian Genocide throughout
Europe, Turks who deny the Genocide become the laughing stock of
Europeans, just as in the United States, after both chambers of
congress and Pres. Biden recognized the Genocide. Turkish denials of
the Armenian Genocide are the equivalent of trying to prove that “the
earth is flat.”
Candidate Yilmaz was “indicted in 2018 by the Paris prosecutor’s
office for ‘incitement to hatred,’” according to Intelligence Online.
“Yilmaz demonstrated his capacity to rally people to his side when, in
just a few minutes via social media, he managed to gather a hundred
Turks to counter a pro-Kurdish demonstration in front of the Turkish
consulate in Lyon in January 2018.”
Intelligence Online revealed that “Yilmaz also arranged for Cojep
staff to meet with an official delegation from the Democratic Republic
of Congo [DRC] that had travelled to talk with senior AKP members at
its headquarters in Turkey in August 2021. The DRC party included
President Félix Tshisekedi’s brother Roger Tshisekedi. Yilmaz also
relies on Cojep’s Vice President for international relations, Sati
Arik, who is a substitute on the board of AKP’s women’s branch ‘AKP
Kadin Kollari.’ Arik, who hails from Strasbourg, is close to the
Turkish-German AKP Member of Parliament Zafer Sirakaya. According to
her biography on the party’s website, she writes reports on “Muslims
in France” for Sirakaya. The other two candidates, Ayvali and Calli,
only show their association with Cojep via social media, though Calli
is its local contact person for Montceau-les-Mines, eastern France.”
In addition to the United States and France, Erdogan has set up a
chain of lobbying groups throughout Europe. They consist of “Union of
European Turkish Democrats (Union des démocrates turcs européens)
created by the AKP in Brussels [Belgium] in 2003 to back Turkey’s
candidature to join the European Union. This entity has since become
the parent company of several micro-parties close to the AKP, such as
“Be.one” in Belgium, the Multicultural Law Party (Multicultural Recht
Partij) in the Netherlands and the Alliance for Innovation and Justice
(Bündnis für Innovation und Gerechtigkeit) in Germany,” according to
Intelligence Online.
This extensive Turkish lobbying effort should be confronted by
everyone, not just Armenians. Even though Turkey is a bankrupt
country, Pres. Erdogan, has chosen to use his country’s limited
financial resources to arm its military and disseminate Turkish
propaganda around the world.
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2- Dr. Oz Wins Republican PA Senate Primary, ANCA Calls for
Investigation
Dr. Mehmet Oz is now the presumptive GOP candidate for the open U.S.
Senate seat in Pennsylvania, per Politico. Former hedge fund CEO David
McCormick bowed out of the Republican primary which, while votes were
cast weeks ago, has been held in limbo by Oz’s razor-thin lead of
about 1,000 votes.
The Donald Trump-backed Oz declared himself the winner about 10 days
ago but, with the thin margin and votes still being counted, McCormick
understandably believed he could win.
Oz will face-off against Democratic nominee John Fetterman in November.
The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) called on May 10 for
a U.S. Department of Justice investigation into Pennsylvania Senate
candidate Dr. Mehmet Oz, amid growing alarm over Oz’s links to
Turkey’s dictator Recep Erdogan, his dual Turkey–U.S. citizenship, and
open association with Armenian Genocide deniers.
In a May 3 letter to the Department of Justice, ANCA Executive
Director Aram Hamparian expressed concern that Oz may be in violation
of the Foreign Agent Registration Act (FARA) of 1938 for his
endorsement agreement with Istanbul-based Turkish Airlines, through
which Oz provides “consulting services, certain media, and in-flight
film appearances.”
“Turkish Airlines is 49.13% owned by the Turkish Government. FARA
filings show that Turkish Airlines has been a foreign principal since
at least 1975 and as recently as 2015,” asserted Hamparian.
Former U.S. Justice Department FARA unit official David Laufman told
The New York Post that an investigation into the matter is warranted.
“I think it would be appropriate for [the Justice Department] to
undertake logical, analytical, and investigative steps to determine
whether Dr. Oz acted as a public relations counsel or publicity agent
in the United States on behalf of Turkish Airlines,” Laufman
explained. “If he did, he likely would have an obligation to register
unless he qualified for an exemption.”
Hamparian outlined the full range of broader national security and
Armenian American community concerns in an op/ed in The Washington
Times. “For Americans of Armenian heritage—having spent the better
part of the past century working, successfully, to end U.S. cover-ups
of Turkey’s genocidal crimes—it would represent a betrayal of the
worst kind, a shameful rollback of America’s commitment to human
rights, to send to the U.S. Senate an ally of Erdogan, the world’s
foremost Armenian Genocide denier,” explained Hamparian.
He cited American Enterprise Institute’s Michael Rubin, who has argued
that “Oz’s dual citizenship—and his reluctance to renounce Turkish
citizenship—will keep the FBI and security managers up at night,”
adding that it’s “fair game to question Oz’s judgment embracing the
most reactionary elements in Turkish society.”
In an interview with Breitbart News, Hamparian argued “that Mehmet
Oz’s ties to Turkey put him “at odds” with putting the interests of
Pennsylvanians and Americans first.”.
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3- California’s Contemporary Artists from Joan and Jack Quinn
Family Collection Makes Debut in Boston
WATERTOWN, Mass.—The Armenian Museum of America will present its
largest contemporary exhibition, On the Edge: Los Angeles Art 1970s –
1990s from the Joan and Jack Quinn Family Collection. Included are
Lita Albuquerque, John Altoon, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Lynda Benglis,
Vija Celmins, Gregory Wiley Edwards, Claire Falkenstein, Frank Gehry,
David Hockney, John M. Miller, Helmut Newton, Ed Ruscha, Andy Warhol,
and more.
Part of what makes the collection so unique is its foundation in
friendship between artist and collector. “Few individuals have left
such an indelible mark on the artistic landscape of Southern
California more than the Quinns,” said Rachel Wainwright who curated
the premiere of On the Edge at the Bakersfield Museum of Art.
Newly married in the 1960s, Joan and Jack took to collecting early.
“We reveled in our friendship with the artists as we brought our
communities together,” noted Quinn. Jack used his skills as a
prominent and influential attorney to help an array of emerging
artists and their dealers navigate the worlds of law and business,
while Joan found herself both muse and promoter.
The companion exhibit, Discovering Takouhi: Portraits of Joan
Agajanian Quinn, curated by Natalie Varbedian and Gina Grigorian
includes Armenian artists such as Dahlia Elsayed, Jean Kazandjian,
Silvina Der-Meguerditchian, Ara Oshagan, Zaven Sarkissian, and Aram
Saroyan. The distinctive works are a selection from Quinn’s
unprecedented collection of portraits consisting of over 300 gifts by
friends who have painted, sculpted and photographed her image in their
style.
“We are incredibly excited to exhibit these prominent works owned by
American-Armenian collector Joan Agajanian Quinn,” said AMA Executive
Director Jason Sohigian. “We are a living museum that preserves and
shares ancient and medieval artifacts and has a long tradition of also
highlighting modern art in our galleries.”
Joan is the co-host of Beverly Hills View and has been the producer
and host of the Joan Quinn Profiles for over 35 years. The Los Angeles
native was West Coast Editor of Andy Warhol’s Interview, Society
Editor of Hearst’s Los Angeles Herald Examiner, and the founding West
Coast Editor of Condé Nast Traveler. She has been appointed to an
array of city and state commissions, and in 2017 Joan received the
Ellis Island Medal of Honor.
The exhibition opens on Thursday, June 16 with a reception for Museum
members at 5 pm and a preview for non-members at 7 pm. It runs from
June 16 to November 30 and is sponsored by the JHM Charitable
Foundation.
The Armenian Museum of America’s galleries are open Thursday through
Sunday from 12:00 pm to 6:00 pm, and it is located at 65 Main Street,
Watertown, MA.
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4- Schiff Honors Ramella Markarian as Woman of the Year
BURBANK—Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Burbank) presented fourteen women in
California’s 28th congressional district with the annual Woman of the
Year Award, recognizing their myriad contributions to education,
health, housing, homelessness, and arts initiatives in their
communities.
“I am proud my district is home to so many incredible women—brilliant
and hardworking individuals, many of them leaders in their fields, who
go above and beyond to share their wisdom and passions with their
neighbors, and to enrich our communities day in and day out,” said
Schiff. “Each of these women has made a profound impact on the people
and places they love. We all benefit from their dedication and
expertise, and we can only hope to emulate their spirit of service in
our daily lives.”
Schiff celebrated the honorees at a luncheon in Atwater Village, where
he thanked them for their exemplary volunteerism and service to
communities in his district. See photos from the luncheon here.
Among the 2022 honorees is Prof. Ramella Markarian of Glendale, a
skilled healthcare professional who has served as Vice President of
Business Development at Adventist Health Glendale since 2012.
In addition to leading Adventist Health Glendale’s strategic growth
and development and overseeing various clinical and non-clinical
departments, since 2015 she has helped organize annual medical
missions to Armenia, bringing dozens of physicians, clinicians, and
surgeons together to provide surgeries and medical consults to many
Armenians living in Armenia and Artsakh. She is also the founder of
Glendale Healthy Woman, a program that provides free mammograms to
uninsured and underinsured women in the community, as well as one of
the founders of the annual Glendale Health Festival, which has been
serving the healthcare needs of many underinsured and uninsured people
in Glendale and neighboring communities for over a decade. Ramella
also serves as a guest speaker at local high schools, colleges, and
universities, where she avidly shares her expertise and knowledge to
inspire youth.
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5- Armenia Continues Fight Against COVID-19
Armenia continues the fight against COVID-19. The government continues
to promote vaccinations. There were 1,716 active COVID-19 cases in
Armenia as of June 6. Armenia has recorded 423,006 coronavirus cases.
Armenia has recorded 8,629 deaths; this marks the second week where no
new deaths were recorded. 412,661 have recovered.
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