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[Yervant1]

U.S. AMBASSADOR HEFFERN: 'ARMENIA IS A LONG TRIP TO NOWHERE'

http://hetq.am/eng/o...nowhere’.html
10:41, December 18, 2012

Dear Editor:

I attended the presentation by the US Ambassador to Armenia, John
Heffern, on December 13 at St. James Armenian Church in Watertown,
MA. Before his presentation, Ambassador Heffern shook hands with some
members of the audience. He approached a young boy who was sitting
with his mother. However, as the boy was busy playing a game on his
electronic gadget, he ignored Mr. Heffern's offer to shake hands.

The ambassador asked the mother if she had ever taken her son to
Armenia. "No", the mother replied.

The boy finally extended his arm, shook hands, and looked away
without ever making eye contact with Mr. Heffern. "You should take
him to Armenia," the ambassador told the mother. "It is a long trip,
on the way to nowhere."

Heffern then laughed and happened to walk towards me. I grabbed his
hand and said "Mr. Ambassador, Armenia maybe on the way to nowhere,
but it is certainly in the way of energy pipelines." He walked away
laughing.

I think that the ambassador is frustrated and angry that Armenia
is not dancing to the U.S. State Department's tune - for example,
by refusing to give away Artsakh (Karabagh) to Azerbaijan and by not
joining the Turkey-NATO sphere of influence. That is why he described
Armenia as "on the way to nowhere."

If one is astute and "reads between the lines," here is what Heffern
said or implied in his presentation that night:

- The U.S. will continue military assistance to Azerbaijan.

- The U.S. will do nothing to change the status quo of Turkey's border
closure until Turkey decides otherwise.

- The U.S. will not ask Georgia (a major U.S. aid recipient) to
facilitate trade routes for Armenia.

- The U.S will continue to exert pressure on Armenia until it stops
all trade with Iran, even as Turkey continues to do billions in trade
with Iran and spurn U.S. sanctions.

- The U.S. wants Armenia to spurn Russia and eventually join NATO
(even though the U.S. will never offer any security against Turkey
and pan-Turkism).

It is actually Ambassador Heffern and the U.S. State Department who
are on the road to nowhere.

Berge Jololian Watertown, MA

[Yervant1]

DAVID BOYAJIAN'S LETTER TO THE EDITOR OF HETQ

10:56, February 12, 2013

I attended a presentation by U.S. Ambassador to Armenia John
Heffern during his December 2012 speaking tour of Armenian American
communities.

This is not the first time that the Diocese, Prelacy, and other
organizations have, in effect, given diplomats and others free reign
to propagandize and abuse us.

Like other U.S. ambassadors to Armenia, such as Marie Yovanovich and
John Ordway, who also gave solo presentations, Mr. Heffern refused to
acknowledge the Armenian genocide, was deceptive concerning U.S. goals
in the Caucasus, and generally failed to provide honest responses to
the audience's questions.

Allowing a speaker to mislead, frustrate, and demoralize a segment
of the audience is a disservice to Armenian Americans and their vital
concerns. Such events must not, therefore, be repeated.

Implicitly pro-Turkish officials such as Mr. Heffern should be invited
to speak only as part of a panel in which assertive, geopolitically
knowledgeable Armenian Americans participate.

In this way, the Armenian panelists can not only provide their own
views but also vigorously challenge the official's claims when the
latter tries to hoodwink the audience or sidestep a question.

Both young and old Armenian Americans, especially those who may
not be politically well-informed, would benefit greatly from such a
balanced event.

The problem pertains not just to officials such as U.S. ambassadors. I
think back to those such as David L. Phillips, a U.S. State Department
consultant who headed the so-called Turkish Armenian Reconciliation
Commission (TARC).

Several years ago, an Armenian American organization invited him to
speak. Phillips misinformed the audience by claiming, for instance,
that Armenians had no right to genocide reparations.

Our organizations must stop providing uncontested platforms for
what are, in essence, pro-Turkish propagandists, regardless of how
"prestigious" the latter may be.

If such a propagandist is unwilling to face knowledgeable Armenian
Americans in a fair panel discussion, he or she ought to be turned
away.

Sincerely, David Boyajian Belmont, MA February 11, 2013

http://hetq.am/eng/n...or-of-hetq.html

[onjig]

Is the U.S. actually giving military aid, hardware, weapons , to Azerbaijan?