July 2013

A World of News and Perspective

■ HOTELS SPECIAL

SECTION INSIDE

HOTELS ■ A Special Section of The Washington Diplomat

■ VOLUME 20, NUMBER 7 SOUTHEAST ASIA

Myanmar Envoy Seizes Historic Opening with U.S. “We want to retake our position in the region,”Than Swe, Myanmar’s first ambassador to the U.S. in more than 20 years, told The Washington Diplomat in a pithy summation of what unites Myanmar’s once heavyhanded leadership. PAGE 12

■ WWW.WASHDIPLOMAT.COM

SOUTH AMERICA

Debunking ecuaDor

Turkey’s Clampdown On Dissent Reflected In Media Struggles

culture

Africans Dig Deep In ‘Earth Matters’ “Earth Matters: Land as Material and Metaphor in the Arts of Africa” surveys the primacy of land as mankind’s livelihood.

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■ JULY 2013 EXCLUSIVEHospita ble

The Capella’s guest-only rooftop

Georgetown

lounge

by Stephanie Kanowitz In its 262-year history, Washington’s Georgetown neighborhood has been a shipping center for tobacco, a military depot, industrial home to coal and flourmills, a haven to freed slaves and one of the District’s worst slums.

But since the 1930s and with the help of Georgetown University, it’s become a can’t-miss stop for locals and visitors alike.

Hundreds of U.S. Officials Converge on Azerbaijan Upscale New Properties Enhance

July 2013

Neighborhood’s Allure, Prosperity HOTELS

See georgetown, page 31

The Washington Diplomat

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In May, state legislators from across the U.S., as well as three former top White House officials, trekked to Azerbaijan in what the Washington Post and other media outlets labeled an influence-peddling junket.

Only they weren’t there. The Diplomat was — and offers a firsthand report on what exactly happened on that trip, who went, what they were paid, and what was the point. PAGE 7

EURASIA

Long before the police’s ham-fisted attack on protesters in Istanbul, Turkey’s reporters complained of a broader assault on the media — whose troubles mirror the growing pains of a country that, up until recently, had been held up as a model of Islamic democracy and economic progress. PAGE 14

■ July 2013

PEOPLE OF WORLD INFLUENCE

Kris Balderston: Foggy Bottom to FleishmanHillard

From expelled envoys to embassy refuge for WikiLeaks’s mostwanted man, Ambassador Nathalie Cely Suárez is trying to smooth over diplomatic spats with the U.S. while debunking claims that Ecuador’s president has become the new standardbearer of the region’s antiAmerican leftists. PAGE 19

When Hillary Clinton describes you as one of the best-connected power players in Washington, it’s safe to say you know a few things about forging alliances and getting things done. PAGE 4 ADVERTISEMENT

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Page 2

The Washington Diplomat

July 2013

CONTENTS THE WASHINGTON DIPLOMAT

14 Chaos in Turkey

[ news ] 4

PEOPlE OF WOrlD iNFluENCE Kris Balderston’s job as special representative for global partnerships took his domestic career abroad as he liaised between corporate America, the State Department and foreign governments. Now he’s onto his next challenge: FleishmanHillard, one of the world’s largest communications firms.

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29 Smithsonian Folklife Festival

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ThE rOTuNDa Rep. Ed Royce (R-Calif.), chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, opens up about his motivations, what he thinks is right and wrong with the world, and how he hopes to right those wrongs as a legislator in a polarized Congress.

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[ hotels ]

iNTErNaTiONal aFFairS

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NEighbOrhOODS

FOOD aND DriNk

COvEr PrOFilE: ECuaDOr Ambassador Nathalie Cely Suárez is working to untangle the diplomatic issues that have driven a wedge between Ecuador and the U.S. while debunking claims that her president has become the new standard-bearer for Latin America’s leftists.

COvEr: Photo taken at the Embassy of Ecuador by Lawrence Ruggeri.

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arT

[ culture ]

In a spacious, high-ceilinged gallery two levels below ground, a multimedia exhibit takes on no less than the entire planet itself — and man’s relationship to it.

arT You’ve heard of angry young men. Klaus Staeck is an angry older man, who’s still making noise with his provocative, socially conscious poster art.

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DiNiNg Local restaurant mogul Ashok Bajaj seized a prime spot in Penn Quarter to open his latest D.C. eatery, nopa, which offers a little something for everyone in a neighborhood that does the same.

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Film rEviEWS Leading German director Margarethe von Trotta once again teams up with acclaimed German actress Barbara Sukowa in “Hannah Arendt,” an astute biopic of the eponymous German-American, secular Jewish scholar.

Georgetown has never been lacking in luxury. But with the recent addition of Capella, the bar for hospitality in this landmark neighborhood just keeps going higher and higher.

In the past few months, new and revamped bars and restaurants inside the city’s top hotels have complemented D.C.’s ever-expanding dining scene.

FESTivalS This year’s Smithsonian Folklife Festival spans the world to showcase Hungarian heritage, African American dress, and the global language extinction crisis.

mEDiCal For the first time in 50 years, spending on prescription drugs actually dropped — but the cost of specialty medications is skyrocketing.

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iNSiDE ThE ChambEr The US-ASEAN Business Council works to link Americans with the 10 countries that form the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, home to more than 600 million people and a combined GDP of $2.2 trillion.

arT The Ballets Russes, founded by Russian impresario Sergei Diaghilev, took the art world by storm with its lush costumes, often highly sexual plotlines, and a combination of Russian and Western traditions mixed with a big dollop of modernism that thrilled and sometimes scandalized audiences.

DiPlOmaCy South Africa is renovating its mission in Washington not just to create a more functional space, but also a face that conveys the country’s past traditions and future hopes.

iNTErNaTiONal rElaTiONS

The story of press freedom in Turkey is — like the country’s larger evolution and recent descent into chaos — complicated.

17

POliTiCS Immigration reform is grinding its way through the halls of Congress, and foreign nations have been quick to insert their own little perks into the sweeping legislation.

Myanmar’s first ambassador to the U.S. in more than 20 years talks about reintroducing his once-isolated pariah state to the world.

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Georgetown hotels

ExCluSivE Hundreds of state legislators, nearly a dozen members of Congress and three former top White House aides all converged on Azerbaijan last month in what some media outlets derided as a costly junket. But what really happened?

The Diplomat was there and has an inside account.

July 2013

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P.O. Box 1345 • Silver Spring, MD 20915-1345 • Phone: (301) 933-3552 • Fax: (301) 949-0065 • E-mail: news@washdiplomat.com • Web: www.washdiplomat.com Publisher/Editor-in-Chief Victor Shiblie Director of Operations Fuad Shiblie managing Editor Anna Gawel News Editor Larry Luxner Contributing Writers Martin Austermuhle, Michael Coleman, Audrey Hoffer, Rachel Hunt, Stephanie Kanowitz, Luke Jerod Kummer, Sean Lyngaas, Kat Lucero, Ky N. Nguyen, Gail Scott, Dave Seminara, Gina Shaw, Gary Tischler Photographers Jessica Latos, Lawrence Ruggeri account managers Jim Cameron, Chris Smith, Patrick Thomas graphic Designer Cari Bambach The Washington Diplomat is published monthly by The Washington Diplomat, Inc. The newspaper is distributed free of charge at several locations throughout the Washington, D.C. area. We do offer subscriptions for home delivery. Subscription rates are $25 for 12 issues and $45 for 24 issues. Call Fuad Shiblie for past issues. If your organization employs many people from the international community you may qualify for free bulk delivery. To see if you qualify you must contact Fuad Shiblie.

The Washington Diplomat assumes no responsibility for the safe keeping or return of unsolicited manuscripts, photographs, artwork or other material. The information contained in this publication is in no way to be construed as a recommendation by the Publisher of any kind or nature whatsoever, nor as a recommendation of any industry standard, nor as an endorsement of any product or service, nor as an opinion or certification regarding the accuracy of any such information.

July 2013

The Washington Diplomat Page 3

PEOPLE OF WORLD INFLUENCE

Kris Balderston

Washington Insider Touts Business of Partnerships

by Michael Coleman

W

hen former Secretary of State — and potential 2016 presidential pack leader — Hillary Clinton describes you as one of the best-connected power players in Washington, it’s safe to say you know a few things about forging alliances and getting things done.

Clinton lavished that compliment on longtime Washington insider Kris Balderston in February 2011 as she swore him in to a brand new position as the State Department’s special representative for global partnerships.

The high-flying post took Balderston’s previously domestic career global as he served as chief liaison between corporate America, the State Department and governments all over the world.

“There isn’t anyone I can imagine who is as well connected,” Clinton said at an official department ceremony.

Clinton would certainly know. After all, Balderston — recently named Washington general manager of FleishmanHillard, one of the world’s largest public relations and communications firms — has worked for either Clinton or her husband (that would be former President Bill) for nearly two decades. Balderston served as President Clinton’s special assistant for Cabinet affairs and then deputy assistant to the president from 1995 until the end of Clinton’s term in 2001.Then, with her eye on New York’s soon-to-be open U.S. Senate seat, Hillary put Balderston to work for her.

Clinton tapped the Upstate New York native to teach her key political details, such as how to pronounce the names of obscure Empire State towns and more importantly, which local kingmakers to schmooze.

The plan worked perfectly — at least for Clinton. She got elected and offered Balderston a job in her Senate office. But at the time, he wasn’t so sure he wanted it. He had already served a stint on Capitol Hill, as senior policy advisor for Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell (D-Maine) in the early 1990s, and he wasn’t convinced he wanted to return.

“I was really more of an executive branch kind of person,” Balderston recalled thinking during an expansive, lateafternoon interview with The Diplomat in his new office overlooking midtown.

However, the former first lady is nothing if not persuasive, and despite his reservations, Balderston signed on for the Senate job. He ended up staying for Clinton’s entire eight-year tenure in the upper chamber of Congress, serving as both legislative director and deputy chief of staff.And though he had virtually zero international experience, Clinton turned to Balderston once again in 2009, when President Barack Obama asked her to be his secretary of state.

This time, Clinton named Balderston as managing director of the newly created Office of Global Partnerships, which put him in charge of State Department initiatives such as the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves, Accelera­ ting Market-Driven Partnerships, and the International Diaspora Engagement Alliance, also known as IdEA.The primary task at the root of each of these programs was finding ways for private companies to collaborate with government — especially in developing countries — to create jobs, make profits and improve people’s lives. (Current Secretary of State John Kerry recently brought on board Andrew O’Brien, the state director in his Massachusetts office when Kerry was a senator, as Balderston’s successor.)

For Balderston, who is constantly seeking ways to convene seemingly disparate powers in the pursuit of common

Page 4

goals, the job was a natural fit.

“I think people are very frustrated by the lack of government’s ability to find solutions, and there has to be a new paradigm to bring people in to take ownership of these problems and work together to solve them,” Balderston told The Diplomat.“The world is changing. It sounds corny, but when you get the honor of traveling around the world 15 days a month as I did — in villages and huts and capitals and parliaments — you realize there is a sense of urgency and we need to fix these problems. Everybody needs to get into the fray and get over their hang-ups.”

The initiative might sound small bore, but the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves is perhaps the program Balderston oversaw that has the greatest potential to improve and save lives, as well as empower women and protect the environment. Naturally cheerful and effusive, Balderston practically gushed when he talked about the alliance, which seeks to put clean-burning cookstoves in 100 million households worldwide by 2020. He said carcinogenic emissions from traditional wood-burning stoves kill more than 2 million women and children each year. In the Congo, women are routinely raped as they forage for wood to cook their meals, according to the program’s website.

“

The days of pure aid are over — we can’t afford it…. It is about investment now. No one sector, no one foundation, no one country can solve these problems anymore. That’s where I think bringing in different investments is important, so people have ownership into the problem.

— Kris Balderston

”

Washington general manager of FleishmanHillard

“It [primitive cooking methods] is the fourth-largest killer in the world. It kills more people than tuberculosis, HIV and malaria put together and no one knows it,” Balderston said, incredulously.

That’s starting to change. So far, the public-private initiative, launched in 2009, has secured more than $130 million and nearly 40 partner countries to implement its goals.

Academy Award-winning actress Julia Roberts signed on as the program’s spokeswoman, and celebrity chef José

Photo: FleishmanHillard

Andrés, who owns some of Washington’s glitziest restaurants, became a public face of the program, as well. (The Diplomat profiled the initiative in its December 2010 issue in “Common, Deadly, Preventable: Three Humanitarian Efforts With Huge Impact.”)

“He [Andrés] said ‘cooking should not kill,’” Balderston recalled, smiling at the powerful simplicity of the statement.

“We attracted 39 countries to join, including China.We had Shell and Morgan Stanley and Dow Corning [Silicones] involved … but there were a lot of skeptics.”

Balderston said securing the involvement of respected corporate leaders, who knew about developing and distributing products and technology, was critical.

“We didn’t have the government run it as we have in the past,” he said.“We sent it out and we put it on the conveyer belt.”

Although he’s in the private sector now, Balderston said he’s remained on the board of directors of the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves.

“You can’t enter that world without being affected,” he explained.“I’ve been in villages and seen clean cookstoves and it works. People start paying attention to their kitchens. They don’t have soot on their ceilings — it is life changing.”

Balderston also said he was encouraged by the State Department’s work on the International Diaspora Engagement Alliance, launched at the inaugural Global Diaspora Forum in 2011 as a new pillar of foreign policy.

The initiative aims to tap into the vast networks of first- and second-generation Americans who can help solve problems festering in their homelands. Balderston said Washington’s foreign embassies can reach out to their diasporas, which are ideally situated to assist their countries.

The Washington Diplomat

See Balderston, page 6 July 2013

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from page 4

Balderston He advised embassies to organize their diasporas to push back against negative media stereotypes of their cultures, organize for better political representation, and improve economic opportunities in their homelands.

“There are so many things these embassies can be doing,” he said. “If the embassy has a sincere relationship with their diaspora community in this country, they can send messages back to them. They can say, ‘Hey, we’re getting beat up [in the media] so we’ve got to organize, so the U.S. government knows what’s going on in our country.’

“Then when they’re together culturally, and they’ve solved problems politically, they can solve problems economically,” Balderston continued.

“We’ve got to give loans and grants to our brothers and sisters back home to create an entrepreneurial spirit or say, ‘I want to invest.’ There are a lot of companies now, Dow Corning being one, that actually send their employees back to their home countries because they want to know about new markets. Embassies could be centers of this activity to get companies to take a look at what’s going on back there.”

Balderston said 60 million people living in America send $90 billion dollars in on-the-books remittances to their home countries — and noted that the State Department estimates the actual number is likely double or even triple that amount.

“Embassies should be getting into this realm and really working with their communities,” he said.

Part of what attracted Balderston to Fleishman-

Hillard when the company approached him upon — large users of water around the globe — as bang for their buck at the diplomatic shop.

“I didn’t know much about the Foreign Service, Clinton’s resignation from the State Department examples of companies that are going to great was its global network of offices and contacts. lengths to protect water supplies, not only but they’re very resourceful,” Balderston said.

Balderston, the first outsider to come in as the because it’s good for civilization, but for their bot- “They stepped up to the plate when the secretary said, ‘I want change in 21st-century diplomacy.’ company’s Washington general manager, told us tom lines. he imagines the communications giant as a sort of “We’re going to have a water shortage if we Their reach is amazing.”

Speaking of the secretary, contemplating Hillary “corporate State Department.” don’t start conserving our water,” he said. “Pepsi “I was approached by people at FleishmanHillard has a whole program on conserving water in Clinton’s next move has become one of to look at things a little differently and take the India. Unilever is one of the best corporations on Washington’s favorite parlor games.Who better to partnerships that we grew at the State Department sustainability … and it’s because we can’t keep ask than Balderston: Will she run for president?

“I don’t really know and honestly, I don’t think and try to bring that idea over here — the idea of going down the road of destroying our resources public-private collaboration,” he explained. if you want to keep selling our products. It’s not she knows yet — I can sincerely say that,” he He said his job isn’t simply corporate commu- feel-good at all. It’s doing well and doing good. replied. “She said this in an open meeting with nications.It’s helping to leverage FleishmanHillard’s Walmart gives free health screenings and it brings staff: She was given the advice that you shouldn’t vast networks connecting Capitol Hill to foreign other people into the store to buy their prod- make big decisions when you’re transitioning, and she’s your transitioning out of service the and governments, corporate and nonprofit leaders, NOTE: ucts. Although every effort is made to assure ad is free ofpublic mistakes in for spelling innovators, educators, celebrities and trendsetters “We’ve gone beyond corporate social responsi- first time in 30 years. Now is not the time to say, content it is ultimately up to the customer to make the final proof.

— and get results for clients. bility,” he added. “It is now impact investing and ‘Oh, I’m going to the next thing.’

“I really sincerely — and people roll their eyes The PR company, founded in 1946, is trying to shared value and doing well and doing good. first two faxed becountry made atwhen no cost advertiser, subsequent I say to thisthe — think she just needs a period ofchanges revamp its image and be the “the most complete The That’s a trend that is changes occurring will in the will be billed at a rate of $75 per faxed alteration.

Signed ads are considered approved. time to think about and reflect on what she’s communications agency in the world,” as it puts it, right now and in the world.” offering integrated strategies for social media and Balderston pointed to a 2011 speech Hillary accomplished, think about how she wants to use Clintonany Foundation, ” heto added. other 21st-century content.

Clinton gave in Busan, South Korea, in which she theMark Please check this ad carefully. changes your ad.

But without missing a beat, the man who “The public affairs business is changing,” declared that the U.S. government was done simBalderston said.“There will always be a market for ply handing out aid to foreign countries without knows Hillary Clinton as well as just about anyIf the ad is correct sign and fax to: (301) 949-0065 needs changes one sounded a note of optimism. helping people with communication but you expecting invested partners to pitch in, as well.

“I think she’d be spectacular and I’d get in line want to build these trusted networks that solve “The days of pure aid are over — we can’t Washington Diplomat (301) 933-3552 problems. We have over 80 offices around theTheafford it,” Balderston said.“You need investment.

It to help her in any way I could,” he said. world, but we have the ability to be a boutique is about investment now. No one sector, no one Washington firm yet have global reach to solve aApproved foundation, no one country can solve these prob- Michael Coleman is a contributing writer __________________________________________________________ lot of these problems and do things a little bit dif- lems anymore. That’s where I think bringing in for The Washington Diplomat Changes ferently.” different___________________________________________________________ investments is important, so people have ___________________________________________________________________ Balderston said the fuzzy, feel-good notion of ownership into the problem.”

Reflecting on his days at the State Department, corporate social responsibility is outdated.

Your sourCE For “Nobody really does anything altruistically — which he conceded he had never visited in 32 it’s what’s in it for me,” Balderston asserted flatly. years in Washington before Clinton offered him a diPloMatiC nEWs. “We want to say,‘Look, this is good for you, too … job, Balderston said the agency is underfunded and www.washdiplomat.com could do vastly more with a few additional resourcthis is shared value.”

He used Coke, PepsiCo and Procter and Gamble es. But he also said taxpayers are getting a terrific

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The Washington Diplomat

12/8/11 3:04 PM

July 2013

The Washington Diplomat

Exclusive

Azerbaijan Rolls Out Red Carpet For Visiting U.S. Lawmakers

by Larry Luxner

B

AKU, Azerbaijan — It was well past 4:30 a.m. local time, nearly an hour after touching down at Heydar Aliyev International Airport, and dozens of bleary-eyed passengers on our crowded Turkish Airlines flight from Istanbul were still in the passport control room, milling around in confusion.

“Welcome to Azerbaijan,” proclaimed a large sign overhead.This was my first-ever visit to a former Soviet republic, and the bureaucracy of getting a simple visa stamped in our passports was already starting to exhaust our newly acquainted group as we were shuffled from one line to another, Soviet-style, then told to take a seat and wait.

No sooner had I taken a seat and opened my laptop when a pleasant, middle-age lady from rural West Virginia introduced herself and asked me loudly if I had “wah-fah.”

Over the next four days, me and my colleague from The Washington Diplomat would meet lots of folks like her — enthusiastic, super-friendly lawmakers from places as diverse as Albuquerque, Memphis, Baltimore and Brooklyn — all visiting this strategic, energy-rich but hardly democratic nation on the Caspian Sea as delegates to a conference titled “USA-Azerbaijan: Vision for the Future.”

No doubt this was among the biggest concentrations of American political star power ever seen in the Caucasus — 317 delegates from 42 states, including 11 sitting members of Congress and 75 state representatives, not to mention the former governors of New Mexico and Oklahoma as well as three ex-Obama White House insiders: political strategist David Plouffe, former press secretary Robert Gibbs and ex-deputy chief of staff Jim Messina.

“

Photo: Larry Luxner

Azerbaijan has come far and should be praised for its progress.

But praise should be balanced — not by public criticism, but by encouragement to do more.

— Donald C.F. Daniel

”

S A Z X C C V

visiting professor at Georgetown University’s Center for Security Studies

In fact, Plouffe, Messina and Gibbs were all called out in a Washington Post story that was published at the height of our trip. The article,“For Obama’s ex-aides, it’s time to cash in on experience,” said all three were given five-figure checks to speak at the forum as part of Azerbaijan’s charm offensive to woo Americans.

“Azerbaijan’s president, Ilham Aliyev, is in the midst of a campaign to build support in Washington and among other Western countries amid allegations of corruption and the jailing of dissidents,” wrote the Post’s Juliet Eilperin and Tom Hamburger, although they did not delve into the conference itself. Rather, they used it as a springboard to talk about how President Obama’s pledges to curb special interests “have done little to slow a tide of groups hiring former top aides as highly paid consultants, speakers and media advisers in an effort to influence the administration — part of a longtime Washington practice in which interest groups seek access to the White House by hiring people who used to work there.”

Politico did a similar story titled “Robert Gibbs, Jim Messina, David Plouffe headline Azerbaijan trip.” Neither the Post nor Politico, however, was able to glean much on what was actually said at the conference, nor did they have any reporters who attended it.

The Washington Diplomat did.

In fact, we ended up being the only U.S. media outlet in the entire delegation, part of a 10-member D.C. group that had been invited by the Rumi Forum, a nonprofit that promotes interfaith dialogue and better relations with Turkey and other Turkic-speaking nations.

Rumi was one of the conference’s various partner groups. The main organizers were the Assembly of the Friends of Azerbaijan and theTurquoise Council of Americans and Eurasians, an umbrella organization that advocates for better relations between Americans and Turkish,Turkic and Eurasian communities.

Our delegation, which largely consisted of professors and think tank scholars, was somewhat of an anomaly at the splashy event, filled with state legislators.

So what was the point of flying all those state reps halfway around the world? From the legislators’ perspective, it was just a chance to get to know a critical U.S. ally.

“This is all about understanding a new economy, energy resources and national security,” said Greenbelt lawmaker Tawanna Gaines, who represents District 22 in the Maryland House of Delegates. “They’ve asked for nothing in return.

What they expect is to educate us, and for us to spread the word.”

July 2013

Baku’s rapidly growing skyline is a mix of classic and ultramodern architecture. In May, more than 300 delegates from 42 U.S. states, including 11 sitting members of Congress, 75 state representatives and three former White House aides, traveled to Azerbaijan for a conference on U.S. relations.

That, of course, is key — spreading the word. No matter how enlightening or welcoming these trips are, they’re still junkets, and they serve a purpose. Here, there were a few overlapping agendas: promoting local business and educational ties, but also gaining an edge in a frozen bilateral conflict that’s curiously playing out at the local level, thousands of miles away, in the United States. That would be Azerbaijan’s longstanding beef with Armenia, which occupies the disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh.

Armenians have some of the most formidable lobby shops in the United States;Azerbaijan clearly wants to get in on the action (and has hired firms such as the Podesta Group to help it). Resolutions supporting various nations are fairly common in state houses across the country, and although the toothless bills may not mean much to average Americans, they carry great weight to foreign governments eager to gain legitimacy for their causes.

Some state legislators may even one day wind up in the halls of Congress. So courting them is important to Azerbaijan, which wants to cement its growing reputation as the “anti-Iran” in the region. For example, three of the world’s hottest pop divas — Jennifer Lopez, Shakira and Rihanna — have all performed in Baku, a direct contrast (and some say snub) to the ultra-conservative clerical regime in Tehran. The secular Muslim country of 9 million also maintains close ties with the European Union, United States and even Israel (Azerbaijan is home to 25,000 Jews).

That’s why certain talking points were hammered home at the conference: Azerbaijan provides energy security to the region; it’s reinvested those energy dividends back into

Continued on next page The Washington Diplomat Page 7

Continued from previous page

A 531-foot-high flagpole, which ranked as the world’s tallest until 2011, towers over Baku.

its economy; it’s a critical transit route for U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan; it’s a stable partner in an unstable neighborhood; and it could always use more American backing — political and economic — to stay that way.

Democrat Ronald Young, a former mayor of Frederick, Md., who now represents Maryland’s District 3 in Annapolis, took away that basic message from the trip:“Azerbaijan is trying to promote its oil and gas, and also to make Americans aware of the fact that they’re a very westernized Muslim country that’s looking to build stronger relations by bringing legislators here from different states. I did some reading about Azerbaijan before coming, and I must say I’m very impressed with Baku.”

S A Z X C C V

On the surface, it’s hard not to be impressed with Baku — a glittering capital city of 2.5 million perched on a peninsula that juts out into the Caspian Sea and is often described as a cross between Paris and Dubai.

Like the latter, it was built at supersonic speed, propelled largely by energy wealth. The city’s skyline is now dominated by the Flame Towers, a $350 million futuristic trio of gracefully curved skyscrapers that light up at night with images of fire, a nod to Azerbaijan’s history of Zoroastrian fire worship. Meanwhile, a 33-story Trump Tower is nearing completion across from the Heydar Aliyev Cultural Center, while the glitzy six-story Park Bulvar shopping mall along Baku’s main waterfront promenade boasts more than 100 outlets, including Starbucks and Louis Vuitton, as well as a planetarium.

Most of this building boom was funded by energy revenues, which for a time gave Azerbaijan some of the highest growth rates in the world — 26 percent in 2005, 35 percent in 2006, and 25 percent in 2007.

That red-hot growth has since cooled dramatically, though the country still boasts a respectable per-capita GDP of $10,700.

Azerbaijan’s riches come from its huge oil and gas sector, which accounts for 67 percent of the country’s GDP and 93 percent of its export revenues. Thanks to the presence of hydrocarbons in the Caspian Sea — the world’s largest inland body of water — Azerbaijan has been able to slash its poverty rate from nearly 50 percent to just 6 percent in the last 10 years, according to the president, while reducing unemployment to an enviable 5.5 percent.

“Those of us who travel regularly to Azerbaijan are astounded every time. There’s always something different,” said Matthew Bryza, a former U.S. ambassador to Baku who now runs a security think tank in Estonia and spoke at the conference.

A new pipeline that would carry gas from the Caspian Sea to hungry European markets — thereby making Europe less dependent on Russian gas exports — could make Azerbaijan even wealthier.

“Already $25 billion has been invested, and you’re going to see a doubling of that,” Bryza predicted. “Those who say it’s over in Azerbaijan are simply ill-informed.”

Baku’s stunning transformation is precisely why sightseeing dominated the agenda of the May 24-29 event — from the Old City’s iconic, 12thcentury Maiden Tower and 15th-century Palace of the Shirvanshahs, to the impressive Milli Majlis, Azerbaijan’s 125-member Parliament.That’s where U.S. elected officials jostled for pictures in this opposition-free institution that’s completely dominated by the ruling New Azerbaijan Party and its allies.

The visitors were also taken to Turkish-financed Qafqaz University, whose 3,300 students make it one of the country’s leading academic institutions.

Following a speech by rector Ahmet Sanic, lawmakers from Arkansas, Wyoming and Indiana approached the microphone one after the other, showering their hosts with praise.

“Education is the hope of the world, and the hope for Azerbaijan,” beamed Mary Kay Papen, newly elected president pro tem of the New

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Photo: Larry Luxner

Mexico Senate.“I think we have a lot to learn from this country.”

Also on the agenda was the Azerbaijan Diplomatic Academy, a gleaming new complex that’s rumored to be modeled after the National Foreign Affairs Training Center in Arlington,Va.The academy’s rector is Hafiz Pashayev, Baku’s former envoy to the United States and one of Azerbaijan’s most powerful men (he also happens to be the country’s deputy foreign minister and uncle of Mehriban Aliyeva, Azerbaijan’s flashy first lady).

“I’m happy that so many Americans have come to Azerbaijan at the same time,” said Pashayev, who served in Washington from 1993 to 2006. “Our goal is very simple: to stay independent and strong, and to be an example to others in the region. We are an excellent example of how to combine secularism with Islam, and we conduct a good-neighbor policy with all countries.”

Delegates also toured the Qala Archaeological and Ethnographic Museum Complex as well as the Atashgah Temple, an ancient Zoroastrian shrine that a few years ago was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

But Baku’s most unusual, perhaps creepiest, tourist attraction of all is the National Flag Square — a windswept, suspiciously North Korea-like fortress constructed from 28 million rocks and crowned by a 531-foot-high flagpole that ranked as the world’s tallest until 2011 (when Azerbaijan lost the title to nearby Tajikistan).

“

The Azeri government is trying to find ways to endear themselves to U.S. policymakers…. A very effective way of doing that is to pay them to visit the country and give speeches. They’re trying to buy favors with those who are well connected with the U.S. government.

”

— Craig Holman

government affairs lobbyist at Public Citizen

At virtually every stop, these friendly but rather parochial lawmakers from New Jersey,Texas, Ohio and Missouri were elevated to rock-star status during interviews by beautiful female Azerbaijani TV reporters fawning over their every utterance. The mantra “freedom is not free” became one of the more nauseating sound bites of the trip.

The Americans, meanwhile, traveled in a fleet of 10 sleek silver buses, happily exchanging business cards while rushing from one tourist attraction to the next. The Neoplan buses, manufactured in

A security officer stands guard in front of the Heydar Aliyev Cultural Center, a landmark architectural gem in Baku where the “USA-Azerbaijan: Vision for the Future” conference took place.

Turkey, whizzed by on modern six-lane expressways lined with high, elaborately lit-up concrete walls obscuring the poverty critics say is intentionally hidden from view.

S A Z X C C V

Critics of the “USA-Azerbaijan: Vision for the Future” trip say it was an influence-peddling junket to co-opt U.S. politicians. But what really took place at the gathering, and was it that unusual?

Perhaps the back-story of who got paid what was notable, but in terms of content, nothing was said that you couldn’t hear at any other similar insidethe-Beltway confab — lots of platitudes and praise, with the occasional criticism thrown in.

The main event of course was the conference itself, held the last day at the ultramodern Heydar Aliyev Cultural Center — a Baku landmark designed by Iraqi-British architect Zaha Hadid.

The spaceship-like building, which like the international airport is named after the current president’s father, is so striking that it was recently featured on the Discovery Channel’s “Extreme Engineering” program, in an episode called “Azerbaijan’s Amazing Transformation.”

President Ilham Aliyev himself opened the conference (followed by a whopping 17 introductory speakers). For some unexplained reason, photographers were prohibited from taking pictures during his speech, although iPhones and the like were permitted.

“Since the early years of our independence, we’ve established a strong partnership with the United States,” the 51-year-old head of state declared in fluent English. “American companies are among our main investors and have helped us to transform our economy.We cooperate in energy security, economic diversification and political reforms, and our soldiers stand shoulder-to-shoulder with yours to support efforts in Afghanistan.

I’m sure that in coming years, issues of regional security will be at the center of our discussions.”

He added,“Of course it’s not a secret that energy factors played a role in our transformation,” but insisted that his government has been working to diversify the economy and institute a “parallel strategy of economic and political reforms.”

He didn’t talk nearly as much about the political reforms, though. And the fact that Aliyev — who was elected head of state in 2003 shortly before the death of his father and faces widespread allegations of corruption, censorship and human rights abuses — was joined by so many American lawmakers in Baku elicited scorn from human rights groups.

The Baku-based Institute for Reporters’ Freedom and Safety said on its website that the conference was “yet another publicity stunt” for the Aliyev regime and is in direct contradiction to

Photo: Anna Gawel

Washington’s own democracy promotion agenda.

“It looks like the U.S. delegation missed a golden opportunity to send a message of solidarity to civil society in Azerbaijan,” remarked the group’s chief executive, Emin Huseynov. “We are particularly dismayed that out of 10 sessions of the meeting, no single hour was allocated for discussion of Azerbaijan’s human rights situation, which is alarming.”

As if to prove Huseynov’s point, Martins Zvaners, deputy director of communications at Radio Free Europe (RFE), told us that his Baku correspondent was stopped by security from entering the Heydar Aliyev Center just as the conference began.

“We tried working through the organizers and tried to get some help from the U.S. Embassy in Baku. We even tried speaking to the presidential administration, which was involved at some level, but we were not able to attend. So we ended up catching people as they were coming out of the event,” Zvaners said. “It’s disappointing when a news organization is prevented from covering the news.”

Asked about Radio Free Europe’s exclusion, conference organizer Kemal Oksuz, president of the Turquoise Council of Americans and Eurasians, said “no one from RFE contacted me about this. I don’t know who denied them.”

Oksuz, whose advocacy group was the main driver behind “USA-Azerbaijan: Vision for the Future,” defended the event, saying its aim was straightforward and strategic: to forge stronger cooperation in a critical part of the world.

“There is active U.S. leadership when it comes to Afghanistan and Pakistan, but not the Caspian Sea region,” Oksuz told The Diplomat. “If the United States doesn’t provide this leadership, the region will be left to Russian, Iranian and Chinese influence.”

S A Z X C C V

Oksuz estimated that the five-day extravaganza cost roughly $1.5 million — including round-trip airfare for all the delegates, the expense of putting everyone up at the Four Seasons, Hilton or Park Inn, and speakers’ fees for 75 or so politicians, diplomats, analysts and energy experts squeezed into the daylong conference agenda.

“We are a nonprofit organization, so we have to be cautious with every single penny,” he told us in a phone interview from Houston, where the Turquoise Council — and much of the U.S. oil and gas industry — happens to be headquartered.

It helped that the event’s corporate backers included the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR) and Caspian Drilling Co. Ltd., as well as other well-heeled entities like ConocoPhillips, BP, McDermott International, KBR and others.

While he wouldn’t discuss compensation

The Washington Diplomat

July 2013

arrangements for specific speakers, Oksuz sought to debunk rumors that speakers were paid exorbitant fees, saying that 95 percent of them received honorariums of $2,500 each.

The remaining 5 percent — including Plouffe, Gibbs and Messina — were paid no more than $10,000 or $15,000, he told us.

Asked about the pricey gifts each participant received — including a hand-woven Azeri carpet, an executive briefcase and a set of Czech-made tea glasses — the Turquoise Council president said Azerbaijan is noted for its hospitality, and that “everyone was free to receive or not to receive” the gifts.

But Craig Holman, government affairs lobbyist at Public Citizen, a nonprofit watchdog group, called the Baku shindig a prime example of the kind of high-powered wooing for which Washington is renowned.

“The Azeri government is trying to find ways to endear themselves to U.S. policymakers,” he said.“A very effective way of doing that is to pay them to visit the country and give speeches. They’re trying to buy favors with those who are well connected with the U.S. government.

“Quite frankly, I don’t see anything inherently wrong with Azerbaijan trying to put on a better face for the United States,” Holman added. “What would be wrong is former government officials letting themselves be used as lobbyists.”

In 2009, Plouffe caught flak for giving a speech in Azerbaijan arranged by a lobbyist with ties to Baku. Once the controversy became public, he donated his $50,000 fee to the nonprofit National Democratic Institute.

“This time around, all of them [Plouffe, Gibbs and Messina] got prior approval from the Obama administration, so I do not expect them to turn over their payments,” Holman said.“They followed protocol this time.”

All three are also now in the private, not public sector, freeing them up to speak more candidly in public. Yet for all the hype surrounding their visit to Baku that was spurred by the Washington Post and Politico articles, neither of which covered any of their remarks, none of the three White House vets had much to say about Azerbaijan itself — nor did they offer any big revelations on U.S. politics.

Gibbs did recall a previous visit to Baku in 2005, when he accompanied Sen. Richard Lugar (R-Ind.) and Obama, then a junior senator from Illinois, to a carpet shop in the Old City’s bazaar. Apparently, the young lawmaker wanted to bring home a souvenir for his wife Michelle.

“I have this distinct memory of Sen. Barack Obama haggling and haggling to the point where I was about ready to buy the rug myself,” Gibbs recalled, entertaining his audience. “Wars have been ended with less haggling than between this shopkeeper and the future president of the United States.”

Plouffe’s speech was fast-paced and insightful, although not all that different from the canned Beltway talk one might just as easily hear at a think-tank luncheon in downtown D.C. He dissected Obama’s 2008 election victory, the role of Super PACs in domestic politics and who might run for president in 2016 — with the audience glued to his every word.

After the discussion, when one nervous young Azerbaijani approached Plouffe to introduce himself and ask about the role of multilateral institutions, the former senior presidential advisor spoke to him at length for 10 minutes as admirers queued up to get his attention.

During the Q&A, when The Diplomat asked Plouffe to talk about democracy in Azerbaijan, the country hosting him, he was more reticent, saying the State Department tracks such things in its annual human rights report.

“We praise countries who are doing the right thing, and point out where they need help, but [the key is] to be a helpful collaborator,” he said.

“It’s important to remember that Azerbaijan is still a very, very young country,” he added.

Photo: Anna Gawel

The $350 million Flame Towers, a trio of glass residential buildings that’s visible anywhere in Baku, peek out from the cobblestone streets of the city’s Old Town.

“Even in our country we have a lot of work left to do.”

He then went on to shine a harsh light on some of America’s own democratic deficiencies. “No one in our country should have to wait in line eight hours to vote,” he pointed out, also decrying the corrosive tide of outside spending in U.S. elections, likening it to the Wild West.

“If you’re thinking about running for president today, the question you have to ask yourself is, ‘Do I have enough potential to put together enough Super PAC money?’” he said.

“If you don’t, you’re dead.”

Those words of wisdom flow freely now that Plouffe, along with Messina and Gibbs, have traded in their White House credentials for lucrative gigs as consultants, advisors and the like for groups eager to capitalize on their expertise and connections. Colleagues such as Stephanie Cutter, Ben LaBolt, Tommy Vietor, Jon Favreau, Bill Burton and others have all gone down similar paths.

Washington’s revolving door, in fact, is a time-honored bipartisan tradition. Operatives inside the government frequently migrate to think tanks when their party is out of power.

Big-name officials can earn top dollar on the speaking circuit once they’re out of office, joining agencies such as the Washington Speakers Bureau. Or they form their own lobby shops. These are, after all, sharp, ambitious people who want to remain relevant and get paid handsomely while doing so.

As campaign manager for Obama’s 2012 campaign, Messina successfully tapped the power of social media to help the president win re-election. It’s little surprise he’d now form his own group to offer advice on datadriven, grassroots-focused politics.

Even for those still in office, trips abroad are often part of the job. Some CODELs (congressional delegations) may be jet-setting wastes of taxpayer money — research trip to

Continued on next page

At left, former U.S. Ambassador to Azerbaijan Matthew Bryza is mobbed by Azerbaijani reporters at a conference highlighting U.S.-Azerbaijani ties. Bryza spoke on the panel “Energy Security in the Caspian to Europe: The Changing World Energy Security Dynamics and New Prospects for the Southern Energy Corridor.”

Photo: Larry Luxner

A woman talks on her mobile phone while strolling Baku’s Caspian Sea promenade, as cranes jut out in the background. Azerbaijan’s oil and gas sector accounts for 67 percent of its GDP and 93 percent of its export revenues.

Photo: Anna Gawel

Photo: Larry Luxner

No fewer than 18 speakers opened the “USA-Azerbaijan: Vision for the Future” conference.

Photo: Larry Luxner

Hafiz Pashayev, Baku’s former longtime ambassador to Washington, welcomes Americans to the Azerbaijan Diplomatic Academy.

July 2013

Photo: Larry Luxner

Former White House press secretary Robert Gibbs tells an audience in Baku about what it was like to work for President Obama.

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American visitors tour Azerbaijan’s State Flag Square Complex, which boasts an enormous bronze medallion and one of the world’s tallest flagpoles overlooking Baku harbor.

White wine and local cherry juice share the table with the “USA-Azerbaijan: Vision for the Future” conference program at Baku’s Garden Inn restaurant.

Photos: Larry Luxner

Below, U.S. state legislators visit Azerbaijan’s Parliament during a recent trip to Baku, hosted by the advocacy groups Assembly of the Friends of Azerbaijan and the Turquoise Council of Americans and Eurasians. Local American legislators often pass friendship resolutions supporting foreign governments and their causes.

Continued from previous page Switzerland anyone? — but others trek to war zones like Afghanistan and take on gritty, serious itineraries.

Andy Fisher, Lugar’s media relations manager, also said there’s nothing unusual about Azerbaijan promoting itself across the United States, even at the strictly local level.

“Many organizations work to develop relationships at every level of government because someone may be a local legislator now, but in a few years’ time, he may be the next leader of the country,” said Fisher, pointing to Obama’s 2005 visit to Azerbaijan.

“Certainly being able to develop some understanding of the global picture is important for politicians at every level,” he added. “Throughout my 30-year career, I’ve seen lots of governments and NGOs doing these kinds of activities for members of Congress. It’s not at taxpayer expense and in no way infringes on their official duties — and in fact improves their ability to make judgments.”

S A Z X C C V

One of the best speeches of the day came from Fisher’s longtime boss, former Sen. Richard Lugar, who was chairman of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations when he lost his Republican primary to a tea party challenger in 2012, after 36 years on Capitol Hill.

“In too many countries, energy wealth is a curse, encouraging corruption,” the statesman said.

“President Aliyev has institutionalized transparency measures so the citizens can see energy revenues coming into the government and how they are spent. This is a very important example for countries with newfound oil wealth.The next step is to expand opportunities for civil society and the press to engage in the political life of this country.

Regrettably, too few members of Congress are devoted to the study of foreign affairs. That’s why I’m working at the German Marshall Fund, to establish an institute that will help improve understanding between Congress and foreign missions.”

Lugar added that he sees “enormous potential” in Azerbaijan and its 9 million inhabitants.

“The realization of that potential — as well as the long-term stability of Azerbaijan — depend on successful democratic reforms,” he said.“Azerbaijan needs to continue investing in its future by improving education and access to quality medical care, and by continuing to fight corruption.

Women and girls need to be more prominent voices and full participants in society.”

In a polite warning to his friend Aliyev, the 81-year-old Lugar added that Azerbaijan must

Page 10

Rida T.R. Cabanilla, who represents District 41 in the Hawaii Legislature, left, and Mark Takai, who represents Hawaii’s District 33, present Azerbaijani Ambassador Elin Suleymanov with a box of Hawaiian Host chocolate-covered macadamia nuts during an Independence Day reception in Baku.

“

If we are talking about people-to-people connections, such outreach helps to introduce Azerbaijan to a much wider public than simply a Washington-focused effort and, in turn, showcases America’s diversity to Azerbaijan.

”

ficult neighborhood. I looked at the map.”

To her credit, she also seemed to notice that much of the population outside Baku doesn’t share in the capital city’s riches, saying she hopes the government will use the “bounty of oil and spread it to those beyond this beautiful city.”

S A Z X C C V

— Elin Suleymanov, ambassador of Azerbaijan to the United States strengthen government institutions while safeguarding the rights of citizens and guaranteeing “an independent and responsible media.”

Paul Wolfowitz, former president of the World Bank, said that if the Azerbaijani people could choose,“I’m sure they’d much rather be located in a remote island in the Pacific than here in the Caucasus, near Russia and Iran and without any real friends close by.”

Azerbaijan, he noted, “is peaceful and not a breeding ground for terrorists, it’s overwhelmingly Muslim but is an example of religious tolerance, and an important source of oil and natural gas as well. Azerbaijanis would say they’re fortunate to have the United States — a superpower which has no designs on their country — as a friend.”

Yet the neoconservative — who as President George W. Bush’s deputy secretary of defense was a strident architect of the disastrous Iraq War — cautioned his receptive audience that “Americans need to be careful about lecturing Azerbaijanis, telling them they should adopt our form of democracy as occasionally happens as a condition for American aid. Certainly, people are not going to change their form of government depending on aid from the United States, but as friends, it is appropriate for Americans to offer advice.

Azerbaijan’s leaders need to recognize that in the

end, the government has to have the freely given support of its people. Democracy can take different forms, but it’s proven that governments which enjoy popular legitimacy are governments that last longest.”

Other speakers who took the podium that day were decidedly less critical — even strangely effusive about a country whose name a few lawmakers could scarcely pronounce. Interestingly, the office of Rep. Jim Bridenstine (R-Okla.) wouldn’t even confirm to Politico that the congressman had attended the conference. He did by the way.

Rep. Ted Poe (R-Texas) held up Azerbaijan as “a free and shining light of democracy in the region” — a phrase parroted by several of Poe’s Democratic colleagues, including Ruben Hinojosa of Texas.

Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.) — his fiery rhetoric making him sound more like a preacher giving a sermon than a congressman from Queens — said “this forum shows you that Democrats and Republicans can agree on one thing: the importance of the relationship between the United States and Azerbaijan,” also bizarrely declaring that Azerbaijan is an example of “what democracy is all about.”

In perhaps the signature line of the day, Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-N.Y.) seemed to channel Sarah Palin when she said, “You live in a very dif-

The state legislators we talked to were equally effusive about their host country. “One of the things I love about Azerbaijan is that they have so fresh in their minds what it is to be free from communism,” gushed Nora Espinoza, a Republican state lawmaker who represents District 59 in southeastern New Mexico. “There’s nothing like being there, seeing it with your own eyes. We in America have forgotten what our forefathers fought for. But they have lived it.”

Espinoza was hardly alone in her enthusiasm.

New Mexico, it was later announced to a round of applause, had sent 25 delegates to the conference, more than any other state — including its illustrious former governor, Bill Richardson, who first visited Azerbaijan in 1999 when he was President Clinton’s secretary of energy.They, along with the other visiting Americans, mingled with local Azerbaijanis, many of them prominent businessman, over endless meals of lamb shish kebob, tomatoes, pickled olives, cheese and wine. And on the night of May 28, following a lavish dinner, all were treated to a spectacular Independence Day fireworks display from government-owned Gulustan Palace overlooking Baku.

So was all this wining and dining worth it for the organizers?

Absolutely, Oksuz quickly replied. “We know what we’re doing. We believe events like this con-

The Washington Diplomat

July 2013

Luxury stores line Baku’s buildings, many of which resemble those in Paris. Although Azerbaijan has slashed its poverty rate over the last decade and invested heavily in infrastructure, the capital city’s riches still contrast with the country’s poorer rural areas.

Baku’s glass Flame Towers skyscrapers are lit up at night, projecting a colorful Azeri flag pattern over the city skyline.

Photo: Anna Gawel

Photo: Larry Luxner

ference will bring the significance of the region to decision-makers not only in D.C. but also nationwide. It wasn’t easy to take all these people from 42 states to Azerbaijan, but we’re convinced that the region is important to the U.S. and its allies.”

And the payback for this sort of grassroots organizing often comes in the form of “friendship resolutions” in state capitals from Austin to Boston.

On March 6, for example,Texas Gov. Rick Perry kicked off Texas-Azerbaijan Friendship Day with a barbecue at the governor’s mansion — and a resolution that was formally adopted by both houses of the Texas legislature. Five days later, a similar event was held at the California state capitol in Sacramento. The Turquoise Council and its affiliates have also hosted events in Mississippi, Oklahoma, Kansas, Ohio and Connecticut.

And in early June, the California State Senate adopted a resolution praising Azerbaijan as “a staunch ally and strategic partner of the United States.”

These resolutions are of paramount importance to Azerbaijan because of its ongoing dispute with neighboring Armenia. In 1992, the two former Soviet republics fought a full-scale war over the Nagorno-Karabakh region, which both countries claim. An estimated 25,000 people died and more U.S. elected officials jostle for photos in Milli Majlis, than a million were made homeless.

More than two decades later, Armenia remains Azerbaijan’s 125-member Parliament, which is domifirmly in control of this Delaware-size swath of nated by the ruling New Azerbaijan Party and its allies. land completely surrounded by Azerbaijan, though the de facto independent republic established rounding it, which have never been part of this NO INTEREST after the 1994 ceasefire agreement recog- autonomous district, are now under occupation,” For 12 isn’t Months nized by any United Nations member state — not President Aliyev complained in his speech to U.S. SAME AS CASH! lawmakers. “All our infrastructure and historical even Armenia.

With approved credit minimum purchase of documents have been destroyed by the Armenian But it is recognized in BatonandRouge.

On May 30, $4000 APR 23.97% the Louisiana State Senate adopted a resolution occupation army.”

Some measure of sympathy came from Richard “encouraging and supporting the NagornoMorningstar, the U.S. ambassaKarabakh Republic’s continuing dor in Baku. efforts to develop as a free and To view all “We know that the status quo independent nation in order to the photos is unacceptable, and that the guarantee its citizens those rights from the occupation of Azeri territories is inherent in a free and independent trip, be the greatest hardship Azerbaijan society.” sure to like faces today,” the diplomat said.

That makes the Bayou State the The Washington “More has to be done to move fourth — along with Rhode Island, Diplomat on the peace talks forward, but the Massachusetts and Maine — to Facebook.

Minsk Group co-chairs cannot extend formal recognition to do it on their own. Serious negoNagorno-Karabakh, much to the delight of Armenian lobby groups, and to the con- tiations are needed to build trust and development a framework, but without trust and preparsternation of Azerbaijani officials.

They’re also bitter over Section 907, a clause in ing people for compromise, any effort the sides the 1992 Freedom Support Act that specifically undertake will fail.”

In his speech, Morningstar also noted prohibits U.S. assistance to Azerbaijan. If anything, Baku claims,Armenia is the party with blood on its Azerbaijan’s “remarkable transformation since of the collapse of the Soviet Union” and said hands — not Azerbaijan.

“As a result of Armenia’s aggression, not only Washington’s relationship is based on three pillars: Nagorno-Karabakh but also several regions sur- cooperation on regional defense issues, the pro-

to

see

more

Visiting American officials have a chat in the lobby of Azerbaijan’s Parliament building, against the backdrop of the Flame Towers.

Photo: Larry Luxner Photo: Anna Gawel

motion of democratic reforms, and energy security. The ambassador also praised the Aliyev government for supporting the U.S.-led war in Afghanistan, noting that 40 percent of NATO coalition supplies bound for that country pass through Azerbaijani territory.

In addition, said Morningstar, “Azerbaijan contributes financial assistance to sustain Afghan national security forces and provides training to Afghan government officials. These are important and constructive contributions to Afghanistan’s future and I might say that Azerbaijan has already committed to stay involved in Afghanistan after our troop withdrawal in 2014.”

S A Z X C C V

Elin Suleymanov, Azerbaijan’s current ambassador to the United States, told The Diplomat that as his country’s former consul-general in Los Angeles, he welcomes the conference organizers’ outreach to leaders beyond the Beltway.

“If we are talking about people-to-people connections, such outreach helps to introduce Azerbaijan to a much wider public than simply a Washington-focused effort and, in turn, showcases America’s diversity to Azerbaijan,” he said. “In my view, the presence of participants from all over the United States was the most unique part and, according to what I’ve frequently heard, a widely

July 2013

appreciated part of the convention.”

The ambassador added that the event “focused on enhancing and enriching the U.S.-Azerbaijan partnership through public participation and cultural experiences rather than on opposing any third party” such as Armenia.

Looking back, David Koranyi, deputy director of the Atlantic Council’s Dinu Patriciu Eurasia Center, called the conference a “useful opportunity to showcase the undoubtedly remarkable developments in Azerbaijan in general, and Baku in particular.”

The Hungarian-born analyst, who was part of our D.C. delegation, noted the former Soviet republic’s “strategic role” in Europe’s energy security by its supply of natural gas through the Southern Gas Corridor, and commended its leaders’ efforts to diversify Azerbaijan’s energy-based economy while making significant investments in education. Yet he lamented that the organizers “left virtually neither space nor time to have a real dialogue and meet a broader spectrum of Azeri society” outside the government and state-controlled entities, such as human rights groups, opposition politicians and NGOs. “That would have enabled us to engage in a genuine conversation not only about the achievements and opportunities but also the political and social challenges facing the country, in particular with respect to the democratic shortcomings as

See Azerbaijan, page 13 The Washington Diplomat Page 11

International Relations

Myanmar

Myanmar ’s Envoy Seizes Historic Opening with U.S.

by Sean Lyngaas

T

here is a quiet intensity about Myanmar’s leadership these days — as if they’re gripping a precious metal to show enough of it to the onlooker without letting it slip through their fingers.

They see a once-in-a-generation chance to bring the country back from the brink of failure, to hitch it to the growth train that has catapulted so many other Asian countries to prosperity in the last few decades.

“We want to retake our position in the region,” Than Swe, Myanmar’s ambassador to the United States, said in a recent interview with The Washington Diplomat. It is a pithy summation of what unites Myanmar’s once heavyhanded leadership.

Myanmar — or Burma, as it is also called — was, in the 1950s and 1960s, a center of regional learning and culture rather than the object of pity and scorn it has devolved into since. Southeast Asia’s top university and hospital were in Yangon, the country’s largest city and former capital. The U.N. secretary-general through most of the 1960s was Burmese and known for playing peacemaker in the Cuban Missile Crisis. And, recalled Ambassador Swe, you could go almost anywhere in the world from Yangon airport.There was plenty to be proud of then.

But then the country known for its vast stock of jade began to lose its luster, spelling years of misery for its citizens. A band of generals led by Ne Win seized power in 1962. Businesses were nationalized, thousands emigrated and the economy sank. The military junta had put the once welcoming country on the path to pariahdom.

Generals have ruled the country in some form or another for the half-century since then. They weathered U.N. and U.S. sanctions, brutally put down a 1988 mass uprising and the “saffron” protests led by Buddhist monks in 2007, and notoriously kept aid out of the country when it was drowned by a cyclone the following year.

Writing on the Wall It may never be too late to repent for autocrats as long as they control the fate of millions (and a wealth of natural resources). Perhaps realizing that they could not hold their citizens hostage forever in a globalized world, the junta began loosening its stranglehold on the economy a few years ago. It privatized a host of state assets and started issuing private permits for hospitals and schools.

The generals even invited former World Bank economist Joseph Stiglitz to advise them on reviving the economy in December 2009.

With the Burmese perestroika came a bit of glasnost.

Political prisoners were freed in spurts. The most famous of these prisoners, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, was finally allowed to leave her home in Yangon and eventually reenter politics.

Aung San Suu Kyi is Burma personified. Her father,Aung San, led the country to independence from Britain in 1948. She was imprisoned in her home shortly before her party won national elections in 1990, spending the better part of the next two decades under house arrest. Rather

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“

Photo: Embassy of Myanmar

We want to retake our position in the region.

”

— Than Swe

ambassador of Myanmar to the United States

than try to flee the country, she suffered alongside her people as the junta’s squeeze tightened. The legitimacy gap between the kleptocrats running the country and the dissident holding its soul helped keep Myanmar on the mind of many a U.N. official trying to pry it open over the years.

So the junta’s untethering of Suu Kyi in recent years says a lot about the changes afoot in Myanmar, as does the unlikely partnership she has formed with President Thein Sein.

“What she and Thein Sein share is a common perspective that this is the window of opportunity for their country to move forward and out of this morass,” said Ernie Bower, head of Southeast Asia studies at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a D.C. think tank.

Suu Kyi, now a member of Parliament, and Thein Sein are part of a small cast of characters, including President Barack Obama, who are “vitally important in our process” of rapprochement with the United States, according to Ambassador Swe. The ambassador — who was scheduled to leave his Washington post on June 20 — has had a front-row seat for the remarkable thaw in U.S.-Myanmar relations over the last few years. He was Myanmar’s ambassador to the United Nations in September 2009 when he convened a private meeting on the sidelines of the annual General Assembly in New York City. In attendance were State Department officials Kurt Campbell and Scot Marciel from the American side, and a former ambassador to the U.S.

Last year, Than Swe, a former career military officer and U.N. envoy, became Myanmar’s first official ambassador to the U.S. since 1990. He is scheduled to leave his post in late June, having presided over a dramatic thaw in bilateral relations.

from the Burmese side, Swe recalled. The meeting was a prelude to normalized relations and proof that the countries’ differences were surmountable. Swe gave Marciel some simple advice:“Go and see the country.”

Two years later, in November 2011, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was touring the golden pagodas of Yangon, accompanied by smiling Burmese officials. And a year after that, Obama made the first-ever trip by a sitting American president to Myanmar.

“Not only the government, the ordinary people, normal citizens, have warmly welcomed [Obama] during his visit,” said Swe.The trip “paved the way to promote our bilateral relationship” and “signaled to the world, [the] international community, the United States’ support of our reforming process and our achievements,” he added.

The rapid rapprochement continued when Thein Sein came to Washington, D.C., this past May. Swe pointed proudly to that trip — the first by a Burmese head of state in nearly five decades — as evidence of how far the two countries have come together. Myanmar’s president met with the White House, leaders in the U.S. House and Senate and Burma watchers in a visit that would have been unthinkable just two years ago.

Some human rights groups say the Obama administration is showering the regime with rewards prematurely, losing critical leverage if reforms aren’t fully implemented.

But Obama has been keen to show the military leadership tangible recognition for its about-face.

Bower, who has spent considerable time around Aung San Suu Kyi and Thein Sein, believes that the former gave the White House the go-ahead to invite the latter to Washington. And so it was that these unlikely bedfellows,

The Washington Diplomat

July 2013

the gallant face of Myanmar’s opposition and the modest regime insider, managed to pull off a string of diplomatic coups in their country’s relations with the world’s hegemon.

Myanmar (Burma) at a Glance

Neighborhood Echoes

Independence: Jan. 4, 1948 (from the United Kingdom)

Few countries in East Asia are spared media scrutiny of how their foreign relations affect the balance of power between China and the United States in the region. Myanmar is no different because its opening up to the world has been, to some extent, a reaction to feelings of “claustrophobia about how dependent they had become on China,” as Bower put it.

A combination of Western-led sanctions and expanded Chinese investment in Myanmar caused Naypyidaw to rely on Beijing for 31 percent of its trade by 2011, according to IMF data. Sanctions and embargoes left China with “a lot of advantages in business and using our resources,” Ambassador Swe reflected. This was not lost on ordinary Burmese, nor were their opinions so easily brushed aside. A public backlash over a Chinese-financed dam prompted Myanmar’s government to suspend the project in September 2011.The dam was to be funded by China Power Investment, a stateowned firm, and to funnel electricity to southern China.

“Being the government elected by the people, it upholds the aspiration and wishes of the people,” President Thein Sein said in a statement explaining the dam closure. The Burmese leadership was publicly acknowledging that too much economic “interference” from the Chinese left its people “unhappy,” as Ambassador Swe put it.

Perhaps with this public disillusionment with Chinese enterprise in mind, American firms have been queuing up to set up shop in Myanmar, according to the ambassador.

Last year, the Obama administration relaxed many U.S. restrictions against investment and travel in Myanmar, opening the floodgates for American businesses to tap a market of 55 million potential new consumers. Two big multinational corporations are already taking advantage of the opening: Last month Coke returned to the country after a 60-year absence, opening a bottling plant outside Yangon. The beverage giant and Unilever, which specializes in home, personal care and foods products, also announced that they would invest nearly $1 billion in Myanmar over the next decade, giving a much-needed manufacturing boost to a country where per-capita GDP is

Location: Southeastern Asia, bordering the Andaman Sea and the Bay of Bengal, between Bangladesh and Thailand Capital: Naypyidaw Size: Slightly smaller than Texas Population: 55.1 million (July 2013 estimate) Life expectancy: 65.6 years Religions: Buddhist 89 percent, Christian 4 percent, Muslim 4 percent, animist 1 percent, other 2 percent GDP (purchasing power parity): $90.9 billion (2012 estimate) GDP per-capita: $1,400 (2012 estimate) GDP growth: 6.3 percent (2012 estimate) Population below poverty line: 32.7 percent (2007 estimate) Exports: Natural gas, wood products, pulses, beans, fish, rice, clothing, jade and gems Imports: Fabric, petroleum products, fertilizer, plastics, machinery, transport equipment; cement, construction materials, crude oil; food products, edible oil Source: CIA World Factbook

roughly $1,400 and much of the population lacks electricity.

Swe says his embassy is often flooded with requests for briefings on doing business in Myanmar.The U.S.-ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) Business Council, a D.C.-based trade lobby, has arranged for business delegations to tour the country, he noted.

Of course, foreign business opportunities in Myanmar needn’t be a zero-sum game. The Americans “don’t want to have Myanmar’s good story be a negative one for China,” Bower said.The United States might consider using ASEAN as a forum to assuage China’s sensitivities about a growing U.S. commercial presence in Myanmar, he suggested, adding: “I think China would want to probably participate because they want to be seen as a good neighbor, a player with positive impact in these new regional architectures.”

Myanmar might be amenable to that. “We have no other choice” but to cooperate trilaterally with China and the United States, Swe said. With 1,300 miles of shared border,“you cannot take Myanmar

from page 11

Azerbaijan well as the lack of progress in the peace process over NagornoKarabakh,” he said.

Olga Oliker, a senior international policy analyst at the Rand Corp., had similar gripes.

Many of the U.S. delegates, she said, knew little if anything about Azerbaijan, and too many panels “consisted of one-person presentations by prominent U.S. former officials, who talked mainly about events and policies in the United States and globally, not Azerbaijan specifically.”

She said the extravaganza failed to highlight the real issues confronting the two countries, and that only Azerbaijani officials who parroted the official line were on the agenda. Even worse,“transparency, accountability and pluralism in the Azeri political, social and economic spheres are all severely lacking,” and the poverty outside Baku stands in stark contrast to the capital city’s glitzy skyscrapers.

In general, said Oliker, the conference was all part of a “charm offensive” by Azerbaijan to showcase its accomplishments.

“Whether this is meant to affect U.S. policy, to highlight

[physically] away from China,” he noted wryly.The Burmese are experiencing the pride felt by other fallen Asian countries now on the rise, including China itself. They want to simultaneously assert their independence and self-reliance while exploiting the interdependency of the global economy.

“Myanmar doesn’t want to be sandwiched in [between] the United States and China,” but rather to chart its own course while cooperating with both, said Swe. In doing so, Myanmar’s nominally civilian government still has to navigate a sea of problems.

Political prisoners remain in jail. Newspapers are flourishing, but draconian laws against free speech remain on the books. Some highly touted reforms have stalled. Sectarian violence against the country’s Rohingya Muslim minority is on the rise, and the government’s longstanding fight with ethnic Kachin rebels remains unresolved.

Perhaps most interestingly, Aung San Suu Kyi has evolved from revered democratic icon to dealmaking politician. Once considered unassailable, her critics now accuse her of being co-opted by

good U.S.-Azeri relations to the Azerbaijani public or to serve some other purpose, is not clear to me,” she told us. “Without better preparation of the invited U.S. officials, participation in such activities runs the risk of embarrassment or worse — for instance when legislators from the United States are quoted hailing Azerbaijan as a ‘beacon of democracy,’ something it quite clearly is not.”

Ambassador Carey Cavanaugh, a former co-chairman of the OSCE Minsk Group aimed at defusing the Azerbaijan-Armenia war over Nagorno-Karabakh, is now director of the University of Kentucky’s Patterson School of Diplomacy and International Commerce.

Cavanaugh, while noting how important it is for Azerbaijan to “develop grassroots awareness” and counter efforts by Armenian-Americans to advance genocide resolutions, said the conference offered “mixed results” at best.

“Only a handful of speakers — President Ilham Aliyev and Sen. Richard Lugar, for example — addressed in-depth issues of policy concern and strategies to advance stability and development in the South Caucasus region,” he said.“Many simply put forth ingratiating platitudes which undermined the rationale for the gathering.”

Cavanaugh said participants had hoped to learn more about the Nagorno-Karabakh crisis, exactly how Azerbaijan supports

July 2013

the military leadership that still effectively controls the country. Suu Kyi’s bid to change the constitution to sever that control, and allow her to run for president in 2015, will be the biggest test yet of the grand bargain she’s forged with President Thein Sein and whether the military generals will cede their authority to a democratically elected government.

The ambassador doesn’t seem fazed. He was a career military officer for 30 years before his stint as Myanmar’s man at the United Nations. He took on perhaps his most ponderous duty yet when, in July 2012, he became the country’s first official ambassador to the U.S. since 1990.

Shortly before his arrival, Myanmar’s embassy in Washington became a symbol not of the country’s diplomatic progress but of its political divisions. In 2011, the deputy chief of mission, Kyaw Win, and another diplomat defected and sought political asylum in the United States, embarrassing military rulers back home (also see “Burma’s Kyaw Win Talks About Defecting, Starting Fresh in U.S.” in the September 2011 issue of The Washington Diplomat).

Today, the small mission seems to have newfound purpose, eschewing intrigue for investment and shoring up U.S. ties. With only five embassy officials on hand, including Swe himself, the ambassador is a busy man as he wraps up his Washington posting. During his time here, he took up the challenge of invigorating life in a diplomatic residence that was shuttered for eight years prior to his arrival.

A teak table on which cooling tea sits evokes Burma’s wooded hinterland, as do sprawling charcoal landscape paintings.At the end of our conversation, the ambassador invited The Diplomat to the elevator and pointed to its certification date: 1931, and yet the rusted machinery guided us gently up and down the villa better than an elevator in a high-rise hotel. Myanmar was back on the right track, the ambassador had assured us.

Sean Lyngaas is a contributing writer for The Washington Diplomat.

Get the latest diplomatic news.

Sign up at www.washdiplomat.com.

U.S. efforts in Afghanistan, and what steps were being taken to advance oil and gas production,“but this was not offered, and represents a significant lost opportunity.”

Donald C.F. Daniel, professor at Georgetown University’s Center for Security Studies and a former top official at the National Intelligence Council, said the Azerbaijanis probably got more value out of the conference than did the Americans.

“They had one clearly stated request: that the U.S. support them in their confrontation with Armenia, an adversary whose lobbying clout in the United States is evidenced by a law that sharply conditions American aid to Azerbaijan.”

Yet Daniel said some of the rhetoric was clearly over the top.

“It is churlish to publicly criticize one’s host — especially one that provided a strategically critical transit route to Afghanistan — but it does not encourage Azerbaijan to improve its governance and transparency if the rhetoric exceeds reality,” Daniel told us. “Azerbaijan has come far and should be praised for its progress. But praise should be balanced — not by public criticism, but by encouragement to do more.”

Larry Luxner is news editor of The Washington Diplomat.

He traveled to Azerbaijan with managing editor Anna Gawel in late May.

The Washington Diplomat Page 13

International Affairs

Eurasia

Before Turkey Clamped Down On Protesters, Media Felt the Heat

by Anna Gawel

I

STANBUL, Turkey — As roving water cannons took aim at protesters with pressurized torrents of yellow-tinged water, plumes of tear gas descended on a swanky hub of downtown Istanbul normally populated by open-air tourist buses.

Those buses beat a hasty retreat as clashes erupted between police and protesters in Taksim Square on May 31, leaving behind stunned bystanders snapping pictures of a violent local confrontation that would devolve into a nationwide crisis for Turkey.

The Washington Diplomat was in the thick of it — stuck in the prestigious Marmara Taksim Hotel overlooking Gezi Park, epicenter of the unrest, at the very moment when authorities first broke up demonstrators who’d gathered to protest the razing of the park to make way for a shopping complex. Soon, what began as a peaceful environmental sit-in — over, literally, a small batch of trees — mushroomed into a referendum on Turkey’s government, exposing a chink in the armor of its seemingly invincible prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Tens of thousands of anti-government protesters subsequently converged on Istanbul, Ankara and other cities to denounce what they see as Erdogan’s autocratic style and Islamic-inspired meddling in their personal lives. The prime minister has remained defiant, fanning the flames of discontent that, as of press time, don’t seem to be extinguishing anytime soon.

Interestingly though, as baton-wielding police chased down rock-throwing protesters during that initial melee, they all but ignored the news cameramen filming the crackdown. Freedom of assembly and speech may have been muzzled, but freedom of the press was out in full force — at least from our vantage point.

At the same time, however, CNN Türk was widely panned for airing a penguin documentary shortly after rioting broke out. Sabah, Turkey’s largest daily newspaper, which is now owned by the prime minister’s son-in-law, also failed to cover the protests during those first chaotic days, as did many other mainstream outlets.

“The reluctance of major Turkish news outlets to report on the country’s most

Page 14

“

Photo: Anna Gawel

Freedom of expression and press freedom are important components of a functioning democracy, and as Turkey’s democratization struggle rages on, Turkey will have to face its bad record on that front.

— Gönül Tol

”

founding director of the Middle East Institute’s Center for Turkish Studies

important story … is a direct consequence of Prime Minister Erdogan’s aggressive response to criticism from the press and frequent harassment and jailing of journalists,” wrote Michael Werz, Matthew Duss and Max Hoffman in a June 4 brief for the Center for American Progress (CAP), a left-leaning D.C. think tank.

Werz, speaking to The Diplomat, said he’s been surprised by how Turkish media dropped the ball in their own backyard.

“I think what can be said is that some of the larger news media, print and TV, haven’t really done their job, which is pretty astounding because they have basically missed the story of the year in their own country,” said Werz, a senior fellow at CAP, adding that in recent years, the prime minister has “created an atmosphere of fear” among journalists.

But Erdogan is only partly to blame, Werz says, citing other factors such as a

media structure vulnerable to corporate intimidation and sweeping terrorism laws.“There is no one bullet-point answer — it is complicated,” he said of the media situation.

Indeed, the story of press freedom in Turkey is — like the country’s larger evolution — complicated.

Turkey has more newspapers, bloggers and media outlets than ever before, though it’s also jailed more journalists than any other country in the world, at least according to one group. Veteran columnists say they’ve been harassed and fired for not towing the line, and the government has slapped huge penalties on media companies critical of it.

In fact, long before the police’s hamfisted attack on protesters, reporters complained of a broader assault on the media — whose troubles mirror the growing pains of a country that, up until recently, had been held up as a model of Islamic democracy and economic progress in the region.

Media news vans sit in front of a phalanx of police officers next to Istanbul’s Gezi Park shortly before police attacked protesters with tear gas and water canons, trying to break up a peaceful environmental rally.

Criticism in Perspective The Diplomat visited Istanbul on the heels of a damning report by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) showing that the imprisonment of journalists worldwide reached a record high in 2012, driven in large part by detentions in China, Iran — and Turkey.

In fact, CPJ called Turkey “the world’s worst jailer,” noting that with 49 journalists behind bars, the authorities were holding dozens of Kurdish reporters and editors on terror-related charges and a number of other journalists for alleged involvement in anti-government plots.

That number has since come down, but critics say the ruling Justice and Development Party, or AKP, along with the business conglomerates closely associated with it, have little tolerance for dissent. As a result, watchdog groups say self-censorship among Turkish media is rampant.

“The most recent protests have revealed the extent of self-censorship,” said Gönül Tol, founding director of the Middle East Institute’s Center for Turkish Studies. “NTV for instance, which is one

The Washington Diplomat

July 2013

of the leading news channels in Turkey, has become the target of Gezi Park protestors for not covering police brutality during protests. Finally the channel had to apologize to its viewers for not staying true to its mission.”

She added: “Freedom of expression and press freedom are important components of a functioning democracy, and as Turkey’s democratization struggle rages on, Turkey will have to face its bad record on that front.”

Abdülhamit Bilici is a columnist for Today’s Zaman, one of three English dailies in Turkey, and general manager of the Cihan News Agency, which owns Zaman and a weekly newsmagazine called Aksiyon. Bilici said he’s witnessed the country’s nascent media grow over the last 20 years and urges critics to take the long view.

“Turkey has an authoritarian legacy.We had oneparty rule from 1923 until 1950, so we are not coming from a democracy. Since 1950, we have had four military interventions, and still Turkey has a constitution which was prepared by generals. So when you look at Turkey, you should never forget this background,” he told The Diplomat during an interview at Zaman’s expansive offices overlooking Istanbul shortly before protests spiraled out of control.

He added that during those years of military rule, the media was often “instrumental in preparing the ground for another coup.”

“Now in the last 30 years, there have been important steps. I very much appreciate the reforms started in the 1980s. Until 1990, there was no private broadcasting. All radio and TV was under state control. Now we have more than 1,000 FM radio stations, more than 300 TV channels, and more than 15 news channels,” he said.

“In the past, we had journalists assassinated,”

Photo: Larry Luxner

Protesters disperse as tear gas and jets of water descend on an area of Istanbul normally filled with tourist buses. These initial clashes on May 31 sparked weeks of protests that have posed the biggest challenge to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his AKP government.

Bilici added. “Currently, there is nothing that Turkish media is not able to debate. Before, the biggest issue was the Kurdish issue…. The other taboo was the Armenian genocide. Now every newspaper and TV channel talks about this. The voices of dissent are much higher now compared to the past.”

That’s why Bilici says comparing Turkey to nations such as Norway or Switzerland is way off base.

“When I read reports from various international organizations defining Turkey as worse than Iran or China, it is just nonsense.They don’t understand the real picture in Turkey. And it doesn’t help us,” he argues.

Werz also called the comparison “unhelpful,” describing Turkey as a “vibrant, very opinionated democracy with 80 million people.” In contrast, “people are getting shot and killed in China and Iran.”

“Now does that legitimize even one journalist being in jail in Turkey? No it doesn’t,” he added.

“Quite the contrary, because Turkey is a democracy it has to be held to higher standards than countries that are not democracies.”

Erdag Göknar, the Andrew W. Mellon assistant professor of Turkish and Middle Eastern studies at Duke University, agrees that the situation is more nuanced than the CPJ paints it out to be.

“Turkish society is politically diverse and the number of newspapers reflects this plurality,” he told The Diplomat.“There are well over 20 national papers representing a broad spectrum of political and ideological views from socialist, to moderate Islamist, to secular, to nationalist in Turkey.This includes Kurdish and Armenian dailies. As a point of comparison, the scale of political views that the U.S. media represents is considerably narrower.

Observers focusing only on mainstream media are often completely ignorant of the array of views represented by these publications, especially since the misconception is that no media freedom exists.

“That said, there has always been an uneasy tension between journalists and authors, and the state in Turkey. In the media, this same tension has led to the harassment of journalists leading to censorship, the loss of work and, at times, prosecution or worse,” said Göknar, author of “Orhan Pamuk, Secularism and Blasphemy: The Politics of the Turkish Novel.”

That tension was on full display in what’s become the largest outpouring of anger against the ruling government.

“At first, the mainstream media ignored the protests. After the third day, and once the protests

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Continued from previous page became nationwide, the situation changed. Media organizations had also become the target of protests for their lack of coverage. This had the desired effect, leading to a change in the coverage and some apologies by news outlets that acknowledged their failures,” Göknar explained.

“The protests are now front-page news nationally and internationally and are intermittently being covered live. Nevertheless, the general mass media angle is still along the lines of,‘We’ve heard you, let’s move on.’ Since the mainstream media is controlled by a handful of conglomerates with ties to the government, this is also a way to dismiss the demands of the protestors.

Whereas the government and media — some would say in collusion — first reacted to the protests dismissively in the role of ‘bad cop,’ now they have made an about-face, assuming the conciliatory role of ‘good cop.’”

THE bUSINESS OF CENSORSHIP Indeed, business interests often stymie independent reporting as much as government repression does. Many of the country’s main newspapers and television stations are owned by wealthy conglomerates with lucrative ties to government contracts.

“This cross-ownership of media entities — wherein large conglomerates with major economic interests in other sectors such as construction or energy control media outlets — can open up reporters, editors, and owners to a variety of pressures,” wrote Werz along with his Center for American Progress colleague Max Hoffman in their May 2013 report “Freedom of the Press and Expression in Turkey.”

Bilici of Today’s Zaman agrees that “sometimes media bosses and business can be worse than government. Most of our media are part of holdings which have other interests. If the owner wants to have good relations with government, it’s a big risk to have a critical newspaper.”

He added: “Criticizing the prime minister, you won’t end up in jail, but you could lose your job.”

Or be sued, as Bilici has. Another penalty: steep fines. The Dogan Group, one of Turkey’s largest media conglomerates, was slapped with a $2.5 billion levy in 2009 allegedly for tax evasion, although watchdog groups saw it as retaliation for its negative coverage of Erdogan and the AKP. To cover the fine, Dogan sold the Sabah newspaper, which is now co-owned by a group managed by Erdogan’s son-in-law.

Smaller bloggers were somewhat insulated from this kind of crony capitalism, although they too have come under increasing pressure. U.S. officials say they’ve witnessed bloggers face subtle threats, such as the loss of their daytime jobs or government contracts, though such claims are hard to substantiate.

But now that nationwide rallies pose a growing threat to AKP rule, Erdogan can barely conceal his disdain for social media, calling Twitter “the worst menace to society.”

That’s probably because it’s been so effective in galvanizing the protesters (though it has also spread erroneous reports, such as wildly inflated death tolls). Still, throughout the turmoil, social media was a more credible source of information than many mainstream journalists, who were booed by protesters right alongside the reviled police forces.

“Websites, online forums and social networking sites have changed the media landscape in Turkey by proliferating the realm and reach of Turkish media beyond government control,” Duke University’s Göknar said. “The reason Prime Minister Erdogan recently called Twitter ‘a menace’ is because it is beyond the authority of the state. It would not be an exaggeration to say that the protests were enabled and are currently being sustained by new media.

“As an example, if you sift through a couple hundred Twitter feeds — and the images and videos they link to — you’ll get a better sense of what is happening in Taksim Square than if you read the

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— the lack of transparency surrounding the process,” Werz writes in his report on press freedom in Turkey.

Some attempts have been made in recent years to narrow the definition of terrorism, reform the penal code, decrease lengthy pre-trail detentions and better shield journalists. For instance, a judicial reform passed this April would only prosecute speech that directly incites violence. While he applauds such moves,Werz says the ultimate solution is revamping the nation’s constitution to close legal loopholes and protect freedom of expression.

“A modern democracy has no business being governed by a constitution written under military rule,” he wrote.“The existing constitution’s broadly defined laws governing national security and territorial integrity provide ample room for abuse by overzealous prosecutors, while the twin fears of the military deep state and Kurdish separatism lead to prosecutions of those who may be engaged in legitimate reporting or political advocacy.”

PHoTo: LARRY LUxNER

Editions of today’s zaman are printed at the newspaper’s headquarters in Istanbul. Although Turkey has more newspapers and TV news channels than ever before, watchdog groups have accused the government of muzzling the media through pressure, corporate intimidation and sweeping security laws.

national and international press. It is immediate, direct and raw information,” he said.

But a handful of social media users have paid a price for their tweets. Some two dozen were arrested on suspicion of inciting violence. The government is also crafting legislation to restrict the use of social media as part of a wider Internet crime bill.

WIDE LEGAL NET That legislation, if approved, would join a number of arcane security laws that criminalize speech in “support” of terrorist organizations — a loose categorization that can ensnare reporters. In theory, for instance, an op-ed supporting the PKK, a guerilla group that’s fought the government for Kurdish independence since the 1980s, could land a writer behind bars. Despite a recent ceasefire and peace overtures, the Kurdish issue remains highly sensitive in Turkey, where reporters can also be arrested for interviewing Kurdish separatists or attending PKK meetings.

Tol of the Middle East Institute calls Turkey’s terrorism laws “quite vague.”

“For instance, there are thousands of Kurdish activists in jail charged with terrorism charges because the current legislation is so broad that it allows arbitrary use of anti-terrorism laws to silence political opponents,” said Tol, who is also an adjunct professor at the George Washington University’s Institute for Middle East Studies.

“Nonviolent dissenting opinions on controversial political matters have become the target of criminal prosecutions.”

“The government’s ideological position and political agenda often determines whether a particular matter will becomes a ‘third rail’ issue that puts journalists at risk,” said Göknar.“Recently, the topics that have led to government censure have centered on the Kurdish peace process as well as the long-standing Ergenekon conspiracy trials that have rounded up students, journalists and retired military personnel in an attempt to uncover alleged plots against AKP rule. In both instances, journalists have been targeted in detentions without due process.”

Hundreds of people, in fact, have been arrested in connection with the Ergenekon affair, an alleged clandestine plot by military and other ultra-nationalist actors in Turkey’s “deep state” to orchestrate a government coup.

The government says journalists swept up in the affair weren’t just casual observers but active participants in it, while NGOs counter that the charges are flimsy.“Even delving into the details of individual cases, it is very difficult to know the truth, and therein lies another central problem

TANGLED HISTORy From the military “deep state” to Kurdish separatism, many of the roadblocks journalists encounter are wrapped up in Turkey’s tangled history and the ongoing power struggle between the secular old guard and the Islamists, not to mention a hodgepodge of other factions such as liberals, the business elite, urban middle classes, rural social conservatives and an emerging new pious capitalist class.

The Diplomat, in fact, was invited on a press trip to Turkey (and Azerbaijan — see related story) by the Turkic American Alliance and the Rumi Forum, which is affiliated with the Hizmet Movement (meaning “service to others”), led by Fethullah Gulen. An enigmatic figure who lives in reclusive self-exile in Pennsylvania, Gulen maintains a popular (some say cult-like) following in Turkey, where conspiracy theorists say the movement has its hands in the country’s police forces, media outlets (including Today’s Zaman) and other institutions.

Ostensibly, the Gulen movement preaches interfaith dialogue, tolerance, charitable service, women’s rights, education and science — underpinned by a moderate brand of Islam. At one point, the influential religious network seemed to be aligned with the AKP, although rumor is the group broke with Erdogan in recent years, presumably over the prime minister’s increasingly Islamist ambitions.

Religion is, of course, one of Turkey’s biggest fault lines. Many Turks fiercely guard their secular roots, which date to modern Turkey’s founder, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. But that secularism often came at the expense of religious freedom and liberal democracy. Coups were the norm, and minorities or openly devout Muslims were regarded as second-class citizens.

Despite being called a dictator by protesters, there’s no denying that Erdogan ushered in a new era of democratic governance in Turkey after his Islamic-based party won three consecutive elections since coming to power in 2002, each time garnering an increasing margin of victory.

Fresh off its historic win, the AKP quickly set about wresting control of the state apparatus away from the military.

“Given the historical fear of the Turkish deep state — the conspiratorial statist and corporatist elements that many Turks still believe run the military and intelligence apparatuses — [and] the legacy of repeated military coups,”Werz wrote,“it is unsurprising that upon gaining power in 2002 the AKP moved quickly to curb the influence of the military and other branches of the Kemalist establishment that it felt hindered the burgeoning democracy and threatened the party. The party’s reforms, accomplished over many years, included abolishing the military courts that had been influential in stifling dissent, loosening restrictions on the press and religious or cultural expression, asserting civilian authority over military commanders, and pushing to rewrite the constitution.”

See turKEY, page 54 July 2013

The Rotunda

Foreign Affairs on Capitol Hill

Conscience and Consequence: Royce’s Calculus as Foreign Affairs Chair

by Luke Jerod Kummer

R

House and Congress have an opportunity to work together on market-access issues to make certain that the United States is integrally engaged in this growth. Over the past few years, the United States has been a party to only three trade agreements in the Asia-Pacific region, the most recent being the one with South Korea, prior to that with Australia and Singapore. But during that timeframe there have been 180 agreements between Asia-Pacific countries. Clearly, the U.S. needs to be more engaged. In setting the framework for our economic involvement in East Asia and South Asia — and with the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement that’s under consideration — we have that opportunity.

Myself and Rep. Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.), the ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, took a trip to five countries in Asia.We found that our traditional allies in the region are very interested in TPP and in moving forward. In the same manner, Europe is interested in a free trade agreement with the United States. We’ve met frequently with delegations from Europe who have expressed an interest in doing this sooner rather than later, and that synergy would lower tariffs for U.S. exports, since in most cases tariff barriers are higher in Europe than they are here.

And it would give us additional net export opportunities into these markets.

ep. Ed Royce (R-Calif.) began serving his 11th term in Congress this year and assumed the gavel of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.

The California native, who along with his wife Marie can often be seen at embassy receptions and other functions around town, met with The Washington Diplomat in his Rayburn office last month for a Q&A. He wore a navy blue suit, powder blue shirt and a necktie of regal blue argyle, all of which contrasted with his face, which looked like it had been stamped by the midday sun in his Orange County district. He settled into an armchair near the room’s center, hoisted one leg atop of the other, clasped his hands and slowly, deliberately responded to questions about his motivations, what he thinks is right and wrong with the world, and the changes he hopes to effect in his role as a legislator and committee leader.

The Washington Diplomat: You were born in 1951, and you’ve been alive for many tremendous events. Can you name one that shaped how you see the world and America’s role in it?

Royce: Well, it was an event that occurred before I was born, actually. But at the end of the Second World War, my father was with Allied forces when Dachau was liberated, and he took photographs of the consequences of what happened at that concentration camp. I think his photos and his reaction to them sort of shaped my thinking — his trying to confront those who denied the existence of the Holocaust and his efforts to teach students about the consequences of foreign policy when societies try to ignore the intentions of those who harbor an impulse to exterminate a race.

TWD: In May, you introduced a bill that would reform the way America delivers food aid to foreign countries. Why do you support changing our approach and the new policies outlined in the bill?

Royce: One of the steps that we could take to make foreign aid more efficient is to reform the process so that emergency and development assistance is received quickly and at less cost.The current method of monetization and procedures whereby agricultural products are purchased here and then shipped on U.S.-flagged vessels make the delivery of aid not only much more expensive but a far slower process. And it also has, in the view of the GAO (Government Accountability Office), the adverse consequence of dumping U.S. products on local markets to the detriment of indigenous farmers. The most efficient approach with respect to delivery of aid is to allow funds to be spent immediately at the source in order to deal with emergencies and to deal with an ever-tightening budget.

TWD:This is reform that the White House also supports.

Royce: Myself and Rep. Karen Bass (D-Calif.) have authored legislation to move through committee, and we are supporting the White House initiative. I think our advocacy for this issue might predate the White House’s initiative, but, yes, we are in concurrence with the White House.

“

Photo: Office of U.S. Rep. Ed Royce

So, to answer your question about why I became interested in foreign policy, it was very much because of the wider issues of human rights and genocide. It was with an understanding that these events are real and they can destroy hundreds of thousands of lives. It was with a recognition that the United States has the capability, when engaged, to help head off genocidal acts and mass killings.

I think we have a responsibility.

— U.S. Rep. Ed Royce (R-Calif.)

”

chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs

TWD: Do you see other opportunities for consensus with the White House, the Senate or the other side of the aisle that might not be apparent to the public?

Royce: In the past, I was the co-author of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), as well as the initiative for the free trade agreement with South Korea. And so with prior administrations and with this one, we were able to secure bipartisan cooperation, including cooperation from the administration.

As we move forward over the next five years, there will be $22 trillion worth of new economic wealth created on this planet, and $11 trillion of it will be in Asia. The White

July 2013

TWD: You arrived on Capitol Hill in the early 1990s. Why did you become interested in foreign policy, and what lesson did you learn in your early years as a congressman that you still return to today?

Royce: One of the lessons I learned is that you have to work in concert with members and get them to visualize the positive consequences of mutual cooperation. AGOA would be the first example of that. That was a bipartisan initiative in which we were ultimately able to convince the Clinton administration to be supportive. Subsequently, the Bush administration supported AGOA when we needed to extend it.

But I would also cite our efforts to bring to the bar of justice both President Charles Taylor of Liberia as well as Viktor Bout, the gunrunner who was providing arms to that warlord and many others in Africa, often supporting both sides of a conflict, as he did in Afghanistan, where he simultaneously armed the Northern Alliance as well as the Taliban. The bloody consequences of the weapons transfers that Bout made to Taylor — and what Taylor did with them — could be seen in Sierra Leone, Liberia and all across West Africa. Bout’s actions also had a devastating effect in Congo and Central Africa.

In these two cases, I led the effort to build a bipartisan coalition so we could target those who were engaged in crimes against humanity and have them brought into custody. That taught me a lesson on how to send a message that there would be very real consequences for war crimes in the developing world. Today, I am involved in an effort along with Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.) to use U.S. special operations and American intelligence resources to track Joseph Kony, who, like Charles Taylor before him, recruited child soldiers, created mayhem and committed atrocities against women and children, including mass amputations.

In Kony’s case, he has operated with impunity for over 18 years in the Central African Republic, in Sudan, in Uganda and in eastern Congo. But with the legislation we’ve passed, we’re hopeful that, just as with Charles Taylor and

Continued on next page The Washington Diplomat Page 17

Continued from previous page Viktor Bout, we’ll have an opportunity to set one more example once he’s brought into custody.

So, to answer your question about why I became interested in foreign policy, it was very much because of the wider issues of human rights and genocide. It was with an understanding that these events are real and they can destroy hundreds of thousands of lives. It was with a recognition that the United States has the capability, when engaged, to help head off genocidal acts and mass killings.

I think we have a responsibility. And we can do it best when we have a bipartisan effort that’s focused on educating our members and then using our collective strength to move legislation and prompt initiatives on the part of the administration.

TWD: When young lawmakers arrive in Congress, they often have to deal with laws affecting places that they haven’t had a chance to visit yet…

Royce: I chaired the African subcommittee for eight years, so I’ve traveled to most of the countries in Africa…

TWD: So what’s something from your travels that taught you a lesson about the world?

Royce: I took a trip into Darfur, Sudan, in order to document the genocide that we were certain was under way. We brought Don Cheadle and Paul Rusesabagina (Cheadle played Rusesabagina in the movie “Hotel Rwanda”). John Prendergast (a human rights activist) also went with us. The thinking was that if we could document the genocidal acts that were occurring, we might be able to prompt the international community to take

action. We spent part of the time in Chad with refugees who had recently fled across the border and part of the time in Darfur. It was there that we visited a town, Tine, that had nearly been erased from the map by attacks. But we were able to interview the survivors, and I remember a young boy who started to hold out his arm, and then he offered his other arm. One hand had been severed.

I asked him how he lost his hand. He said it was the Janjaweed (an Arab militia), and he made the motion of a sword.

The children had drawn us pictures of the attack on their village, and in those pictures there were the Janjaweed. But there were also the forces of the Sudanese government — the forces of the National Islamic Front. In the children’s pictures, there were soldiers in half-tracks and Antonov planes dropping bombs on the village.

The point is that while the government in Khartoum was rationalizing what was happening in Darfur as attacks done by the Janjaweed on the indigenous people, it was in fact the case that the Khartoum government was behind the attacks themselves — attacks that commenced with aerial bombardment and were followed up with armored infantry.Only afterward did the Janjaweed come in to finish the job on the women and children. This genocide was much more than Janjaweed murdering black Darfurians; it was orchestrated at the highest levels. And we documented that. I interviewed a number of the survivors for the “Nightline” camera crew that was there, and that program did an exposé on the nature of this genocide.

After the Second World War, the United States said never again would we permit the slaughter of a race. And yet today we have genocidal acts occurring without adequate engagement on the part of the NGO community, although I make a big

YOU SAY “I DO”...

WE DO THE REST.

exception here for the work of John Prendergast and Enough, Resolve and other organizations that are on the ground, trying. But there is not enough time and effort going into countering these types of crimes against humanity — certainly, not on the part of administrations in Washington. One of my hopes is that in working in a bipartisan way, like we did in Sierra Leone and Liberia, we might have further progress in bringing to the bar of justice President Omar al-Bashir and others in Khartoum who have been involved in orchestrating the genocide in Darfur.

TWD: Samantha Power was just named the Amer­ ican envoy to the United Nations. She’s also been critical of how the U.S. has responded — or not responded — to allegations of genocide. What’s your response to her appointment?

Royce: Well, my hope is that action follows talk.

TWD: History has shown that sanctions don’t always yield the results that America intended for them to achieve — Cuba being one example.

You’ve introduced bills that impose sanctions against Iran and North Korea. Can these measures meet their goals? How? Royce: Stuart Levey was the undersecretary to the Treasury for two administrations. In 2005, he devised a strategy in response to North Korea counterfeiting hundred-dollar notes. Stuart imposed economic sanctions on the Bank of Macau and several additional banks that the North Korean government was utilizing for illicit activity.

He gave those financial institutions a choice: do business with the United States or with North Korea. He announced that all North Korean accounts should be frozen. The consequence, based upon our interviews with North Korean defectors, including the former minister of propaganda and someone who worked on missile sites, was that everything came to a halt in North Korea during that period of time. There wasn’t the hard currency to pay the generals, which is always a problem if you are a dictator. Nor was there the money to buy on the black market the Japanesemade gyroscopes necessary for the missiles. Nor was there the money to purchase the raw materials to keep open the missile-production line.

While those sanctions were in place, it was a time of implosion within the North Korean economy. Kim Jong-il appealed to our State Department, falsely contending that he would come back to negotiate in good faith. And the Department of State trumped the Department of Treasury and lifted those sanctions. But I believe that our undersecretary of Treasury was correct. Sanctions today can have every bit as powerful of an effect as the ones that were imposed against South Africa in a bipartisan agreement, over the will of President

Reagan. They not only helped bring an end to apartheid, but they also pressured the South African government to turn over the atomic weapon it had developed. Sanctions can be enormously effective if done in a way in which you close loopholes and give the regime a choice between its continued survival versus a compromise on ending its nuclear program.

Likewise, we are left with the choice of whether we attempt to use full-throttled sanctions to deter Iran. What that would necessitate is freezing the Iranian foreign reserves held in banks across the world and preventing the repatriation of those earnings. Our legislation does that. It would require ratcheting down the sales of Iranian crude to an average of $1 million a day, which, with the additional oil on the world market, we’re now able to do.The previous sanctions the United States has already put in place have reduced the revenues from Iran’s oil, which is their principal export, by 40 percent. But in addition to further reducing the profits from petroleum, in this legislation we’re also able to target the automobile sector, the construction sector and other sectors of the economy, which will add further pressure to the Iranian regime. We also target those who are involved in violations of human rights in Iran and sanction them by limiting their ability to travel or move profits offshore.

The bottom line is this: As with South Africa, as pressure is applied, we can see the consequences.

There’s already hyperinflation in Iran. If crippling sanctions make the monetary unit worthless, this approach ultimately will force the government in Iran to make that choice of either giving up its desire for a nuclear weapons capability or being able to hang onto power. According to the last Gallup poll that I saw, two-thirds of Iran’s population wants a regime that is not theocratic. And because the Ayatollah (Khamenei) has to contend with that popular sentiment, the deprivations that are caused by both the economic illiteracy of the regime as well as the sanctions that are imposed can drive that regime toward choosing to compromise on its nuclear ambitions. *This interview was lightly edited for grammar, clarity and length.

Luke Jerod Kummer is the congressional correspondent for The Washington Diplomat.

Follow The Diplomat Connect at www.washdiplomat.com.

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The Washington Diplomat

July 2013

COVER PROFILE

Ambassador Nathalie Cely Suárez

Snowden Makes Headlines for Ecuador, And Headaches for D.C. Ambassador

by Larry Luxner

A

N IMPORTANT NOTE: The Washington Diplomat’s interview with Ecuadorian Ambassador Nathalie Cely Suárez and the printing of the July 2013 issue took place before NSA leaker Edward Snowden left Hong Kong to seek political asylum in Ecuador. The online version of this cover profile has been rewritten to reflect those developments.

As Nathalie Cely Suárez is quickly finding out, being Ecuador’s ambassador to the United States isn’t a job for sissies.

Her country’s president, Rafael Correa, has never missed an opportunity to thumb his nose at Washington. And he’s relishing yet another chance to act as the region’s anti-America antagonist, even if it means risk­­ing access to crucial U.S. trade preferences that keep 400,000 of Ecuador’s mostly impoverished 15 million citizens employed.

In late June, Edward Snowden — leaker of National Security Agency secrets and a fugitive from U.S. justice — thrust relatively insignificant Ecuador onto the world spotlight with his petition for political asylum.

Snowden abruptly left Hong Kong the day after The Washington Diplomat’s July edition went to press.As this updated story went online June 27, the 30-year-old former U.S. defense contractor was believed to be hiding out in a transit zone in Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport, though one reliable source in Quito told us his departure for Ecuador was imminent — and that an entire upper floor of the luxury five-star Swissôtel Quito has been blocked off for Snowden and a local security detail assigned to protect him.

Not surprisingly, Cely was reluctant to delve into the Snowden case, which could easily escalate into the most serious crisis in the history of bilateral relations if the NSA leaker is granted asylum in Ecuador.

“My job is to represent the policies and priorities of my government,” she told The Diplomat. “In the case of Mr. Snowden, we have clear legal requirements to review his application for asylum. It’s in our constitution. We know the U.S. has a clear position on the issue, and we respect that, but we are a sovereign nation and our legal and moral obligations require a thorough review before a decision can be taken.”

A statement posted June 26 on the embassy’s website and attributed to Cely’s deputy chief of mission, Efraín Baus, also says that Ecuador is not provoking the “current situation” and that it “strongly rejects recent statements made by United States government officials containing detrimental, untrue and unproductive claims about Ecuador.”Pretty provocative language for a

mission that insists it’s doing everything it can to improve ties between Washington and Quito.

In a two-hour interview at her Kalorama residence last month (weeks before the Snowden flap), Cely called her president “a man of principles” and insisted that the blistering criticism leveled against him by Washington is deeply unjust.

“This is beyond ideology,” she said of Correa. “He’s a very pragmatic man, and sometimes his narrative to the United States has been very direct.”

Direct — and rash, his critics say. The president — who was sworn in May 24 for his third term in office — recently announced that Ecuador would renounce tariff benefits given to it by the United States under the Andean Trade Promotion and Drug Eradication Act (known as ATPA), which expires July 31. Given the Snowden debacle, Ecuador could’ve pretty much kissed those preferences goodbye, but Photo: Larry Luxner

“

Sometimes people still see Latin America through the lens of the ’70s and ’80s, when there was a good left and a bad left. It’s so easy to box us in with what’s called the bad left. As much as we respect Venezuela and Bolivia, I can argue that we have a different model.

”

— Nathalie Cely Suárez, ambassador of Ecuador to the United States Correa seemed to beat Congress to the punch, even offering the United States $23 million to go learn about civil rights.

Correa, 50, talks a good anti-Washington game, even if it is laced with hypocrisy. On the one hand, the president embraces whistleblowers like Snowden and WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange — who remains holed up at the Ecuadorean Embassy in London, to which he fled a year ago after Correa granted him political asylum — in the name of free speech and government transparency. On the other hand, critics say Correa has gone on a campaign to muzzle the media back home and silence political opposition.

Earlier this year,America’s ambassador in

Quito, Adam Namm, blasted Correa for pushing through a press freedom law he said was anything but free or fair. In response, Correa accused Namm of meddling in Ecuador’s internal affairs. He also claimed the CIA was using drug profits to destabilize his government, proof that the Obama White House was in no position to lecture him about human rights.

“We don’t allow corporations to flood our streets with guns,” Correa ranted to reporters on national TV. “We also don’t execute foreigners without a trial with drone attacks.And we don’t torture prisoners in offshore prisons like Guantánamo.”

Such fiery rhetoric tweaking “the Empire” helps divert attention away from

July 2013

Correa’s own democratic shortcomings. It also helps to bolster his anti-Yankee credentials as the new standard-bearer of Latin America’s leftist movement following the death earlier this year of his friend, the late President Hugo Chávez of Venezuela.

But Cely claimed it’s important to make a distinction between Correa and fellow leftists like Chávez, who clearly despised the United States, and the anti-capitalist president of Bolivia, Evo Morales. Unlike Ecuador, neither Venezuela nor Bolivia — which expelled the American ambassadors in Caracas and La Paz in unison nearly five years ago — have formally repaired their relations with Washington.

“Those comparisons are totally unfair,” she argued.“Sometimes people still see Lat­in America through the lens of the ’70s and ’80s, when there was a good left and a bad left. It’s so easy to box us in with what’s called the bad left. As much as we respect Venezuela and Bolivia, I can argue that we have a different model. Americans forget that Correa has won three elections in a row. His popularity rating is over 80 percent.”

Correa is hugely popular, riding to a

Continued on next page The Washington Diplomat Page 19

Continued from previous page third term in office on a wave of voter support for increasing education and health care for the poor, improving infrastructure, strengthening the economy, and bringing stability to a country rocked by years of political turmoil.

But a few Ecuadorians are voicing concerns that the president’s eagerness to confront a global superpower may be going too far. Even before Snowden spilled the beans on the NSA’s extensive intelligence-gathering operations and then threw himself at Correa’s mercy, there was bad blood between the two countries.

After all, it was barely a year after another fugitive,WikiLeaks brainchild Assange, walked into the Ecuadorian Embassy in London seeking asylum.

The 41-year-old Australian remains there under the protection of the Correa government — and out of reach of Sweden, which wants to question him on rape charges. Assange says the case is just a ploy to eventually extradite him to the United States, which is none too happy with Assange for exposing hundreds of thousands of secret U.S. diplomatic cables with the help of Pfc. Bradley Manning, who’s currently on trial for the leaks.

One of those classified cables resulted in the April 2011 expulsion of the American ambassador in Quito, Heather Hodges. In her July 2009 dispatch to the State Department, Hodges suggested that Correa had named a senior official commander of Ecuador’s national police force even though the president knew he was corrupt.

Hodges was promptly booted out of the country and in response, the State Department declared Quito’s man in Washington, Luis Gallegos, persona non grata and gave him 72 hours to leave the country.

Neither Hodges, who’s since retired to her native Ohio to head the Cleveland Council on World Affairs, nor Gallegos, who represents Ecuador at the United Nations in Geneva, would comment on the circumstances of their respective expulsions, though Cely told The Washington Diplomat that the whole tit-for-tat episode was “really sad.”

“She wasn’t the most loved person in Ecuador,” Cely said of Hodges. “When you’re ambassador, you need to be very careful what you say. It wasn’t just about corruption in the police force. That wouldn’t have raised such concerns. Basically [Hodges] said that President Correa was aware of the corruption and didn’t do anything about it.

She didn’t provide any facts. We requested several times to retract [those accusations]. She refused to comment, so our government was forced to take this very difficult decision.”

John Maisto doesn’t buy a word of that. A former U.S. ambassador to Venezuela, Nicaragua and the Organization of American States, Maisto calls the expulsion of Hodges “outrageous.”

“It was done because she faithfully reported what ambassadors do,” he told us.“The real reason was the Ecuadorian government pointing at the foreign devil to deal with its own problems — a basic truth that is studied in international relations 101.”

Four months after the two countries kicked out each other’s ambassadors, as if by divine conspiracy, the Ecuadorian Embassy in Washington’s Columbia Heights neighborhood was badly damaged in a 5.8-magnitude earthquake, forcing its 30-member staff to work out of temporary quarters in Georgetown while the old mission underwent $5 million in repairs (it finally reopened in late June).

Meanwhile, Assange’s continued presence at Ecuador’s mission in London has exhausted the patience of both British authorities and the Correa government, which in early June fired its envoy to Great Britain, Ana Alban, reportedly for failing to resolve the crisis.

“It’s a very difficult issue. We haven’t been able to take an immediate decision [on what to do with Assange],” said Cely, though she suggests that the hacker — some call him a traitor — remains a popular figure in her own country for standing up to Washington.“So many people in Ecuador think that what Assange did was for the greater good of the world.They believe that thanks to what he did, people know more about how foreign policy has

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Photos: LARRY LUXNER

Condominiums and office buildings fill downtown Quito, the bustling capital of Ecuador.

been crafted.”

Now both Assange and Snowden remain in diplomatic limbo. Ecuador’s foreign minister, Ricardo Patiño, told reporters June 26 that it might be awhile before Ecuador rules on Snowden’s asylum request.

“It took us more than two months to make a decision in the case of Assange, so do not expect us to make a decision sooner this time,” Patiño said.

Later, he clarified his comments via Twitter, saying, “The decision about asylum could be settled in a day, a week, or as with Assange, it could take two months. Some media outlets took off the first part of the statement and left only the second.They are seeking to confuse. We’ve seen it before.”

Either way, warned Maisto, if the final answer is yes, the consequences for Quito would be grave — considering that Snowden could spend the rest of his life in prison if convicted of espionage, theft of government property, unauthorized communication of national defense information, and willful communication of classified intelligence.

“Snowden is charged with a serious violation of U.S. law, and for any country to provide asylum on that basis would affect their relationship with the United States seriously and negatively,” he said.

But Domingo Amuchastegui, a former Cuban intelligence officer who defected to the United States in 1994 and now lives in Miami, said it’s rather ironic that Washington is now warning Correa not to offer safe haven to Snowden — especially given the large numbers of wealthy, corrupt Ecuadorians who fled to South Florida in the wake of Correa’s 2006 election.

“The possibility of Ecuador granting asylum to Snowden as well as to Assange — under diplomatic protection for over a year now at Quito’s embassy in London — should not be interpreted as some kind of intelligence master stroke by Correa’s government against the CIA or anything like that,” he told us.

Rather, said Amuchastegui, these actions are aimed at responding in kind to U.S. hostility and its “permanent refusal” to meet its obligations in similar extradition cases.

“What Assange and now Snowden — and perhaps similar cases down the road — are going to do with the amount of classified information they have already made public is not of any special concern to Correa’s government,” he said.“Its goal is to respond in kind and have significant leverage to force a settlement, and eventually perhaps a permanent treaty for similar cases. The United States must understand that Ecuador is bound by the Vienna Convention on asylum and be more receptive to its claims.”

Yet claims that Ecuador is merely trying to follow the law under the Vienna Convention are likely to fall on deaf ears in Congress.

Even before Correa renounced trade benefits under ATPA, Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, a hard-line Florida Republican who chairs the House Foreign Affairs Committee, already wanted to end trade perks for Ecuador nearly a year ago due to what

she called abuses of human rights and a worsening business climate.

“Since his rise to power, Rafael Correa has led attacks on democracy and freedom of speech, and has waged a campaign to silence any and all opposition voices,” Ros-Lehtinen fumed in an Aug. 2, 2012, press release. “Correa has corrupted the judicial branch and punished independent journalists with a series of politicized court rulings and lawsuits.The U.S. must not reward Correa’s radical behavior and extend Ecuador’s trade preferences under ATPA.” Originally, ATPA was designed as an economic incentive to help Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru fight drug trafficking. But Bolivia has since withdrawn from the program, and Colombia and Peru have free-trade agreements with the United States — leaving Ecuador as the only real beneficiary of ATPA. Cely herself warned that the end of such preferences could devastate a variety of Ecuadorian exports — from broccoli and quinoa to roses and canned tuna. That could put hundreds of thousands of jobs in jeopardy.

“If this happens, it could have a huge impact on Ecuador.We provide 30 percent of the roses to the U.S. market. Think how important this trade is for places like Miami and Los Angeles,” she said.

“Colombia has a free trade agreement with the United States, so that would create a problem for us to compete. After all the money the U.S. has invested in Ecuador, all we’re asking is to cooperate and keep our access to this market.”

The embassy even recently launched a Keep Trade Going (KTG) campaign with an interactive website, letter-writing and petition drive to keep Ecuador’s duty-free access, which is now a moot point. Cely also said her country had been spending “a couple of million dollars” on promotions aimed at making average Americans aware of her country’s progress.“Brown Lloyd James is helping us with public relations.We used to have a lobbyist but we don’t have one at the moment.We’re looking to hire one.”

But there aren’t enough lobbyists in the world to help Ecuador’s image in the United States if it welcomes such a high-profile American fugitive as Snowden with open arms.

Michael Shifter, president of Inter-American Dialogue — a Washington-based think tank — said it’s hard to imagine how granting Snowden political asylum wouldn’t have “very serious consequences” for bilateral ties.

“Relations are already strained and pretty shaky, and this would be a very significant setback,” he told The Diplomat. “It would clearly mean there’s no renewal of any trade preferences. There might be pressure for removing the ambassadors from both capitals. This would be a very defiant move

by Correa — and it would be viewed very seriously by the administration and by Congress.”

Even so, Shifter called Cely a “moderate voice who’s trying her best” to patch things up.

“She clearly doesn’t represent a hard-line posi-

tion, and she understands what’s at stake,” he said.

“But obviously, if Correa decides to grant Snowden asylum and receives him, it’s going to be hard for her to do anything to prevent that relationship from deteriorating.”

It is this troubled relationship into which Cely plunged herself on Jan. 18, 2012, the day she presented her credentials to President Obama as Ecuador’s new ambassador in Washington.

Cely, 47, was born and raised in Portoviejo, a sleepy Pacific fishing port in the coastal province of Manabí. In 1983, at the age of 15, she arrived in Macedonia, Ohio — a town where high school girls from South America were still a rarity.

“When I came back to America in 2002 for my master’s degree, it was a totally different story,” she recalled.“Jennifer Lopez was in, and learning salsa was a cool thing to do. It was cool to be Latin American. I was so pleased to see Americans embracing Latin culture.”

Backed by a grant from the Inter-American Development Bank, she graduated from Harvard University’s John F.Kennedy School of Government with a master’s in public administration. Earlier, Cely graduated from Universidad Católica de Guayaquil in 1990 with a degree in economics.

She worked in the private sector until she was 30, as a currency trader for the financial firm Stratega and later an executive at Banco Unión. She was also president of Edúcate, a foundation that works to improve education through information and communication technology.Along the way, she got married and had two boys.

“I was vice president of a very large bank, but I wasn’t happy,” she said.“I didn’t feel I was contributing to my country. I had a very early middle-age crisis.”

Cely and her husband, Ivan Hernández, moved from Guayaquil to Quito, where she finally found her calling: public service. Cely eventually joined President Jamil Mahuad’s economic team — then in the process of dollarizing Ecuador’s economy — and worked on initiatives to bolster education, health and housing. Later, as an official of the Washington-based Inter-American Development Bank, Cely spent much of her time implementing low-income projects in Guatemala, Guyana, Suriname and the Bahamas.

The envoy, who first met Correa while the two studied at Universidad Católica in Guayaquil, conceded that Ecuador’s economic recovery didn’t start with Correa, but with the country’s dollarization in 2000 by then-President Mahuad. That was the year Ecuador got rid of its worthless sucre and adopted the U.S. dollar as its official currency — the only South American country ever to do so.

Since then, Ecuador’s GDP has grown an average of 5.5 percent a year — ranking the nation of nearly 15.5 million inhabitants behind Chile and Peru but ahead of Colombia and Brazil. Ecuador’s annual per-capita income stands at around $8,500 (although the CIA puts it slightly higher, at $10,200).

Oil revenues now account for 7.1 percent of GDP, compared to 14.2 percent for tax revenues.

Up until the Snowden blowup, Cely said her job in Washington was “to educate congressmen, the U.S. government and the American people” about Correa’s pro-business policies.

“In the beginning, President Correa had a difficult relationship with the private sector. We passed a law that cut all the tax loopholes and increased our GDP by four points in the last four years,” she said.“By law, our debt cannot go higher than 40 percent of GDP.Also, if you have windfalls from oil, you cannot use it for current expenditures, or to hire more teachers and doctors, as important as they are.You can use it only to invest in infrastructure.”

This increase in state revenue, she said, has been pumped into roads, ports, airports, hydroelectric power and other infrastructure. Within five years, she predicted, Ecuador will generate 83 percent of its power from hydroelectricity.

“When you hear a leftist president talking about efficiency, it’s very important,” Cely told us.

“President Correa sees the private sector as an engine of growth. In Venezuela and Bolivia, the state has a much larger role in almost every single sector. In Ecuador, even in strategic sectors, we welcome private-sector participation, allowing us to have a fair share.”

The Washington Diplomat

July 2013

Over the last five years, Ecuadorean exports to the United States grew at an annual clip of 26.6 percent, from $2.94 billion in 2007 to $6.06 billion in 2012. That was a faster growth than any other country in the Western Hemisphere, she said.

Nearly 1.5 million Ecuadoreans also live in the United States, and around 60,000 Americans — mostly retirees — live in Ecuador.

“Sometimes in the United States, President Correa is wrongly portrayed as a person who doesn’t appreciate American culture. But that’s totally untrue because the president really admires this country’s deep values,” Cely insisted.“He went to the University of Illinois and has always praised the U.S. educational system. He’s also praised your solidarity, the way when very difficult things happen, like the Boston Marathon bombing, you forget your differences and you seek the truth.”

Yet Correa’s actions tell a different story. Long before Snowden and Assange, in 2009, Correa booted the Americans out of a large anti-narcotics surveillance base in Manta — not far from where Cely grew up in Portoviejo — that was used to track clandestine cocaine shipments over a vast area of the Pacific Ocean. Under a 10-year lease negotiated in 1999, up to 475 American servicemen were allowed to be stationed in Manta, but that agreement ended after Correa decided that the U.S. presence was anachronistic — despite the $71 million a year the deal pumped into the local economy.

The ambassador insisted that her government is doing its part to curb the trafficking of drugs destined for American consumers.

“The fight against drugs is our main concern,” Cely said. “People can tell you differently, but I’m an economist, and if you look at our budget priorities, we have invested $2.1 billion over the last four years in security. That’s more than what President Obama had requested for the whole region. We bought four drones from Israel and we’re buying more. They’re now flying over our coast. We have drastically reduced human trafficking. We’re also investing heavily to properly equip

Ecuador at a Glance Independence: : May 24, 1822 (from Spain) Location: Western South America, bordering the Pacific Ocean at the Equator, between Colombia and Peru Capital: Quito Size: Slightly smaller than Nevada Population: 15.4 million (July 2013 estimate) Life expectancy: 76.1 years Religions: Roman Catholic 95 percent, other 5 percent GDP (purchasing power parity): $155.8 billion (2012 estimate) GDP per-capita: $10,200 (2012 estimate) GDP growth: 5 percent (2012 estimate) Population below poverty line: 27.3 percent (2012 estimate Exports: Petroleum, bananas, cut flowers, shrimp, cacao, coffee, wood, fish Imports: Industrial materials, fuels and lubricants, nondurable consumer goods Source: CIA World Factbook

our police forces.”

Ecuador’s image in the United States took another hit after the government approved a controversial media law that was widely opposed by the country’s top newspapers and broadcast outlets.

The law, passed June 14 by a National Assembly overwhelmingly dominated by Correa’s ruling Alianza Pais party (which controls 100 of 137 seats), redistributes the airwaves, sharply cutting private media’s share from 85 percent to a third in radio, and 71 percent in TV. Under the measure, a 33 percent share will go to state media and another 33 percent to community radio and TV. It also sets up a new regulatory body with the power to sanction and fine any company that refuses to correct published information.

That doesn’t sit well with U.S. Ambassador Namm, who in early May not only attended a Quito protest to celebrate World Press Freedom Day, he also penned a quotation by Thomas Jefferson — “The only security of all is in a free press” — on a giant cartoon that included criticism of Correa.

The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists agrees.

“The Quito government’s decision to grant Julian Assange political asylum comes at a time when freedom of expression is under siege in Ecuador,” said Carlos Lauría, CPJ’s senior program coordinator for the Americas. “President Correa’s press freedom record is among the very worst in the Americas, and providing asylum to the WikiLeaks founder won’t change the repressive

conditions facing Ecuadorian journalists who want to report critically about government policies and practices.”

Cely said she’s invited CPJ officials to Ecuador to see for themselves.

“There’s always another side to the story,” she told us.“I acknowledge there’s been a lot of polarization on this issue, but I think the majority of Ecuadorians are aware of this and have spoken out. President Correa’s re-election reflects the fact that Ecuadorians don’t think this is an issue.”

She argued that Ecuador’s establishment press is linked to old money and they resent the fact that they no longer hold absolute economic power.

“We had a draconian law, a very old law from the dictatorship of the 1970s that only regulates TV media, not the written press. Under this new law, everybody will be regulated.You need to find a balance between responsibility and freedom of expression. Here you have so many outlets that you can clearly differentiate between right-wing and left-wing outlets.We strongly believe we need to have options for Ecuadorians to decide who’s telling them the truth. We honor a press that respects collective rights.”

Cely added:“The only thing that remains controversial is going to prison for libel or slander. But even on that, the president is open for discussion.

There’s no restriction on social media in the proposed law. Everybody can express their opinions freely.”

Of course, Correa has had no problems freely expressing his contempt for Washington, undercutting Cely and her attempt to mend frayed relations.

But the ambassador insists she’s up to the task.

“When I was minister of production, my role was to create bridges between the private and public sector, and I’ve managed to do that. I translated not only languages but also visions,” she said.

“Sometimes you get lost in translation. I am looking for issues that can bring our nations together.”

Larry Luxner is news editor of The Washington Diplomat.

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U.S. Basketball Players in Ukraine for Spiritual Diplomacy Mission

By Mikhail Morgulis American professional basketball stars David Wood, James Bartolotta, Paul Grant, Anthony Bonner and William Alexsen recently visited Ukraine to spread spiritual diplomacy — the concept of ending conflicts within and among nations by relying on spiritual values. The delegation of NBA and former NCAA basketball players – brought together for this trip by Baltimore-based SportsPower International – traveled throughout Ukraine and visited Chernobyl, where a 1986 nuclear disaster killed thousands of people and spread radioactive fallout over much of Europe.

Mikhail Morgulis, of the Florida-based Spiritual Diplomacy Foundation: “We visited orphanages for children with mental disabilities. Meeting these giants of basketball was a real treat for them. The players brought gifts, computers, and games. More than 200 young Ukrainian athletes

Meeting with President of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovych

were able to sharpen their skills at a class with leading American basketball players, ending with a friendly game.”

“The U.S. players also visited Kiev’s majestic St. Sophia Cathedral and other architectural wonders, and admired the blue Dnepr River from the height of the Vladimir Hill. No wonder Kiev is known as one of the oldest and most beautiful cities in Europe,” added Morgulis. “A meeting was held with President Viktor Yanukovych and members of the Ukrainian government. The President

thanked the players for the love they showed his country and for all the loving care and help that the Spiritual Diplomacy Foundation provides to children. According to him, Ukraine has always been respectful of America, its people and officials. Historically the two nations were once allies in the fight against Nazism.”

More details and photos on the delegation’s visit to Ukraine are available from the US-Ukraine Observer at: http://usukraineobserver. com/issue19148.html

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July 2013

The Washington Diplomat Page 21

Politics

United States

Nations Keep Watchful Eye On U.S. Immigration Reform

by Dave Seminara

A

merica is and always will be a nation of immigrants. But the present debate over how many immigrants should be allowed in, who gets to come, and what should be done with those already here will dictate America’s demographic future.

U.S. politicians have been haggling over immigration reform for years. In 2007, legislation fizzled in the teeth of public disapproval, mostly from conservatives, of a plan to grant amnesty to the country’s estimated 11 million illegal immigrants.

The 2007-08 financial crisis and resulting concerns over high unemployment pushed immigration reform to the backburner during President Obama’s first term. But in the wake of the 2012 election, in which more than 70 percent of Latinos voted to re-elect President Obama, a number of prominent conservatives agreed to work with Democrats on immigration reform in an attempt to shift the demographic tide of young minority voters turning away from the Republican Party.

With Congress set to debate the bipartisan Senate’s Gang of Eight proposal deep into the summer, the possibility of a sweeping overhaul of America’s immigration system has never been closer. Public opinion has also never been riper for change. But with millions of Americans still unemployed or underemployed and wages stagnant for all but the richest, the debate will be contentious and compromise is far from a foregone conclusion.

The Gang of Eight’s bill, the Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act (S. 744), is an 867-page behemoth that seeks to strengthen border security and completely overhaul the U.S. immigration system. It provides a 13-year pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants with no felony convictions who have been in the country since Dec. 31, 2011.The legalization portion is contingent on implementing a border security strategy, with various “triggers” that have to be met along the way, although the definition of what constitutes “border effectiveness” and whether the Department of Homeland Security should make that call remain hotly disputed.

Illegal immigrants would also have to submit to a number of requirements, including paying penalties and back taxes (notably, the bill doesn’t include a calculation for determining the exact amount of taxes owed), and they would not be eligible for federal benefits like Medicaid during their probationary legal status. The bill provides a faster track (five years) to citizenship for so-called Dream Act kids — minors brought to the United States by their parents before age 16.

It also creates a slew of new guest-worker programs and changes the way the caps are counted, roughly doubling the total number of guest workers allowed into the country. S.744 also revamps the present immigration system, which largely rewards those with family members in the United States, with a new merit-based point system that rewards highly educated and skilled migrants.

Of course, that’s the Senate plan, which has yet to pass the chamber as of press time. Senators are eager to tack on a flurry of amendments, some designed to poison the bill.

And what emerges from the deeply polarized House may be a different animal altogether.

There, representatives may pass their own comprehen-

Page 22

Photo: Chad Zuber / bigstock

“

It’s like pork barrel immigration legislation — everyone gets their pet project.

”

— Mark Krikorian

executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies

sive bill (which is being hammered out by a separate “gang”), they could vote on the Senate version (unlikely but not impossible), or — as some GOP leaders prefer — they could vote on a series of individual bills. Democrats have fought against the piecemeal approach, saying measures such as an employer E-Verify system and caps on H-1B visas are inextricably linked. Republicans counter that immigration doesn’t have to be a zero-sum game.

Another possibility is that the effort just dies in the House, where many Republicans from deeply conservative districts could open themselves up to primary challenges back home if they back the bill (also see “Race for Immigration Reform May Face Hurdles in the House” in the April 2013 in The Washington Diplomat). Even if legislation ekes out of the House, a compromise bill would still need to be hashed out in conference committee.

Senate Majority Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has set the July 4th recess as the deadline for wrapping legislation up on the Senate side. Depending on how things go, a House vote may come before the August recess (a few GOP leaders have said a full bill might not pass until the end of the year).

The bill could also be derailed long before then in either chamber, although its fate likely hinges on the House.

The stakes are huge and the world is watching — some countries more than others. In fact, quite a few foreign governments are actively lobbying to shape the legislation to their liking.

Lobby Bonanza In March, the Sunlight Foundation released a report on immigration lobbying from 2008 to 2012, before this year’s debate, which revealed that some 678 lobbying organiza-

Demonstrators display a large banner calling for immigration reform during a rally in front of the Capitol in D.C. on April 10.

Both the Senate and House will be debating legislation this summer.

tions, working mostly on behalf of business interests, spent more than $1.5 billion lobbying in favor of liberalized immigration. On the other side, NumbersUSA, the most prominent group lobbying for reduced levels of immigration, spent $600,000 on lobbying efforts in 2012, according to the Center for Responsive Politics site OpenSecrets.org. That figure represents less than 10 percent of the $8 million spent by Microsoft Corp., which has long lobbied for increasing the H-1B visa program for skilled tech workers.

Immigration reform produces strange bedfellows. It is the only issue where you might find common ground between members of the Occupy Movement and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, for example. On the one hand, the left has long favored increased immigration in part because immigrants tend to vote Democratic, while the business community wants access to the greatest possible (and preferably cheapest) labor pool. But historically, the left and labor unions such as the AFL-CIO have been opposed to guest-worker programs, viewing them as exploitative and unfair to American workers.

And while conservatives abhor the notion of an “amnesty” for illegal immigrants already in the country, business interests that often lean Republican have been clamoring for a major expansion of guest-worker schemes — not only tech giants such as Facebook that want to attract computer programmers and engineers, but also agricultural and other labor-intensive sectors. The Gang of Eight bill offers a delicately crafted Faustian bargain to garner the support of both sides by offering a path to citizenship for the estimated 11 million illegal immigrants, the left’s biggest concern, and a plan that will double the number of guest workers allowed into the country, in a nod to business interests.

But it’s not just domestic interests that are trying to influence the debate. Immigration reform is also a hugely important issue for the foreign countries that send the most migrants to the United States.

The Washington Diplomat

July 2013

Notably Mexico and Central American nations, which rely heavily on remittances from workers in the United States — workers who could become eligible for eventual U.S. citizenship — are paying close attention to what happens in Congress this summer.

As the Hill’s Julian Pecquet reported earlier this year, government officials from Mexico, El Salvador, Honduras and other nations are making their opinions known, albeit discreetly given that immigration reform is a domestic matter.

“They all are extremely diplomatic in how they go about talking about this,” Rep. Xavier Becerra (D-Calif.) told the newspaper. “But it’s no hidden secret that it’s important for a lot of these ambassadors and their governments to see comprehensive immigration reform pass.”

El Salvador, for instance, has at least 200,000 citizens living in the United States underTemporary Protected Status (TPS), first extended to the country in the 1980s during its brutal civil wars. Like other TPS countries, El Salvador hopes its nationals, who have been living here for years and whose TPS status must be regularly renewed, would be first in line in any eventual citizenship drive.

Beyond America’s southern neighbors, many other countries are keen for their unemployed to tap the U.S. labor market. According to a story in the New York Times, Poland, Ireland, South Korea, Canada and a number of other countries have recruited high-priced lobbying firms to help them carve out special access for their citizens in the omnibus legislation.

For example, the Gang of Eight bill would add Poland to the Visa Waiver Program, satisfying a longstanding gripe among Poles — many of whose Eastern European neighbors can already travel visa free to the United States.The bill would also set aside guest-worker visas for the Irish and South Koreans, lengthen visa stays for older Canadians, and grant other special perks to residents of Tibet, Hong Kong and parts of Africa.

“It’s like pork barrel immigration legislation — everyone gets their pet project,”said Mark Krikorian, executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies, which favors stricter immigration controls along with a “warmer welcome” for immigrants who come legally.“For example, it has a visa provision for ski and snowboard instructors. But in order to figure out exactly what they’re talking about you have to refer back to Section 214(a)(2)(B) (8 U.S.C. 15 1184(a)(2)(B), whatever that is.”

Krikorian says that U.S. politicians appear happy to treat foreign governments like domestic special interests groups. Demetrios Papademetriou, president and co-founder of the left-leaning Migration Policy Institute, concedes that there is pork in the Senate bill, but calls it “pork on the margins.”

“Counting 15,000 or 20,000 visas here or there as pork is certainly right, but in terms of the overall context of the bill it is insignificant,” he said.

Papademetriou said that in the American system, legislation always entails a certain amount of horse-trading, and maintained that the immigration bill is no different than any other major bill.

WORk IN PROGRESS What may be different about this latest push is its focus on attracting high-skilled foreign workers to bolster the U.S. economy. The Senate proposal would rebalance the current visa system to favor job skills over family relations, upending longstanding policy.

Currently, about 75 percent of visas go to family members of immigrants already living in the United States. The proposed new merit system would reduce that number to about 50 percent, with the other half going to foreigners who’d earn points for, among other things, holding advanced degrees, especially in science, technology, engineering or mathematics (the STEM studies) and working in sought-after professional fields.The bill also creates a startup visa for foreign entrepreneurs who want to establish businesses that would hire Americans.

To achieve this rebalancing, the bill would eliminate certain categories of family members who could apply for a visa (namely siblings) and repeal the Diversity Visa Program, a lottery that allocates green cards to people from countries with low immigration rates.

July 2013

In other words, as Rachelle Younglai of Reuters sage, and by a whopping $700 billion over the put it, under the new system, “an engineering subsequent 10 years. The reason is because it graduate from India would have a better chance of would legalize roughly 10 million people, bringing immigrating to the United States than the grandin new tax-paying workers into the labor force, mother of a naturalized U.S. citizen who does not including many high-skilled entrepreneurs who speak English.” could further generate economic innovation.

Critics of a merit-based approach say America Yet there’s little doubt that immigration does would no longer be the country that welcomes the have adverse effects on some workers. President world’s tired, poor, huddled masses — instead only Ronald Reagan’s 1986 legislation did open the opening its doors to those who could benefit its immigration floodgates, offering amnesty but little bottom line. But proponents of the changes say in the way of enforcement or job creation — or they are necessary to help America compete in a fixing what many agree remains a broken system.

21st-century world, especially in the critical STEM And from 2000 to 2010, at a time when wages areas. for most middle-class Americans fell or remained On that front, the Senate proposal would raise stagnant, more immigrants arrived in the United the number of H-1B visas for highly skilled workers States than in any prior decade, with more than 14 from the current base cap of 65,000 to 110,000 a million new arrivals, legal and illegal, settling in the year. Eventually, the cap could go as high as country.

180,000, with the number calibrated to respond to That record-setting decade of immigration will market demand. The bill would also allow all forlikely be broken this decade if S. 744 or something PHoTo: CHAD ZUBER / BIGSToCK eign workers with advanced degrees earned in the like it passes. First, it would legalize the estimated United States to apply for an H-1B visa (currently Protesters show their patriotism at an immigration 11 million illegal immigrants, who would eventuthere’s an annual quota), in an effort to keep the rally earlier this spring. A bill proposed in the Senate ally be able to petition for family members to join best and brightest from leaving U.S. shores after could eventually put the nation’s 11 million illegal them in the United States, a ripple effect that they get an education here. would bring millions more to U.S. shores. Second, S. immigrants on a path to citizenship.

Silicon Valley has been among the most vocal 744 grants entry to several million migrants who groups advocating for more H-1B visas, saying to get more benefits after they receive green cards, have been waiting, in some cases many years, to made your legally ad is free mistakes spelling they’re desperately short of highly trained engi- NOTE: immigrate to theofUnited States.in Third, new and the reportAlthough estimates every that theeffort fiscal is costs over to theassure neers, software developers and other specialized lifetime of illegal content it is ifultimately to the guest-worker customer toschemes, make the final proof. depending on how you immigrants, they receiveup amnesworkers. They’ve also been battling Democratic- ty, would be $6.3 trillion. look at them, could help U.S. businesses flourish or inserted provisions that would regulate the hiring TheThese leave already-hurting U.S. workers floundering.Any were changes quickly disputed criticsat no first figures two faxed will bebymade cost to the advertiser, subsequent changes of foreigners by forcing companies to show that who way you Signed look it, though, immigration reform will questioned whichalteration. will be billed atHeritage’s a rate ofmethodology, $75 per faxed ads are considered approved. “an equally qualified American” wasn’t available. they say severely underestimates the amount of dramatically increase the number of foreign-born For the most part, the Senate compromise is a taxes immigrants would pay while overestimating workers in the American labor pool.

Please check this ad carefully. Mark any changes to your ad. major coup for tech companies. Papademetriou the services But is it likely to pass? they’d need. Notably, the think tank says the legislation “delivers for the business com- also failed to take into account the net positive Papademetriou says he is optimistic but cautions ad is correct sign and fax to: 949-0065 munity in spades” and is the best bill supporters ofIf the is likelychanges to water any legislation economic impact of immigration, even(301) though it that the House needs immigration reform could hope for. down.

Krikorian hopes the bill sinks altogether. boosts a nation’s workforce (crucial in nations facOf course, the effort to fill plugs in high-wageTheing Washington “The most hopeful outcome is that it gets 59 demographicDiplomat decline), generates (301) growth933-3552 and professions is only part of the immigration equa- brings people out of the economic shadows. votes in the Senate and collapses,” he said. “They tion. The legislation also creates new guest-worker In fact,__________________________________________________________ the nonpartisan Congressional Budget are trying to create this sense of inevitability that Approved programs (W visas) for farm workers and other Office released figures in June showing that the isn’t quite there yet.” ___________________________________________________________ lower-skilled labor. It is perhaps this element thatChanges Senate’s immigration bill would significantly reduce gets to the heart of a debate that’s raged for___________________________________________________________________ the federal deficit in its first two decades — by Dave Seminara is a contributing writer decades: Do immigrants represent an economic nearly $200 billion in the first 10 years after its pas- for The Washington Diplomat. boon or a financial drain for their host country?

Historically, high-skilled, educated migrants to the United States have been dwarfed by lowerskilled, less-educated immigrants who compete for jobs with less-educated Americans, who are already struggling. In the first quarter of 2013, unemployment was 18.1 percent for American citizens (including naturalized immigrants) without a high school diploma. It was 10.3 percent for citizens with only a high school education, while the broader measure of unemployment, which takes into account discouraged workers and those with only part-time or irregular jobs, was 29.8 percent for citizens without a high school education and 18.4 percent for those with a high school diploma.

Papademetriou of the Migration Policy Institute admits this group — which includes immigrants already here — will be affected by any reform that could usher in new waves of workers, especially low-end earners.

“The brunt of the impact will be born by immigrants and people who work in jobs that pay $8, $9, $10 an hour,” said Papademetriou. “They will oppose this legislation for good reason. But if you go beyond the gut reaction to this — ‘My God more competition’ — and look at the evidence, the evidence is quite different.”

Papademetriou argues that less-educated Americans have been impacted more deeply by globalization and free trade than immigration.

Others argue that immigrants tend to take jobs that Americans are unwilling to do anyway. “Yes immigration plays a role in keeping wages down, but it’s a relatively small role and it plays only a very minor role in job displacement,” Papademetriou said.

Krikorian sharply disagrees. “We haven’t even caught up in job creation with where we were before the recession,” he said.“To create jobs for all the new arrivals, you’d have to have a level of job creation that we’ve never had in our history.”

Likewise, opponents of increased immigration ROCKVILLE, MD 20852 point to studies like one released this spring by the ONLINE AT: www.youreyesopticians.com conservative Heritage Foundation, which asserted that illegal immigrant households use about $55 HOURS: Mon.-Fri. 10-7 • Sat. 10-5 billion more in services than they pay in taxes each year. Calculating that those migrants would begin

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The Washington Diplomat

July 2013

Diplomacy

Embassies

South Africa’s Renovated Mission Encapsulates Traditions, Aspirations

by Martin Austermuhle

S

ometimes a building is just that: a brick-and-mortar structure used for utilitarian purposes. But other times, a building is much more than a simple structure — it’s a symbol, and one that can speak to the traditions, values and aspirations of the organization and people within its walls.

That’s what South African Ambassador Ebrahim Rasool hopes for the two buildings that have long served as the country’s diplomatic presence in Washington and are approaching the end of a multiyear renovation.

“Up until now, we have been entirely housed in a beautiful, historic set of buildings — but nothing that speaks about the new aspirations of our nation and how we represent that architecturally,” Rasool said during an interview from the embassy’s temporary offices in the Intelsat building in Van Ness.

That will soon change, he told us, as the embassy prepares to complete a two-year renovation on the pair of buildings along Massachusetts Avenue that had long served as the ambassador’s residence and chancery. But more than simply offer the growing South African diplomatic delegation a more modern workspace, Rasool said he hopes that they will serve as a physical testament to what South Africa was and is becoming.

The renovations began out of necessity, he explained.

Both buildings were showing their age — they are each more than 70 years old — and the staff, now approaching 80, was no longer able to fit in the one building used as a chancery. Additionally, said Rasool, the 2008 recession and housing market crash provided South Africa with a good opportunity to purchase new properties — new homes for the ambassador and deputy chief of mission — and invest in an overhaul of its buildings.

But as his predecessor, Ambassador Barbara Masekela, began the work of planning and overseeing the work, a broader plan of using the buildings to convey a larger message about South Africa was hatched.

“True to the South African metaphor occasioned by Mr. [Nelson] Mandela when he was released from prison, the theme of reconciling I think is the resonant one,” said Rasool, who has served in Washington since 2010. “For one, it is not a simple abandonment of everything that is old, so just like we’re building the new South Africa of foundations which are there despite our history, our renovation will continue to reflect the historical beauty of the two existing buildings. However, we will give it an entirely new content inside.”

More than a modern interior, though, the new embassy’s most striking — and contrasting — addition will be a glass-and-steel atrium that will connect the two buildings.

The atrium will be used for cultural functions and exhibitions and, as Rasool tells it, best exemplifies the attempt to use the renovated embassy to convey the message that South Africa is both traditional and modern.

“The most important aesthetical statement is that resting on the two historically old buildings is a post-modern atrium, all of steel and glass, that will not only expand the two [buildings] but rest on the two. That will, in an exterior sense, reflect the aspiration of our people, and I think the sum total is that we are historically rooted but we are

Photo: Davis Brody Bond / Turner Construction Co.

“

Up until now, we have been entirely housed in a beautiful, historic set of buildings — but nothing that speaks about the new aspirations of our nation and how we represent that architecturally.

— Ebrahim Rasool

”

ambassador of South Africa to the United States

able to almost transcend it in post-modern ways by remaining on firm old foundations but with completely with new, modern vistas opening up for us,” he said.

Those new vistas surrounding the 58,000-square-foot property will also include the figure of South Africa’s most revered leader, Nelson Mandela. Once the renovations are done, said Rasool, a 10-foot statue of the former president and Nobel Peace Prize winner will be placed in front of the embassy. But like the atrium itself, the statue’s placement will be symbolic in its own right — it will stand outside the embassy’s gates, a nod to Mandela’s emergence from prison in 1990 after 27 years of captivity.

“This represents Nelson Mandela’s first step out of prison.That, if anything, [is] the contribution to that work of my generation here in the mission. So we are adding a wonderful addition to the memorials that adorn the Washington skyline,” said Rasool, himself an anti-apartheid activist who first Mandela while he was detained for his activism (also see Rasool’s cover profile, “South Africa Comes of Age,” in the February 2012 issue of The Washington Diplomat).

Created by South African sculptor Jean Doyle, the statue — the first of Mandela in the United States — will join those of Martin Luther King Jr. and Mahatma Gandhi (outside the Indian Embassy) in what Rasool calls the “golden

July 2013

South Africa’s renovated 58,000-square-foot chancery and residence on Massachusetts Avenue — done by architect Davis Brody Bond and Turner Construction Co. — will feature a glass-and-steel atrium that will connect the two buildings.

triangle of peace heroes.” It will also be placed slightly offcenter relative to the embassy itself, close to a point around which anti-apartheid protests in D.C. swirled during the 1980s. “Nelson Mandela’s statue tribute there will be a tribute to all of them,” said Rasool.

The renovations — designed by architect Davis Brody Bond and implemented by Turner Construction Co. — should be completed by July, and Rasool plans an opening ceremony in September. “It’s going to be the culmina­­tion and the high point of our diplomacy in the U.S.A.,” he said.

Along with the positive public diplomacy that came from South Africa hosting the 2010 World Cup, he noted, the new embassy and the Mandela statue will help further develop the strong relationship between Washington and Pretoria.

“I think it’s really a tribute to the burgeoning relationship between South Africa and the United States that our staff has grown,” he said. “I think that it’s really amazing that we are now in a position to occupy two buildings of substance.”

As for the bilateral relationship itself, Rasool says that while the two countries share many values, he has had to navigate some occasional differences.

“From a values perspective, we [are] completely aligned.

I think we often had tactical differences. How would you bring a resolution in Libya? How would you manage Sudan? How would you manage Zimbabwe? I think we differed on tactics, and I think my job over these past two and a half years has been to keep everyone focused on the commonality of values so that the tactical disagreements don’t unravel a strong bilateral relationship,” he said. “I think that we’ve by and large kept that relationship afloat very, very strongly.”

Martin Austermuhle is a contributing writer for The Washington Diplomat.

The Washington Diplomat Page 25

Inside the Chamber

Southeast Asia

US-ASEAN Business Council Seeks To Unlock Southeast Asia’s Potential

by Larry Luxner

W

alking into the Washington headquarters of the US-ASEAN Business Council, it’s difficult not to be dazzled by the organization’s impressive collection of paintings, travel posters, official gifts and tchotchkes that decorate the walls and fill the bookcases.

In one corner, there’s a vase given by U Khin Maung Thet, director-general of Myanmar’s Posts & Telecoms Department, and in another, a book of Indonesian commemorative stamps. On a nearby shelf sits a colorful scale-model jitney bus from the Philippines, while off to the side is a ceramic plate from the National Assembly of Vietnam.

Look hard enough, and eventually you’ll find a souvenir from every one of the 10 countries that make up the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

Few Americans know more about ASEAN than Alexander Feldman, president of the US-ASEAN Business Council — a 29-year-old organization that aims to foster economic and trade ties between the United States and ASEAN’s 10 member states.

Feldman’s group, with headquarters in Washington and branches in Bangkok, Hanoi, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, Manila and Singapore, represents 125 of the biggest U.S. corporations, from Coca-Cola, ExxonMobil and General Electric to Intel, UPS, FedEx and Google.

“While we don’t preclude smaller companies from joining, our fee structure seems to more easily appeal to larger companies,” said Feldman.

No wonder. Dues are set at only two levels: corporate membership at $10,000 and chairman’s council membership at $25,000. Feldman declined to discuss the US-ASEAN Business Council’s annual budget, but did say it employs 27 people fulltime and that membership has grown by 40 percent in the last three years.

In 2012, the council hosted 200 programs, and this year’s calendar is even busier; last month was particularly eventful.The 2nd US-ASEAN Economic Ministers Roadshow to Los Angeles, Silicon Valley and D.C concluded today with a gala dinner at the Mandarin Oriental, while the 20th ASEAN Regional Forum took place June 27 to 28 in Bandar Seri Begawan, capital of Brunei.

Page 26

Photo: Larry Luxner

“We believe that helping spread the good news about ASEAN to American businesses is beneficial to our members,” Feldman told The Washington Diplomat in a lengthy interview. He noted that the US-ASEAN Business Council is the only U.S.-based organization specifically enshrined in the ASEAN Charter, adopted in November 2007 at the trading bloc’s 13th annual summit in Singapore.

“The idea when we were founded in 1984 was that Southeast Asia was going to be important and that it would need a

lion people — some 9 percent of the world’s population — and boast a combined GDP of $2.2 trillion. Indonesia alone accounts for half of ASEAN’s total population. If ASEAN were a single country, its promoters like to point out, it would rank as the world’s eighth-largest economy — ahead of Russia and right behind the United Kingdom.

Feldman said President Obama’s enduring focus on Asia has been crucial to the deepening of economic ties between the United States and the region. He said U.S.

“

The idea when we were founded in 1984 was that Southeast Asia was going to be important and that it would need a voice to speak for our companies and also to promote opportunities.

— Alexander Feldman president of the US-ASEAN Business Council

voice to speak for our companies and also to promote opportunities,” explained Feldman, who’s been head of the council since June 2009. “At the time, China wasn’t really a market for us. It wasn’t even open. Neither was India, so Southeast Asia was the next big thing.”

Back then,ASEAN consisted only of the five countries that had established the group in 1967: Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines.

Since then, five more have joined: Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar (Burma) and Vietnam.

Today, the 10 countries that form ASEAN are home to more than 620 mil-

”

companies have invested far more in the 10 ASEAN countries — $157 billion to date — than in either Japan or China; the top recipient of U.S. foreign investment is Singapore.

“ASEAN is so critical to the U.S., not only because of foreign direct investment but also because it’s our fourth-largest export market,” said Feldman, noting that 2012 exports of U.S. goods to the 10-country bloc exceeded $75 billion, while imports came to $125 billion.

“We’re seeing incredible growth in trade,” he said.“Since the free trade agreement with Singapore took effect in 2004, we’ve seen overall trade [with Singapore]

Alexander Feldman, president of the US-ASEAN Business Council, stands in front of a 2000 painting by Burmese artist Aunt Thin Oo that depicts Shwedagon Pagoda, a gilded Buddhist shrine in Rangoon.

grow 62 percent.”

Feldman also pointed to the TransPacific Partnership, which started with Singapore, Brunei, Chile and New Zealand and has now attracted a diverse roster of nations such as Australia, Canada, Malaysia, Mexico, Peru, Vietnam and the United States. More recently, South Korea and Japan have also expressed interest in joining TPP trade talks. With Japan’s entry, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative notes that TPP countries would account for nearly 40 percent of global GDP and about one-third of all world trade.

Feldman said that in addition to trade, connectivity is the region’s latest buzzword — with countries racing to build fiber-optic networks and bring the Internet to every village, no matter how remote. But there’s also an emphasis on physical infrastructure such as roads, bridges, ports, airports, hospitals and railroads.

“Indonesia is building a bridge be­­ tween the islands of Sumatra and Java,” Feldman pointed out, referring to the 27-kilometer-long Sunda Strait Bridge, which will link Indonesia’s two most heavily populated islands and cost at least $10 billion.

“When we were in Thailand, the prime minister [Yingluck Shinawatra] told us her government will spend 2.2 trillion baht ($76 billion) over the next seven

The Washington Diplomat

See asean, page 28 July 2013

MEDICAL

Pharmaceuticals

Tsunami of Pricey Specialty Drugs Threatens to Deluge Patients, Insurers

by Gina Shaw

B

etween 2011 and 2012, spending on prescription drugs actually dropped for the first time in more than 50 years.

According to the IMS Institute for Healthcare Informatics, prescription drug spending went down by 1 percent, to $327.5 billion, as many popular medications, like the cholesterol drug Lipitor and the asthma/ allergy drug Singulair, lost patent protection and cheaper generic versions became available. That’s the first such decline since IMS began tracking prescription spending in 1957.

Good news, right? Not so fast. Although overall prescription drug spending declined, spending on one category — specialty medications — hit an all-time high in 2012, according to Express Scripts, the nation’s largest pharmacy benefit manager. Spending on medication for hepatitis C alone rose by 33.7 percent. Today, specialty medications make up about a quarter of the total spent on drugs in the United States, but by 2030, experts predict that these medications will account for half of our prescription drug spending.

What are specialty medications? Definitions vary, but a specialty medication is generally considered to be any drug that treats a complicated, often chronic condition and that requires close supervision and monitoring.

Lipitor: not a specialty medication.Avonex, an injectable drug to treat multiple sclerosis: a specialty medication.

The antacid Prilosec: not a specialty medication.

Remicade, an intravenous medication for rheumatoid arthritis: a specialty medication. In 2012, the Food and Drug Administration approved 39 new drugs — the highest yearly total in more than a decade. Of those, 25 were specialty drugs.

Conditions like acid indigestion, high cholesterol and high blood pressure are much more common than the diseases treated by specialty medications, such as multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, HIV and hepatitis C. But they’re usually much less challenging to manage, and almost always much less costly.

For example, Gilenya, a relatively new drug that treats multiple sclerosis, has impressive advantages: It reduces relapses from MS by about 55 percent, significantly better than the longstanding injectable drug rate of about 31 percent. And it’s the first MS drug to come in pill form.

But it also costs about $58,000 a year.Two other new MS drugs, Tecfidera and Aubagio, cost between $45,000 and $55,000 annually. This means that just one or two patients with complex medical conditions requiring specialty medications can run up the cost of a company’s employer-provided health insurance very quickly.

Not surprisingly, employers and health insurance companies are looking for ways to reduce that spending.

What does that mean?

For starters, it means that people with these chronic conditions can expect much more rigorous scrutiny of their prescriptions, and their doctor’s choice of medication.

If you have health insurance that covers prescription drugs, it’s almost certain that your medication benefit is

Photo: Jim Jurica / istock

Today, specialty medications make up about a quarter of the total spent on drugs in the United States, but by 2030, experts predict that these medications will account for half of our prescription drug spending. administered by what’s called a “pharmacy benefit manager (PBM)” — third-party organizations that take over the drug portion of health plans.

One strategy these PBMs are using to control the exponential growth of specialty medication costs is what’s called a “step edit” or “fail first” policy.The idea is to start with what is accepted as the most cost-effective and safest treatment, progressing to costlier and more potentially risky therapies if the initial treatment fails.

It seems to make sense, but in many cases, patients and physicians argue that they have been forced to jump through unnecessary hoops and go through months and months of treatment that doesn’t work in order to get authorization to pursue the treatment that was initially denied.

A survey conducted in Maryland in 2010 found that the vast majority of the state’s physicians — 88 percent — said that step therapy and other such practices were burdensome, and that more than three in four had considered moving their practice to another state or going strictly fee-for-service, no longer billing health insurance, to avoid these burdens. A number of states have intro-

duced legislation that would permit physicians to override “fail first” or step therapy requirements in some cases.

Another way many health insurance plans and pharmacy benefit managers are trying to cut the cost of specialty medications is through something called “site of care optimization.” It’s more expensive, for example, to get an IV infusion of a rheumatoid arthritis medication at a hospital’s outpatient clinic, as compared with a doctor’s office. The doctor’s office, in turn, is usually more expensive than a dedicated outpatient infusion center — big pharmacy chains like Walgreens are starting to put these centers in the same locations as their retail pharmacies.And often the least expensive place to get the treatment would be at the patient’s home.

A recent report from Walgreens found that it actually cost 86 percent more to deliver the exact same treatment in a hospital-based outpatient facility than in other, less expensive locations. Of course, if you’re a high-risk patient — for example, if you’ve had past serious allergic reactions to a treatment — therapy in a hospital-based facility is safer. But many experts say that most patients could safely and, in many cases, more comfortably receive their infusions in less costly places.

There seems to be no question that the rising tide of specialty drug costs won’t be sustainable in the long run.

Instead, the question is: Will programs like step therapy and site of care optimization, and other care management programs now being explored by third-party payers, be enough to keep these costs under control? And can they do it without cutting corners on patient care?

Only time will tell.

Gina Shaw is the medical writer for The Washington Diplomat.

July 2013

The Washington Diplomat Page 27

from page 26

ASEAN years on infrastructure, mostly on high-speed rail,” he added.

That encounter with Thailand’s prime minister took place during a recent business mission celebrating 180 years of diplomatic relations between Washington and Bangkok. The Treaty of Amity and Commerce, signed in 1833, was the first U.S. diplomatic agreement in Asia and is the cornerstone in the bilateral relationship today.

“With U.S.-Thai bilateral trade at an all-time high of $37 billion in 2012, the role of business in the U.S.-­­Thai friendship has never been more important,” Feldman said in a press release following that trip. “Thailand’s ability to play a leadership role in driv­­ing regional economic integration efforts is incredibly important as ASEAN nations gear up to implement the ASEAN Economic Community in 2015.”

The ASEAN Economic Community envisions region-wide economic integration by 2015, including a single market and production base. However, unlike the 27-member European Union, a euro-like common currency to replace the Thai baht, the Indonesian rupiah, the Singapore dollar and the Vietnamese dong is not in the cards.

“They’ve never talked about a common currency and definitely won’t be talking about it anytime soon. But you can still have lots of benefits to free trade,” Feldman said.“The largest countries [already] have zero tariffs at this point. Those who joined later, including Vietnam, will have zero tariffs by 2014.”

Feldman, 46 and a native of Philadelphia, said his fascination with Asia began while he was a student at the University of Pennsylvania.

“At the time, the tigers of Asia were hot, and one of them was Singapore. I wrote my thesis on comparing the development of Malaysia and Thailand, and then I spent a summer in Singapore working for an investment bank,” he told us. “My primary project was to write a report on the growth of air

cargo in Asia as it related to Singapore Airlines.That piece actually moved the market.”

After college, Feldman got a job at the Commerce Department’s International Trade Administration, then spent 11 years based in Hong Kong and Sing­ a­pore representing a variety of media conglomerates, including STAR Radio, MTV Networks, CNBC Asia-Pacific, NBC Universal, News Corp. and Viacom.

“I got firsthand experience working in every country in Southeast Asia.That gave me a great basis to come back and help Secretary [of State Colin] Powell figure out how you communicate with the world in the 21st century” as an official in the State Department’s Bureau of International Information Programs, he said.

Feldman’s last government position was to promote American higher education around the world.

“We had never really taken on a full marketing campaign in Asia, so we did that in India and China,” he said.“This set me up perfectly for the job I hold today, which is to help U.S. member companies grow their business in Southeast Asia.We do that by removing obstacles and opening up trade opportunities.”

And perhaps one of the biggest growth opportunities in the region is Myanmar, whose military junta has been gradually opening up the nation’s political and economic system.As a result, sanctions have been falling by the wayside as companies from Coca-Cola to GE fight to break into this virtually untapped market of 52 million.

Last July, Feldman — along with Caterpillar’s Kevin Thieneman and Chevron’s Mariano Vela — led a delegation of more than 70 senior executives from 38 leading U.S. companies to Myanmar. The trip coincided with the arrival of the first U.S. ambassador to Rangoon since 1990, Derek Mitchell.

But Feldman insists it’s not about taking advantage of some of the lowest wages on Earth — in what was, up until just recently, one of the most repressive nations in the world. It’s also about tapping into the country’s enormous oil and gas po­­

tential; Myanmar’s Ministry of Energy recently an­­ nounced the presence of 140 million barrels of proven oil reserves and 11.4 trillion cubic feet of gas.

“The companies that are most interested in Myanmar are not those who want to compete on low-cost labor. They’re actually going in to supply products,” he pointed out. “Coca-Cola will have a bottling plant there, P&G [Procter & Gamble] is distributing its products from Thailand, and General Electric has seen tremendous growth from its health care business, helping Burmese hospitals upgrade their power plants. And there’s obviously tremendous need for new construction.”

Yet several dark clouds loom on the ASEAN horizon. One is endemic corruption throughout Southeast Asia — a problem that hasn’t gone away despite numerous government promises to clean up business practices that keep many honest companies away.

A recent report by the Washington-based Center for International Policy said that in China alone, $2.74 trillion in illegal funds left the country between 2001 and 2010 through criminal financial schemes, corruption, tax evasion or other illegal activities. For Thailand, the figure stood at $64 billion over the same period, while in India — the focus of major anti-corruption rallies last year — it’s about $123 billion.

A study by the Thai Chamber of Commerce concluded that just over 2 percent of national output, or around $11 billion, will be lost to corruption this year.

“All our members are well aware of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. None of them bribe government officials,” said Feldman.“However, good governance is a challenge in Southeast Asia. Some companies intend to invest but find levels of corruption too high and don’t make investments because of that.There are ways to do business without getting involved in corruption, but it certainly is the top issue for us across the region.”

Another potential flashpoint: continued hostilities in the South China Sea, where six nations — China, Taiwan, Brunei, Malaysia, Vietnam and the

Philippines — claim ownership of the Spratly Islands. All except Brunei occupy some of the barely inhabited islands, which are important because the area is highly productive for commercial fishing and holds tens of billions of dollars’ worth of potential oil and natural gas reserves.

In November 2002, a Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea was signed by the ASEAN countries in China, in which all parties promised “to resolve their disputes by peaceful means, without resorting to the threat or use of force.”

The United States has urged all parties to resolve the territorial claims through dialogue in a multilateral setting, although Beijing prefers to settle the matter bilaterally with individual states — an approach whereby it’s likely to wield more influence.

China has also been angered by Washington’s attempts to reassert itself as a Pacific power.With its Asian policy pivot, the Obama administration has capitalized on China’s growing assertiveness over the strategic waterways to step up U.S. relations with nations such as Vietnam and the Philippines.

Feldman says ASEAN member states, wary of taking sides, would like to see a balanced relationship between the United States and China.

“They don’t want either country to dominate Southeast Asia, but for commerce and trade to be the focal point,” he told us.“And the U.S. interest is to keep sea lanes open to international commerce, because so much moves through the South China Sea — and that trade is growing substantially.”

He added:“This is not just about China vs.ASEAN. It’s about trying to resolve overlapping claims in peaceful ways that open up opportunities for investment.Vietnam and the Philippines have overlapping maritime claims. So do Cambodia and Thailand. But some disputes have been resolved peacefully, and Brunei and Malaysia are held up as examples of how to do just that. Now both countries are sharing in the fruits.”

Larry Luxner is news editor of The Washington Diplomat.

CAN YOU DO IT YOURSELF? 20 Year Annualized Investment Returns

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The Washington Diplomat

July 2013

HOTELS ■ A Special Section of The Washington Diplomat

■ July 2013

Hospitable

The Capella’s guest-only rooftop lounge

Georgetown Upscale New Properties Enhance Neighborhood’s Allure, Prosperity July 2013

Photo: RoBeRt Reck / caPella hotelS anD ReSoRtS

by Stephanie Kanowitz In its 262-year history, Washington’s Georgetown neighborhood has been a shipping center for tobacco, a military depot, industrial home to coal and flourmills, a haven to freed slaves and one of the District’s worst slums. But since the 1930s and with the help of Georgetown University, it’s become a can’t-miss stop for locals and visitors alike.

See georgetown, page 31

HOTELS The Washington Diplomat

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With more than 120,000 readers, The Washington Diplomat is the flagship newspaper of the Washington, D.C. diplomatic community, featuring our special sections that

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Luxury Living

July 2013

from page 29

georgetown It’s also used its split personality as a historical landmark, college town, shoppers’ sanctuary and exclusive residential area to attract some of the biggest names in the hotel industry — Four Seasons, Ritz-Carlton and, more recently, Capella — as well as some smaller ones, such as the new Graham Georgetown.

“Georgetown has always had an image of being the best place for shopping, nightlife, restaurants and the place you want to go to when you visit Washington, D.C., above the traditional aspects of our city,” said Elliott L. Ferguson, president and chief executive officer of Destination DC, a private, nonprofit corporation that promotes and supports D.C. travel and tourism.“It’s one of the hip addresses to be in Washington.”

“It is one of the unique gems of a historic 18th-, 19th-century neighborhood in the country, and it sits right on the edge of every destination in Washington,” added Joe Sternlieb, CEO of the Georgetown Business Improvement District.“Since Georgetown is on almost every visitor’s itinerary, it makes just as much sense to NOTE: Although every effort is made to assure your ad is free of mistakes in spelling and stay here as anywhere else in town, and we are only 10 minutes by taxi to the Smithsonian museums and the monuments, and 15 content it is ultimately up to the customer to make the final proof. minutes to downtown or Capitol Hill.After a day of doing business or touring the sites, returning to Georgetown for the evening can The first two faxed changes will be made at no cost to the advertiser, subsequent changes feel like a respite.” will be billed at a rate of $75 per faxed alteration. Signed ads are considered approved.

A record 18.9 million people visited Washington in 2012, Photo: RoBeRt Reck / caPella hotelS anD ReSoRtS according to Destination DC, and hotel business throughout the the new 49-room Capella recently opened incarefully.

Georgetown, withMark rooms any changes to your ad.

Please check this ad city is booming with $8.5 billion in developments. But it’s Georgetown that the six-star Capella decided to call home for its first U.S. property (the going for $595 to $745 a night. group also has properties in Germany, Mexico, Singapore, Russia and elsewhere).

If the ad is correct sign and fax to: (301) 949-0065 needs changes “Anytime you have a product that opens, folks are going to look at it and see exactly “Georgetown is really a seven-day destination,” said Alex Obertop, general manager at what they need to do to remain as competitive as they can,” he said. “Those brands are Capella. “That’s what our guests want. They don’t want to be in a downtown location The Washington (301) notably always on Diplomat top of their game anyway. ” 933-3552 where there’s no activity that is consistent through the week.”

They each appeal to wealthy, stylish guests in different ways — and with different price Size has a lot to do with why boutique hotels are popping up here, Ferguson said. tags.

For instance, standard rooms run about $200 per night at the Graham and in the $400 Approved __________________________________________________________ “There’s just not a lot of area to build a brand-new hotel in Georgetown, so what you’re range at the Ritz and Four Seasons.

Capella charges $595 to $745. looking at is refurbishing space that already exists,” he said, citing Capella, which took over Changes ___________________________________________________________ Those numbers have gotten plenty of attention. Obertop says the hotel’s size and serthe building that housed the Association of Trial Lawyers of America. “You had a great ___________________________________________________________________ NOTE: Although space everyineffort is made to assure yourliterally ad is set free mistakes in spelling the heart of Georgetown which theofnumber of rooms that youand Continued on next page would able to createup in to thatthe property because building existed.” content it be is ultimately customer tothe make thealready final proof.

The first two faxed changes will be made at no cost to the advertiser, subsequent changes will be billed at a rate of $75 per faxed alteration. Signed ads are considered approved.

“Georgetown has always had an image of being best place shopping, nightPlease checkthe this ad carefully.

Markfor any changes to your ad. life, restaurants and the place you want If the ad is correct sign and fax to: (301) 949-0065 needs changes to go to when you visit Washington, D.C., The Washington Diplomat (301) 933-3552 above the traditional aspects of our city.”

Approved __________________________________________________________ — elliott l. FerguSon, president and chief executive officer of Destination Dc Changes ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________

STiff CompeTiTion

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More than half of the hotel rooms in Washington are considered luxury, upper upscale or upscale, according to Lodging Econometrics’s market trend report from the third quarter of 2012. When the properties cluster in one neighborhood — Capella’s rooftop overlooks the nearby Ritz-Carlton, for example — it ups the game even more, Ferguson said.

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HOTELS The Washington Diplomat

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Continued from previous page vice level justify the hefty cost.

“The other hotels are great hotels.They have their market segment, what they do, they do it great. We’re different,” Obertop said. “We want the right guests. We don’t want to just occupy the hotel. That’s why the rates are what we charge, because there’s great value for the money that we charge.There’s a lot of personnel investment to really create those experiences, from calling the guests two weeks before arrival to ask them,‘What can we do for you?’

“The easiest thing is to open a hotel and open the floodgates [with] low rates,” he added. “Then you’re full from, let’s say day one, because everybody’s going to want to see it. But they’re not the guests that appreciate the service always.”

Capella will be counting on those uber-discerning guests who are willing to pay top dollar to realize its grand ambition of becoming the luxury destination of choice in a market already saturated with sophistication.

But Capella’s premium on privacy and service is a welcome addition to the neighborhood, Ferguson said. “There’s a niche for them, and I think they’ve found it in a great location in the city.”

High-end boutique hotels fit the Georgetown brand of charm, beauty and luxury, Sternlieb said.

“Their message that Georgetown is the place to stay for an exclusive, luxury experience is reinforcing the brand regardless of which of these boutique hotels the guest stays with,” he said. “The Capella guests — who may have slightly different desires or needs from the Four Seasons guests — want to stay in Washington’s luxury neighborhood and they like the fact that their peers are here as well.”

Photos: Ritz-Carlton

Ritz-Carlton has had a property in Georgetown for 10 years. The lobby lounge, left, one-bedroom premier suite, above, and the parlor of the Royal Potomac Suite, right, at the Ritz’s Georgetown hotel, which is housed in a former incinerator, offer contemporary décor with echoes of the neighborhood’s industrial past.

The Georgetown boutique hotel market is not finished growing, he added.

“The next great opportunity to expand the luxury boutique hotel market in Georgetown is the redevelopment of the Latham Hotel, which is out for bids now,” Sternlieb said.

“There may be a tipping point where there is an oversaturation of high-end hotel rooms in Georgetown, but I don’t think we are anywhere near that point yet.”

Here’s a closer look at three posh properties that call Georgetown home.

Capella

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Page 32

At Capella (1050 31st St., NW), which opened March 22 after being in the works for five years, the guest is supreme and service is the top priority. The 49-room hotel eschewed a front desk and concierge in favor of seven personal assistants who also serve as round-the-clock butlers to help guests with whatever they might need, whether it’s backstage passes to the Washington Ballet or access to the city’s premier restaurants.

Indeed, the Capella “experience,” as Obertop called it instead of a stay, begins two weeks before guests arrive. That’s when their personal assistant calls to find out what they might need during their visit and when they might arrive — part of the hotel’s flexible check-in and check-out policy.

“From our philosophy perspective, we need and we want to provide very personalized service because that’s what our guests want as well,” Obertop said. “It’s all about the guests. It’s not about us having an easier operation.”

He calls the Capella the perfect Washington hotel because of its location near culture, shopping, universities, hospitals and sports. Additionally, its layout enables guests to remain secluded or social — from the small lobby elegantly adorned with customPhoto: Robert Reck / Capella Hotels and Resorts designed furnishings, to an expansive rooftop bar and black-granite infinity Custom-designed furnishings and artwork grace the pool that only guests can access, to the Capella’s main hallway. intimate Living Room space juxtaposed with the Rye Bar and Grill Room restaurant, which overlooks the cobblestone streets lining the C&O Canal.

At the heart of the hotel’s overall color scheme of dark woods and light accents is an international collection that rivals some museums. All upholstered furniture and beds are custom-made in Germany, the millwork was done by an Austrian company, England’s Victoria + Albert made the enormous circular bathtubs, and the executive chef is a Swede. There’s even reclaimed antique parquet flooring from a European castle.

The steep prices, attention to detail, and obsession with service have already attracted celebrities and diplomatic customers, Obertop said.

Amenities include free Wi-Fi, guestroom mini bars stocked with complimentary fullsize non-alcoholic drinks, free continental breakfast in the Living Room, and the pressing of a few articles of clothing wrinkled from travel.

“We don’t want to nickel and dime the guests for $5 here, $25 here,” Obertop said.

“One of the last questions you want to get when you leave is, ‘Did you have anything from your mini bar?’”

HOTELS

The Washington Diplomat

July 2013

Photos: The Graham Georgetown

The Ritz-Carlton Georgetown Hotel The 86-room Ritz (3100 South Street, NW) has been overlooking the Potomac River for about 10 years, so the appeal of the area is nothing new to general manager Jeff Brower.

“When you stay in Georgetown, you feel a part of the neighborhood versus being in our nation’s capital, and yet you are completed connected,” Brower said.

The Ritz has become an integral part of the Georgetown fabric, housed inside a former incinerator that’s a neighborhood landmark. The redbrick industrial structure epitomizes the industrial roots of Georgetown (before it became awash in multimillion-dollar row houses) and offers a nice contrast to the hotel’s sleek, contemporary design.

That neighborly sentiment extends beyond the Ritz’s luxurious appointments and amenities, such as feather beds and down comforters, 400-thread count Egyptian cotton linens, complimentary overnight shoeshine, and twice-daily housekeeping.

“We are very connected and work closely with the Georgetown Ministry Center, which we fundraise for and have supported with holiday meals for the homeless,” Brower said.“The C&O Canal is in our backyard and we maintain two of the locks, and we work with mentoring students with the Shaw Middle School.”

In the past decade, the neighborhood has also had a makeover, he added, with the resurgence of retail shopping and design in Cady’s Alley.The opening of the Graham and Capella further support Georgetown’s status as “D.C.’s location for luxury,” Brower said. “These hotels combined with great restaurants and shopping have helped define a historic neighborhood that you can enjoy and work in or visit.”

To keep itself fresh, the Ritz recently added the loft-style Fahrenheit Ballroom and Urban Garden, which Brower describes as “an oasis within the city, where you don’t see many green spaces, not in hotels, at least.”The hotel also recently introduced the Urban Garden’s “Sun, Stretch, Sip” program, featuring high-intensity workouts with local fitness expert Chris Perrin and Sunday brunch with a DJ on the outdoor terrace.

Additionally, the hotel is getting ready for a two-year renovation, starting with the guestrooms.

The Ritz’s rates start at about $400 for a Large Premier room with a king bed or two doubles and pass the $6,000 mark for the Royal Potomac, which includes a one-bedroom Presidential Suite, a king bed, one and a half bathrooms and views of the river and city.

The Graham Georgetown For Camilo Miguel Jr., owner of the Graham (1075 Thomas Jefferson St., NW), finding property in Georgetown was extraordinary.

“We just really liked how charming the area was, just kind of the Old World feel of the area is very unique,” said Miguel, CEO of Mast Capital, the Miami-based real estate At the Graham, a new boutique private equity firm responsible for remaking property in Georgetown, panwhat was the Monticello Hotel. “Owning seared Scottish salmon is on the something there is actually something quite menu at A.G.B., a farm-to-table restaurant/cocktail lounge. special.”

The Graham opened in April and is already seeing a mix of clients, including businesspeople and families.

Named after Alexander Graham Bell (who lived in the neighborhood), the hotel has 57 rooms, including 30 suites, spread over seven floors and topped by the Observatory, a 3,000-square-foot rooftop lounge — the only one in Georgetown that’s open to the public, a huge draw.

“The views from there are, in my opinion, spectacular,” Miguel said.“The sunset, when it’s coming down over Georgetown University, it’s really special.”

On the bottom level sits A.G.B., a farm-to-table restaurant/cocktail lounge that serves plates such as Maine lobster rolls with white truffle-lemon aioli, panseared Scottish salmon, and the house specialty cocktail: Angels’ Envy, a custom whiskey distilled exclusively for the hotel.

July 2013

The Graham (whose lobby is pictured above) is home to the Observatory, a 3,000square-­­foot rooftop lounge — the only one in Georgetown that’s open to the public.

The five room types, ranging from king deluxe (250 to 300 square feet) to the Frank Sinatra Junior Suite with outdoor patio (750 square feet), offer amenities such as pillow-top mattresses, Liddell linens, free Wi-Fi and Bvlgari White Tea toiletries. Room prices vary from about $199 to $599 in the low season and $259 to $799 in the high season.

Besides welcoming guests, Miguel wants his hotel to be part of the community. To that end, the restaurant will bring in chefs from local restaurants at brunch to showcase their food.

“We have a great GM and we have a great team with Hersha [Hospitality] managing the property, and we just opened a month ago so we’re continuing to evolve and continuing to improve our operations, but it’s really a lot about people feeling like they’re having a great experience,” Miguel said.

“For a small property, I feel like we have a lot to offer,” he added. “I think it turned out to be a very nice product.”

Stephanie Kanowitz is a contributing writer for The Washington Diplomat.

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[ bars ]

Refreshing Changes Hotels Mix It Up With New Culinary, Cocktail Offerings

A

Photo: Edgar Bar & Kitchen

by Kat Lucero

n homage to an FBI director. Sleek décor. Mediterranean-inspired cuisine. Southern comfort and craft cocktails.

In the past few months, new and revamped bars and restaurants inside the city’s top hotels have complemented D.C.’s everexpanding dining and social scene.

“Hotel bars create energy and the social environment,” said Ed Baten, a 20-year-veteran of the hospitality industry. He’s general manager of the W Washington D.C. hotel, a luxury chain known for being at the forefront of chic lodgings all over the world. The 2009 arrival of the W and its P.O.V. rooftop lounge, which commands striking views of the White House, cemented the red-hot reputation of the city’s hospitality market.

A D.C. native, Baten said the area wasn’t exactly known for nightlife years ago. But now, with a strong economy and a population spike, largely driven by young professionals in their 20s and 30s, the nation’s capital is no longer just a sleepy center of government — it’s a national trendsetter.

Hotels are following suit, tapping into the city’s growth with innovative drink and dining offerings.The hotel bars of yesteryear — staid, clubby watering holes for weary travelers — have become posh yet approachable destinations in their own right. And hotel restaurants are now expected to bring in world-renowned chefs to carve out a name for themselves in this competitive field.

Today, the city is home to a mix of classic establishments — from the

Page 34

The new Edgar Bar & Kitchen in the Mayflower Renaissance hotel is named after J. Edgar Hoover, the first director of the FBI and a lunchtime regular at the Mayflower for 20 years.

Willard InterContinental’s Round Robin Bar to the Jefferson Hotel’s Plume Restaurant — and contemporary hotspots such as Bourbon Steak in the Four Seasons and the Park Hyatt’s Blue Duck Tavern.

But whether traditional or modern, hotels know they have to keep their food and beverage programs fresh to satisfy the discerning tastes of their clientele.

Here are some of the latest culinary and cocktail newcomers housed inside the city’s hotels:

Mayflower’s Edgar Bar & Kitchen 1127 Connecticut Ave., NW At the historic Mayflower Renaissance, power dining gets a facelift with this American-style brasserie. Edgar Bar & Kitchen opened last December, offering craft cocktails and inventive plates to guests of the 88-year-old hotel long known for being a hub among diplomats, out-of-town politicians, businessmen and Beltway elite.

J. Edgar Hoover, the first director of the FBI, was one of the regulars at the Mayflower for 20 years.The upscale restaurant is aptly named after the hotel’s most famous power luncher.

“This place returns to the original footprint of what the restaurant used to be, back in the day when J. Edgar Hoover used to dine here,” said Jason Richter,

HOTELS

The Washington Diplomat

July 2013

“As the travelers change, they’re not looking for a white tablecloth restaurant every night. They want something very casual and approachable — a place where they can network.”

Edgar Bar & Kitchen

— Jason Richter food and beverage director at the Mayflower’s Edgar Bar & Kitchen

the restaurant’s food and beverage director.

For two years, Richter oversaw the redevelopment of the food and drink program at the Mayflower, with an eye on keeping up with the latest trends in the service industry. That involved the creation of the 166-seat Edgar following the demise of the Mayflower’s iconic Town and Country Lounge, a popular local watering hole that opened in 1948.

“The idea was to return that grand bar to Connecticut Avenue which fits the image of the Mayflower. Not only does it appeal to customers, but it also appeals to our local following here in downtown,” he said.

In recreating that grand bar, the Mayflower consolidated its sparse, disparate dining areas on the first floor — Café Promenade, Town and Country and the wine bar in the lobby.

Gone is the dark, old school ambiance of Town and Country in favor of an open, sleek eatery that serves as a contrast to the historic property in which it’s housed.

“As the travelers change, they’re not looking for a white tablecloth restaurant every night. They want something very casual and approachable — a place where they can network,” said Richter.

The hotel also recognized the need to balance privacy with the perception of importance while being inside Edgar. So they added booths along the windows to increase the exposure of the restaurant, which is attached to the Mayflower but also has a separate street-side entrance.

“You can have a very political private conversation in the context of the fun and energy around you,” said Keith McClinsey, general manager of the Mayflower.

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St. Regis Bar and Decanter 923 16th St., NW St. Regis, another historical hotel built in 1926, has also been going under the knife in parts of its main floor. First, it renovated the bar and lobby for two months to open just in time for the wave of out-of-towners coming for this year’s Presidential Inauguration.

A few months later, St. Regis and its partner celebrity chef Alain Ducasse announced the closing of Adour, the award-winning restaurant that had been with the hotel since its renovation back in 2008. Replacing this minimalist, winefocused power spot is Decanter, a Mediterranean-inspired venue that’s set to open this summer.

As the hotel puts the finishing touches on Decanter, guests can check out the redesigned bar just outside the restaurant. Kerem Kendigelen, the hotel’s food and beverage director, considers the bar one of the St. Regis’s most important attractions.

“We are located right on 16th and K,” he said.“K Street has some of the most powerful attorneys and D.C.’s strongest people.We definitely want to bring that wonderful clientele together at our bar for happy hour and have that cultural exchange.”

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July 2013

HOTELS

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35

Continued from previous page When hotel management contemplated a makeover of the bar last year, Kendigelen said one target audience was young professionals whose sophisticated taste in drinks would draw them to the St. Regis.

The bar now boasts a swanky new interior by award-winning architecture and design firm Rockwell Group, which put a modern twist on the traditional English club. The result is a clean, airy space punctuated by a leather and Swarovski crystal chandelier specifically designed for the bar, wooden herringbone floors, Chesterfield sofas with distressed leather, and other elements that echo the historical grandeur of the hotel.Among the features that were kept intact were the bar and lobby’s original 16-foot carved ceilings and arched windows.

The 1920s “pre-Prohibition” era-inspired cocktail menu, an ode to the days when the hotel first opened its doors, puts a heavy emphasis on bourbon and whiskey, with concoctions such as the Old Fashioned and Classic Red Snapper.

“Our clientele is more into the whiskeys and bourbon, single malts — more into hard liquor,” Kendigelen explained. “Even with our younger guests, we said, ‘Why don’t we lean more toward that?’”

The Bloody Mary, for which the St. Regis is widely known, is still on the menu, but there’s also a new twist called the Capitol Mary, made with gin instead of the classic vodka. Green Hat Gin, produced by the city’s first distillery to open following Prohibition, is the bar’s choice of poison for this signature drink.

“We want to put something out there that nobody knows about,” said Kendigelen.

“It’s delicious. It’s different, sustainable and local. That’s what people are going to be attracted to.”

Another addition to the bar is the food menu created by the hotel’s executive chef, Sébastien Rondier, who helmed Adour’s kitchen and will play a prominent role in developing St. Regis’s new restaurant.

“Rondier made Adour very successful,” said Kendigelen.“Our chef is spreading his wings. Decanter is all about chef Rondier.”

liAiSon CApiTol hill’S ART AnD Soul 415 neW JeRSey ave., nW Adour’s Alain Ducasse is not the only celebrity chef to part ways with Washington.

Last year saw the departure of Eric Ripert from Westend Bistro at the Ritz-Carlton on 22nd Street as well as chef Susur Lee from Zentan at the Donovan House on 14th Street.

Turnover is nothing new in the restaurant industry, even in the world of haute cuisine, but as a few celebrity chefs headed for the exits, another was plotting to make his restaurant even better a few blocks away from the Capitol.

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Page 36

call (301) 933-3552.

Photo: moRGan lynn PhotoGRaPhy

Art Smith’s Art and Soul features a wall adorned with a mosaic of beans to reflect the restaurant’s Southern hospitality theme and the chef’s farm-to-table approach.

Art Smith, Oprah Winfrey’s former personal chef, reopened his restaurant Art and Soul in March after a complete renovation and rebranding. The sleek new space by the Seattle-based Hospitality Design firm plays up the Southern hospitality theme and the chef’s farm-to-table philosophy by creating “a contemporary urban market feel.”

Carpeting has been replaced by herringbone wood flooring and playful rustic touches include walls adorned with a mosaic of beans, mason jars for drinking glasses, old doorknobs for the draft beer, hand-painted farm signs and local vintage furniture from Miss Pixie’s.

“The renovation exposes more of the art and soul of the restaurant,” said Patrick Chiappetta, the former general manager of Art and Soul who now oversees Smith’s company operations in New York.

Art and Soul, which, like Adour, was first unveiled in 2008, also started offering three options of ready-to-go picnic lunches that include house-made charcuterie prepared by the restaurant’s executive chef, Wes Morton. And now, every Wednesday evening, it hosts a “pig and oyster roast” on the patio that costs $35 per person.

CApellA’S Rye BAR AnD GRill Room 1050 31St St., nW When the international Capella Hotel Group decided to open its first U.S. location by planting roots in the venerable D.C. neighborhood of Georgetown (see main Hotels and Travel story), the luxury boutique chain also wanted to bring a new food and beverage concept to the nation’s capital.

That resulted in the Rye Bar and the Grill Room.The two venues, with floor-to-ceiling winPhoto: RoBeRt Reck / caPella hotelS anD ReSoRtS dows that overlook the historic C&O Canal in Georgetown, opened this spring (there’s also the rye Bar in the new capella hotel overlooks the a rooftop bar and lounge, a rarity historic c&o canal in Georgetown. in the city).

Aptly named after the whiskey it specializes, the Rye Bar aims to attract a sophisticated following with its plush leather seating and collection of rare spirits. The audience is “anyone that has an appreciation for detailed service and a good cocktail,” said the hotel’s food and beverage manager, Will Rentschler.

Currently, the barrel-aged Manhattan, made with Dad’s Hat Rye and aged for six weeks, is in demand. It sold out in eight days after the bar’s opening, even with the hefty price: $22. Created by Rentschler, the new and bountiful 15-gallon batch will be available later in June.

The Rye Bar also offers a selection of rare rye whiskeys that include a 13-year Van Winkle Family Reserve and a 10-year Abraham Bowman, as well as a harvested ice program with hand-shaved ice cubes.

Adjacent to the bar, the Grill Room showcases the refined cuisine of Swedish executive chef Jakob Esko, whose background includes the Capella in Singapore and several Michelin star restaurants all over the world, including Sihlhalde in Zurich.

Some of the restaurant’s highlights include tableside preparations of American Wagyu Beef tartar and a champagne cart that has 10 labels by the glass, including champagne from the private collection of the exclusive Taittinger French winemaking family.

In true D.C.-form, the Grill Room also offers a power breakfast program, serving made-to-order, fresh-pressed juices, as well as buckwheat crepes and brioche French toast.

Kat Lucero is a freelance writer in Washington, D.C.

HOTELS The Washington Diplomat

July 2013

culture & arts

■ WWW.WASHDIPLOMAT.COM

entertainment

■ JULY 2013

ART

No Tiptoeing Here The Ballets Russes revolutionized the art world by mixing artists, composers, choreographers, dancers and fashion designers into an endlessly provocative work of complete art. PAGE 39

FESTIVALS

The World’s Mall The National Mall, an iconic symbol of Washington, becomes an open-air museum of international culture during the annual Smithsonian Folklife Festival. PAGE 40

Down to

Earth “Earth Matters: Land as Material and Metaphor in the Arts of Africa” surveys the primacy of land as an element of African life — a fitting examination given the continent’s place as the cradle of humanity.

PAGE 38

ART

Poster-Child A trained lawyer, Klaus Staeck is a self-taught outraged artist who calls attention to issues such as poverty and the environment through the mass circulation of his indelible posters and postcards. PAGE 41

DIPLOMATIC SPOUSES column will return next month.

Photo: AlexAnder hAfemAnn

DININg

FILM REVIEWS

Nopa is the latest meticulously executed addition to Ashok Bajaj’s local restaurant empire. PAGE 42

“Hannah Arendt” examines the Jewish scholar’s controversial theses on the “banality of evil.” PAGE 44

[ art ]

Africa Unearthed African Artists Dig Deep in ‘Land as Material and Metaphor’

by Audrey Hoffer

I

n a spacious, high-ceilinged gallery two levels below ground in the beautifully designed Photo: nAtIonAl nA IonAll muSeum of AfrIcAn Art nAt National Museum of African Art, a grand multimedia exhibit of paintings, ceramics, sculptures, Among the works in “earth matters”: photography and film takes on no less than the George osodi’s “de money series no. 1,” entire planet itself — and man’s relationship to above; a figurative pot from the ouatchi it. peoples of togo, left; a 19th-century “Earth Matters: Land as Material and Metaphor in female half-figure by a Punu artist in the Arts of Africa” showcases the primacy of land as Gabon, below; an untitled work from Batoul an element of African life — a fitting examination S’himi’s series “World under Pressure,” given that the continent is the cradle of humanity. In bottom; and owanto’s “Where are we fact, “Earth Matters” is the first major exhibition to Going?” on the culture cover. explore the ways in which African artists and communities navigate their relationship with the land on which they live, work and draw their inspiration.

Another first is “Earth Works,” the first installation of land art by three artists to be assembled outside in the Smithsonian Gardens and on the National Mall.

Inside the museum, there is a lot of terrain to uncover in the 100 works from 24 countries by more than 40 artists that span the 19th to 21st centuries.

They are arranged thematically around five categories: Material Earth, Power of the Earth, Imagining the Underground, Strategies of the Surface, and Art as Environmental Action.

Many of the pieces offer sobering reflections of the land on which we subsist, but like the written word, these artworks also provoke contemplation.

Perhaps the most universally resonant works deal with the environment. Moroccan artist Younès Photo: AfrIkA muSeum, BerG en dAl Rahmoun collected the ubiquitous plastic bag from Photo: muSée du QuAI BrAnly, PArIS street litter. He squeezed, wrung and compressed the tell the world about the impending catastrophe?” he asked bags into tiny balls the size of garlic heads until they could be tied rhetorically as a way of explaining his work, in which he took in a knot.Then he strung the balls like beads and hung them on the an up-close shot of a bottle cap reflecting sunlight while wadwall.“Kemmoussa” consists of three horizontal strings of dozens of ing in a canal of putrid water. balls that encourages us to ponder what we can do to reduce Earlier pieces pay more abstract homage to what lies below trash. ground and to the linkages between the living and their ances“Mine,” a five-minute black-and-white animated film, depicts mintors. ing with a scathing eye. Renowned South African artist William A 19th-century female half-figure by a Gabonese Punu artist Kentridge portrays a fat industrialist propped up against pillows, is an “extraordinary work of art,” said Karen E. Milbourne, the cigar in one hand and cash register in the other, poised to plunge a exhibit curator. Less than a foot tall, this pretty, serene woman French press coffee pot. When he does, the press travels down, in with braids around her head stands in repose holding plant Kentridge-style frenetic movement, through the glass coffee pot, fibers. Her lower body is wrapped in a bundle of hide and laced through his bed, house, the ground and deep into the earth where Photo: collectIon of the ArtISt with rope, while little packets of red laterite, soil rich in hundreds of miners sleep in four layered sardineiron and aluminum, are under her arms. This reliquary like compartments and work in a mine shaft shaped earth Matters: Land as Material ensemble was highly venerated and may have been used like the iconic image of a slave ship. The commento communicate with the earth. tary is caustic. and Metaphor in the Arts of Africa A rust-red conical terracotta vessel by an Ouatchi artist A painfully striking photograph bathed in gold through Jan. 5 in Togo in the early 1900s carried offerings to the world shines a light on Kentridge’s seemingly fantastical National Museum of African Art below and received sacrificial gifts for the people above. tale. Nigerian artist George Osodi shot “De Money 950 Independence Ave., SW Smooth-surfaced on the upper half and darkly textured series no. 1” to depict the dangers of mercury expoFor more information, please call (202) 633-1000 below, you can see the point at which it was buried in the sure, environmental damage and deplorable workor visit http://africa.si.edu. ground. ing conditions that miners on the continent face.We A graceful arching ivory tusk etched by a Nigerian Edo see these bare-chested, barefoot young men scaling and working a golden-slathered rock wall — like tiny specks clinging to a precipice, artist in 1850 depicts mudfish, a common motif in African art dating back centuries.

Mudfish, which live deep below water in the mud but can crawl onto land, are in this case eking out an existence in dangerous conditions.

“We are Destroying Planet Earth” is another blunt commentary that resembles a believed to represent royalty.

Earth as a physical substance is used symbolically in “Rain Horse” by South African sheet of newsprint covered with child-like scrawls.A closer look reveals people with bewildered expressions running wildly, butterflies tumbling in space and tiny colored artist Diane Victor, who burned atlases about South African land policy during apartbirds in haphazard flight across a chaotic landscape.Artists Ghada Amer of Egypt and heid and used the charcoal ashes to draw a horse sprinting over a barren landscape.

Meanwhile, Nigerian artist Otobong Nkanga created a table that doubles as a map Reza Farkhondeh of Iran seem to be imploring us to recognize the damage we’ve of Africa, depicting its countries in bright colors. Long rods pierce the countries as done.

Nigerian photographer Charles Okereke, touring the show one April morning, stopped in front of his picture,“Once a blue world,” to talk to an observer.“How do I See eArtH, page 43

[

Page 38

The Washington Diplomat

]

July 2013

[ art ]

Tutus Gone Wild Ballets Russes Revolutionized Dance — and Art world

by Michael Coleman

T

he Ballets Russes, founded by Russian impresario Sergei Diaghilev in Paris in 1909, was impossibly hip for its time.

Employing lush costumes, often highly sexual plotlines, and a combination of Russian and Western traditions mixed with a big dollop of modernism, the company thrilled and sometimes scandalized its audiences.

Spanning from 1909 until 1929, the touring ballet company launched performing arts to new heights by mixing artists, composers, choreographers, dancers and fashion designers into an explosive and endlessly provocative Photo: 2013 ArtIStS rIGhtS SocIety (ArS) neW york/AdAGP, AGP, PPA PArIS rIS work of complete art. the art world by storm exactly a century An expansive, yet focused, exhibition at the National ago. With Nijinsky’s angular, avant-garde Gallery of Art —“Diaghilev and the Ballets Russes, 1909choreography and Igor Stravinsky’s 1929:When Art Danced with Music” — celebrates the high experimental score, the watershed piece art of this groundbreaking company, which managed to be stunned audiences — even sparking a artistically excellent without ever being stuffy. riot during its premiere at the Théâtre Showcasing more than 130 original costumes, set des Champs-Elysées in Paris. designs, paintings, sculptures, prints, drawings, photoThe sensation served its purpose, graphs and posters,“Diaghilev and the Ballets Russes” also elevating the Ballets Russes to internaincorporates film clips in a theatrical multimedia installational prominence. A critical revival of tion.The film clips of modern-day Ballet Russes recreations “The Rite of Spring” was performed in assist the viewing experience exponentially by bringing to 1920 — underwritten by French coulife what would otherwise be simply a colorful and interture maven Coco Chanel, whose fashesting collection of art. ions inspired many of the company’s Adapted from the exhibition conceived by and first costumes. shown at London’s Victoria and Albert Museum in 2010, The National Gallery exhibition is the National Gallery presentation draws upon that rich Photo: the muSeum of modern Art, neW york heavy on costumes, which reveal a survey, including some 80 works from the V&A’s renowned Herculean amount of work and exquisite attention collection of dance artifacts, and adds about 50 objects, Fernand Léger’s “exit to detail. Classically Russian, the costumes often generously offered by more than 20 lenders, private and the Ballets russes,” employ conical designs, but their stolid patterns and public. above, natalia bright mix-and-match colors sometimes evoke imagA relentless innovator who saw his family fortune disGoncharova’s costume es of ceremonial Native American dress.“Costume of solve in bankruptcy when he was just 18, Diaghilev thrust for a sea horse from a Seahorse” is particularly visual, as layers upon layhimself into the world of Russian art, first as a researcher, “Sadko,” top, and una ers of intricately woven cloths produce shimmering critic editor, publisher and exhibition organizer and later, of troubridge’s sculpture golds, tans, burgundies, yellows and reds that blend course, of legendary, cutting-edge ballet. In 1905, as unrest “Vaslav nijinsky as the seamlessly. It’s hard to imagine a modern-day tailor gripped his homeland, Diaghilev staged a major exhibition faun,” right, are among producing anything more exquisite. in Paris, pulling together a collection of some of the best more than 130 objects Among the paintings on display, Fernand Léger’s Russian paintings from the previous two centuries, which that celebrate the artistic “Exit the Ballet Russes” is notable. The painting sugwere displayed at the Salon d’Automne.The exhibition was ingenuity of the Ballets gests a connection between the Ballet Russes’s a huge success and fueled the Russian’s rise in the highly russes. innovations in dance and the cubism movement. discerning Paris art world. He would return to his homeDiaghilev’s success depended primarily on his land only once in his brief life, cut short by illness when he Photo: VIctorIA And AlBert muSeum, london ability to identify and bring together the most crewas 57. ative artists of his day. Recognizing the vitality of contempoDiaghilev fiercely protected his productions and Diaghilev and the Ballets russes, rary art, he called upon Léon Bakst, Natalia Goncharova, refused to allow any filming or other recording of 1909-1929: When Art Danced with Music Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse and Giorgio de Chirico, among his artistic exhibitions. But the National Gallery through Sept. 2 others, to create dynamic set designs and exquisitely decoexhibition includes a bootleg clip of “Les Sylphides,” rated costumes that shared a unified aesthetic. a ballet performed in Montreux, Switzerland, in National Gallery of Art They in turn brought the most important artistic devel1928. If you watch until the end (about 45 seclocated on the national mall between opments of the early 20th century — including futurism, onds), you’ll see suit-and-hat-clad spectators filing 3rd and 9th Streets at constitution Avenue, nW cubism and surrealism — to the ballet stage. Diaghilev also into the outdoor theater along the right side of the For more information, please call (202) 737-4215 commissioned ballet scores from innovative composers frame.The effect is not unlike spying on something or visit www.nga.gov. such as Igor Stravinsky, Sergei Prokofiev and Erik Satie, and spectacular.

In the third gallery, my eyes were drawn — perhaps by the National Gallery’s expert featured dancers noted for their technical brio, making the company a breeding ground lighting — to a bust created by sculptor Una Troubridge of Vaslav Nijinsky, a ballet cho- for musical and choreographic innovation: Mikhail Fokine, Vaslav Nijinsky, Léonide reographer often cited as the greatest male dancer of the early 20th century.The plaster Massine, Bronislava Nijinska and George Balanchine all dramatically expanded the visage features braided hair that from a distance almost resembles snakes. The perfect vocabulary of movement. The troupe’s productions — notably the infamous “Rite of symmetry, Asian features and masculine but slightly androgynous presentation are mes- Spring,” now celebrating its 100th anniversary — instigated a revolution in dance. This exhibition seeks to highlight these and other connections fostered by Diaghilev. merizing.

It — along with a smattering of photographs and an equally dynamic bust by Auguste Rodin — are a fitting homage to the brainchild behind “The Rite of Spring,” which took Michael Coleman is a contributing writer for The Washington Diplomat.

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July 2013

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The Washington Diplomat Page 39

[ festivals ]

Open-Air Museum Folklife Festival Brings Microcosm of Culture to national Mall

by Audrey Hoffer

A

national playground for Washingtonians and tourists alike, the iconic National Mall stretches nearly two miles from the Capitol to the Lincoln Memorial. Designed by Pierre L’Enfant in 1791, it was intended to be a garden-lined “grand avenue” that would run west from the Capitol to a point directly south of the president’s house.

Though L’Enfant’s vision never fully materialized, the Mall today is a grand space of American pride. Framed by monumental architectural gems, dotted with trees and packed with people, this verdant expanse is also the epicenter of the Smithsonian Folklife Festival.

The Smithsonian Institution’s Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage presents the 10-day event every year in early summer to acquaint the public with cultural traditions from around the world and at home. Since its inception in 1967, the festival has showcased more than 90 nations, every region of the United States, scores of ethnic communities, and some 70 different occupations, from musicians to craftsmen to storytellers.

This year, the festival features three programs:“Hungarian Heritage: Roots to Revival,”“One World, Many Voices: Endangered Languages and Cultural Heritage,” and “The Will to Adorn: African American Diversity, Style, and Identity.”

“We bring our participants — craftspeople, musicians, artists, dancers, storytellers — and visitors together so they can meet and converse with each other,” said James Deutsch, curator in the Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage and co-curator of the Hungarian program.

The festival’s premise is that people learn best with one-on-one interactions.“We don’t use media or cameras or hand-held devices. We give you the real person,” he said. “Where else could you meet a shepherd from [Hungary] who is preparing mutton stew?”

Here’s a look at what else you’ll encounter on the Mall this summer:

Photo: JózSef fArkAS

Above, István “dumnezeu” Jámbor will be one of three featured Gypsy lead fiddlers at the Smithsonian folklife festival, performing with István Pál’s Szalonna and his Band, as part of the program “hungarian heritage: roots to revival,” which also features traditional food such as cholent with roasted duck leg, top.

HUNgARIAN HERITAgE

[ Page 40

Hungary is a 1,000-year-old European country, slightly smaller than the state of Indiana, with a population of 10 million. Some 3 million Hungarians live throughout Central Europe, while the United States is home to a formidable presence as well, with about 1.5 million Hungarian-Americans.

More than 100 Hungarians — or Magyars — will travel to the Folklife Festive in Washington, most for the first time, to share their distinctive traditions in music, dance, crafts and dining.

Architect Józef Siklósi designed the open-air space on the National Mall for the Hungarian section, which will showcase fiddlers, cooks, textile embroiderers and saddle makers.

Meanwhile, in the “Budapest Bistro,” eight authentic Hungarian dishes plus four native wines will be on tap.

Hungary’s long history and location in Central the 47th annual Smithsonian Europe means it has been influenced by a crosssection of different cultural heritages living Folklife Festival together, said Ágnes Fülemile, anthropologist and from June 26 - 30 and July 3 - 7 co-curator of the exhibit. on the National Mall A strong revivalist movement called the For more information, please call (202) 633-6440 táncház, or dance-hall movement, is in vogue now. or visit www.festival.si.edu.

It has evolved since the 1970s and is credited with bringing traditional village dances into urban areas, not only in Hungary but other nations such Romania, Serbia and Slovakia.

“This keen interest in authenticity has revolutionized the concept of Hungarian dancing and music,” said Fülemile, “and now there are dance clubs and communities all over the country.”

The revivalist movement has also swept up craftspeople in cities and rural areas doing traditional handwork such as candle dipping, blue dying, bridal wreath making and oven building, all which will be on display.

Music, too, will be a focal point. Among the performers are the Tükrös Ensemble and Heveder Ensemble, which play village music from Hungary and Transylvania, and Parno Graszt, an interpreter of the Roma culture.

Folk art has even seeped into cutting-edge fashions in Hungary, which in the early 20th century was a fashion design pioneer, much like Paris. Today, designers such as Tünde

]

The Washington Diplomat

Brenda Winstead is a clothing designer whose fabrics are woven, dyed and painted by hand. her damalli collection will be featured at the folklife festival as part of “the Will to Adorn: African American diversity, Style, and Identity.”

Photo: dr. hArold AnderSon

Hrivnák are resurrecting Hungary’s fashion industry. Hrivnák presented her “BY ME” label at an invitation-only embassy fashion show held in conjunction with the festival.

THE WILL TO ADORN Diana Baird N’Diaye, an anthropologist, folklorist and curator of this exhibit, was effervescent with excitement as she talked about this first-ever Smithsonian program focused on African American dress.

“Dress and self-presentation have always been very important in the African American community,” she said. “Even during slavery, whenever possible, people would show their identity and dignity as human beings with dress and grooming.”

During the Civil Rights movement, for instance, organizers encouraged marchers to dress in their Sunday best.The result is a vast collection of photojournalism from the 1960s depicting women in heels and men in suits.“This is very powerful,” said N’Diaye.

It continues to be a powerful artistic statement that all of us make each day, she said.

“Every morning we go into our closets and decide what to wear. We go to our hair stylist and decide how to do up our locks. We decide how we want to present ourselves to the world.”

The program looks at dress, style and body adornment as personal expressions of creativity through hands-on workshops with hairdressers, jewelers and tailors, as well as performances by dancers, activists, athletes, poets and others.

The display is also wide-ranging, from ladies’ church hats in the South, to the hijab headcovering prevalent in the Arab world, to hip hop dress culture among young people in Japan, Australia, Great Britain, South Africa and elsewhere.

See FoLkLiFe FeStivAL, page 43 July 2013

[ art ]

Angry Older Man Staeck’s Political Posters Decry Environmental Degradation

by Gary tischler

Y

ou’ve heard of angry young men. Klaus Staeck is an angry older man.

A trained lawyer, Staeck is a self-taught outraged artist — politically outraged, socially conscious and frustrated. He’s called attention to issues such as poverty, freedom of speech and peace, but his bête noire has been man’s assault on the environment, from global warming to nuclear waste to water pollution.

Through the mass circulation of his indelible photomontages in posters and postcards, Staeck has been something of a warrior on a barricade many of whose members have long deserted their posts.

You can tell that he’s still frustrated and angry by the title of an exhibition of his work at the Goethe-Institut:“Nothing is Done.”You can take it any way you want, but the unmistakable gist is that nothing has been done to address issues Staeck began sounding the alarm about in the 1970s — issues, like climate change, that have only grown in importance.

In German, the title — “Nichts ist erledigt” — comes out even heftier. It seems to describe the slowness of mankind’s ability to change in a hyper-changing environment that’s being systematically destroyed.

When one views these 40 original posters on display — which wind, bend, splatter and explode upstairs at Goethe-Institut — the German language should be kept in mind. That’s because the translation doesn’t always convey the same force Staeck originally communicated with his evocative slogans.

In these slogans, there’s a certain kind of German sensibility at work on a desperately human subject. Staeck is first and foremost a self-described political artist, going back to the late 1960s when he took up local politics in the city of Heidelberg with motifs that still echo today right here in the United States. In one poster that could have appeared in last year’s presidential campaign, he proclaims, “The Rich must become richer yet, therefore vote CDU” or “German workers, the SPD seeks to take away your villas in Tessin from you” — referring to the center-right Christian Democratic Union and the center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD).

He started doing posters on the environment PhotoS: Goethe-InStItut WAShInGton 40 years ago, when the biggest issues where polluted waterways, big cars, oil spills and the German artist klaus Staeck’s provocative photomontages extinction of animal species.All remain relevant have been sounding the alarm about environmental degradatoday, as do his warnings about the verifiable tion for decades in pieces such as, from top: “It bellows out signs of global warming, as seen in the melting loud,” “rented Item” and “41.2 celsius tendency rising.” of polar ice caps and the increasingly violent weather around the world, from typhoons and chip away at our clean air and the fragile, increasingly crowded ecosystornadoes to floods and wildfires. tems we share with animals who are on the losing end of that coOver the years, Staeck has become, if anyhabitation. thing, more outspoken, less ironic and more vorsicht kunst – Nothing is Done The straightforward visuals and messages are always accompadirect, although he’s also found time for his (Nichts ist erledigt) nied by a keen, focused intellect. For example, one poster riffs on the daytime duties as president of the Akademie through July 12 Bible with a picture of bounty that includes sardines, packaged der Künste, an arts academy in Berlin. noodles, vegetables and bread, with the line: “Give us our daily poiGoethe-institut In the United States, Staeck would be conson.” Or a blue-tinted earth as seen from space, looking oddly fresh sidered a hardcore environmentalist. There’s 812 7th St., nW and sanguine, with the note that “the item rented is to be handled nothing shy or subtle about his warnings.The For more information, please call (202) 289-1200 with care and returned in good condition.” or visit www.goethe.de/washington. frustration shows in the implacable attitude A container of nuclear waste comes with the attached Hallmarkof his work.

In a recent interviews, Staeck acknowledges that people are more aware of various like slogan: “Something to make our grandchildren remember us 10,000 years from social problems, but the answers to the problems are simply not being embraced now.”And there’s “The Oil Prince,” a dramatic and timeless rendering of a bird all but drowned in oil from the latest spill, be it caused by Exxon, BP or the like. because markets drive politics.

Staeck’s rage is palatable in these posters that make no bones about our sins over Part of the solution, at least to Staeck, is to create haunting images.

And that’s exactly what his images are, as they jump across borders and touch on the last 40 years ago, transgressions that continue today. His posters, he noted, like the the universally felt repercussions of consumer-driven and industrial societies. Political issues they address,“just don’t age.”

Nor has time softened Staeck’s response.“My anger is still there,” he once said. It’s art is not the kind that’s defined by grace, technique or style. Staeck’s photomontages are defined by attitude, outrage, a savage wit, and an in-your-face approach that tends right there, in fact, screaming from the walls of the Goethe-Institut, where Staeck has at least done something. to annihilate the opposing side’s argument.

There is little gray area in his depictions of carbon monoxide, mounds of garbage, oil-drenched birds, looming smokestacks and the daunting truths of everyday life that Gary Tischler is a contributing writer for The Washington Diplomat.

[

July 2013

]

The Washington Diplomat Page 41

[ dining ]

Bajaj’s Newest Baby Nopa Has Something Everyone in Penn Quarter

by Rachel G. Hunt

W

hen the Malrite Company, which operates the International Spy Museum, decided to get out of the restaurant business and dissolved Stir Food Group last summer, it shut down Zola next door to the museum, leaving a huge and lovely space in the heart of Penn Quarter up for grabs.

Local restaurant mogul Ashok Bajaj moved in to fill the void and recently opened nopa Kitchen +Bar, the eighth establishment in his Knightsbridge Restaurant Group, which also includes Rasika, Bibiana, the Bombay Club and Oval Room. Well known for his other D.C. eateries, which offer a range of distinct fine and neighborhood dining experiences, Bajaj set out to create a restaurant appropriate to the location north of Pennsylvania Avenue (hence the name nopa, also variously written as NoPa and Nopa).

Penn Quarter is at once a revitalized downtown business hub, tourist destination, theater district, sports and concert hotspot, and a residential neighborhood. In an area with such a complex character, finding the right concept presented Bajaj with the opportunity to flex his considerable creativity. He decided upon a brasserie–style restaurant with a full-service bar, space for casual eating, more formal dining rooms, and several private spaces.With a diverse menu of small plates and entrées, diners will find nopa Kitchen +Bar a convenient place for whatever kind of meal they want.

Bajaj selected a Washington newcomer, chef Greg McCarty, to helm nopa. McCarty brings to the venture an interesting culinary pedigree. A graduate of the George Brown Chef School in Toronto, he grew up in Newfoundland and spent summers in Arkansas.This early exposure to distinct culinary traditions, both of which are based on local and seasonally available ingredients, is reflected in his work at nopa.

Seafood and fish figure prominently on the menu and McCarty’s early years in the maritime province — as well as his training by the Gohan Society preparing fish the “Japanese way” — may account for his adept handling of the ingredient. The Chilean sea bass served with baby eggplant and wasabi spring peas may be the best seafood dish at nopa. The nopa Kitchen+Bar fish is pan seared perfectly so that the thick filet is slightly caramelized on 800 F St., NW the outside and moist and flaky inside.

(202) 347-4667 The peas add only the barest hint of http://nopadc.com heat, and the mild eggplant balances the dish with a firm, almost meaty Hours: Mon. - Wed., 11:30 a.m. - 10:30 p.m.; contrast.

Thu. and Fri., 11:30 a.m. - 11 p.m.; Another seafood standout can be

Sat., 5 - 11 p.m.; Sun., 5 - 9:30 p.m. found among the appetizers. McCarty Appetizers/small plates: $5 - $21 dusts soft-shelled crab lightly with potato starch and flash fries it until Raw bar: $15 - $120 crisp, splits it in half, and sets it Entrées: $19 - $38 upright in a pool of avocado basil Sandwiches: $12 - $15 purée. On the entrée side, rockfish is pan seared and served in a delicate fennel broth Desserts: $7 - $9 lightly flavored with Andouille sausage for a hint Reservations: Accepted online and telephone of smokiness.

While fish and seafood dominate, there are many other noteworthy choices. Several salads will whet the appetites of meat and non-meat eaters alike, including an interesting version made with several types of spring radish, pineapple, feta and mint. Crunchy and with a faintly Asian flavor, it is a refreshing choice. From the charcuterie board, the Nantucketstyle smoked bluefish pâté and the chicken liver tartine with toasted pecans are both mild renditions. One of the tastiest things on the menu is the lowly Brussels sprout. Served as a

[ ] want to

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Page 42

The Washington Diplomat

Photos: Jessica Latos

Chef Greg McCarty, left, crafts a menu of local, seasonally available ingredients at nopa, Ashok Bajaj’s newest restaurant in Penn Quarter.

vegetable side, the big oblong sprouts are quartered, deep fried and dressed lightly with pear and sesame. What a transformation. They may not be good for you anymore, but they sure do go down well.

An entrepreneur in his own right, chef McCarty managed his own culinary consulting business and opened a food truck in Connecticut that won acclaim when one of its creations made it onto the Daily Meal’s list of best sandwiches a few years ago. The sandwiches at nopa justify the title. The porchetta sandwich, with rosemary mustard, Napa cabbage and new potato Lyonnais, is a sophisticated take on pork barbeque. Likewise, the BBQ chicken hero served with avocado and shaved red onions is a grown-up version of the time-honored chicken salad sandwich. The nopa burger, topped with Vermont white cheddar and applewood smoked bacon, is a straightforward and delicious version of the classic. And for diners who love fries, nopa’s are excellent.

Pastry chef Jemil Gadea has developed a dessert menu to rival the savories. From the rich, slightly salty and not too sweet chocolate bar — made of smooth chocolate nougat glace and roasted almond toffee — to the white peach frappé made with vanilla crème July 2013

caramel ice cream and white peach “slush” with a trace of lavender, Gadea’s creations are satisfying and occasionally whimsical. That whimsy can be found in the fried strawberry pies, a house special that’s a far cry from their McDonalds’ second cousin once removed. Served with a tart fromage blanc ice cream, the dish is less sweet than one might expect, but quite rich.

A current seasonal choice, the spring shortcake, is an interesting take on the traditional version, with small chunks of lemon-scented shortcake served over poached rhubarb and accented with an elderflower crème fraiche. Even people who think they don’t like rhubarb are likely to be charmed by this dish with its subtle combination of sweet, sour, herbal and citrus notes.

The wonderful buttery herb dinner rolls are ample evidence of Gadea’s skill as a baker, but equally compelling evidence shows up on the dessert menu as well. Gadea’s maple pecan sticky buns are classic comfort food at its best.

Like its predecessor Zola, nopa is a sleek place for a drink, offering an intriguing mix of cocktails, several classics and some concoctions prepared specially for the restaurant by mixologists Milton Hernandez and Kate Ravelette. NoPa Punch, a head-spinning combination of cognac, Cointreau, spices and citrus, is a perfect summer drink.

Equally light and refreshing is the Muscat Love with blueberry, Muscat grapes and sparkling wine.

And the Chinatown shake, a nod to nopa’s neighborhood, is a delicious Asian-inspired treat of Tito’s vodka, lemongrass, fresh lime, ginger and soda.

Bajaj completely redid the interior when he took over the Zola space, calling on Martin Vahtra, the James Beard Foundation’s award-nominated restaurant designer from Projects Design Associates of New York, whom Bajaj worked with in creating Rasika West End. Nopa features a stripped-down aesthetic with minimal décor. The space is open and airy, with dove grays, white and deep teal walls; brief accents of color in the red leather banquets and stripped upholstery seats; dark hardwood floors and paneling; dizzying black-and-white tile on the bar floor; and metallic accents throughout. The few art pieces were picked out by Bajaj, including a collection of taxidermy that he bought on eBay that, somewhat quirkily, graces one wall. Also be sure to look up while you’re dining. NopaNopa sports a collection of striking light fixtures.

What’s perhaps most noticeable about all of Bajaj’s restaurants is how consistently well done they are.Across his 25-year history in the D.C. dining business, superior service has been a hallmark of his restaurants — and nopa is no exception.

Under the very able direction of general manager Jennifer Lucy, an Alexandria native, everything seems to run without a hitch.Timing from kitchen to table, often a challenge for new restaurants, works at nopa. Regardless of the type of meal — small plate, entrée or snack — the food arrives at the table at its best. Staff are knowledgeable, will-

from page 40

Folklife Festival ONE WORLD, MANY VOICES

Photo: JeSSIcA lAtoS

For nopa, martin Vahtra of new york created a stripped-down aesthetic with minimal décor in the space that used to be occupied by zola.

ing and able to make appropriate suggestions, and seem to enjoy their work.

In fact, if you’ve dined at any of Bajaj’s other restaurants, you may well recognize some of the staff. Part of his success in achieving such consistency may be because he cycles staff between his restaurants. Though advertised as a casual dining spot, nopa has a faint savor of the formality that characterizes Bajaj’s other establishments, perhaps befitting the price point, which is somewhat higher than one might expect in a typical brasserie.

Despite all the talk of his restaurants being Washington power spots, Bajaj seems intent on mastering the challenge of opening a new restaurant and doing it right for the sake of doing it right.

Since opening his first restaurant in D.C. in 1988, the classic Raj-style Bombay Club, Bajaj seems never to have taken a false step. He has meticulously expanded his group every few years, trying out new types of restaurants as the fancy strikes him — modern American in an elegant and refined modernist setting (the Oval Room), contemporary continental in a private club setting (701), American bistro and wine bar (Ardeo + Bardeo), contemporary Indian (Rasika and Rasika West End), and Italian osteria (Bibiana). With his newest take on American cuisine in a more casual setting, the affable restaurateur seems once again to have delivered a sibling with all the Bajaj charm and talent of his growing family.

Rachel G. Hunt is the restaurant reviewer for The Washington Diplomat.

he said.

To do this, Harrison suggests celebrating multilingualism and recognizing it as an asset.

“Knowing more than one language makes one smarter and more creative and enables one to solve problems in a more imaginative way,” he said.

On the National Mall, visitors will be able to hear firsthand from faraway communities, including a small group of rice farmers from remote northeastern India who speak a language, Koro, that was not even globally recognized until just a few years ago.

The direct contact should prove to be eye opening.The Tuvans, for instance, conceptualize time and space differently than we do, believing that the past is before them physically and the future is behind.

“The idea of the Folklife Festival is a museum without walls,” said Harrison.

Audrey Hoffer is a contributing writer for The Washington Diplomat.

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earth

July 2013

Photo: chrIS rAInIer / nAtIonAl GeoGrAPhIc endurInG VoIceS ProJect

virtuoso musicians dmitriy Sharayev and Viktor Batyrovich okchayev are among the many young people who are leading a revival of the kalmyk language and culture in the republic of kalmykia in the russian federation.

Name ________________________________________________________________

from page 38

a metaphor for politicians grabbing power and corporations plundering the land for minerals.

“What happens to a person when their place on the map disappears?” asks Nkanga in “Limits of Mapping.”

Another natural component of “Earth Matters” is three site-specific outdoor installations of land art on the Smithsonian Enid A. Haupt Gardens.

Ghanaian sculptor El Anatsui’s piece “Ala” is a monumental pyramid-shaped structure composed of mirrors and rusted metal graters once used to harvest crops — a towering expression of the earth’s ability to both sustain and mesmerize us.

Our planet gives life, nourishes the soul and takes us back after death. Artists in Africa, which gave birth to mankind, have long used the earth’s riches to express identity, connect to ancestors and pose questions about modern-day life.

As Strijdom van der Merwe, a South African art-

You probably do not know that we, the global population, face a language crisis. Of more than 7,000 languages in the world today, half are endangered and may go extinct this century.

But if you visit the Folklife Festival, you will meet language warriors fighting to keep endangered languages alive. Through arts, craft, food, dance and across the digital divide, these determined individuals are raising awareness about why preserving ancestral tongues matters.

“Many languages aren’t written down but are kept alive in people’s hearts and minds,” said K. David Harrison, co-curator of the exhibit and linguistics professor at Swarthmore College whose research focuses on endangered and little-documented languages. “There’s an immense knowledge base in language.”

For example, the language of Tuvan stone carvers from Siberia intimately connects to their landscape and informs us about their nomadic ways of life, while Bolivia’s Kallawaya people know about plants that can cure or alleviate sickness, which we may never know if we cannot communicate with them.

Language also provides a framework for looking at world problems and potentially offers keys to saving plants, animals and natural resources that are endangered, said Harrison.

“Language diversity is part of the bigger picture of sustainability and survival on the planet. If we care about intellectual diversity, we should also care about language diversity,”

Street _______________________________________________________________ City ____________________________________________________________________ State _______________________________ Zip Code __________________________ Telephone: Day ____________________ Evening ____________________________ Method of payment: Visa Photo: Audrey hoffer

this striking site-specific outdoor installation “Ala”

by Ghanaian-nigerian artist el Anatsui is composed of glass and rusted graters that were originally used in farming.

ist in the exhibit, put it: “The earth embodies history, culture, life. When you touch it, hold it and work with it you are united with your very own existence.”

Audrey Hoffer is a contributing writer for The Washington Diplomat.

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The Washington Diplomat Page 43

[ film reviews ]

Banality of Evil Court of Opinion Comes Down on Scholar for Views of Nazi Trials

by Ky N. Nguyen

L

[

Page 44

eading New German Cinema director Margarethe vonTrotta (“Marianne and Juliane,” “Rosa Luxemburg,” “Vision”) once again teams up with acclaimed German actress Barbara Sukowa in “Hannah Arendt,” an astute biopic of the eponymous German-American, secular Jewish scholar Hannah Arendt (1906-75).

A self-described political theorist (a label she preferred over philosopher), professor and journalist, Arendt reported on the war crimes trial in Jerusalem of Nazi officer Adolf Eichmann in a five-article series for the New Yorker in 1961 — which was expanded in her 1963 volume, “Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil.” Two of Arendt’s controversial theses — the “banality of evil” and Jewish councils enabling the Holocaust — became widely debated by the like of Upper West Side intellectuals in the Manhattan cocktail party and other circles.

In 1960, Mossad operatives found highly Photo: Zeitgeist Films wanted fugitive Eichmann working as the German actress Barbara Sukowa stars in the biopic “Hannah Arendt” about the German-American, secular manager of a Mercedes-Benz factory in Argentina. In an abduction of questionable Jewish scholar who stirred controversy with her coverage of the war crimes trial of Nazi officer Adolf Eichmann.

Hannah Arendt international legality, they secretly spirited Mary McCarthy, Arendt’s close buddy and cheerleader; Nicholas Woodeson as (German, French, English, Hebrew and him to Jerusalem to be tried in an Israeli William Shawn; and Klaus Pohl as heavyweight German philosopher Martin Latin with English subtitles; 109 min.) court for crimes against humanity as archi- Heidegger, Arendt’s former teacher and tumultuous lover in Berlin.

Landmark’s E Street Cinema tect of the Final Solution.Arendt convinces The thespians gallantly tackle the verbose dialogue of the smart screenplay Opens Fri., July 5 William Shawn, legendary editor of the co-written by von Trotta and American screenwriter Pam Katz. Well-paced by New Yorker, to capitalize on her academic von Trotta’s straightforward direction,“Hannah Arendt” unwinds a heady story ★★★★✩ celebrity by hiring her to cover Eichmann’s about ideas that many, including von Trotta herself, once thought impossible to trial for the prestigious publication. translate into a narrative motion picture. The film is at its best focusing on the Arendt’s acceptance of Eichmann’s claim that he was just a middling bureau- events surrounding Eichmann’s trial, punctuated by actual archival footage. crat following orders from the top was A compelling backdrop is Arendt’s derided. However, she issued a rejoinpersonal journey. After completing der, as she explains in a lecture in the her dissertation, she departed Nazi film: “The greatest evil in the world is Germany for Paris, only to be briefly the evil committed by nobody. Evil detained (before escaping) in an committed by men without motive or internment camp in World War II conviction, without a wicked heart or France for being an enemy alien, an demonic words … is what I call the irony since she was actually stateless ‘banality of evil.’” after Germany revoked her citizenAlso lambasted was her recounting ship because she was Jewish. When from the trial of evidence that local Germany occupied France, she fled Jewish leaders, sitting on Jewish counwith her husband to the United cils set up by German officials in terStates. Arendt finally discovered a ritories they occupied during World stable, content life living in New War II, helped execute Nazi policies York City, gaining acclaim in aca— initially believing such cooperation demia.

Photo: Jean-Paul Goude El Deseo / Sony Pictures Classics would minimize Jewish deaths and suffering. As Arendt’s memes spread, Mayhem takes over the skies in “I’m So Excited,” directed by Pedro Almodóvar, Uplifting Excitement she was often described as cold, even a pictured far right.

Nazi apologist. Though many critics Following a decade dominated by never actually read her work and failed to parse its subtleties, some were close making films with serious themes, such as “The Skin I Live In,” “Broken friends whom she lost.

Embraces,” “Bad Education” and “Talk to Her,” Spanish bad boy writer-director As Arendt, Barbara Sukowa’s unforgettable presence dominates the screen, Pedro Almodóvar is back to his bawdy old self with “I’m So Excited,” an overmaking visibly palpable her internal deliberations and courage to believe in her the-top farce recalling the campy sex comedies of his earlier work like “Women critical thinking. The protagonist’s character is further developed by her com- on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown.”“I’m So Excited” is set mostly within a plex relationships with supporting characters. Here, Sukowa is backed by plane, providing a built-in physical constraint as in “Women on the Verge of a strong performances from an excellent ensemble cast, including: British actor Nervous Breakdown,” which might result in a stuffy stage piece in the hands of Axel Milberg as poet and Marxist philosopher Heinrich Blücher, Arendt’s stal- lesser, more conventional directors. wart husband; double Oscar-winning American actress Janet McTeer as novelist Not so for Almodóvar, a unique auteur who responds by packing more and

]

The Washington Diplomat

July 2013

[

I’m So Excited

(Los amantes pasajeros) (Spanish with English subtitles; 90 min.)

Angelika Mosaic Landmark’s E Street Cinema

Opens Fri., July 5

★★★★✩

]

more of his signature touches into one place, leaving no doubt of the director’s identity. He ratchets up the usual melodrama, secrets and lies, magic realism, etc., while José Luis Alcaine’s florid cinematography uses the ultra-saturated hues that frequent Almodóvar films.The director also taps his usual stable of actors to deliver crazy, outrageous performances. Let’s make clear that “I’m So Excited” is by no means cutting-edge cinema, but it’s great fun for an audience in search of a good time, especially those viewers predisposed to appreciate Almodóvar’s brand of wild, sexy humor.

The film opens with Penélope Cruz and Antonio Banderas, both Almodóvar regular players who have become crossover Hollywood celebrities, making cameos as luggage handlers whose spat unintentionally causes a malfunction. Once aboard Peninsula Flight 2549 flying to Mexico City, technical difficulties are threatening catastrophic failure that the veteran pilots are working hard to resolve. Meanwhile, the male flight attendants — talkative but honest Joserra (Javier Cámara from “Bad Education” and “Talk to Her”), skinny alcohol- and drug-fueled Ulloa (Raúl Arévalo) and obese religious freak Fajas (Carlos Areces), who carries an altar hidden in a briefcase to pray for the passengers — step up to the plate and try to soothe the passengers as much as possible.

The passengers in coach class have been knocked out with sedatives. So the bulk of the action takes place in business class, filled with standard Almodóvar character types like a celebrity dominatrix, death-smelling psychic virgin, shady financier, soap opera heartthrob and a Mexican assassin. When the pilots decide to attempt an emergency landing, the flight attendants double down their efforts to entertain,

CEO, Peter C. Ludvigsen (Søren Malling, of “Borgen”), learns of the hijacking, which is when it’s first revealed to the audience.

Peter hires British expert negotiator Connor (Gary Skjoldmose Porter, a nonprofessional actor who works as a real-life maritime security professional). Disregarding Connor’s advice, Peter decides to speak directly with the hijackers, whose polyglot spokesman Omar (Abdihakin Asgar) makes an opening demand of $15 million for the ransom of the hostages.

This time listening to Connor, Peter counters with a measly $250,000.With such a spread, it’s no surprise that the negotiation process drags into months.

As time passes with no end in sight, Mikkel, his best pal and ship’s engineer Jan Sørensen (Roland Møller), and the Rozen’s other crewmembers begin to feel like they have been thrown under the bus by the head office.Their psychological and physical well being rapidly declines, especially as the Somali pirates grow increasingly unstable. Meanwhile, Peter is also facing overwhelming pressures at headquarters.

In addition to the two leads, Asbæk and Photo: Magnolia Pictures Malling, the director sticks with a number of Pilou Asbæk, right, plays a friendly cook whose cargo ship is hijacked by Somali pirates, led by Abdihakin proven key collaborators he knows from “R” and Asgar, left, in the Danish thriller “A Hijacking.”

“Borgen.” Cinematographer Magnus Nordenhof Jønck and editor Adam Nielsen, who both Encapsulating Lindholm’s philosophy of “real- worked with Lindholm on “R,” provide topnotably lip-synching to a dance number covering the Pointer Sisters hit “I’m So Excited” and ity rules” — seeking a lack of artifice and maxi- notch technical efforts creating a series of captiserving Valencia drinks spiked with mescaline. mum authenticity — “A Hijacking” is filmed on vating images flowing crisply under Lindholm’s As the alcohol and drugs kick in, life in the location off the coast of steady direction. The clouds gets as wild and complicated as it often Kenya in the Indian Ocean, camera smoothly alterA Hijacking can be on the ground. on an actual ship that in nates between the con(Kapringen) real life was hijacked, and trasting looks of the (Danish and Swedish with English features people with real grimy cargo ship and the Tense ‘Hijacking’ subtitles; 99 min.) hijacking experience. shipping company’s In the opening sequence, modern head office in “A Hijacking,” the impressive solo debut feaLandmark’s E Street Cinema Copenhagen. Sound ture helmed by Danish writer-director Tobias the cargo ship MV Rozen’s ★★★★✩ designer Morten Green’s Lindholm (co-writer and co-director of the pris- friendly cook Mikkel (Pilou spooky sound effects on drama “R” and co-writer of Danish television Asbæk, also from “R” and hit “Borgen”), works exceeding well as a realistic “Borgen”) anticipates docking soon in Mumbai, increase the claustrophobia on the isolated ship, thriller making the most out of a little. He relies after which he plans to retire from life at sea and while Asbæk and Malling deliver naturalistic on carefully crafted psychological tension rather permanently reunite with his wife and daughter portrayals of the two main characters striving to than excessive action and violence to move the at home in Denmark. Befitting the minimalist keep it together under pressure. story, which revolves around the crew of a aesthetic of “A Hijacking,” the capture of the MV Danish ship that’s been hijacked by Somali Rozen by Somali pirates happens off-screen. Ky N. Nguyen is the film reviewer for Back in Copenhagen, the shipping company’s The Washington Diplomat. pirates.

Repertory Notes

[

]

by Washington Diplomat film reviewer Ky N. Nguyen

Please see International Film Clips above for detailed listings available at press time.

National Gallery of Art The series “Hungary, Hero and Myth: Immigrant Experience and the Artist’s Eye” (July 5-7), presented in conjunction with the Smithsonian Folklife Festival’s exhibit “Hungarian Heritage: Roots to Revival” and with thanks to the Embassy of Hungary, includes Gábor Bódy’s “American Postcard” (Fri., July 5, 1 p.m.); Ender Holes’s “The Maiden Danced to Death” (Fri., July 5, 3 p.m.); James Chressanthis’s documentary “No Subtitles Necessary: Vilmos And László” with subject Vilmos Zsigmond in person (Sat., July 6, 2 p.m.); Csaba Káel’s “Bánk Bán” shot by Zsigmond, who appears in person (Sat., July 6, 4 p.m.); and Krisztina Goda and Joe Eszterhas’s “Children of Glory” (Sun., July 7, 4 p.m.).

Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger’s “The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp” (Fri., July 12, 2:30 p.m.; Sat., July 13, 2:30 p.m.) screens in a Technicolor restoration.

In association with AFI Silver Theatre, “The Hitchcock 9” retrospective (July 3-Sept. 18) reviews British-born master of suspense Alfred Hitchcock’s silent films, restored by the British Film Institute (BFI).

The National Gallery also offers two films written by Lady Hitchcock, Alma Reville. Stephen Horne performs live accompaniment for Miles Mander’s “The First Born,” written by Reville, followed by Hitchcock’s “Easy Virtue” (Sun., July 14, 4 p.m.). Philip Carli performs live accompaniment for Hitchcock’s “Downhill” (Sun., July 21, 4 p.m.) and Adrian Brunel’s “The Constant Nymph,” written by Reville (Sun., July 21, 5:30 p.m.). The Mont Alto Motion Picture Orchestra accompanies Hitchcock’s “The Lodger” (Sat., July 27, 2 p.m.).

(202) 842-6799, www.nga.gov/programs/film

American Film Institute (AFI) Silver Theatre In association with the National Gallery of Art, “The Hitchcock 9” retrospective (July 3-Sept. 18) at AFI Silver offers BFI restorations of Alfred Hitchcock’s silent movies. Stephen Horne performs live accompaniment for “The Manxman” (Sat., July 13, 5:30 p.m.).

“Champagne” also screens with live musical accompaniment (Sat., July 20, 4 p.m.), and the Mont Alto Motion Picture Orchestra accompanies “Blackmail” (Fri,. July 26, 7:30 p.m.) and “The Ring” (Sun., July 28, 3 p.m.).

Other new series include “Scandinavian Crime Cinema” (July 3Sept. 18), “70mm Spectacular, Part 2” (July 3-Sept. 18) and “Ernest

July 2013

Borgnine Remembered” (July 2-Sept 18).

(301) 495-6700, www.afi.com/silver

Freer Gallery of Art Cosponsored by the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office, the crowd-pleasing 18th annual Made in Hong Kong Film Festival (through Aug. 4) continues with John Woo’s “A Better Tomorrow” starring Chow Yun-Fat (Fri., July 12, 7 p.m.; Sun., July 14, 2 p.m.), Ching Siu-tung’s “A Chinese Ghost Story” starring Leslie Cheung (Fri., July 19, 7 p.m.; Sun., July 21, 2 p.m.), and Derek Yee’s “Viva Erotica” starring Leslie Cheung (Fri., June 26, 7 p.m.; Sun., June 28, 2 p.m.).

(202) 357-2700, www.asia.si.edu/events/films.asp Friendship, Freedom, Tolerance: 50 Years French-German Friendship The series “Friendship, Freedom, Tolerance: 50 Years FrenchGerman Friendship” (through July 12) concludes its commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the Élysée Treaty with Christian Carion’s “Merry Christmas” (Mon., July 1, 6:30 p.m.) at the Goethe-Institut and Bertrand Délais’s documentary “France-Allemagne: Une Histoire Presque Commune” (Fri., July 12, 7 p.m.) at the Alliance Française.

(202) 357-2700, www.asia.si.edu/events/films.asp

The Washington Diplomat Page 45

[ film ]

CINEMA LISTING *Unless specific times are listed, please check the theater for times. Theater locations are subject to change.

Nightwatch (Nattevagten)

Arabic

Martin takes a job as a night watchman at the local morgue, where the victims of a serial killer keep piling up. On a dare from his buddy, Martin takes a prank too far and soon finds himself the prime suspect in the case, on the run from both the police and the killer (Danish and Swedish).

The Attack Directed by Ziad Doueiri (Lebanon/France/Qatar/Belgium, 2013, 122 min.)

Israeli-Palestinian surgeon Amin Jaafari’s picture-perfect life is turned upside down when a suicide bombing in a restaurant leaves 19 dead and the Israeli police inform him that his wife was responsible.

Convinced of her innocence, Amin abandons the relative security of his adopted homeland and enters the Palestinian territories in pursuit of the truth (Arabic and Hebrew).

Landmark’s E Street Cinema

Cantonese A Better Tomorrow (Moo-jeok-ja) Directed by John Woo (Hong Kong, 1986, 95 min.)

A reforming ex-gangster tries to reconcile with his estranged policeman brother, Leslie Cheung, but the ties to his former gang are difficult to break (English and Chinese subtitles).

Freer Gallery of Art Fri., July 12, 7 p.m., Sun., July 14, 2 p.m.

A Chinese Ghost Story (Sien nui yau wan) Directed by Ching Siu-tung (Hong Kong, 1987, 98 min.)

This supernatural fantasy stars Leslie Cheung as a traveling tax collector who, while taking shelter in an abandoned temple, meets and falls in love with a beautiful woman — who happens to be a ghost (English and Chinese subtitles).

Freer Gallery of Art Fri., July 19, 7 p.m., Sun., July 21, 2 p.m.

Viva Erotica (Se qing nan nu) Directed by Derek Yee (Hong Kong, 1996, 99 min.)

A down-on-his-luck filmmaker agrees to direct a soft-core porn flick — but he struggles to maintain both his artistic integrity and his relationship with his girlfriend while he deals with a sleazy producer and a tempestuous starlet who refuses to take off her clothes (English and Chinese subtitles).

Freer Gallery of Art Fri., July 26, 7 p.m., Sun. July 28, 2 p.m.

Danish A Hijacking Directed by Tobias Lindholm (Denmark, 2012, 99 min.)

A cargo ship is hijacked by Somali pirates who try to ransom the men on board, including the ship’s genial cook, for millions of dollars, leading to a psychological battle with the shipping company’s CEO back in Copenhagen.

Landmark’s E Street Cinema

Page 46

THE WASHINGTON DIPLOMAT

July 2013 Shadow Dancer

Directed by James Marsh (U.K./Ireland, 2012, 101 min.)

When a single mother living in Belfast with her hard-line IRA brothers is arrested, an MI5 officer offers her a choice: go to prison or return to Belfast to spy on her own family. With her son’s life in danger, she places her trust in the MI5 and returns home.

Directed by Ole Bornedal (Denmark, 1994, 107 min.)

Landmark’s E Street Cinema

Still Mine

AFI Silver Theatre Wed., July 3, 9:30 p.m.

Wed., July 10, 9:30 p.m.

Directed by Michael McGowan (Canada, 2012, 103 min.)

In this heartfelt story, an elderly man is blindsided by local building codes and bureaucratic officials when he sets out to build a more suitable house for his ailing wife.

English Easy Money (Snabba Cash)

The Avalon Theatre Opens Fri., July 12

Directed by Daniel Espinosa (Sweden, 2010, 124 min.)

Needing funds to partake of the flashy, party-centric lifestyle led by his college chums, “JW” Westlund resorts to drug running for the Serbian mob. For a while, JW maintains this double life but soon his parttime job becomes a full-time problem (English, Swedish, Serbian, Spanish and German).

AFI Silver Theatre Wed., July 3, 7 p.m., Thu., July 11, 7:20 p.m.

The Element of Crime (Forbrydelsens element) Directed by Lars von Trier (Denmark, 1984, 104 min.)

Exiled to Cairo, an ex-cop submits to hypnosis to recall his last case, the “Lotto Murderer,” who preyed upon young girls employed as lottery ticket sellers, trying to identify with the mind of the killer in order to anticipate his next move (English and Arabic).

AFI Silver Theatre Tue., July 9, 9:40 p.m., Wed., July 10, 7:20 p.m.

Headhunters (Hodejegerne) Directed by Morten Tyldum (Norway/Germany, 2011, 100 min.)

Aksel Hennie leads a double life as a corporate headhunter who steals and deals artwork on the side, but he’s not the only one playing a double game (English, Norwegian, Danish and Russian).

AFI Silver Theatre Sat., July 27, 1:30 p.m.

Sun., July 28, 9:30 p.m.

The Laughing Policeman Directed by Stuart Rosenberg (U.S., 1973, 112 min.)

When Detective Jake Martin’s partner is gunned down along with a busload of fellow transit passengers, Martin leads the manhunt for the crazed gunman, alongside an impulsive rookie detective Leo Larsen.

AFI Silver Theatre July 19 to 23

Unfinished Song Directed by Paul Andrew Williams (U.K./Germany, 2012, 96 min.)

A curmudgeonly pensioner named Arthur is reluctantly inspired to join a highly unconventional local seniors’ choir after the death of his wife, a process that helps him repair relations with his estranged son.

Photo: Nick Wall / The Weinstein Company

Gemma Arterton, left, and Terence Stamp star in “Unfinished Song,” playing at Landmark’s E Street Cinema.

bloody revenge.

legends.

AFI Silver Theatre July 12 to 15

National Gallery of Art Sat., July 6, 2 p.m.

Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior

Not Quite Hollywood: The Wild, Untold Story of Ozploitation!

Directed by George Miller (Australia, 1981, 95 min.)

Mel Gibson is back as Max Rockatansky, who roams the post-apocalyptic Australian Outback where everyone is desperate to lay claim to the most precious resource: gasoline. He stumbles on a ragtag group of squatters who’ve staked a claim to an oil refinery and is moved to join their ranks in the fight against the rapacious and sadistic warlord, the Humungus.

AFI Silver Theatre Fri., July 19, 9:45 p.m., Sun., July 21, 7:40 p.m.

The Maiden Danced to Death Directed by Ender Holes (Hungary/Canada/Slovenia, 2011, 100 min.)

When Istvan defected to the West many years earlier, his brother Gyula took over the dance company that Istvan had created. When Istvan finally returns, the complicated jumble of emotions experienced by the brothers proves devastating as they work together to produce “The Maiden Danced to Death,” a folk-themed dance (English and Hungarian).

National Gallery of Art Fri., July 5, 3 p.m.

Mad Max

No Subtitles Necessary: Vilmos and László

Directed by George Miller (Australia, 1979, 93 min.)

Directed by James Chressanthis (U.S., 2008, 86 min.)

In a desolate post-apocalyptic future, Max is a motorcycle cop looking to get out of the game and spend more time with his wife and kid. But after the Glory Riders brutally murder his family, he mounts his souped-up V8 racer and sets off to exact

This documentary chronicles the friendship and interrelated careers of László Kovács and Vilmos Zsigmond, two of Hollywood’s most celebrated cinematographers who left Hungary following the 1956 uprising and, on their own, became American

Directed by Mark Hartley (Australia/U.S., 2008, 103 min.)

This energetic and irreverent documentary celebrates the Australian genre cinema of the ’70s and ’80s known as “Ozploitation,” featuring outrageous interviews with Quentin Tarantino, Jamie Lee Curtis, Dennis Hopper and Ozploitation filmmakers.

AFI Silver Theatre July 12 to 18

The Painting Directed by Jean-François Laguionie (France, 2011, 78 min.)

In this wryly inventive animated parable, a kingdom is divided into the three castes: the painted Alldunns; the Halfies that were left incomplete by the Painter; and the untouchable Sketchies, simple charcoal outlines — all of whom explore the different worlds depicted in the paintings strewn about them, attempting to discover just what the Painter had in mind for his creations.

Landmark’s E Street Cinema

Reykjavik-Rotterdam Directed by Óskar Jónasson (Iceland/Germany/Netherlands, 2008, 88 min.)

With a wife and two kids, Kristófer has gone straight since his last arrest for smuggling alcohol into high-tariff Iceland on his merchant seaman jobs. But after his wife’s brother gets in over his head with local thugs, he’s forced to go back to his old ways.

AFI Silver Theatre Sat., July 20, 6:15 p.m., Tue., July 23, 9:15 p.m.

Landmark’s E Street Cinema

Wake in Fright Directed by Ted Kotcheff (Australia/U.S., 1971, 114 min.)

A British schoolteacher descends into personal demoralization at the hands of drunken, deranged derelicts while stranded in a small town in the Australian Outback.

AFI Silver Theatre Fri., July 26, 9:30 p.m., Mon, July 29, 9:15 p.m.

Finnish Crime and Punishment (Rikos ja rangaistus) Directed by Aki Kaurismäki (Finland, 1983, 93 min.)

Ex-law student and current slaughterhouse worker Rahikainen murders not a pawnbroker but a wealthy industrialist simply as revenge for a past wrong. Unable to prove the suspect’s guilt, an inspector bides his time, convinced that Rahikainen’s conscience will eventually lead him to turn himself in.

AFI Silver Theatre July 13 to 15

French Augustine Directed by Alice Winocour (France, 2012, 102 min.)

Augustine suffers a seizure that leaves her partially paralyzed and is shipped off to an all-female psychiatric hospital specializing “hysteria.” There, she captures the attention of a renowned neurologist after she has another attack that appears to give her intense physical pleasure. Intrigued, he begins using her as his principal subject, gaining acclaim but blurring the line between doctor and patient.

Landmark’s E Street Cinema

France-Allemagne: Une Histoire Presque Commune Directed by Bertrand Délais

The Washington Diplomat

July 2013

(France, 2012, 55 min.)

To mark the occasion of the 50th anniversary celebrations of the Elysée Treaty, this retrospective traces the chronology of the friendship between France and Germany from the early 1960s to today via the successful partnerships between the German and French heads of state over the years.

Alliance Française de Washington

German Hannah Arendt Directed by Margarethe von Trotta (Germany/Luxembourg/France, 2012, 109 min.)

Hannah Arendt, the influential GermanJewish political theorist, introduces the concept of the “banality of evil” during her reporting on 1961 trial of ex-Nazi Adolf Eichmann (German, French, English, Hebrew and Latin).

Landmark’s E Street Cinema Opens Fri., July 5

Hebrew The World is Funny (Haolam Mats’hik) Directed by Shemi Zarhin (Israel, 2012, 127 min.)

Estranged siblings who have endured childhood abandonment face new and ultimately interconnected challenges in adulthood: a widower whose older son has just awakened from a lengthy coma; a radio producer and his terminally ill Russian girlfriend; and a travel agent whose daughter was killed in an army accident.

The Avalon Theatre Wed., July 24, 8 p.m.

Hungarian American Postcard Directed by Gábor Bódy (Hungary, 1975, 91 min.)

Two Hungarian officers, recent arrivals to America, serving as Union Army surveyors in the Civil War symbolize opposing attitudes toward the conflict: the rationalist, hoping to offer his skills to the cause, and the raw romantic revolutionary (Hungarian, French and German).

National Gallery of Art Fri., July 5, 1 p.m.

Bánk bán Directed by Csaba Káel (Hungary, 2002, 118 min.)

Ferenc Erkel’s grand romantic opera “Bánk bán” — a season opener in Budapest’s state opera house — transforms a medieval folk saga into a sweeping visual and musical extravaganza.

National Gallery of Art Sat., July 6, 4 p.m.

Children of Glory (Szabadság, szerelem) Directed by Krisztina Goda and Joe Eszterhas (Hungary, 2006, 123 min.)

A heroic interpretation of events surrounding the 1956 Hungarian Revolution, this epic romance entangled with political intrigue follows the life of a celebrated athlete and an activist whom he meets at a revolutionary rally on the streets of Budapest (Hungarian, Russian and English).

National Gallery of Art Sun., July 7, 4 p.m.

Icelandic Jar City (Mýrin) Directed by Baltasar Kormákur (Iceland/Germany/Denmark, 2006, 93 min.)

In 1974, a young girl met an untimely end, her murder never solved. Thirty years later, a photo of her grave is the only clue in the mysterious murder of a crusty old pervert. It falls to Inspector Erlendur to reopen the cold case, whose trail leads to a foreboding medical facility that houses disturbing secrets.

AFI Silver Theatre July 12 to 17

Norwegian Insomnia Directed by Erik Skjoldbjærg (Norway, 1997, 96 min.)

Troubled homicide detective Jonas Engström is sent to investigate a brutal murder in a small town in the far north of Norway, where the sun never sets, the fog never lifts, and tension runs high as Engström begins to lose his grip first on the case, then on reality (Norwegian and Swedish).

AFI Silver Theatre Fri., July 12, 7 p.m., Tue., July 16, 9:15 p.m.

Silent

Easy Virtue Directed by Alfred Hitchcock (U.K., 1927, 90 min.)

Larita Filton flees England after a scandalous divorce, marries a new man, and then attempts to re-enter British society with her suitably rich new mate while battling society’s conventions (screens with “The First Born”; Stephen Horne in performance).

National Gallery of Art Sun., July 14, 4 p.m.

The First Born Directed by Miles Mander (U.K., 1928, 88 min.)

Reflecting on the double standards of upper-crust British society, “The First Born” tracks the deterioration of adoring bonds between Sir Hugo Boycott and his young bride after she fails to produce an heir (screens with “Easy Virtue”; Stephen Horne in performance).

National Gallery of Art Sun., July 14, 4 p.m.

Directed by Alfred Hitchcock (U.K., 1928, 106 min.)

A millionaire feigns bankruptcy to teach his frivolous flapper daughter a lesson in Hitchcock’s effervescent jazz-age romantic comedy (live musical accompaniment by Ray Brubacher).

AFI Silver Theatre Sat., July 20, 4 p.m.

The Constant Nymph Directed by Adrian Brunel (U.K., 1928, 110 min.)

When a young woman moves in with her cousin and her husband, their marriage begins to falter in this shocking mix of adolescent desire and illicit entanglement — set in a spectacularly bright Austrian state of Tyrol and later in the dark drawing rooms of London (Philip Carli in performance).

National Gallery of Art Sun., July 21, 5:30 p.m.

Downhill Directed by Alfred Hitchcock (U.K., 1927, 74 min.)

A boy wrongly charged with stealing is expelled from his school and makes his way to Paris, where he really starts to go “downhill” (Philip Carli in performance).

National Gallery of Art Sun., July 21, 4 p.m.

Wallander: The Revenge (Hämnden)

Directed by Kjell Sundvall (Sweden, 1996, 113 min.)

Returning to his hometown after the death of his father and a case of career burnout, Erik Bäckström reconnects with his brother and old chums. But after investigating the slaughter of the local Samis’ reindeer herd, Erik uncovers a massive and lucrative organized poaching ring, and those closest to him are most involved.

AFI Silver Theatre Mon., July 29, 7 p.m., Thu., Aug. 1, 9:10 p.m.

Directed by Bo Widerberg (Sweden, 1976, 110 min.)

Hitchcock’s first true thriller and earliest commercial success (and containing the first of his cameo appearances), “The Lodger” tells the story of a boarding house resident suspected of murder by his landlady (Monto Alto Picture Orchestra in performance).

A police lieutenant is murdered in his

The Manxman

Champagne

The Hunters (Jägarna)

Directed by Alfred Hitchcock (U.K., 1926, 98 min.)

Directed by Alfred Hitchcock (U.K., 1929, 85 min.)

AFI Silver Theatre Fri., July 26, 7:30 p.m.

AFI Silver Theatre Thu., July 4, 1 p.m., Mon., July 8, 7 p.m.

Man on the Roof (Mannen på taket)

National Gallery of Art Sat., July 27, 2 p.m.

hospital bed and the precise knife work indicates that the killer may hail from the professional ranks. Beck and the homicide team investigate what turns out to be a cop killer with a very specific grudge.

AFI Silver Theatre July 27 to 31

The Lodger

Blackmail A woman kills in self-defense and is subsequently bedeviled by both her terrifying memories and a merciless blackmailer (live musical accompaniment by the Mont Alto Picture Orchestra).

Disgraced journalist Mikael Blomkvist teams up with genius hacker Lisbeth Salander to investigate a cold case involving a missing girl, and together they uncover a horrific scandal that reaches to the very top of the Swedish business elite.

Directed by Charlotte Brandstrom (Sweden, 2009, 91 min.)

Islamic terrorists are suspected in the murder of an art curator who recently organized an exhibit featuring imagery controversial to Muslims, but savvy chief inspector Kurt Wallander is not so sure.

AFI Silver Theatre Fri., July 19, 7:20 p.m., Sun., July 21, 1:15 p.m.

Follow The Diplomat Connect at www.washdiplomat.com.

Directed by Alfred Hitchcock (U.S., 1929, 110 min.)

A love triangle between two childhood friends and the girl they both love plays out against the rugged coastline of the Isle of Man and the puritanical social codes of an isolated fishing village in one of Hitchcock’s most accomplished silent films.

AFI Silver Theatre Sat., July 13, 5:30 p.m.

The Ring Directed by Alfred Hitchcock (U.K., 1927, 108 min.)

Jack “One Round” Sander is a promising contender hoping for a shot at the big time, his success in the boxing ring ultimately in service to the lovely Mabel. But his promoter, who also has eyes for Mabel, would prefer that his boxer focus only on the sport (live musical accompaniment by the Mont Alto Picture Orchestra).

AFI Silver Theatre Sun., July 28, 3 p.m.

READIN’

Spanish

ART

I’m So Excited!

Directed by Pedro Almodóvar (Spain, 2013, 90 min.)

A technical failure during a flight to Mexico City endangers passengers and crew — whose defenselessness in the face of danger provokes a general catharsis.

’RITING ’RITHMETIC

Royal dukes are squaresville.

They have no rhythm.

And they wear crowns.

Give your kids a chance to succeed. Up their daily dose of art.

Landmark’s E Street Cinema Opens Fri., July 5

Swedish The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Män som hatar kvinnor) Directed by Niels Arden Oplev (Sweden/Denmark/Germany, 2009, 152 min.)

July 2013

The Washington Diplomat Page 47

[ around town ]

EVENTS LISTING **Admission is free unless otherwise noted. All information on event venues can be found on The Diplomat Web site at www.washdiplomat. com. Times and locations are subject to change.

Unless listed, please call venue for specific event times and hours of operation.

THE WASHINGTON DIPLOMAT

July 2013

that appear to be moving around the canvas, trying to escape, seeking something more, multiplying and growing.

and miniature dioramas for nearly 40 years. Mounted to celebrate the museum’s acquisition of a major, career-spanning body of work, this exhibition is the first to feature all of the artist’s work on the subject of war.

Embassy of Argentina Through July 7

One Man’s Search for Ancient China: The Paul Singer Collection

ART Opens Wed., July 3

Seven Points (Part Two)

“Seven Points” is a series of exhibitions that showcase the work of seven Australian contemporary artists: Daniel Boyd, Marley Dawson, Newell Harry, Anna Kristensen, Angelica Mesiti, Kate Mitchell and Tim Silver. Informed by periods of residency internationally, these artists’ works offer alternative points of entry into the diverse conditions of Australian culture.

Embassy of Australia July 3 to Aug. 9

The Burning of Visibility: From Reality to Dream

Renowned French photographer Anne-Lise Large has resided in the United States for the past four years, lending a unique perspective to her latest photographic series, which offers an outsider’s view of what constitutes “American culture.”

Art Museum of the Americas F Street Gallery July 3 to Oct. 6

NOW at the Corcoran – Ellen Harvey: The Alien’s Guide to the Ruins of Washington, D.C.

Ellen Harvey’s new project is a glimpse into the world of the distant future. Human civilization having long since come to an end, the earth is populated now only by ruins, ripe for archeological interpretation by visitors from another planet. Attempting to make sense of what they find, Harvey’s aliens immediately mine the potential of one of the greatest neo-classical cities — Washington, D.C. — as a tourist destination.

Corcoran Gallery of Art Through July 5

Eliana Macri: Paintings

Buenos Aires native Eliana Macri creates abstract paintings and engravings whose vibrant colors, lines and space form shapes

Corcoran Gallery of Art

New Jersey psychiatrist-turned-collector Paul Singer’s bequest to the Sackler Gallery created one of the largest Chinese archaeological collections in the United States.

This exhibition looks at the collector’s contributions to Chinese art history — made largely at a time when contact between China and the West was heavily restricted — and examines how landmark archaeological discoveries have shed new light on his acquisitions and on ancient China.

Through Sept. 1

Arthur M. Sackler Gallery

The Phillips Collection

Georges Braque and the Cubist Still Life, 1928–1945

Featuring 44 sumptuous canvases, the exhibition charts French cubist master Georges Braque’s (1882-1963) work in the still-life genre — from depictions of intimate interiors in the late 1920s, to vibrant, large-scale canvases in the 1930s, to darker and more personal spaces in the 1940s.

Through July 12

Through Sept. 2

Nothing is Done (Nichts ist erledigt)

Ever since the 1970s, artist, publisher and lawyer Klaus Staeck has been causing a stir in Germany. Often used in protests against environmental destruction, Staeck’s art — through evocative images and slogans — calls attention to global warming, ever-growing piles of rubbish, nuclear waste, and the pollution of the air and oceans.

Diaghilev and the Ballets Russes, 1909-1929: When Art Danced with Music

Photo: Collection of the artist

“Boarding House” is among 55 works on view in “Lines, Marks, and Drawings: Through the Lens of Roger Ballen” at the National Museum of African Art.

Goethe-Institut July 13 to June 8, 2014

impressions.

Perspectives: Rina Banerjee

National Gallery of Art

Born in India and based in New York City, artist Rina Banerjee draws on her background as a scientist and her experience as an immigrant in her richly textured works that complicate the role of objects as representations of cultures and invite viewers to share her fascination in materials.

Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Through July 28

Edvard Munch: A 150th Anniversary Tribute

This 150th birthday tribute to Edvard Munch (1863–1944), Norway’s most famed painter and printmaker, includes more than 20 renowned works from the gallery’s collection and a unique series of six variant

Through Aug. 4

Arts of Japan: Edo Aviary and Poetic License

Complementary but distinct installations examine two themes of Edo period art: “Edo Aviary,” which traces how depictions of birds were influenced by natural history painting, and “Poetic License: Making Old Words New,” which shows how classical Japanese and Chinese literary traditions were absorbed into the merchant and artisan classes.

Freer Gallery of Art Through Aug. 4

Views of Panama

Photographers Gabriel Benaim, José

Manuel Castrellón and Lorena Endara examine the stunning transformation Panama has undertaken in the last few years, manifested into a real estate and building boom that has changed Panama City’s skyline.

OAS Art Museum of the Americas F Street Gallery Through Aug. 4

A World of Bonds: Frederick Sommer’s Photography and Friendships

Frederick Sommer (1905–99) explored an unusually broad array of subjects ranging from disorienting landscapes and macabre aspects of the natural world to surreal arrangements of found objects and virtual abstractions.

National Gallery of Art Through Aug. 11

Hand-Held: Gerhard Pulverer’s Japanese Illustrated Books

More than 100 volumes reflect on the Edo period Japan (1615-1868) as an age of great social and political change that gave rise to an unprecedented “reading culture” of artists, writers and publishers. Similar to blogging and e-publication in the 21st century, illustrated books (ehon) in Edo Japan opened up a new avenue with which to share ideas, marked by epic levels of publishing and book consumption.

Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Through Sept. 1

David Levinthal: War Games Photo: Arthur M. Sackler Gallery

“Hand-Held: Gerhard Pulverer’s Japanese Illustrated Books” at the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, running through Aug. 11, includes rare private editions and bestsellers such as Japanese artist Hokusai’s “Manga” sketchbooks.

Page 48

David Levinthal, a central figure in the history of American postmodern photography, has staged uncanny tableaux using toys

More than 130 original costumes, set designs, paintings, sculptures, prints and drawings, photographs and posters reveal how the Ballets Russes — the most innovative dance company of the 20th century — propelled the performing arts to new heights through groundbreaking collaborations between artists, composers, choreographers, dancers and fashion designers.

National Gallery of Art Through Sept. 2

Nine Deaths, Two Births: Xu Bing’s Phoenix Project

Chinese artist Xu Bing spent more than two years creating his newest work, “Phoenix Project,” a massive installation that comprises two birds fabricated entirely from materials found at construction sites in Beijing.

Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Through Sept. 8

Over, Under, Next: Experiments in Mixed Media, 1913-Present

Butterfly wings, glass shards, doll parts, crumpled automotive metal, jigsaw puzzle pieces, clothing, straight pins, furniture, and colored sand — these are just some of the materials in “Over, Under, Next,” an exhibition of approximately 100 examples of collage and assemblage, primarily drawn from the Hirshhorn’s collection.

Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden Through Sept. 15

Fusion: Tracing Asian Migration to the Americas

Through the permanent collection of the Art Museum of the Americas, one of the most vital sources of contemporary Latin American and Caribbean art in the United States, this exhibition explores the migration of artists or their families to the Americas from Asia during the second half of the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century.

Art Museum of the Americas

The Washington Diplomat

July 2013

Through Sept. 22

Through Oct. 13

Through Feb. 9

Bice Lazzari: Signature Line

Out of Southeast Asia: Art that Sustains

Lines, Marks, and Drawings: Through the Lens of Roger Ballen

In collaboration with the Italian Embassy, this exhibit features 25 paintings and drawings by Lazzari (1900-81), one of Italy’s most revered modern artists.

Discouraged from studying the figure in art school in the 1910s because of her gender, she became a prominent decorative arts designer who became for her later poetic abstract paintings.

National Museum of Women in the Arts Through Sept. 29

A Book Behind Bars: The Robben Island Shakespeare

Nelson Mandela signed his name next to a passage from “Julius Caesar” in Shakespeare’s “Complete Works” on Dec. 16, 1977, while serving 18 years as a political prisoner at Robben Island. More than 30 of Mandela’s fellow prisoners also signed their names next to passages, documenting a part of their experience through their shared knowledge of Shakespeare.

Accompanying the Robben Island Shakespeare book — on display for the first time in the United States — is a series of sketches Mandela made in the early 2000s, reflecting on his prison life.

Folger Shakespeare Library

The last exhibition presented in the Textile Museum’s historic location before the museum’s 2014 reopening promises to be a beautiful pairing of tradition and innovation, demonstrating how four artists are reinventing traditional Southeast Asian textile techniques, designs and ideology in new and meaningful ways.

DANCE

Through Nov. 10

Sun., July 7, 2 p.m.

Awake in a Dream World: The Art of Audrey Niffenegger

The first major museum exhibition of visual artist and author of “The Time Traveler’s Wife” reveals a mysterious, strange and whimsical world, both real and imagined, through 239 paintings, drawings, prints and book art.

National Museum of Women in the Arts

WAR/PHOTOGRAPHY: Images of Armed Conflict and Its Aftermath This landmark exhibition revolutionizes our understanding of war, immersing viewers in the experience of soldiers and civilians through images by more than 200 photographers from 28 nations that span conflicts from the past 165 years — from the Mexican-American War through presentday conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Corcoran Gallery of Art

July 3 to 7

As part of the SPAIN arts & culture program (www.spainculture.us), “S.O.S. Spanish Office Showroom” presents the most avant-garde pieces of Spanish design conceived for modern working environments, highlighting how the creativity of contemporary Spanish designers adapts to any office space and how Spanish design companies are successfully competing in international markets, such as the United States.

More than 100 photographs selected from the Smithsonian American Art Museum’s permanent collection celebrate the 30th anniversary of the establishment of the museum’s photography collection, examine photography’s evolution in the United States from a documentary medium to a full-fledged artistic genre, and showcase the numerous ways in which it has captured the American experience.

American Art Museum Through Jan. 5

Earth Matters: Land as Material and Metaphor in the Arts of Africa Some 100 exceptional works of art from the late 18th to 21st centuries come together for the first major exhibition and scholarly endeavor to comprehensively examine the rich relationship between African artists and the land upon which they live, work and frame their days.

Smithsonian Folklife Festival

This year’s Smithsonian Folklife Festival, an international exposition of living cultural heritage produced annually on the National Mall, features the themes “Hungarian Heritage: Roots to Revival,” “One World, Many Voices: Endangered Languages and Cultural Heritages” and “The Will to Adorn: African American Diversity, Style and Identity.”

National Mall July 11 to 28

Capital Fringe Festival

The eighth annual Capital Fringe Festival takes over D.C. with hundreds of performances by adventurous and innovative performing artists from the Washington metro area, elsewhere in the United States and overseas. Performances take place in more than 20 traditional and non-traditional performance venues, and include works ranging from theater, dance, and puppetry to the unclassifiable.

For information, visit www.capitalfringe. org.

Various locations Fri., July 12, 7 p.m.

Bastille Day

The Embassy of France welcomes Washingtonians to Comité Tricolore’s annual Bastille Day celebration, featuring a buffet by chefs from some of the area’s top restaurants, live jazz performances, open bar, and an array of luxurious items in the one-of-a-kind silent auction. Tickets are $95 to $150.

La Maison Française

National Museum of African Art

THEATER

Through Jan. 12

Through July 6

Living Artfully: At Home with Marjorie Merriweather Post

One Destiny

Throughout his career, Peter Coffin has created an unpredictable and eclectic array of works, including many that express a sense of joy and sometimes, humor.

Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden

Hillwood Estate, Museum and Gardens

Peter Coffin: Here & There

Wolf Trap Filene Center

FESTIVALS

From the glamour of Palm Beach, to the rustic whimsy of the Adirondacks, to the distinguished social scene of Washington, D.C., heiress Marjorie Merriweather Post brought to her multiple residences a flawless style of living and entertaining that was made possible only through the gracious management of loyal staff.

Through Oct. 6

With its astonishing balancing acts, gravitydefying juggling and colorful costumes, the Golden Dragon Acrobats carry on a Chinese performance tradition that began more than 25 centuries ago. Tickets are $38

S.O.S. Spanish Office Showroom

A Democracy of Images: Photographs from the Smithsonian American Art Museum

Through Sept. 29

Golden Dragon Acrobats from China

Through Dec. 31

Through Jan. 5

Philip Jones Griffiths’s photograph is titled “Called ‘Little Tiger’ for killing two ‘Viet Cong women cadre’ — his mother and teacher, it was rumored.” It’s part of “WAR/ PHOTOGRAPHY: Images of Armed Conflict and Its Aftermath,” a massive exhibition at the Corcoran Gallery of Art.

National Museum of African Art

The Textile Museum

Former Spanish Residence

Photo: Philip Jones Griffith / Magnum Photos

This exhibit considers the 40-year-plus career of Roger Ballen, one of the more recognized photographic artists working today, through a new approach: an examination of line and drawing in his photographs.

This one-act play by Richard Hellesen brings the drama and emotion of the American Civil War to life by capturing the emotions of that fateful night in 1865 that killed Abraham Lincoln, as told through the eyewitness accounts of actor Harry Hawk and Ford’s Theatre co-owner Harry Ford, among others. Please call for ticket information.

Ford’s Theatre

July 2013

Photo: Collection of the artist / textile museum

“Out of Southeast Asia: Art That Sustains” at the Textile Museum through Oct. 13 features historical textile artwork alongside the work of four contemporary textile artists and designers, including Vernal Bogren Swift, whose “A Garden of Earthquakes” is pictured above.

Through July 7

mature audiences).

Anything Goes

Mead Theater Lab at Flashpoint

All aboard for Roundabout Theatre Company’s saucy and splendid production of the beloved musical “Anything Goes,” winner of three 2011 Tony Awards. Tickets are $25 to $115.

July 13 to Aug. 19

Salomé

July 9 to Aug. 18

Scena Theatre, in the final production of its 25th anniversary season, presents Oscar Wilde’s engrossing biblical tragedy in one act — a controversial stage play that is rarely performed. Tickets are $35 or $40.

The Book of Mormon

Atlas Performing Arts Center

Kennedy Center Opera House

Nine 2011 Tony Awards say it’s the Best Musical of the Year. Vogue says, “It’s the funniest musical of all time.” And the New York Times says, “It’s the best musical of this century.” It’s “The Book of Mormon,” the Broadway phenomenon from “South Park” creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone and “Avenue Q” co-creator Robert Lopez.

Tickets are $43 to $250.

Through July 14

Angel Street

July 10 to Aug. 4

Angel Street, otherwise known as “Gaslight,” focuses on a seemingly normal couple, the Manninghams. Is the handsome Jack Manningham a caring husband, or is he discreetly trying to drive his young wife Bella into insanity under the guise of kindness? It takes an dedicated Scotland Yard detective to unravel this delightfully twisted thriller. Tickets are $32.50 to $65.

The Third Beast

Olney Theatre Center

Kennedy Center Opera House

A series of characters tries to escape everyday life in search of true identity in “The Third Breast,” written in 1975 by one of Poland’s “angry young men,” Ireneusz Iredyński (1939-85), who explores such themes as addiction to power; fear of the other; the search for an absolute; love and erotic fascination; and the consequences of blind faith. Tickets are $20 to $40 (for

Through July 21

Rabbit Hole

The Keegan Theatre presents David Lindsay-Abaire’s “Rabbit Hole,” which charts one couple’s journey from darkness to light with empathy and great imagination. Tickets are $35.

Church Street Theater

CULTURE GUIDE Plan Your Entire Weekend.

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The Washington Diplomat Page 49

DIPLOMATIC SPOTLIGHT

The Washington Diplomat

New Dutch King

Europe Day

Photo: Momenta Creative for the European Union

photos: Anna Gawel

Ambassador of the European Union João Vale de Almeida introduces Catherine Ashton, EU high representative for foreign affairs and security policy, to guests at the Europe Day reception held in the gardens of the EU Residence.

Ambassador of Denmark Peter Taksoe-Jensen, left, joins U.S. Chief of Protocol Capricia Marshall at the Europe Day reception.

Photo: Momenta Creative for the European Union

Catherine Ashton, vice president and high representative of the European Union for foreign affairs and security policy, speaks at the EU Day reception.

From left, Director of Langham Partners Strategic Consulting LLC Sunjin Choi, recently departed U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs Esther Brimmer, and Ambassador of Switzerland Manuel Sager attend the Europe Day reception.

Daniel Fried, the former special envoy for closing the Guantanamo Bay detention camp, left, and Ambassador of Cape Verde Maria de Fatima Lima da Veiga attend the Europe Day reception.

From left, Ambassador of Albania Gilbert Galanxhi, Mrs. and Ambassador of Romania Adrian Vierita, and Ambassador of Montenegro Srdjan Darmanovic attend the Europe Day reception.

Ambassador of Luxembourg Jean-Louis Wolzfeld, left, and Ambassador of Hungary Gyorgy Szapary attend the Europe Day reception.

Ambassador of Bulgaria Elena Poptodorova, left, and Ambassador of Macedonia Zoran Jolevski attend the Europe Day reception held at the EU Residence.

Ambassador of Kosovo Akan Ismaili, left, and Ambassador of Slovenia Roman Kirn attend the Europe Day reception.

From left, Ambassador of Lithuania Zygimantas Pavilionis, Executive Director of the Bertelsmann Foundation Annette Heuser, Ambassador of the Slovak Republic Peter Kmec, and President of the Emergency Committee for American Trade Calman Cohen attend the Europe Day reception.

From left, Ambassador of Albania Gilbert Galanxhi, Ambassador of Macedonia Zoran Jolevski, and Ambassador of Croatia Josip Paro attend the Europe Day reception.

Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley, left, presents a gift to Permanent Secretary of Defense of the Estonian Ministry of Defense Mikk Marran at a luncheon celebrating the Maryland National Guard’s 20th and 10th anniversaries of its State Partnership Programs with Estonia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, respectively.

From left, Gabrielle Bekink and Ambassador of the Netherlands Rudolf Bekink welcome guests to their residence for a Queen’s Day celebration that also marked the ascension of His Majesty King Willem-Alexander to the Dutch throne after the abdication of his mother, Queen Beatrix, who reigned for 33 years.

photos: : Stephen Voss, Dutch Embassy D.C. and Tessa Schuitemaker

From left, author and former U.S. correspondent for NOS Journaal Charles Groenhuijsen greets his compatriot, Dutch Ambassador Rudolf Bekink, at a Queen’s Day reception held at the Dutch Residence, which was filled with flowers brought in from Holland.

Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary in the State Department’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor Uzra Zeya, left, and Ambassador of France François Delattre attend the Europe Day reception.

Azerbaijan Republic Day

Maryland National Guard

Page 50

July 2013

From front left, Maryland Gov. Maryland Martin O’Malley greets Ambassador of Estonia Marina Kaljurand and Ambassador of Bosnia and Herzegovina Jadranka Negodić as Bosnia and Herzegovina Minister of Defense Zekerijah Osmic, back left, and Permanent Secretary of Defense of the Estonian Ministry of Defense Mikk Marran look on.

Ambassador of Azerbaijan Elin Suleymanov his wife Lala celebrate their country’s Republic Day at a reception held at the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium that was attended by 650 guests.

Photos: Gail Scott

Joshua Cruz came from California to perform at the Azerbaijani Republic Day reception in Washington, D.C.

Former U.S. Rep. Dan Burton (R-Ind.) speaks in front of the Capitol at the event “Flower Day: A Celebration of Azerbaijani Culture and Friendship,” sponsored by the Azerbaijan America Alliance.

The Washington Diplomat

July 2013

Russian National Day

Nepalese New Year

Photos: Gail Scott

Photos: Gail Scott

Ambassador of Nepal Shankar Prasad Sharma and his wife Kalpana host a reception celebrating the Nepalese New Year, also known as Navavarsha.

From left, Rifat Sultana Akram, wife of the Bangladeshi ambassador; Gyul Asal Nematova, wife of the Uzbek ambassador; and Queenie Thompson, wife of the Fijian ambassador, attend the Nepalese New Year reception.

Ambassador of Nepal Shankar Prasad Sharma, left, and U.S. Chief of Protocol Capricia Marshall attend the Nepalese New Year reception.

From left, Ambassador of Russia Sergey Kislyak, his wife Natalia, and Susan Lehrman, who chaired the 2010 Opera Ball at the Russian Embassy, attend the Russian National Day reception held at the embassy.

Ambassador of Cambodia Hem Heng, left, and Ambassador of Laos Seng Soukhathivong attend the Nepalese New Year reception.

From left, Ambassador of Mauritius Somduth Soborun, Ambassador of Cape Verde Maria de Fatima Lima da Veiga, and Ambassador of Mauritania Mohamed Lemine El Haycen attend the Nepalese New Year reception.

Outgoing Ambassador of Uzbekistan Ilhomjon Tuychievich Nematov, left, and U.S. Assistant Secretary of South and Central Asian Affairs Robert O. Blake attend the Nepalese New Year reception.

Ambassador of Ukraine Olexander Motsyk and his wife Natalia Terletska attend the Russian National Day reception.

Ambassador of Kazakhstan Kairat Umarov and his wife Galiya Umarova attend the Russian National Day reception.

Outgoing Ambassador of Uzbekistan Ilhomjon Tuychievich Nematov and his wife Gyul Asal Nematova attend the Russian National Day reception.

Swedish Farewell Norwegian Farewell

From left, wife of the Israeli ambassador Sally Oren, wife of the Monaco ambassador Ellen Noghes, wife of the Norwegian ambassador the Rev. Dr. Cecilie J. Strommen, and documentary filmmaker Rohini Talalla attend a farewell reception for Strommen.

Tennis coach Kathy Kemper, founder and CEO of the Institute for Education, left, gives a medal to her friend and tennis student, the Rev. Dr. Cecilie J. Strommen, wife of the outgoing Norwegian ambassador, at Strommen’s farewell party.

Rosieda Shabodien, wife of the South African ambassador, left, joins the Rev. Dr. Cecilie J. Strommen at Strommen’s farewell reception. Strommen and her husband, Norwegian Ambassador Wegger Christian Strommen, are leaving Washington after six years.

Ambassador of Sweden Jonas Hafström and his wife Eva receive a flower-filled Swedish sendoff at their farewell reception held at the Swedish Residence.

Photos: Gail Scott

From left, Finley Lewis, Ambassador of Italy Claudio Bisogniero, his wife Laura Denise, and Willee Lewis attend a farewell for Swedish Ambassador Jonas Hafström and his wife Eva.

Ambassador of Liechtenstein Claudia Fritsche, left, joins wife of the Irish ambassador Marie Collins at a farewell for Swedish Ambassador Jonas Hafström and his wife Eva.

Photos: Gail Scott

From left, Erna Radifera, wife of the former ambassador of Madagascar, hostess the Rev. Dr. Cecilie J. Strommen, wife of the outgoing Norwegian ambassador, and Queenie Thompson, wife of the Fijian ambassador, attend a farewell reception for Strommen at the Norwegian Embassy.

Swedish Embassy executive chef Frida Johansson and residence butler Al Paras, who’s been decorated by the Swedish king, were singled out for praise at the Swedish ambassador’s farewell reception.

July 2013

Ambassador of Hungary Gyorgy Szapary, left, joins Ambassador of Sweden Jonas Hafström at Hafström’s farewell reception.

Eva Hafström, wife of the Swedish ambassador, holds their terrier Nally at her husband’s farewell reception. The Hafströms are leaving Washington after six years.

The Washington Diplomat Page 51

DIPLOMATIC SPOTLIGHT

The Washington Diplomat

Italian National Day

Mentor Foundation

Georgian Independence

photo: gail scott

From left, Assistant Commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps Gen. John M. Paxton Jr., Minister of Foreign Affairs for Georgia Maia Panjikidze, and recently appointed Ambassador of Georgia Archil Gegeshidze attend the Georgian Independence Day reception at the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium.

photos: Derek Parks / embassy of italy

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), center, joins Ambassador of Italy Claudio Bisogniero and his wife Laura Denise Bisogniero to celebrate the Italian National Day at the embassy.

July 2013

Ambassador of Italy Claudio Bisogniero and his wife Laura Denise Bisogniero greet Leila Beale, wife of the Barbados ambassador, at the Italian National Day held at the Italian Embassy.

From left, coach Kathy Kemper, Eva Hafström, wife of the outgoing Swedish ambassador, Kelsey Kemper Valentine, and Christina Kemper Valentine attend a reception celebrating Mentor Foundation USA, which works to increase opportunities for youth through school-based mentoring programs, career and community workshops.

Photos: Lisa Göransson

From left, Susanna Michelsen Hermesch; Alan Hermesch, a board member of Mentor Foundation USA; Yvonne Thunell, chairwoman of Mentor Foundation USA; hostess Eva Hafström, wife of the outgoing Swedish ambassador; and Diana Hannes attend a reception for Mentor Foundation USA held at Jimmy Choo in Chevy Chase, Md.

Ball on the Mall

From left, Sally Akridge, Matthew Jacobs, and Caroline Cunningham, president of the Trust for the National Mall, attend the L’Enfant Society’s fifth annual Ball on the Mall to benefit the Trust for the National Mall, a nonprofit partner of the National Park Service that works to restore and improve America’s Front Yard for its 25 million annual visitors.

Daniel E. O’Brien, chief of staff for Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), and his wife Julia attend the Ball on the Mall — held in a large tent on the National Mall — to benefit the Trust for the National Mall, formed in 2007 to revitalize the Mall.

photos: Thomas coleman

From left, Bob Wulff, Deby Wulff, and Ekaterini Malliou, policy coordinator in the Immediate Office of the Secretary at the Department of Health and Human Services, attend the fifth annual Ball on the Mall.

From left, Joe Barresi, Chanel Arola of Volkswagen of America Inc., Tracy Lapa, and Tony Pappas attend the fifth annual Ball on the Mall.

Al Thomson, left, and Carol Michael­sen attend the fifth annual Ball on the Mall.

Arab League

photos: Thomas coleman

From left, Robert Hormats, U.S. undersecretary of state for economic growth, energy and the environment, center, joins Ambassador of the League of Arab States Mohammed Alhussaini Alsharif and his wife Iman Attallah at the Arab League National Day reception held at the Willard InterContinental Washington hotel.

From left, Vice President of Industry Development for the Electrical Alliance Michael Mock, Evelyn McKay, and President and CEO of Mona Electric Group David F. McKay attend the Ball on the Mall.

From left, Dan and Laura Murphy join Dave Carlin and John Nguyen at the fifth annual Ball on the Mall to help restore and repair the National Mall.

Carrie Perry, left, and Mary Beth L. McGowan, government policy advisor at Dykema, attend the fifth annual Ball on the Mall.

Eurovision Contest

WIPAC Concert

From left, Minister and Alternate Representative in the Jamaican Permanent Mission to the Organization of American States Marsha Coore-Lobban, Ambassador of Brazil Mauro Vieira, and Secretary at the Brazilian Embassy Filipe Nasser attend the Arab League National Day reception.

Page 52

Donald and Zina Jemison attend the Ball on the Mall to raise funds to help revitalize the National Mall, which faces 30 years of deferred maintenance and $400 million in repairs.

photos: gail scott

Eva Hafstrom, wife of the Swedish ambassador, left, joins Deputy Chief of Mission at the Swedish Embassy Karin Höglund for a screening of the Eurovision Song Contest hosted by the House of Sweden (Sweden won last year’s competition).

Families came to the House of Sweden in Washington to watch this year’s Eurovision Song Contest, which was won by Den­ mark, with Azerbaijan coming in second and Ukraine third.

photo: jan du plain

From left, Susanne Eisinger, president of the Washington International Piano Arts Council (WIPAC) Executive Committee; pianist John Gardecki; Chateau Gardecki, WIPAC chair and founder; Jerome Barry, founder and artistic director of the Embassy Series; and Rhoda Septilici, WIPAC program committee chair, attend WIPAC’s 12th annual Winners Grand Prix concert and dinner held at the Austrian Embassy.

The Washington Diplomat

photo: jan du plain

Evermay Discussion From left, Edie Fraser, the new chair of World Affairs Council-Washington, DC; Sachiko Kuno, president and CEO of the S&R Foundation and owner of the Evermay Estate, and World Affairs Council DC President Heidi Shoup attend an international affairs discussion hosted by the WAC-DC and S&R featuring former Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff.

July 2013

AROUNDtheWORLD

THE WASHINGTON DIPLOMAT

July 2013

HOLIDAYS ALGErIA July 5: independence day ANtIGUA and BArBUDA July 1: caricom day ArGENtINA July 9: independence day ArmENIA July 5: constitution day BAHAmAS July 10: independence day BELArUS July 3: independence day BELGIUm July 21: independence day BotSWANA July 1: sir seretse Khama day July 15: President’s day July 16: Public holiday

BrUNEI July 15: Birthday of the sultan and yang di-Pertuan of Brunei darussalam

CZECH rEPUBLIC July 5: st. cyril and st. Methodius day July 6: John hus day

BUrmA (myANmAr) July 19: Martyrs’ day

EGyPt July 23: national day

BUrUNDI July 1: independence day

fIJI July 28: constitution day

CANADA July 1: canada day CAPE vErDE July 5: independence day CoLomBIA July 20: independence day ComoroS July 6: independence day CoStA rICA July 25: Guanacaste annexation day

CUBA July 25-27: celebrations for the day of the national rebelliousness

frANCE July 14: Bastille day GHANA July 1: republic day GUyANA July 1: caricom day JAPAN July 19: Marine day (umi no hi) KorEA, rEPUBLIC of July 17: constitution day

fax to: the Washington diplomat at: (301) 949-0065 E-mail to: news@washdiplomat.com mail to: P.o. Box 1345, silver spring, Md 20915-1345 LESotHo July 17: King’s Birthday

mArSHALL ISLANDS July 3: Fisherman’s day

LIBErIA July 26: independence day

mAUrItANIA July 10: armed Forces day

LIByA July 23: revolution day

moNGoLIA July 11-13: national naadam holiday/ anniversary of the Mongolian People’s revolution

LItHUANIA July 6: state day (crowning of King Mindaugas in 1253) mALAWI July 6: republic day mALDIvES July 26: independence day

moroCCo July 30: throne day (King Mohammed Vi’s accession to the throne) NEPAL July 7: the King’s Birthday (national day)

nicole Parris assumed the position of first secretary and alternative representative to the organization of american states on July 1, replacing ricardo Kellman, who departed the post of first secretary on June 30. Parris previously served as a Foreign service officer in the Ministry of Foreign affairs and Foreign trade in Barbados. lt. col. ricardo Vickers assumed the position of defense attaché on april 1, replacing cmdr. errington shurland, who departed the post on March 31.

Cyprus George chacalli has been appointed ambassador of cyprus to the united states, having previously served in Washington, d.c., Ambassador from 1997 to 2001 George Chacalli as counselor/congressional liaison and then as deputy chief of mission of the cypriot embassy. he most recently served as ambassador to sweden, with accreditation to norway and latvia (2010-13) and before that, as ambassador to hungary, with accreditation to Moldova and Bosnia and herzegovina (2004-06). ambassador chacalli has many years of experience working with the european union, serving

July 2013

St. vINCENt and tHE GrENADINES July 1: caricom day

revolution day PALAU July 9: constitution day

SLovAK rEPUBLIC July 5: st. cyril and st.

Methodius day

PAPUA NEW GUINEA July 23: remembrance day

SoLomoN ISLANDS July 7: independence 203526A01 day

PErU July 28-29: independence day romANIA July 29: day of the national hymn

SPAIN July 25: apostle santiago day SUrINAmE July 1: emancipation day (Keti Koti)

rWANDA July 1: independence day

SWAZILAND July 22: Public holiday

tANZANIA July 7: saba saba toNGA July 12: crown Prince’s Birthday tUNISIA July 25: republic day UNItED KINGDom July 12: Battle of the Boyne (orangemen’s day) UrUGUAy July 18: constitution day vENEZUELA July 5: independence day July 24: simón Bolívar day ZAmBIA July 5: heroes’ day July 6: unity day

NICArAGUA July 19: sandinistas

APPOINTMENTS Barbados

SAo tomE AND PrINCIPE July 12: independence day

Send Us Your Holidays and Appointments

arm yourself with as cyprus’s ambassador and deputy permanent representative to the eu from 2006 through 2010. From 2001 to 2003, he also worked in the eu affairs division in the cyprus Ministry of Foreign affairs, serving first as secretary of the cyprus delegation to the convention on the Future of europe and later as cyprus’s representative to the intergovernmental council of the eu. in addition, he headed the eu internal Market unit in the eu affairs division in 2006. he’s held various other postings in the Ministry of Foreign affairs in nicosia, working in the Political affairs division in the Middle east desk from 1996 to 1997 and as an attaché in the cyprus Question department from 1989 through 1991. From 1991 through 1996, he served as first secretary for political and commonwealth affairs at the cyprus high commission in london. educated in the united Kingdom and Belgium, ambassador chacalli earned a master’s of law degree from the university of cambridge; a master’s in international relations from the university of Kent; a bachelor’s degree in politics and law from the university of Kent; and a diplome d’etudes in economics from the universite catholique de louvain. Fluent in english, French and his mother tongue Greek, as well as conversant in German and spanish, ambassador chacalli has also worked as a freelance translator. in 2006, the president of hungary awarded him the commander’s cross, order of Merit of the republic of hungary (civil division).

Iraq lukman Faily has been appointed ambassador of iraq to the united states, having previously served as iraq’s ambassador to Japan from June 2010 to May 2013 and, prior to that, as an ambassador in the iraqi Ministry of Foreign affairs. Before joining the iraqi public sector, ambassador Faily lived in the united Kingdom for 20 years, working in the information technology (it) sector for several transnational companies. during his last 10 years abroad, he held senior management positions in two american companies, ceridian centrefile and then electronic data systems, which is now part of hewlett-Packard. in addition, he held consultancy and team-leader positions in the it sector. While living and working in the united Kingdom, ambassador Faily was also an active community leader within the large iraqi exile community and served as a trustee for several nongovernmental iraqi organizations. he played an active role in opposing saddam hussein’s dictatorship and advocated for democracy and rule of law in iraq. ambassador Faily holds a bachelor’s of science degree in mathematics and computer science from Britain’s Manchester Metropolitan university, as well as a master’s in business administration in technology management and a postgraduate degree in computing for commerce and industry. Fluent in english, arabic and Kurdish, ambassador Faily was born in Baghdad in 1966. he is married to lameis Faily and is the father of four boys.

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turkey

Yet these reforms (notably reversing the ban on headscarves) provoked suspicions that Erdogan was a thinly veiled Islamist bent on remaking Turkey, even though he initially took great pains to assuage those fears and moved Turkey closer to the West than perhaps any other leader before him.

“The AKP’s consolidation of civilian control and its breaking down of religious and cultural taboos was deeply disruptive and threatening to many of the elite Turks raised on the strict Kemalist doctrine of secularism, statism, and military prestige. This shaped a situation of mutual paranoia, wherein all sides of the political debate harbored deep suspicions regarding the motives of their opponents,” Werz wrote.

“This mutual suspicion is still strong in Turkey today. Kemalists and many secular Turks express fear of a creeping Islamist takeover,” he added.“Meanwhile, fears of the deep state and mistrust of the military remain powerful among AKP circles.”

The convoluted Ergenekon plot is a manifestation of that suspicion on the part of the AKP. Conversely, the current wave of protests was fueled by new restrictions on the sale of alcohol and public displays of affection — just the latest in what many view as the steady Islamic erosion of Turkey’s secular foundation. Some 17,000 mosques have been erected since the AKP was elected in 2002, part of a massive building boom that critics say Erdogan has rammed through without local input.

Other audacious projects include the world’s largest airport, a massive canal joining the Black Sea to the Sea of Marmara, and a third bridge over the Bosporus — named after an Ottoman sultan accused of slaughtering members of the Alevi religious minority — plans that have outraged secularists and environmentalists alike.

Despite the backlash, Erdogan remains extremely popular, both at home and abroad. He’s become a critical partner for the U.S., an influThe Washington Diplomat

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Photo: anna GaWel

Despite growing civil unrest, tourists continue to flock to turkey and popular attractions such as~Human the sultan ahmed Mosque, known as the Blue Development Mosque, but unrelenting protests are beginning make travelers and (Indicators, Social toEntrepreinvestors jittery.

neurship) ~

ential regional player, and he’s presided over a spectacular economic transformation embodied by Istanbul’s rapidly changing skyline.

Institutional Development Over the last decade, he’s turned an economic wreck into a&dynamic powerhouse.Turkey is now the world’s 17th-largest economy~(and Civil Society (Transparency) sixth-largest among EU countries). The per-capita GDP, which today Economic stands at around $10,500, has tripled over the last decade.The government has slashed poverty and budget deficits, while investing heavily in education and infrastructure.

And the Organization Development (Resourcefor Economic Cooperation and Development expects the Turkish economy to con~ Political tinue expanding at a Management) healthy clip of 5 percent over the next several years.

Participation & Civic Interestingly, even though Turkey’s chances of joining the European Union are slim, Werz says the AKP implemented a raft of democratic Engagement (Strategy, Orga-along reforms in the early 2000s to qualify for eventual membership, with taming the country’s debt.Elections) He also notes~that because Turkey’s nizing, Monitoring military had for years trampled on the rights of AKP members, the

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party instituted a number of laudable changes.

“In 2002, when the AKP first took over, they really have to be credited for increasing pluralism and freedom of speech in Turkey and for really broadening the political debate” — to include previously taboo subjects such as the Kurdish conflict and Armenia.“Now we’re seeing the opposite,”Werz said.

Indeed, the pendulum seems to have swung in the other direction.

Erdogan’s uncompromising, obtuse response to the protesters’ legitimate grievances only enflamed the situation and, his detractors say, fits a pattern of running roughshod over critics, including those in the media.

In dismissing the protesters as looters, drunks, extremists and foreign agents, Erdogan even seemed to be taking a page out of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s paranoid playbook. Erdogan has even torn into foreign media, suggesting they’re part of a foreign conspiracy to topple his government.

“He is certainly a vindictive man who does not take criticism well,” Werz said.“The prime minister has long history of being very defiant, very stubborn,” he added.“The fact that he left the country [for a fourday trip to North Africa] shows you that he seems to be losing a little of his competence.”

Instead of calling demonstrators terrorists and summoning counter rallies that could tear the country apart, Werz said the prime minister should take a cue from some of his deputies and President Abdullah Gül, who have been far more conciliatory toward the protesters.Those protesters, Werz also pointed out, represent a broad cross-section of society that’s fed up with Erdogan’s paternalistic, divisive leadership.

To restore that leadership, Werz says Erdogan needs to signal “that he wants to be prime minister of Turkish society, and not just prime minister of the AKP.” As for what will happen next,“I think it’s an open question at this point,” Werz told us.“Everybody knows that this is not about a shopping mall anymore.”

Anna Gawel is managing editor of The Washington Diplomat.

July 2013

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