ANCA has made another attempt to put pressure on Trump: The Theater of the absurd

The Armenian American community continues to think that the current White House administration is very interested in and deeply touched by its opinion. It can't get used to the idea that it no longer plays the role it did in the old days, when it dictated conditions to the authorities, indicated what steps to take with respect to Baku, who should be appointed and who should not be appointed as ambassadors to Azerbaijan.

It was an absurd situation. Some ethnic community dictated the rules to Congress and the White House, brazenly interfering in the country's foreign policy. The fact that many congressmen and state presidents clung to the votes of the Armenian community created a favorable breeding ground, and the arrogance of the Armenians swelled by leaps and bounds. Today, the situation seems to have changed, but the diaspora cannot return to its former size, still seeing itself as the fourth power in the United States. Unfortunately, previous administrations have given the Armenian community reason to think that it means something in American politics.

Here it is worth recalling some facts. When you present them, you feel like a spectator in a theater of the absurd.

On December 30, 2010, US President Barack Obama, using his powers at a time when Congress was on vacation, appointed ambassadors to six countries, including Azerbaijan. According to the order of the President, the ambassadors assumed their duties without approval by the Senate. And in February 2011, Matthew Bryza assumed the duties of Ambassador to Azerbaijan. It should be recalled that prior to this, Bryza served as co-chairman of the Minsk Group from the United States and with his position prevented the mediators from advancing Armenian interests. The Armenians, of course, did not forget this, and demanded that he be recalled from Baku. Just listen carefully: some community demanded that the White House reverse its decision and recall the ambassador from Azerbaijan because he does not suit the Armenians. If the Azerbaijani community demanded it, there would be logic to it. Although there is no doubt that no one would have listened to her opinion. The Armenians also managed to put pressure on Washington and behead the diplomatic mission in Baku. I remember there was a big celebration in Armenia and the Diaspora on this occasion. You bet.

After the success with Bryza, the Armenians fluffed up their feathers and began to regularly interfere in the appointment of the US ambassador to Azerbaijan. The Armenian "dissenting opinion" was taken into account when appointing Robert Sekuta in 2014. As soon as they started talking about his candidacy, the Armenians immediately expressed their disagreement, just in case, finding something inappropriate in his biography for Armenian interests. And the director of the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA), Aram Hamparyan, gave relevant instructions to the lobbyists in Congress. Due to the fact that Sekuta did not have such "compromising evidence" as Bryza, ANCA eventually allowed the White House to appoint him to Baku. We deliberately do not enclose the word resolved in quotation marks, as this was exactly the situation.

In 2017, during Donald Trump's first term, ANCA tried to prevent Richard Hoagland from being appointed co-chairman of the Minsk Group by the United States because he denied the far-fetched "Armenian genocide." The previous neighbor, James Warlick, was, sorry, tamed by the Armenians and acted in their interests. And Hoagland turned out to be a tough nut to crack. It should be noted that Hoagland was nevertheless appointed co-chairman from the United States.

I must say that even in his first term, Donald Trump did not focus on Armenian wishlist. He didn't seem to notice them. In 2018, after the Armenian tantrums, the Senate postponed consideration of Earl Litzenberger's candidacy for the post of ambassador to Azerbaijan. However, this was later explained not by Armenian pressure, but by the calendar according to which the Senate operates. In the end, the candidate Trump had rejected was appointed to Baku. But before approving his candidacy, lobbyists, including Menendez, who is currently vacationing on a bunk, cross-examined the diplomat, checking for compliance with the interests of the Armenians. Litzenberger managed to avoid direct answers professionally.

In 2023, ANCA even tried to interfere with the White House's appointment of an ambassador to Israel. Since the Armenian diaspora is nothing compared to the influence of the Jewish one, Armenian organizations had to crawl under the bench and whine from there. However, ANCA nevertheless tried to contribute its five kopecks, behind the scenes, without witnesses, trying to put pressure on the ambassador to help end Israel's military cooperation with Azerbaijan. It is not reported what the newly appointed ambassador replied to this. Judging by the fact that Israel continued to sell weapons to Azerbaijan, the Armenian charms did not work.

Why did we remind you of this today?

On November 11, ANCA, together with a number of senseless and diaspora-funded American NGOs, issued a statement against Azerbaijan's possible participation in the planned international security forces in Gaza. The signatory of the Armenian proclamation, Shusher, is "deeply concerned" that the Azerbaijani contingent may end up in these forces, because Azerbaijan and Israel have too good relations, and military ties have deepened in recent years, which in no way contributes to impartiality and a stabilizing role. Other arguments include the 44-day liberation war, the September 2023 anti-terrorist operation that put an end to separatism, the Armenian war criminals who are on trial, called "civilians" in the statement, and the like.

The statement was written by ANCA and the obscure organization New Politics, created, apparently, in connection with what is happening in the Gaza Strip. This strange NGO vaguely positions itself as "a nonpartisan political committee that supports candidates who support U.S. policy in the Middle East, which promotes American interests and ideals and complies with U.S. laws." The organization pursues a pro-Palestinian policy, which is consistent with the Armenian organizations, which, in connection with the recent conflict, have been given the opportunity to speak out loudly against Israel, which they had not previously dared to do.

In addition to pro-Palestinian NGOs, the statement was signed by organizations involved in promoting the topic of the "Armenian genocide" and other riffraff, including the fraudsters of the so-called Lemkin Institute. The latter, despite the protests of Rafael Lemkin's descendants, still continue to brazenly exploit his name in order to add weight to their office.

Given the attitude of the current White House administration towards various kinds of NGOs, as well as its lack of interest in the tantrums of the Armenian Diaspora, this appeal to the "cosmos" is unlikely to have any impact on Washington's position. In addition, the ANCA is very mistaken if they think that Azerbaijan dreams of sending its troops to the conflict zone, and attempts to prevent this will somehow affect its interests. Yes, the United States has asked Baku to participate in the stabilization force in Gaza. However, the Azerbaijani side made it clear that this issue can be considered only after a complete ceasefire and under the auspices of the United Nations. Baku values the lives of its citizens.

And yet, the Palestinian-Israeli conflict does not have completely neutral observers. We understand the feelings of the American Armenians, who hope to use pro-Palestinian organizations and "human rights activists" to somehow harm Israel for supplying weapons to Azerbaijan. For many years, the diaspora has been trying to approach this issue in one way or another and get Washington to condemn Tel Aviv for military cooperation with Baku. But, as we noted above, this door was closed for the Diaspora. Thanks to the purchase of American politicians and congressmen, the Armenians have managed to open many doors, but they have not been able to find the keys to this one.