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Serzh Sarkisian's Gaffes And The Congressional Azerbaijan Caucus
http://asbarez.com/108966/serzh-sarkisian%E2%80%99s-gaffes-and-the-congressional-azerbaijan-caucus/
Friday, March 22nd, 2013
Armenians protest Azeri aggression
BY SETO BOYADJIAN, ESQ.
As Members of Congress and Armenian Americans were celebrating the
25th Anniversary of Artsakh's freedom and democracy movement on
Capitol Hill last week, Representatives Bill Shuster (R-PA) and Steve
Cohen (D-TN), the co-chairs of Congressional Azerbaijan Caucus,
launched a preemptive campaign against Congressional efforts at
extending recognition to the independent Republic of Artsakh.
In a `Dear Colleague' letter, the co-chairs cautioned the Members of
Congress against such recognition. They said, `[W]e write to inform
you of our concerns about an effort to involve the US Congress in
recognizing the province of Nagorno-Karabakh as a free and independent
country.' They argued that `This is contrary to longstanding US policy
in the South Caucuses and would destabilize an area of the world that
desperately needs to resolve its issues peacefully.'
In their letter on behalf of the Congressional Azerbaijan Caucus,
Shuster and Cohen pleaded with their Congressional colleagues the
following points against recognition of independent Artsakh:
1. That the co-chairs `have no reason to believe that an effort to
create statehood for Nagorno-Karabakh will do anything to relieve the
ethnic and religious tension in the region.'
2. That the existing conflict should be resolved `peacefully and
diplomatically, not by haste or by force.'
3. That, to that end, the Minsk Group of the Organization for Security
and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) has been working toward finding a
peaceful solution to the ongoing conflict.
4. That just two months ago the President of Armenia himself has
`advised against Armenian recognition of Nagorno-Karabakh, warning
that such recognition would end the Minsk talks and force his nation
to prepare for military conflict.'
It is expected of the Azerbaijani lobby to counter Armenian support
for Artsakh with a campaign based on falsehood, false pretenses,
shallow hyping of Azerbaijan's importance, and distorted facts. This
type of campaign has always been short-lived and very soon falls flat
on its face.
The anti-Artsakh campaign becomes worrisome and attains an air of
credibility when Azeris find the necessary support for their arguments
from Armenian sources. The higher the source, the more reliable
becomes the Azeri position. A flagrant example of this situation is
carried in the `Dear Colleague' letter where it refers to President
Serzh Sarkisian's opposition to Armenia's recognition of independent
Artsakh that he publicly stated two months ago during the presidential
campaigns.
Sarkisian's opposition to the recognition of Artsakh may be a tactical
move, but formulating his position in an awkward manner is helping
Azeri arguments and damaging the cause of Artsakh.
Unfortunately, Sarkisian has become gaffe-prone when dealing
publically with issues pertaining the Armenian Genocide, Artsakh and
the Armenian Cause.
Just last Tuesday, on March 19, responding to a reporter's question on
Armenia's possible recognition of the Republic of Artsakh, Sarkisian
yet again committed the same gaffe on this matter. He said that such
recognition `would not bring any benefit for Armenians neither in
Armenia nor in Karabakh.'
What's more ironic, he went on to echo one of the points of the `Dear
Colleague' letter by stating that recognition would halt the peace
process led by the OSCE Minsk Group. He said, `This step could hit the
co-chair countries in the Minsk group like a slap in the face. If a
war breaks out, we cannot fight against the whole world. Such a
decision would ruin our weight in the international area. Our citizens
would not probably benefit from it.'
This was manna from heaven for the Azeris. They immediately began
exploiting it, as they had done with prior gaffes of Sarkisian.
Thousands of Azeri tweets went out claiming, `Armenia admits
recognition of Karabakh would violate the Minsk protocol and do no
good for Armenians.' This gaffe will now reinforce the position of the
Congressional Azerbaijan Caucus in its quest to undermine Armenian
American efforts in support of Artsakh's self-determination and
independence.
Sarkisian's diplomatic faux-pas and political gaffes damaging
essential Armenian issues are not new. They began at the onset of his
first presidency in Moscow when he announced his `football' diplomacy
with Turkey, and went on to repeat them over and over again: On the
eve of April 24, he gave an interview in New York Times downplaying
the acknowledgment of Armenian Genocide; instead of detecting the
inherent dangers of the Protocols with Turkey, he cherished them as a
source of salvation to Armenia; in an attempt to please President
Obama, he equated `Medz Yeghern' to Genocide. His last attempt at
gaffes was his repeated negation of Artsakh's independence.
One of the fundamental qualities expected of Armenia's President is to
minimize public gaffes that jeopardize national interests. An equally
fundamental quality is to avoid awkward enunciations that may be
exploited against the national cause.
So far Serzh Sarkisian has been missing on both counts.
Seto Boyadjian is an attorney and serves on the national board of ANCA.
http://asbarez.com/108966/serzh-sarkisian%E2%80%99s-gaffes-and-the-congressional-azerbaijan-caucus/
Friday, March 22nd, 2013
Armenians protest Azeri aggression
BY SETO BOYADJIAN, ESQ.
As Members of Congress and Armenian Americans were celebrating the
25th Anniversary of Artsakh's freedom and democracy movement on
Capitol Hill last week, Representatives Bill Shuster (R-PA) and Steve
Cohen (D-TN), the co-chairs of Congressional Azerbaijan Caucus,
launched a preemptive campaign against Congressional efforts at
extending recognition to the independent Republic of Artsakh.
In a `Dear Colleague' letter, the co-chairs cautioned the Members of
Congress against such recognition. They said, `[W]e write to inform
you of our concerns about an effort to involve the US Congress in
recognizing the province of Nagorno-Karabakh as a free and independent
country.' They argued that `This is contrary to longstanding US policy
in the South Caucuses and would destabilize an area of the world that
desperately needs to resolve its issues peacefully.'
In their letter on behalf of the Congressional Azerbaijan Caucus,
Shuster and Cohen pleaded with their Congressional colleagues the
following points against recognition of independent Artsakh:
1. That the co-chairs `have no reason to believe that an effort to
create statehood for Nagorno-Karabakh will do anything to relieve the
ethnic and religious tension in the region.'
2. That the existing conflict should be resolved `peacefully and
diplomatically, not by haste or by force.'
3. That, to that end, the Minsk Group of the Organization for Security
and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) has been working toward finding a
peaceful solution to the ongoing conflict.
4. That just two months ago the President of Armenia himself has
`advised against Armenian recognition of Nagorno-Karabakh, warning
that such recognition would end the Minsk talks and force his nation
to prepare for military conflict.'
It is expected of the Azerbaijani lobby to counter Armenian support
for Artsakh with a campaign based on falsehood, false pretenses,
shallow hyping of Azerbaijan's importance, and distorted facts. This
type of campaign has always been short-lived and very soon falls flat
on its face.
The anti-Artsakh campaign becomes worrisome and attains an air of
credibility when Azeris find the necessary support for their arguments
from Armenian sources. The higher the source, the more reliable
becomes the Azeri position. A flagrant example of this situation is
carried in the `Dear Colleague' letter where it refers to President
Serzh Sarkisian's opposition to Armenia's recognition of independent
Artsakh that he publicly stated two months ago during the presidential
campaigns.
Sarkisian's opposition to the recognition of Artsakh may be a tactical
move, but formulating his position in an awkward manner is helping
Azeri arguments and damaging the cause of Artsakh.
Unfortunately, Sarkisian has become gaffe-prone when dealing
publically with issues pertaining the Armenian Genocide, Artsakh and
the Armenian Cause.
Just last Tuesday, on March 19, responding to a reporter's question on
Armenia's possible recognition of the Republic of Artsakh, Sarkisian
yet again committed the same gaffe on this matter. He said that such
recognition `would not bring any benefit for Armenians neither in
Armenia nor in Karabakh.'
What's more ironic, he went on to echo one of the points of the `Dear
Colleague' letter by stating that recognition would halt the peace
process led by the OSCE Minsk Group. He said, `This step could hit the
co-chair countries in the Minsk group like a slap in the face. If a
war breaks out, we cannot fight against the whole world. Such a
decision would ruin our weight in the international area. Our citizens
would not probably benefit from it.'
This was manna from heaven for the Azeris. They immediately began
exploiting it, as they had done with prior gaffes of Sarkisian.
Thousands of Azeri tweets went out claiming, `Armenia admits
recognition of Karabakh would violate the Minsk protocol and do no
good for Armenians.' This gaffe will now reinforce the position of the
Congressional Azerbaijan Caucus in its quest to undermine Armenian
American efforts in support of Artsakh's self-determination and
independence.
Sarkisian's diplomatic faux-pas and political gaffes damaging
essential Armenian issues are not new. They began at the onset of his
first presidency in Moscow when he announced his `football' diplomacy
with Turkey, and went on to repeat them over and over again: On the
eve of April 24, he gave an interview in New York Times downplaying
the acknowledgment of Armenian Genocide; instead of detecting the
inherent dangers of the Protocols with Turkey, he cherished them as a
source of salvation to Armenia; in an attempt to please President
Obama, he equated `Medz Yeghern' to Genocide. His last attempt at
gaffes was his repeated negation of Artsakh's independence.
One of the fundamental qualities expected of Armenia's President is to
minimize public gaffes that jeopardize national interests. An equally
fundamental quality is to avoid awkward enunciations that may be
exploited against the national cause.
So far Serzh Sarkisian has been missing on both counts.
Seto Boyadjian is an attorney and serves on the national board of ANCA.