SEPTEMBER 10, 2011 MirTHE rARoMENr IAN -Spe ctator Volume LXXXII, NO. 9, Issue 4203 $ 2.00 NEWS IN BRIEF The First English Language Armenian Weekly in the United States Darchinyan Defends Karabagh Celebrates 20th Anniversary IBO World Title in Armenia Of Declaration of Independence YEREVAN — Vic Darchinyan defended his International Boxing Organization (IBO) ban - tamweight world title against South African Evans STEPANAKERT (RFE/RL) — President Mbamba here on September 4. Serge Sargisian led thousands of people on Judges awarded Darchinyan the unanimous-deci - Friday in a march through Stepanakert sion victory after 12 rounds. that marked the 20th anniversary of The bout marked the first time a professional Nagorno-Karabagh’s declaration of inde - world boxing championship match has been staged pendence from Azerbaijan. in Armenia. The crowd, also comprising Catholicos Karekin II, the supreme head of the Armenian Apostolic Church, and Possibility of Genocide Karabagh’s entire political leadership, gath - Recognition in Israeli ered in the main town square and marched to a monument to the victims of the 1991- Knesset Increases 1994 war with Azerbaijan. Sargisian and the other dignitaries laid YEREVAN (Armenpress) — The Armenian commu - flowers at the memorial and an adjacent nity in Israel is looking forward to the discussions cemetery where hundreds of Karabagh of the resolution on the recognition of the Armenians killed in the fighting were laid to Armenian Genocide, at the Israeli Knesset expected rest. A Karabagh honor guard marched there in October. Hakob Sevan, head of the Armenian during the ceremony in tribute to the dead. Cause Office in Jerusalem, said the Knesset is on The bitter war, which left an estimated summer break currently. 30,000 people dead on both sides, began Armenian President Serge Sargisian (center) leads a march in Stepanakert that marks the “The discussion will take place in October but we three months after the legislative council of 20th anniversary of Nagorno Karabagh’s declaration of independence from Azerbaijan. are in touch with the members of the Education the former Nagorno-Karabagh Commission which will discuss the issue and are Autonomous Oblast declared the mostly aware of the developments. Some members of Armenian-populated territory an indepen - began on Thursday, with Nagorno local residents. Sargisian attended and Knesset, political figures, intellectuals are raising dent republic on September 2, 1991. Karabagh President Bako Sahakian hand - delivered a speech at the ceremony. the issue on their personal initiative,” he said. Official celebrations of the anniversary ing awards to military personnel and other see INDEPENDENCE, page 16 Speaking about the possibility of recognition of the Armenian Genocide, Sevan said the chances have increased recently. “I think today Israel will try to use the Armenian Cause for exerting pres - sure on Turkey,” he said, stressing that the recent Soccer Win changes in the policy of Israel relating to the Sparks Jubilant Armenian cause are turning points. Scenes in Yerevan Nagorno-Karabagh Surge in Tourism STEPANAKERT (RFE/RL) — Authorities in By Elina Chilingarian Nagorno Karabagh say the number of foreign tourists visiting the region jumped by almost 50 YEREVAN (RFE/RL) — Hundreds of peo - percent in the first half of this year, following a sim - ple poured into Republic Square on ilarly sharp rise recorded in 2010. Tuesday, September 7, to celebrate yet “More than 3,000 foreigners visited Nagorno another impressive victory of Armenia’s Karabagh in the first half of 2011, a 49-percent national soccer team that gave it a real increase from the same period of 2010,” the chance of qualifying for the 2012 European Foreign Ministry announced. Football Championship. The official figures do not include residents of Armenia crushed Slovakia 4-0 in the Armenia. Slovak city of Zilina to earn its fourth vic - According to the statement, citizens of 24 coun - tory in eight matches played in Group B of tries visited the territory this year, notably the Euro 2012 qualifying over the past year. It United States, France, Russia and Iran, which have was also the team’s most convincing and sizable Armenian communities. The “Ground Zero Cross,” composed of steel columns from the World Trade Center important away win to date. The statement also spoke of a growing tourist towers that were forged in the shape of a cross by the intense heat underground influx from more farther-flung places such as which fused them together Vartan Minasian, the team’s 37-year-old coach, hailed the “fantastic” performance Japan, China and New Zealand. of his players, mostly aged under 24, It said the forthcoming reopening of the territo - against a nominally stronger side that did ry’s sole airport will “greatly facilitate” tourism. well in last year’s World Cup. “I am very Remembering 9-11 proud of my team,” Minasian said at a news conference. NEW YORK — I got up late that day and was taking the express bus to work in see SOCCER, page 3 INSI DE midtown Manhattan from Forest Hills in Queens. When the first plane crashed into the North Tower (Building One) of the World Trade Center (WTC), nobody knew what had happened. We By Aram Arkun thought it might be an accident. We saw the second Salute to Mirror-Spectator Staff crash from a distance and realized that it had to be much more than an accident. One person had a radio Armenia and searched for news. As we approached the Midtown Tunnel, the bus was stopped and made to turn around by the authorities. page 11 Manhattan was being isolated and all traffic into the heart of the city was halted. This was unprecedented and we began to worry about the scale of the danger tak - ing place. Some became scared of what might happen next. On the trip back, we could see the smoke billowing from the towers, and the collapse of the South Tower of the WTC. When I eventually made it back home, my wife, who at that time was INDEX not working, was in tears, not knowing what had happened to me. Her sister-in-law Arts and Living . 10 had called from Moscow, saying she heard that buildings were collapsing in New Armenia . 2, 3 York, and asked how we were. I rushed to the television to see the footage of the The members of the Armenian national soc - Community News. 5 Editorial . 14 cer team celebrate after handily — and collapse and learn more about what was going on. International . 4 continued on page 7 shockingly — defeating Slovakia, with a score of 4-0. 2 S ATURDAY , S EPTEMBER 10, 2011 T HE A RMENIAN M IRROR -S PECTATOR ARMENIA News From Armenia Yerevan Denies 2008 Vote Rigging wrote to the US State By Irina Hovhannisyan Department. New Arrests Expected in “Did they [US offi - Connection with Murder cials] set up the YEREVAN (RFE/RL) — The precincts?” Azarian Of Aghasi Abrahamyan Armenian authorities strongly denied said. “Did they count on Tuesday a senior US diplomat’s the ballots? Did they YEREVAN (Armenpress) — Materials are being pre- reported claims that the February 2008 tabulate the election pared in connection with the murder of conscript presidential election was rigged in favor results to make such Aghasi Abrahamyan and new arrests are expected, of Serge Sargisian. statements?” military prosecutor Gevorg Kostanyan said at a Garegin Azarian, the chairman of the “There were viola - news conference this week. “It is not only a crime Central Election Commission (CEC) tions during the elec - but an immorality. The fact that a crime has been who administered the disputed vote, tions,” he said. committed is extremely condemnable,” he said. said that Joseph Pennington, the for - “Nobody denies that. The military prosecutor noted that from the very mer US charge d’affaires in Yerevan, But just because Garegin Azarian, chairman of the Central Election beginning the case received great attention. “I have cited no concrete facts to back up the there were violations Commission personally visited the scene and assumed the oper- claims in a March 2008 cable disclosed doesn’t mean the elec - ative, multi-sided and full examination of the case. by WikiLeaks late last week. tion results were The situation in this respect is dynamic, the num- According to the CEC, Sargisian rigged. Those are different things.” cratic standards. “One should simply ber of accused and arrestees will increase,” swept to a landslide victory with almost Galust Sahakian, a deputy chairman read the OSCE report on the elections Kostanyan said. 53 percent of the vote, while his main of Sargisian’s Republican Party of and see that no such thing is written The forensic examination of Abrahamyan’s body opposition challenger, former President Armenia (HHK), likewise denied mas - there,” he said. found evidence of violence on his body. On that Levon Ter-Petrosian, came in a distant sive vote rigging. “Those are gossips, The State Department distanced itself day, the conscript was taken to a hospital, uncon- second with only 21.5 percent. empty talk,” he said. “If it’s up to from the OSCE-led monitoring mission’s scious, and later died. Pennington suggested in the leaked WikiLeaks to decide who was elected largely positive verdict, describing the bal - document that in fact Ter-Petrosian gar - and who wasn’t, I don’t think that’s lot as “significantly flawed.” Armenia’s Capital to nered between 30 and 35 percent of respectful towards our society.” Armenian election monitors also votes and should have qualified for a Azarian also argued that Western alleged serious fraud. Ter-Petrosian and Host Digitec Expo 2011 run-off against Sargisian. “Mounting election observers mostly deployed by his opposition movement went further, evidence … has called into question the the Organization for Security and accusing the authorities of falsifying YEREVAN (news.am) — The Armenian capital will government’s claim that Prime Minister Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) con - election results to formalize a handover host the seventh annual DigiTec Information and Serge Sargisian won a legitimate first- cluded that the presidential ballot was of power from outgoing President Telecommunication Technologies Expo, October round majority on February 19,” he held “mostly in accordance” with demo - Robert Kocharian to Sargisian.