OCTOBER 24, 2015 Mirror-SpeTHE ARMENIAN ctator Volume LXXXVI, NO. 15, Issue 4409 $ 2.00 NEWS INBRIEF The First English Language Armenian Weekly in the United States Since 1932 Aleppo Rocket Attacks Attorneys Pleased with European Court Ruling Leave Two Armenians STRASBOURG (Public Radio of of the Armenian Genocide. The judges including the President of the Court, held Armenia) — Human rights lawyers Geoffrey pronounced that Perinçek was within his that “the massacres and deportations suf- Dead and One Injured Robertson QC and Amal Clooney issued a rights to deny the Armenian Genocide, fered by the Armenian people constituted ALEPPO (Armenpress) — Armenians were killed as genocide are self-evident. The a result of rocket attacks by armed terrorist groups Armenian genocide is a clear- in Aleppo’s Nor Keghi district. There is also one ly established historical fact. injured. To deny it is to deny the obvi- The editor of the Aleppo-based Kantsasar week- ous.” The majority of ten ly, Zarmig Boghigian, identified the dead — Vera judges also confirmed “the Giragosian Kentimian and her son Haroutiun massacres and mass deporta- Kentimian. Tavid Der-Nersisian is injured. The bod- tions suffered by the ies were taken and the funeral was to take place on Armenian people at the hands October 17 at St. Mary Church in Aleppo. of the Ottoman Empire from 1915 onwards” and only dif- From left, Amal Clooney, Geoffrey Robertson and at right, Prof. Payam Akhavan fered in its view that it “has Syrian Armed Forces not authority to make legally binding pronouncements” on Gain Control of statement on the European Court of however, they upheld the truth of the whether these events “can be characterized Aleppo’s Naama Human Rights (ECHR) decision on Genocide. as genocide within the meaning of that October 14 in the case of Perinçek v In a divided opinion, the majority of 10 term under international law”. Heights Switzerland. The two represented the gov- judges held that the Swiss judgment Said Akhavan in his statement, the court ernment of Armenia. against Perinçek’s denial and minimization “clearly, unanimously, and emphatically ALEPPO (Armenpress) — The Syrian Armed Forces Another attorney, Prof. Payam Akhavan of these events violated his freedom of confirmed the historical truth” of the 1915 took control of Naama Heights near Aleppo. of McGill University in Canada, represented speech under the European Convention on Armenian Genocide. Terrorists of the Islamic State organization suf- the NGO Coalition (Turkish Human Rights Human Rights. However, seven judges, see RULING, page 2 fered huge human and equipment losses. According Association, Truth Justice Memory Centre to Ria-Novosti, Syrian Armed Forces representative and International Institute for Genocide General Ali Mayhub announced that as part of a and Human Rights Studies). Syrian state military operation in the southern The case pitted Dogu Perinçek, a cen- Recognition, Realpolitik and the Ravages of War regions of Aleppo, a number of villages and com- ter-left politician from Turkey, against the munities have been liberated, with heavy losses government of Switzerland. At stake was BERLIN — No This in itself is inflicted on opponents. that he objected to the muzzling of what one engaged in By Muriel Mirak-Weissbach highly regrettable efforts to have and will raise cries he called was his free speech by the Special to the Mirror-Spectator Swiss government, which bans the denial the Armenian of protest through- CIS Leaders Sign Genocide offi- out the Diaspora. Military Pact cially recognized — at whatever level and in But there is more at stake than the whatever venue — can suffer under the illu- Armenian issue, narrowly defined. The BURABAY, Kazakhstan (RFE/RL) — The leaders of Former House Speaker sion that it is simply a matter of acknowl- reversal on this resolution occurs in the the countries of the Commonwealth of edging historical facts as truth. It has been, context of the most severe refugee crisis Independent States (CIS) have signed 17 agree- Dennis Hastert to Plead and remains a political football, which is since World War II, a crisis generated by ments, including a statement on combating inter- tossed, carried or kicked according to the the continuing war in Syria and Iraq, in national terrorism and an agreement on military Guilty in Sexual Abuse game plans drafted by the coaches of the which the barbaric ISIS hordes threaten to cooperation through 2020. Hush-Money Case opposing teams. Or, as in the case of wipe out an entire civilization. The German The agreements were signed at a summit of CIS Germany, it is punted. Instead of following decision made on the genocide question, leaders — representing Armenia, Azerbaijan, CHICAGO (Reuters) — Former US through on the courageous initiatives being tactical, can be corrected with time. Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and House Speaker Dennis Hastert is expected taken by President Joachim Gauck and the But compromises made in assessing the Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan — on October 16 in the to plead guilty in a hush-money case stem- Bundestag (Parliament) last April, to finally dynamic behind the ISIS onslaught, espe- Kazakh village of Burabay. ming from allegations of sexual misconduct formulate and pass a unified resolution cially regarding the roles played by Turkey Representatives of Moldova, Turkmenistan, and in a deal with prosecutors that could still acknowledging the Genocide, the political and Saudi Arabia, carry strategic implica- Ukraine participated as observers. force him to serve time in prison. leadership has preferred to put the entire tions. At a press conference, Russian President The tentative plea agreement, disclosed issue on hold. see REALPOLITIK, page 3 Vladimir Putin said closer military cooperation is during a brief hearing in federal court necessary because “the situation [in Afghanistan] is in Chicago on Thursday, October 15, would close to becoming critical.” He added that one of mark a dramatic downfall for someone who the goals of Islamist terrorists in Afghanistan is “to once ranked among the most powerful men Tekeyan Cultural Association’s penetrate the Central Asian region.” in the country. The agreement on military cooperation, he said, Hastert, 73, was charged in May with try- 34th Annual Convention in Montreal will furnish a “coordinated response” to that threat. ing to hide large cash transactions as part Putin also praised the CIS as a mechanism for of a payoff scheme and lying about it to MONTREAL – The Tekeyan Cultural Association members to address problems caused by “negative the Federal Bureau of Investigation. By Aram Arkun of the US and Canada (TCA) held its 34th conven- external actors,” such as “uncertainty in the global Prosecutors and defense attorneys did Mirror-Spectator Staff tion October 9 to 11. It was attended by some 30 economy and rising political tensions.” not say what charge he would plead guilty delegates from seven chapters. Story on pages 8–9. CIS leaders agreed that the next CIS summit will to or whether his sentence might include be held in Kyrgyzstan on September 16, 2016. KEVORK TOROSIAN PHOTO incarceration. Federal prosecutors have accused him of agreeing to pay $3.5 million to an unidenti- fied person from his hometown INSIDE of Yorkville, Ill., to conceal past misconduct. He was a teacher at Yorkville High School in the 1960s and 1970s. see HASTERT, page 7 Audio NEW YORK TIMES PHOTO Visual Page 10 INDEX Arts and Living . 10 Armenia . 2 From left, current Abaka editor Avedis Bakkalian, Amb. Armen Yeganian, Edmond Y. Community News. 4 Azadian, Dr. Arshavir Gundjian and longtime Abaka editor Arsen Noubar Mamourian cut Editorial . 14 the 40th anniversary cake. Standing immediately to the back is Hovig Gebenlian. Abaka International . 3 Former Speaker Dennis Hastert 2 S ATURDAY, O CTOBER 2 4 , 2 0 1 5 T HE A RMENIAN M IRROR -S PECTATOR ARMENIA News From Armenia AGBU Yerevan Hosts Conference Second Festival of On E-Governance in Armenia Armenian Contemporary YEREVAN — On September 29, AGBU Yerevan hosted a conference on Music Dedicated to electronic governance (e-governance) organized by the Delegation of the Genocide Anniversary European Union to Armenia, the YEREVAN (Armenpress) — The Second Festival of Embassy of the Republic of Estonia in Armenian Contemporary Music will be dedicated to Armenia and the Tumo Center for the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide Creative Technologies. The conference this year. At the initiative of the Union of Composers was attended by government officials, of Armenia, with the support of the Ministry of representatives of international organi- Culture of the Republic of Armenia, the festival, zations, IT experts and representatives given the title “Khachaturian and Our Times” will be of diasporan organizations, among held from October 20 to 27. many others. According to the Union of Composers of Armenia, The main goal of the conference was during the festival one symphonic and two chamber to raise public awareness about e-gov- concerts will be presented, as well as works of 18 ernance, discuss the next steps in mak- composers. The festival’s opening concert (October ing information and services as user- 20) was held in the Aram Khachaturian Concert Hall friendly and accessible as possible by with music by Khachaturian. The State Youth harmonizing different systems as well Orchestra of Armenia under the direction of chief as finding ways for more active and The conference focused on the results of the e-governance initiatives implemented in conductor and artistic director Sergey Smbatyan will effective involvement of the diaspora Armenia and the key steps for the future development of the field including the cre- perform. in the electronic governance system of ation of an atmosphere of trust. The other two concerts are being held at the Armenia. Komitas Chamber Music Hall on October 22 and 27. “…Electronic governance makes life This year the festival is distinguished by the fact easier for people and it makes it a lot tion as an independent expert,” said system: “The capabilities of this plat- that during three days of concerts many of the works easier to govern the country.