Villains & Heroes 2023
Villains and Heroes
An annual feature in Keghart.org
December 20, 2023 By Lucine Kasbarian and Friends of Keghart
https://keghart.org/kasbarian-et-al-villains-heroes-2023/
Visit the URL above to access live hyperlinks which cite sources.
Villains and Heroes 2023
Continuing a Keghart annual tradition, we present the Villains and Heroes of 2023.
VILLAINS:
Russian President Vladimir Putin for allowing Azerbaijan to illegally blockade the Berdzor/Lachin Corridor under Russia’s guardianship; conspiring with Turkey/Azerbaijan to bring about Artsakh’s (a.k.a. Nagorno-Karabakh’s) destruction; scapegoating and withholding support for Armenia/Artsakh, lying about it and betraying Armenians in innumerable ways.
Azerbaijani dictator Ilham Aliyev and Turkish dictator Recep Tayyip Erdogan for using genocide as a method of negotiation; for promising to install 120,000+ Azeris in usurped Artsakh; for mounting a military victory parade in Stepanakert; for authorizing land grabs and calling sovereign Armenia “Western Azerbaijan” and countless other offenses.
US President Joe Biden (dubbed “Genocide Joe” by Palestinian activists) and the US State Department for being complicit in Azerbaijan’s theft of Artsakh. Acting Assistant Secretary of State for European/Eurasian Affairs Yuri Kim and USAID Administrator Samantha Power for sitting on their hands when the Artsakh genocide was in progress and then rushing to Armenia for a bogus show of support after the damage was done. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for wreaking havoc upon the Palestinian people. President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen for calling dictator Ilham Aliyev and Azerbaijan a “reliable, trustworthy partner” while they export outlawed Russian natural gas to EU nations and turn a blind eye to Azerbaijan’s genocidal blockade on Artsakh and occupation of sovereign Armenian territory. French National Assembly President Yael Braun-Pivet, for high-handedly stating in her January 2023 visit to Armenia that France would not help the Artsakh Armenians. NYC Mayor Eric Adams and his on-leave Director of Protocol, Azerbaijan-born Rana Abbasova, mired in an FBI investigation for granting political favors to Turkey and Azerbaijan in exchange for illegal campaign funding, honorary degrees and all-expense paid junkets to Turkey. Former corrupt leaders of Armenia/Artsakh for robbing both republics of needed funds and laying dormant during the 2020 Azeri invasion/theft and 2023 blockade/theft of Artsakh. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan whose pusillanimous national policies and appeasement of Azerbaijan and Turkey have only emboldened these despots. Armenia’s First Lady Anna Hakobyan-Pashinyan for delivering humanitarian aid to Ukraine, a country that supported Azerbaijan in its genocidal attacks on Artsakh and even sent their own snipers.
Archbishop Nourhan Manoogian and ex-Rev. Baret Yeretsian for foolishly leasing Armenian Church lands in Jerusalem to Israeli developers.
Armenian priests standing in front of the tractor that destroyed the wall of the Armenian Seminary in Jerusalem. (November 2023; Photo credit: Garo Nalbandian)
Governments, media and peoples of the world who remain silent while a new genocide of Armenians was and is still underway, yet are very vocal on behalf of the people of Ukraine, Gaza and Israel. The US, EU, Russia and Turkey who held secret meetings just prior to Azerbaijan’s September 19 attacks on Artsakh and apparently gave the green light for the invasion. Israel for being Azerbaijan’s biggest weapons supplier and sending additional artillery to Azerbaijan immediately before and during Azeri aggression. Serbia for selling self-propelled howitzers to the tune of $339 million to Azerbaijan. The Big 7 (US, UK, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan) plus Russia, Turkey, Azerbaijan and Israel for actively pursuing Artsakh’s destruction or standing by while the genocide/land grab was underway; desiring the established outcome; wishing for an unnecessary, external, so-called “Zangezur Corridor” to cut through Armenia; and overtly and covertly hoping that Armenia will be occupied by Turkey and Azerbaijan. After refraining from intervention during the seizure of Artsakh, some, after the fact, sent humanitarian aid in a repeat performance of what took place during and after the Armenian Genocide of 1915.
The United Nations Security Council which, when Armenian appeals were made, on August 18 and September 22 repeatedly expressed “deep concern” about circumstances on the ground, told the two parties with unequal power relations to work out their own differences, then washed their hands of the whole affair. The UN office stationed in Azerbaijan which, after 30 years of inaction, took a curated tour of the ghost capital of Stepanakert after Armenians had been driven out to disingenuously claim that they saw no damage done to humans nor civilian/religious structures. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), The European Union (EU), The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), and the Parliamentary Association for the Council of Europe (PACE) for implicitly and explicitly favoring Azerbaijan and Turkey in their asymmetric power balance with Armenia/Artsakh. Mayor Henriette Reker and the City Council of Cologne, Germany for caving into Turkish demands to remove the Armenian Genocide memorial monument from their city streets.
Boastful Azeri terrorists (many wearing Turkish genocidist Enver Pasha patches on their uniforms) for hunting down ordinary Artsakh citizens, kidnapping, torturing, mutilating and slaughtering them for sport and sending their black operations viral on social media, and who consider disfiguring children, raping women, kidnapping/dismembering the elderly/handicapped and destroying ancient heritage sites in Artsakh to be acts of heroism. Turkish and Azeri extremist networks for harassing innocent Armenians around the world. Agent Provocateurs such as an 8-hour visitation by a Russian citizen for attempting to set fire to a Yerevan synagogue to implicate Armenians. Israeli “settlers” for routinely spitting on and pepper-spraying Jerusalem Armenians and arriving with attack dogs, guns and bulldozers to seize large tracts of Armenian church properties in the Armenian Quarter.
Turkish cleric Murat Gundogdu for encouraging violent attacks on Armenians. Chutzpah-possessing European and Azerbaijani rabbis for charging that Armenians have no right to use the word “genocide” regarding the ethnic cleansing of Artsakh.
The radio silence during the 2020 invasion of Artsakh, 2023 Azeri blockade and subsequent seizure of Artsakh from assorted scholars and cultural workers who have for years preached “Turkish-Armenian Reconciliation” to Armenians while giving unrepentant Turkey a pass.
Academic, Financial and Cultural Institutions such as the Nizami Ganjavi Centre at the UK’s Oxford University for serving as an academic front for Azerbaijan. Citibank for illegally discriminating against Armenian Americans by singling them out on credit card applications based on their surnames. The Istanbul Foundation For Culture and the Arts for removing Defne Ayas, a curator supportive of indigenous minority artists in Turkey and chosen unanimously by a panel of international specialists as the best candidate to organize the next edition of the Istanbul Biennial exhibition, and for replacing her with Iwona Blazwick, one of IFCA’s own advisory board member cronies.
Corporate media for running interference for Artsakh’s executioners, referring to indigenous Armenians as “separatists” and “terrorists” who “left” Artsakh—if media referred to the issue at all; and who eagerly dropped any reference to the calamities in Artsakh and Armenia to report about Palestine/Israel 24/7.
Azeri interviewers positioned at the reopened Berdzor/Lachin Corridor for intimidating escaping Artsakh citizens by asking what region they had come from and insisting that they use the revisionist place names before letting them pass. Israel-based Rachel Avraham for dreaming up unsubstantiated reports intended to stir up hatred for Armenians. Rabbi Israel Barouk for countless articles painting indigenous Armenians as brutal occupiers of Azeri land. CBS Newsradio host John Batchelor for serving as a mouthpiece for the criminal Azerbaijani regime. Stephen Blank, Senior Fellow at Foreign Policy Research Institute’s Eurasia Program, for insisting that if Armenia is a friend of the West, it must sacrifice its sovereign territory to Turkey and Azerbaijan. Joshua Kucera for producing anti-Armenian articles that could be mistaken for press releases issued by the Aliyev regime. Ukrainian writer Taras Kuzio, who, among other salacious reports, circulated that Azerbaijan found a “mass grave” of murdered Azeris in Artsakh when in fact Azerbaijan had dug up an Armenian cemetery in a village it had seized. Kremlin-influenced Russian journalist Andrew Korybko for demonizing the Armenians of Artsakh and the Diaspora with his snide, taunting articles. The Haym Salomon Center’s Paul Miller for spreading malicious rumors about Armenia and Armenians. Kremlin emissary Maxim Shevchenko for echoing that Turkey and Azerbaijan must carve up Armenia’s territory to their liking for Armenia to survive. EU Reporter contributor James Wilson for writing speculative pieces demeaning the Armenian people. Numerous pundits for expressing contempt in that Armenia/Artsakh got what it deserved because it is a loyal ally of Russia (an entity which refuses to furnish military defense support and does everything possible to aid the aggressors) and as a landlocked, blockaded nation somehow unfairly maintains its sovereign border with Iran, who should be shunned as it is on the West’s blacklist.
Brenda Schaffer for continuing to present herself as an unbiased scholar, analyst and writer without disclosing her role as adviser “for strategic affairs” to the Azeri state-owned SOCAR energy giant. Lobbyist and PR adviser to Turkey Ezra Friedlander for devising strategies to destroy Armenian advocacy on Capitol Hill. Lobbyist Rodney Dixon, a London lawyer hired by Azerbaijan to craft a report stating that the Azeri siege was not a genocide in Artsakh. British PR Firm BTP+Advisers for enlisting environmental scientist Bill Laurance of James Cook University to furnish his name to an inflammatory Op-Ed paid for by the Azeri government attempting to justify the fake eco-activist blockade of the Berdzor/Lachin Corridor. (The piece did not run once Laurance pulled his signature and publicly denounced the firm.)
HEROES:
The Armenian people of Artsakh, Armenia and Jerusalem for enduring innumerable and unspeakable odds, horrors and depredations—with grit, perseverance and dignity—at the hands of Azerbaijan, Russia, Turkey, Israel and other nefarious global actors.
Armenian prisoners of war and civilian hostages lawlessly seized and tortured by Azerbaijan including 68 year-old Artsakh pensioner Vagif Khachatryan.
Ashkharazor, Bever, National Legion, VOMA, Zarg and other organizations for mounting civilian self-defense training camps throughout Armenia.
The International Court of Justice for ordering Azerbaijan on Feb. 22 to remove its unlawful blockade of the Berdzor/Lachin Corridor, Artsakh’s lifeline to Armenia (though Azerbaijan flouted the binding measure of Nov. 9, 2020).
The Tom Lantos US Congressional Human Rights Commission for hosting hearings spotlighting Azerbaijan’s aggression against the indigenous Armenians of Artsakh and calling for sanctions against the Azerbaijani government. The June 21 hearing, “Safeguarding the People of Nagorno-Karabakh,” spotlighted co-chairs Congressmen Chris Smith (R-NJ) and James McGovern (D-MA); Congressional Armenian Caucus co-chairs Cong. Gus Bilirakis (R-FL), Cong. Frank Pallone (D-NJ) and vice chair Cong. Adam Schiff (D-CA); former US Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom Sam Brownback; former US Ambassador to Armenia John Evans; American Enterprise Institute Senior Fellow Michael Rubin; and Director of the Peace-Building and Human Rights Program at Columbia University’s Institute for the Study of Human Rights, David Phillips. The September 6th hearing featured Luis Moreno Ocampo (former Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court) and David Phillips testifying on the genocidal nature of the illegal Russo-Azeri blockade of the Berdzor/Lachin corridor in Artsakh.
Public servants Anne Hidalgo, Mayor of Paris, who accompanied a French humanitarian relief convoy to the blockaded Berdzor/Lachin Corridor; Alexandre Boulerice, Canadian Member of Parliament, who strongly supports Canada’s sanctioning of Azerbaijan for its human rights violations in Artsakh and occupation of Armenia proper. His outspoken support has extended to attending Armenian protests with other local Canadian authorities and introducing into Parliament a petition regarding the 2022 Azeri invasion of sovereign Armenia. 2024 US Presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy for speaking out about the vicious conduct of Azerbaijan and for standing by indigenous Armenians and Artsakhtsis.
France for furnishing defensive weapons to Armenia and establishing a consulate in Syunik; Iran for recognizing Armenia’s territorial integrity, conducting military exercises to demonstrate its commitment to its existing border with Armenia, and for establishing a consulate in Syunik; India for furnishing defensive weapons to Armenia; Greece for signing a military-technical agreement with Armenia; and Belgium and Canada for establishing embassies in Yerevan. The US Senate for unanimously adopting resolution S.3000 to ban US weapon sales to Azerbaijan which would remove the Biden Administration’s authority to waive Section 907 for fiscal years 2024-25.
Former International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo who urged President Biden to end Azerbaijan’s genocidal Artsakh blockade and stated, “You cannot be involved in negotiations when President Aliyev uses genocide as a method of negotiation.” Image.
Human Rights Attorneys Liz Mirza Al-Dajani; The Center for Law and Justice; Garo Ghazarian; Karnig Kerkonian; Ani Nazarian; Sheila Paylan and Arman Tatoyan for forcefully speaking, writing and acting on behalf of persecuted Armenians in Artsakh and Armenia. Many of the above performed double duty by defending the persecuted Armenian community of Jerusalem from land usurpation by the Israeli regime.
Celebrities Ed Begley Jr., Cher, Mel Gibson, comedian Jack Jr., Kim Kardashian and Joe Manganiello for their outspoken support of Artsakh Armenians and for using social media to amplify their messaging.
Activists Varsen Aghabekian, Setrag Balian Jr., Khatchig Bekarian, Hagop Djernazian, John Garibian, Kevork Hintlian, Vache Karmandarian and Jack Youredjian for leading the movement to defend and restore lands in Jerusalem inhabited by Armenians since the 4th century and documenting up-to-the-minute developments in the Armenian Quarter.
The 120,000 Reasons Initiative, a coalition of advocacy groups whose unity magnified—on Capitol Hill and elsewhere—the plight of Armenians and Christian groups in peril. Philanthropic initiatives undertaken by aDemandforAction.com; Christian Solidarity International; The Marshall Institute for Ethical Thought and Action; and ever-present redeemers such as the AGBU and World Central Kitchen; Armenian Missionary Association of America; Armenian Relief Society; The Children of Armenia Fund; Homes for Artsakh; Near East Foundation; The Society for Orphaned Armenian Relief; and countless organizations and individuals who jumped into action to fundraise, feed, house, medically treat and/or furnish humanitarian aid to Artsakh refugees.
International Christian Concern for including Turkish tyrant Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the dictatorial Republic of Azerbaijan among their 2023 “Top Persecutors of the Year” Report.
Watchdog Groups Caucasus Heritage Watch, Research on Armenian Architecture and Save Armenian Monuments for monitoring, documenting and publicizing the status of endangered, damaged and destroyed Armenian heritage sites at the hands of Azerbaijan.
Genocide scholars as well as more than 100 Turkish and Israeli academics who signed open letters calling for an end to the genocidal siege on Artsakh.
Writers/journalists Jackie Abramian (Forbes); Sohrab Ahmari (The American Conservative); Roman Balmakov (The Epoch Times); Thomas Becker (Time magazine); Patrick Lars Berg (German MEP with the ECR Group); Paul Brian (The Critic magazine); Uzay Bulut (Gatestone Institute); Charlotte Dennett (CounterPunch); Neil Hauer (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation); Joachim Hagopian (Global Research); Chuck Holton (CBN/The Hot Zone); Araksya Karapetyan (KTTV FOX-11’s Good Day L.A.); Susan Korah (The Catholic Register); Eldar Mamedov (Eurasianet); Kevin McCullough (Community Radio Network); Kieron Monks (i-news); Tadgh Pidgeon (The European Conservative); Michael Rubin (Washington Examiner); Robert Spencer (JihadWatch); Solene Tadie (National Catholic Register); Elisa von Joeden-Fogery (The Lemkin Institute) who forewarned the world and reported about the plight of Christian Armenians and Azerbaijan/Turkey/Russia’s deliberate infliction of conditions calculated to bring about Artsakh’s physical destruction. Politics Professor Alan Whitehorn of the Royal Military College of Canada for steadfastly supporting the inalienable ancestral rights of the people of Artsakh and for writing extensively about the Armenian Genocide.
Media such as AlternativeRadio, Compact Magazine, CounterCurrents, CounterPunch, FirstThings, Gatestone Institute, Law & Disorder Radio, Le Monde Diplomatique, Middle East Forum, Newsweek, Ms. Magazine, The Markaz Review, Providence Magazine, The Intercept, Veterans Today and others for publishing/airing truthful, rightfully shocking news pieces about the siege and ethnic cleansing of Artsakh.
Feature films Aurora’s Sunrise, Amerikatsi and Armenia: A Love Story for splendidly showcasing historical truth and the Armenian spirit of survival in the face of adversity.
A-B-C Armenians (Armenians by Choice) retired US General Mark McCarley, co-founder of the Armenian American National Security Institute, for his abiding commitment to security for sovereign Armenia; high school teacher Humberto Ortega of Costa Rica whose respect for liberty, justice, Armenia and the Armenian people motivated him to assign articles about Artsakh and Armenia for classroom discussion; Reverend Joel Tenney whose deep affinity for Armenian culture has fueled his advocacy efforts (his documentary film, Artsakh’s Cry, and his book, I Entered the Land of Promise, will be released shortly); and expat and digital nomad Mathew Zein whose love for Armenia and its people have motivated him to relocate and raise his family there.
Competitive and professional Armenian athletes who stood up for their ancestral homeland, distinguished themselves in their sport and/or used their prominence to help Artsakh: Decorated mixed martial artist Diana Martirosyan, who, upon being accosted on a Moscow street by three drunken Azeri thugs who profiled her, defended herself and her nation’s honor and gave them a sound thrashing. Soccer midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan for using his social media influence to appeal to international leaders to stand up to ethnic cleansing in Artsakh, calling for the deployment of international monitoring missions and the immediate mobilization of emergency humanitarian aid through the Berdzor/Lachin corridor. Weightlifters Varazdat Lalayan and Simon Martirosyan for winning gold and silver respectively in the Men’s Overall Finals (+109-kg category) and weightlifters Hripsime Khurshudyan and Tatev Hakobyan for placing first and third respectively in the overall finals in the Women’s 87-kg category, all at the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) Grand Prix II tournament in Doha. Weightlifter Davit Hovhannisyan for taking the silver in the men’s 96-kg category at the same tournament in Doha. Weightlifters Garik Karapetyan (102-kg category) and Gor Sahakyan (67-kg category) who each won gold in the 2023 European Weightlifting Championships in Yerevan, and who both swept in their respective “snatch” and “clean & jerk” events. Karapetyan also broke European and World youth records with his wins and placed third in the men’s overall final (102-kg category) at the IWF tournament in Doha. Sahakyan grabbed the gold in the Men’s “snatch” (102-kg category) at the IWF Grand Prix in Doha. Gor Sahakyan and Aleksandra Grigoryan (55-kg category) for winning gold medals at the World Junior Championships in Guadalajara, causing Armenia to displace the US at the top of the medals table.
Armenia-born German cruiserweight pro boxer Noel Mikaelian for defeating Ilunga Makabu to become the newly crowned World Boxing Council world champion. Armenia-born Canadian middleweight pro boxer Erik Bazinyan for knocking out his American opponent in the sixth round in Montreal, tallying his winning record to 31-0. This was his 22nd knockout. Boxer Narek Manasyan (92-kg category) for securing first place in the European Boxing Championships, held in Montenegro. In the same competition, Armenia’s Rudolph Kabroyan won a silver medal, while Rafael Hovhanisyan, Ruslan Aslikyan and Paregam Harutyunyan each won bronze medals. Arman Tsarukyan, for ranking #4 in the mixed martial arts lightweight category in the Ultimate Fighting Championships. Mixed martial arts grandmaster Mihran Aghvinian for being inducted into the Martial Arts Hall of Fame of Europe. Fifteen year-old gymnast Hamlet Manukyan for earning two gold medals (rings and pommel horse) in artistic gymnastics at the 2023 Gymnastics Junior World Championships in Antalya. The boys’ gymnastics team from Armenia (Manukyan, Mamikon Khachatryan and Robert Gulumyan) walked away with the bronze medal in team all-around high scoring. Greco-Roman wrestler Malkhas Amroyan (world champion in 2021 in Oslo) for winning the bronze medal at the 2023 World Wrestling Championships in Belgrade. Tennis grand slam semi-finalist at the Australian Open Mr. Karen Kachanov for using his platform throughout his games to show support for Artsakh.