Sassounian Column
Harut Sassounian is an Armenian-American writer, public activist and publisher of The California Courier which is known for Sassounian's weekly opinion column.
November 18, 2008 
OBAMA S ELECTION FORCES TURKEY TO RETHINK ITS DEMANDS FROM ARMENIA
Turkey has blockaded Armenia for the last 15 years with the vain hope that this would force Armenian leaders to make concessions to Ankara on several fronts: Abandon the pursuit…››November 11, 2008
ARMENIANS SHOULD REMAIN VIGILANT TO COUNTER TURKISH PRESSURES ON OBAMA
Now that Sen. Barack Obama has been elected President, Armenian-Americans need to remain vigilant in order to counter Turkish pressures on the President-elect and his inner circle. Already, the Turkish…››November 04, 2008
TURKISH JUDGE PUBLICLY CRITICIZES DENIAL OF ARMENIAN GENOCIDE
Scores of highly sympathetic articles about the Armenian Genocide have appeared in the Turkish press in recent months, despite Turkey's repressive laws that make it a crime to discuss this…››October 28, 2008
AMERICAN JEWISH OFFICIAL RETIRES AFTER LONG ANTIARMENIAN CAMPAIGN
Barry Jacobs, Director of Strategic Studies at the American Jewish Committee (AJC), is retiring from his organization at the end of October. The 'good news' was confirmed by an AJC…››October 21, 2008
OBAMABIDEN THE BETTER TEAM FOR ARMENIANS THE NATION AND THE WORLD
The long and painful tenure of one of the most anti-Armenian U.S. administrations is finally coming to an end. Armenian-Americans, along with most Americans and the rest of the world,…››October 13, 2008
U S DOCUMENT REVEALS TURKEY CONTINUED OTTOMAN EMPIRE S ANTIARMENIAN POLICIES
Those who want to shield today's Turkey from responsibility for the Armenian Genocide have sought to blame the Young Turk government of the Ottoman Empire rather than the Republic of…››October 07, 2008
TALKS WITH AZERIS TURKS FALTER ARMENIA EXPANDS ACCESS TO GEORGIAIRAN
The budding relationship between Armenia and Turkey, which started with last month's "football diplomacy" with much fanfare and high expectations, is facing serious difficulties. While no one expected a quick…››September 30, 2008
AZERIARMENIANTURKISH RELATIONS A THREELEGGED CHAIR
All indications are that Armenian and Turkish leaders have agreed in recent weeks to improve their long frozen relations based on the following terms: Turkey will open its border with…››September 23, 2008
DIASPORA SHOULD COUNTER TURKEY S DIVIDE AND CONQUER STRATEGY
Armenians worldwide have been following with great concern sinister Turkish attempts at rapprochement with Armenia. Their apprehension is based on several factors. The first is that Turkey has pre-conditioned its…››September 11, 2008
ARMENIA LOST THE SOCCER MATCH BUT GAINED INTERNATIONAL PRESTIGE
I witnessed history in the making last week when the Turkish President, at the invitation of the Armenian President, paid his first ever visit to Armenia to watch the soccer…››September 04, 2008
VP NOMINEE REITERATES SUPPORT FOR ARMENIANS AT DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION
Now that both political parties have selected their presidential and vice presidential nominees, we can better judge which side is more supportive of Armenian issues. As the Democratic National Convention…››August 07, 2008
STATE DEPT HOLDS OTTOMAN OFFICIALS RESPONSIBLE FOR MASS KILLINGS
The long-awaited full Senate confirmation of the new Ambassador to Armenia was finally brought to a close on August 1, after last minute concessions by the Bush Administration. Hiding behind…››July 17, 2008
ARMENIAN GENOCIDE ISSUE SHOULD NOT BECOME A POLITICAL FOOTBALL
Much ink has been spilled since June 23, when Pres. Serzh Sargsyan spoke in Moscow about Armenian-Turkish relations. Given the fact that his statement was published in distorted form in…››July 03, 2008
SENATORS QUESTIONS WERE FAR MORE MEANINGFUL THAN AMBASSADOR S ANSWERS
The State Department tried to pull a fast one on the Senate last week by attempting to rush through the confirmation of Marie Yovanovitch, the nominee for U.S. Amba ssador…››June 24, 2008
HOUSE AND SENATE MEMBERS CASTIGATE U S DIPLOMATS DANCE AROUND GENOCIDE
In two important hearings last week, Members of, Congress sharply criticized the Bush administration's, shameful dance around the term Armenian Genocide. The first hearing, held on June 18 by the…››June 18, 2008
STATE DEPARTMENT S ARROGANT BEHAVIOR MAY DOOM SECOND NOMINEE FOR ARMENIA
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee will hold a, confirmation hearing for the next U.S. Ambassador to, Armenia on June 19. The nominee is Marie L., Yovanovitch, a career diplomat, until…››June 02, 2008
ARMENIANS SHOULD TAKE 20 MILLION OFFERED BY TURKEY AS PARTIAL PAYMENT
The largest Turkish daily newspaper, Hurriyet, carried the following sensational headline in its May 20, 2008 edition: "Turkey offers $20 million aid to open Armenian archives." Yusuf Halacoglu, chairman of…››May 02, 2008
L A TIMES INVITES SASSOUNIAN TO COUNTER TURKISH DENIAL OF THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE
Three weeks ago, I wrote a column criticizing the editors of The Los Angeles Times for providing a worldwide platform for Turkish denials of the Armenian Genocide by posting on…››April 15, 2008
TURKS CAN ONLY BLAME THEMSELVES FOR NOT JOINING THE EU
A major controversy has been brewing for some time throughout Europe about the wisdom of admitting Turkey to the European Union. Most Europeans oppose Turkey's membership either out of prejudice…››March 21, 2008