The California
Courier Online, April 19, 2018
1 – Commentary
Turkey is the Biggest Loser in the US,
British
& French Missile Strikes on Syria
By Harut
Sassounian
Publisher, The California Courier
www.TheCaliforniaCourier.com
2 – Yerevan: Police,
Protesters Clash as Sargsyan Stays in Power
3 – US
Leads Strike on Syria,
Assad Regime Denies Use of Chemical Weapons
4 – Villaraigosa called Azerbaijan ‘a model nation’ in a speech in Baku
5 – Glendale Centre Theatre To Feature Ani
Marderosian In 'West Side Story'
6
– System
of a Down's Serj Tankian Gets Creative with Kavat Coffee
7- Daybreak
to Premiere Off-Broadway, April 21
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1 – Commentary
Turkey is the Biggest Loser in the US,
British
& French Missile Strikes on Syria
By Harut
Sassounian
Publisher, The California Courier
www.TheCaliforniaCourier.com
While most commentators have focused on the reasons and
consequences of the U.S.,
British, and French missile strikes on targets in Syria,
very few realize that Turkey
is the biggest loser as the result of this attack.
Two weeks ago, when Pres. Trump announced that the United States would “very soon,” withdraw its
soldiers from Northern Syria, the Turkish
government was elated. Turkey’s
invasion of Afrin was intended to expand the occupation to Manbij and the entire
Northern Syria to dislodge Kurdish fighters
from that region. The only obstacle standing in the way of the Turkish troops
was the U.S.
military which has over 2,000 soldiers in the Manbij area. Repeated Turkish
threats to attack the American troops did not scare the U.S. Commanders
who stood steadfast in their defense of the local Kurdish population.
Within two weeks, Pres. Trump reversed his position on the
immediate withdrawal of U.S.
troops from Syria.
The latest reports from Washington and Paris state that the Pentagon and French Pres. Emmanuel
Macron “convinced” Pres. Trump to keep the U.S.
military in Syria
until the Syrian crisis is resolved or other Western and Arab countries
replaced the American forces. Turkey’s
leaders were also disappointed that due to his dismissal former Secretary of
State Rex Tillerson could not keep his promise to Pres. Erdogan that the U.S. forces would withdraw shortly from Northern Syria.
With the American troops staying in Syria, the Turkish ability to attack Kurdish fighters
in Northern Syria would be limited. Despite
his crazy antics, Pres. Erdogan is not going to target the U.S. military
or as he described, “deliver the Americans an Ottoman slap!” Thus, the
unsubstantiated accusations of a chemical attack by the Syrian government on
civilians in Douma near Damascus was most probably orchestrated by those who
wanted to prevent American forces from leaving Northern Syria, to the great
chagrin of Turkey! Interestingly, in his remarks shortly before the missile
strike, Pres. Trump did not mention a single word as to what evidence he had
about the responsibility of the Syrian regime for the chemical attack.
Incidentally, the missile strike on Syria generated conflicting reactions in Turkey. While
President Erdogan was unhappy with the stay of the U.S.
troops in Syria, he was
delighted with the attacks by the United States,
Great Britain and France, since Turkey wanted to undermine the
Syrian regime and overthrow Pres. Bashar al-Assad. The missile strike, however,
did not have such an objective, as Pres. Trump tweeted after the attack,
“Mission Accomplished!” Everyone, except Erdogan, agrees that Pres. Assad had
the upper hand in the Syrian conflict and his overthrow would worsen the
situation in Syria
and the region!
The other negative consequence of the Turkish praise of the
missile attack on Syria was
the souring of relations between Turkey,
and Russia and Iran, staunch
supporters of Pres. Assad and harsh critics of the strike. In addition, Pres.
Erdogan alienated his domestic political opposition and a large segment of the
Turkish public upset by the Western powers’ attack on a fellow Muslim country.
Turkey
was also unhappy that Pres. Trump, in his remarks just before the missile
strike, mentioned “Saudi Arabia,
the United Emirates, Qatar,
and Egypt” as “our friends,”
disregarding NATO ally Turkey
due to its rapprochement with Russia
and Iran.
Curiously, in his speech Pres. Trump criticized Russia and Iran stating: “what kind of a
nation wants to be associated with a mass murder of innocent men, women and
children? The nations of the world can be judged by the friends they keep. No
nation can succeed in the long run by promoting rogue states, brutal tyrants
and murderous dictators.” It is unfortunate that on the eve of April 24, the
anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, Pres. Trump would attack other countries
for keeping company with a murderous nation, ignoring the fact that the United
States is an ally of Turkey, a country that denies the murder of 1.5 million
Armenians, and defends its predecessor criminal Ottoman regime that committed
the Armenian Genocide. This reminds us of what Jesus said: “You hypocrite!
First remove the plank out of your own eye, and then you can see clearly to
remove the speck out of your brother’s eye.”
As I wrote a year ago when Pres. Trump attacked Syria with Tomahawk missiles, he was simply
hitting Syria to deviate the
attention of the American public from his many infidelities, illegalities, and
investigations of his covert relations with Russia.
Finally, Pres. Trump, UK Prime Minster Theresa May, and
French Pres. Macron violated the constitutions of their respective countries,
by going to war against another sovereign state without getting the consent of
their legislative bodies.
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2- Yerevan: Police,
Protesters Clash as Sargsyan Stays in Power
At the time The California Courier went to print on April
16, it was highly anticipated that Serzh Sargsyan would be selected on April 17
as Prime Minister by Armenia’s
National Assembly under the new constitution. Our coverage of this story will
continue next week.
YEREVAN
(Combined Sources)—On Monday, April 16, about 10,000 people started marching
toward parliament in the early afternoon and were blocked by police using tear
gas and flash blasts, also known as “concussion grenades” to deter protesters.
Several thousand people blocked traffic, camping out on the streets to protest
a change of government that they see as a gambit by the ex-president to stay in
power. Civil Contract party leader Nikol Pashinyan encouraged protestors to
continue civil disobedience actions on Tuesday, April 17—including closing
streets, interrupting metro service, and blocking roads to the Parliament
building—in order to disrupt the Parliamentary session which would install
Serzh Sargsyan as Armenia's next prime minister. Sargsyan, who served as Armenia’s
president from 2008 until earlier this year when he stepped down because of
term limits, is set to be approved as prime minister on Tuesday, April 17. He
will operate under a new political system that sees the president’s powers
weakened and the prime minister taking a dominant role.
Since March 31, Civil Contract party leaders and supporters
have been marching throughout Armenia
in protest of the ruling Republican Party of Armenia’s decision to nominate
former president Serzh Sargsyan to the post of Prime Minister. On April 13, the
marches culminated with a demonstration at Liberty Square, where Pashinyan announced
a sit-in at France Square.
That night, protesters shut down France
Square, one of the busiest intersections in
downtown Yerevan,
and vowed not to disperse until Sargsyan’s nomination was rescinded. On April
13, a group of protesters breached Yerevan
State University,
attempting to break into the Rector’s office. On April 14, dozens of opposition
demonstrators briefly seized the headquarters of Public Radio of Armenia to
protest the former president’s shift into the prime minister’s seat. Led by
Pashinian, the protesters broke into the building and tried to get on the air,
but failed and retreated shortly afterward.
“We are here to free Armenia
from Serzh Sargsyan from power and today we only lack one thing—the authority
of the Armenian citizens,” Pashinyan said during the rally, which kicked off in
Yerevan’s France Square. “The
National Assembly (NA) will try to elect Serzh Sargsyan as a prime minister.
Our task is to gather here with tens of thousands and move to the National Assembly,
to block it so that no Republican MP can get in there—and so that Serzh
Sargsyan will not be able to enter there.”
If the elections fail twice, then the current parliament
will be dismissed and new parliamentary elections will be scheduled. Thus, the
opposition hopes to change the composition of the parliament and to break the
ruling party’s hold on power, and as such Serzh Sargsyan’s accession to prime
minister.
“He must feel besieged in Yerevan,” Pashinian said of Sargsyan, who
completed his second and final presidential term on April 7.
Pashinyan referred to Sargsyan’s statement in which he
affirmed that he would not run for a third term, nor would he attempt to run
for the position of prime minister. Pashinyan and his supporters believe it their
duty to do all they can to prevent Sargsyan from coming to power again after
the country recently transitioned to a parliamentary system of governance.
Pashinian voiced a damning indictment of Sargsyan's
presidency, alleging widespread corruption, economic mismanagement and a
failure to meet security challenges facing Armenia. And he again accused
Sargsyan of breaking his 2014 pledge not to extend his rule if Armenia becomes
a parliamentary republic.
The ex-president’s allies claim that he never explicitly
pledged not to become prime minister. They also say the Republican Party of
Armenia has a popular mandate to pick the next premier because it won the
parliamentary elections held in April 2017.
Sargsyan offered similar arguments last month. He cited the
increased risk of renewed fighting in Artsakh and other security challenges
facing the country.
Pashinyan ended his speech with the words: “Take a step
forward, and Serzh Sargsyan will step back. Our children must live in a free
country.”
Other major opposition groups have so far declined to join
the anti-Sargsyan campaign spearheaded by Pashinian. They include the Bright
Armenia and Hanrapetutyun parties that make up, together with Civil Contract,
the Yelk alliance, the third largest force in the parliament. Bright Armenia
and Hanrapetutyun leaders have been skeptical about the opposition’s ability to
pull large crowds. Pashinian reached out to these and other opposition forces
when he addressed the demonstrators in Liberty Square. He urged them to put aside
their differences and join his movement.
The Supreme Body of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation,
part of the ruling coalition, released a statement on April 14 endorsing the
Republican Party of Armenia’s nomination of Sargsyan for Prime Minister.
“The systematic changes under the new Constitution have
already registered positive expectations and qualitative shifts. Although
numerous serious challenges and problems requiring solutions exist in our
country, certain successes of the past two years inspire hope that the chosen
path is correct,” the statement said in part.
Armen Sarkissian took over as president from Sargsyan on
April 7 under a new system in which the president’s powers will be weaker and
the prime minister will dominate. Sargsyan, whose party holds a majority in
Parliament, is set to be easily approved for the premiership on April 17.
***************************************************************************************************
3 – US Leads Strike on Syria,
Assad Regime Denies Use of Chemical Weapons (Combined Sources)—On Friday, April
13, the United States, France and Britain
carried out retaliatory air strikes on Damascus
in response to the Assad regime’s alleged use of chemical weapons in an
incident on April 7 in the town of Douma.
Pentagon officials said the attacks targeted the heart of Assad’s programs to
develop and produce chemical weapons. The strikes did not cause any casualties
and the facilities targeted only had minor damages.
The Syria
airstrikes drew support from the European Union, Germany,
Israel
and other allies. “We cannot tolerate the trivialization of chemical weapons,
which is an immediate danger for the Syrian people and our collective security.
This is the direction of the diplomatic initiatives put forward by France at the
United Nations Security Council,” said French President Emmanuel Macron.
The attacks stirred up angry responses from Syria’s allies
and ignited a debate over whether the attacks were justified.
Russian President Vladimir Putin called the strikes an “act
of aggression” that had the “destructive influence on the entire system of
international relations and will exacerbate humanitarian catastrophe in Syria.”
“Russia
condemns in the strongest possible terms the attack against Syria, where
Russian military personnel are assisting the legitimate government in its
counterterrorism efforts,” Putin said in a statement.
On April 15, Assad praised Russian weaponry as his
government celebrated victory over the rebels in Douma. Assad made the comments
during a meeting in Damascus
with Russian lawmakers, who later told reporters that he was in a “good mood,”
according to Russian news reports. Footage of the meeting broadcast by state
television showed an animated Assad smiling and laughing as he met with the Russians.
Despite claims by President Trump that the operation was an “enormous success,”
it is being interpreted in Syria
as a win for Assad because the limited scope of the strikes suggested that
Western powers do not intend to challenge his rule. The Syrian president’s high
spirits were matched by displays of jubilation in Damascus, where government supporters took to
the streets on April 14 to demonstrate their backing for Assad and express
scorn for the strikes.
The rebels in the town surrendered on April 8, a day after
the alleged chemical attack, and Russian troops have since been overseeing an
evacuation deal under which rebels and anti-government activists were bused to
rebel-held areas in northern Syria.
By April 15, the Syrian army command declared that it had taken full control of
the Eastern Ghouta region outside Damascus,
which had been under rebel control for six years.
Eastern Ghouta “is now
completely clear of terrorism after all terrorists have been removed,” an army
command statement said. State television showed footage of police deploying in
the town on Sunday, waving victory signs and Syrian flags.
Testimony from victims strongly suggests it was rebel
forces, not the Syrian government, that used chlorine and sarin nerve gas
during the attack that killed more than 85 people in the Eastern Ghouta town of
Douma on April
7. More than 500 people, mostly women and children, were injured and brought to
medical centers.
The attack occurred amid a resumed offensive by Syrian
government forces after the collapse of a truce. Syrian activists, rescuers and
medics said families suffocated in their homes.
Carla del Ponte, a senior U.N. diplomat on the U.N.
Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Syria, told Swiss TV there
were “strong, concrete suspicions but not yet incontrovertible proof,” that
rebels seeking to oust Syrian president Bashar al-Assad had used the nerve
agent. Del Ponte said her panel had not yet seen any evidence of Syrian
government forces using chemical weapons, according to the BBC, but she added
that more investigation was needed.Assad has said that reports of a chemical
weapons attack by his forces were “100% fabricated. In an exclusive interview
with Agence France Presse (AFP), filmed by the Syrian presidency, Assad said that
his country doesn’t have chemical weapons and that it was an excuse for the United States
to attack his country.
Rebel Free Syrian Army spokesman Louay Almokdad denied that
rebels had use chemical weapons.
“In any case, we don’t have the mechanism to launch these
kinds of weapons, which would need missiles that can carry chemical warheads,
and we in the FSA do not possess these kinds of capabilities,” Mr. Almokdad
told CNN. “More importantly, we do not aspire to have (chemical weapons)
because we view our battle with the regime as a battle for the establishment of
a free democratic state. We want to build a free democratic state that
recognizes and abides by all international accords and agreements—and chemical
and biological warfare is something forbidden legally and internationally.”
Assad tweeted on his official account following the strike
that, “Good souls will not be humiliated.” He vowed his country would respond
to the strikes.
A similar chemical attack in Khan Sheikhoun in April 2017
that killed nearly 100 people prompted the United States to launch dozens of
cruise missiles at a Syrian airfield.
The Armenian community of Damascus, like the other residents of the
capital, were not unaffected by the airstrikes. But the response has been
optimistic. “Unilateral actions or aggression are violations of the principles
of the international law that took place outside the UN Security Council, which
at the same time is a gross violation of the principles of a sovereign state.
It’s over 7 years our people were resisting the international terrorism, and
now they resist such aggression,” said Syrian Parliament member Nora Arissian,
who chairs the Armenia-Syria parliamentary friendship committee. “The Syrian
people further strengthen the foundations of sovereignty. Today in the morning
the squares of the city were full of citizens who were celebrating the victory
against the aggression of the United
States and its allies which didn’t achieve
its goal.”
*********************************************************************************************
4 – Villaraigosa called Azerbaijan ‘a model nation’ in a speech in Baku
By Casey Tolan
(The Mercury News)—In the years before running for governor,
former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa traveled the world addressing
audiences from Beijing to Baku
to Bakersfield,
leveraging his political celebrity to rake in hundreds of thousands of dollars
in speaking fees.
Villaraigosa earned just over $318,000 for 24 speeches he
gave since leaving the mayor’s office in July 2013, according to a list
released by his campaign.
But an examination of his speeches underscores the potential
pitfalls when high-profile politicians leap from the speaking circuit back to
the campaign trail. In China,
Villaraigosa was paid more than $50,000 by a company that was later sued by the
Securities and Exchange Commission for defrauding immigrant investors. Comments
he made while traveling to Azerbaijan
could anger California’s
large Armenian community. And he gave one $10,000 speech to a financial firm
after launching his bid for governor—questionable timing in the Golden State,
which bans most paid speeches by declared candidates.
“These engagements are often ways to sweeten the pot” for
past and future elected officials, said Richard Painter, the vice-chairman of
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. “It’s another way to gain
influence.”
Villaraigosa said he gave speeches to share the lessons he
learned from leading Los Angeles.
“I have been focused on how we can unite around bold
solutions,” he said in a statement. “Speaking on those topics, and hearing from
fellow speakers and audience members, was both a chance to teach and a chance
to learn.”
Villaraigosa’s other speeches were less remarkable. He was
paid by universities, nonprofits, and trade groups, for events around the U.S. and in Mexico
and South Korea.
He discussed topics such as environmental policy, the Latino vote and his
experiences running Los Angeles.
Villaraigosa’s campaign said he did not receive a fee for
more than 40 additional speeches identified by the Bay Area News Group that he
gave between 2013 and 2016, including conferences in Baku,
Azerbaijan; Bilbao,
Spain; and Herzliya, Israel.
His travel expenses were paid for some of those trips.
The Azerbaijan
trip could raise eyebrows in California.
While attending the Baku International Humanitarian Forum in October 2014,
Villaraigosa said in a TV interview that the country was a “model nation” and a
“force for peace.”
A report from Human Rights Watch released that year found
that the government arrested political activists and journalists. Azerbaijani
president Ilham Aliyev, who spoke at the same forum as Villaraigosa, previously
declared that “our main enemies are Armenians of the world and the hypocritical
and corrupt politicians that they control.”
Villaraigosa spokesman Luis Vizcaino said this week that his
candidate misspoke and does not believe Azerbaijan is a model nation. As
mayor, Villaraigosa hosted visits by the presidents of Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh, a breakaway region
of Azerbaijan
controlled by ethnic Armenian separatists, and advocated for recognition of the
Armenian genocide. “His record is loud and clear—he is, and has been, a strong
public supporter and advocate for the Armenian community,” Vizcaino said.
Villaraigosa’s campaign said he was not paid a fee for his
appearance in Baku,
but did not answer a question about who paid his travel expenses.
Nora Hovsepian, the regional chair of the Armenian National
Committee of America, said she was disappointed by Villaraigosa’s warm words.
“We’re still waiting for him to make any sort of public renunciation,” she
said.
***************************************************************************************************
5 – Glendale Centre Theatre To Feature Ani
Marderosian In 'West Side Story'
GLENDALE—Actress, singer and director Ani Marderosian has
been cast to play the role of Maria in Glendale Centre Theatre’s production of
“West Side Story”. Ani grew up in a
family of musicians, actors, and performers. Being a native of Los Angeles, the artist’s life was something
that could not be avoided. As a child, she would travel with her grandfather’s
orchestra and watch her mother sing on stages throughout the Western
United States. She always watched and listened. Paying close
attention, she learned about the different areas of the entertainment business.
Ani discovered she had a talent for performing, and began training to sharpen
her music and acting skills. As well, she picked up a knowledge of sound design,
lighting design, and directing. It is her family that inspired her. Ani’s
grandfather is well known musician and actor Guy Chookoorian and her mother is
popular singer and vocal coach Araxie Chookoorian Marderosian. Catching the
acting bug at an early age, Ani quickly learned that it was her responsibility
to educate, inspire, and move the world through her art. Like most artists, her
love of acting grew during her high school years and then she attended California State
University, Fullerton, where she fine-tuned her acting
and directing skills, graduating with a degree in Theatre with an emphasis in
Directing and in Education. She is currently a full-time actor for Kaiser
Permanente Educational Theatre by day and a hard-working artist by night. Following
her run in “West Side Story” Ani will be directing the premier of Daniel
Botello’s play, “The First and the Last” at this year’s Hollywood Fringe
Festival. Find out more about Ani at her website at www.animarderosian.com.
“West Side Story” runs at the Glendale Centre Theatre from
April 13 through May 26. The theatre is located at 324 N. Orange St. in Glendale, California.
For tickets and more information go to www.glendalecentretheatre.com or call
(818) 244-8481.
*****************************************************************************************************
6 – System
of a Down's Serj Tankian Gets Creative with Kavat Coffee
System of a Down frontman, solo artist and score composer
Serj Tankian shot an exclusive three-part “The Art of Work” series with
Revolver magazine in his home in the Malibu
mountains last year.
In episode two, he talks about his love of coffee and how it
has intertwined with his creativity over the years, inspiring the musician to
want to make his own coffee and, specifically, to introduce Armenian coffee to
the rest of the world.
“I love working when I’m drinking coffee,” he says. “I’ll
have a morning coffee to get my head straight. When I’m creating, it keeps me
awake and on my toes,” says Tankian.
He explains that the name Kavat means “cup” in Armenian, and
that this is the first time he has put his name on a product. “I wanted to
believe in the product,” says Tankian, noting that Kavat uses organic, fair
trade beans. He spent four months making different roasts and brewing batches
of coffee to see which tastes best. Then he conducted a blind taste test—with
his mother and her friends. “Blending and coming up with the right bean and
roast, figuring out the taste, designing the packaging—there’s art everywhere,”
says Tankian. He describes how once a person finished drinking their coffee,
they turn the demitasse cup over, allow it to dry out on the saucer, and then
another person will read their fortune in the grounds. “It’s an artistic
extrapolation of whatever’s in the cup—it’s creativity,” says Tankian. *************************************************************************************************
7- Daybreak to
Premiere Off-Broadway, April 21
The off-Broadway premiere of Daybreak, a powerful new play
that highlights the Armenian-American voice, opens April 21 and runs through
May 13 at the Beckett Theatre in New
York. Written by Joyce Van Dyke, a descendant of
Armenian genocide survivors, the play is inspired by the true stories of two
Armenian women friends, survivors from 1915. Set in three time periods, the
play uses memory, dreams, music and dance to carry the story of these women and
their families into the 21st century future, celebrating the endurance of the
human spirit.
Daybreak is supported by grants from AGBU and the National
Endowment for the Arts, and produced by Pan Asian Repertory Theatre. Directed
by Lucie Tiberghien, the cast includes Nicole Ansari, of Iranian descent,
playing Victoria;
Tamara Sevunts as her friend, Varter; and Robert Najarian as Varter’s husband.
The real-life Varter whose story is told in Daybreak was the mother of Dr. H.
Martin Deranian, the well-known author and Armenian activist. According to
playwright Joyce Van Dyke, “Martin gave me a lot of the primary sources that
made writing this play possible. I think of him as the godfather of this play.”
An early version of the script had a workshop production in Boston under the title
Deported/A dream play, where it received an award for commemorating the
genocide from the Massachusetts State Legislature.
Preview performances of Daybreak begin April 21, with the
opening night and cast party on April 26. Performances are Tuesdays through
Saturdays at 7:30PM and Saturdays and Sundays at 2:30PM. For more information,
visit: https://www.facebook.com/events/2060987537452661/ ************************************************************************************************
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