NOVEMBER 9, 2019 Mirror-SpeTHE ARMENIAN ctator Volume LXXXX, NO. 17, Issue 4610 $ 2.00 NEWS The First English Language Armenian Weekly in the United States Since 1932 INBRIEF (JIRAIR HOVSEPIAN PHOTO) Aronian Receives Prize NAASR Unveils New BATUMI, Georgia (Panorama.am) — Armenian grandmaster Levon Aronian has stood out with his strong performance at European Team Chess Championship ended in Batumi, Georgia, being Headquarters awarded with individual medal. According to the report by Chess Federation, Aronian scored 5 out of 8 points in front of Board 1, securing silver Ara Krafian, chairman and president of medal. Russia’s Dmitry Andreikin took the gold on By Alin K. Gregorian the firm SMMA, which provided the archi- the first board, the source said. The Armenian team placed fourth with 13 points Mirror-Spectator Staff tectural and engineering services for the new building, spoke next. The new 15,000- at the competition. square-foot building, he said, came about as BELMONT, Mass. — On the blustery a result of the “courageous Board of Foreign Minister in afternoon of Friday, November 1, the Trustees and relentless Yervant,” adding National Association for Armenian Studies special thanks to Executive Director Sarah Sweden for EU Lecture and Research (NAASR) finally unveiled its Ignatius and Director of Academic Affairs airy and sparkly new building, erected on Marc Mamigonian. YEREVAN (Armenpress) — Foreign Minister of the site of its previous center. The new building, he said, is much more Armenia Zohrab Mnatsakanyan participating o November 5 in a lecture dedicated to the 10th Hundreds of well-wishers and supporters efficient, larger and full of natural light. The custom-made stunning door gathered outside for the opening program, In addition, the floor-to-ceiling glass walls anniversary of the European Union’s Eastern which included comments from the person on the third floor have etchings of tradi- Partnership at the Swedish Institute of International Affairs, Armenian MFA spokeswoman for whom the building is named, Dr. Vartan tional Armenian design. Gregorian, and expressed her joy that the Anna Naghdalyan announced on Facebook. Gregorian. Ignatius expressed her delight that the building would be a place for the community. “FM of Armenia Zohrab Mnatsakanyan, together Yervant Chekijian, chairman of the day of the unveiling had finally arrived. “I “They can come and study and have with FM of Ukraine Vadym Pystaiko, participates in NAASR board, got the program started. He am incredibly proud to be here. All of you meetings with colleagues,” she said. “EaP10 Lecture: A talk with FMs of Armenia and highlighted some of the building’s new fea- are part of this building,” she said. During a tour of the building she added Ukraine” at Swedish Institute of International tures, including the main door, crafted by She paid special tribute to the man for that the building will have wi-fi hotspots Affairs. an artisan in Armenia. whom the building is named, Dr. Vartan see OPENING, page 10 Mnatsakanyan presented Armenia’s foreign poli- cy priorities and prospects of relations with the Charents’ Iconic Creation European Union,” Naghdalyan said. Becomes Accessible in 35 Armenia Lands 8th Languages Among Countries with Most Internet Freedom By Gayane Ghazaryan YEREVAN (PanARMENIAN.Net) — Armenia has Special to the Mirror-Spectator improved its standing in a fresh report assessing the state of internet freedom and personal liberties YEREVAN – On October 20, a presentation in 65 countries, prepared by Freedom House, a of the newly published Yes Im Anoush Washington-based think tank. Hayastani [Ode to Armenia] by Yeghishe Ranked Free in the 2019 edition of the survey, Charents, a book containing the translation of Armenia scored 76 out of 100 in the global inter- the famous poem of this name translated into net freedom ranking, to land in eighth place. 35 different languages, took place next to the Armenia rose from “partly free” to “free” in Aram Khachaturian Opera and Ballet Building 2018. as part of the Aurora Humanitarian Forum of According to the Freedom on the Net report, 2019. The audience included one of the great- positive changes were unleashed in Armenia by Biggest Yazidi Temple in the World est modern Armenian composers, Tigran the 2018 Velvet Revolution continued in 2019 as Mansourian, as well as the grandchildren of well. Charents and of his best friends, poet Avetik In particular, the report says, “violence against Opens in Armenia Isahakyan and painter Martiros Saryan. online journalists declined, and the digital news see CHARENTS, page 20 media enjoyed greater freedom from economic AKNALICH, Armenia (The Independent) — In the sleepy Armenian lakeside town of and political pressures. Aknalich, crowds gathered for the opening of a new temple on September 30. Inside the “Developments in Armenia in 2018 demon- vast vaulted stone building, musicians dressed strated once again that digital technology can By Lemma Shehadi in ivory colored cotton garments and rolled help generate dramatic democratic change. headscarves processed in a circle. Some chant- Citizens effectively used social media.” ed sacred hymns, while others played the drum Neighboring Georgia (with a score of 75) is and flute. Those gathered around them danced shoulder to shoulder. also ranked Free, Azerbaijan has dropped to join These musicians are known as qewwals, singers of the ageless, orally transmitted Turkey, Iran and Russia in the Not Free domain. sacred songs from the Yazidi religion. Yazidis are a Kurdish-speaking religious minority, whose main population is con- centrated in northern Iraq. In 2014, Isis militants killed, kidnapped and displaced thousands from their community. Today, this ancient minority is extremely fragile and scattered across the globe. INSIDE Yazidis agree on the ancient roots of their religion, but not on the details of these origins. The religion is monotheistic, and their principal saint is the 12th-century Sufi mystic Sheikh Adi ibn Musafir, who was buried in a temple in Lalish, the reli- gion’s main pilgrimage site in northern Iraq. Academics also point to connections Tribute to with ancient Iranian religions. see TEMPLE,page 6 Gohar Charents Veterans (VARTAN ESENYAN PHOTO) Dr. Taner Akçam, Taner Akçam, Honored left, holds certifi- Page 5 cate from Knights and Daughters of By Knights and Vartan, next to Vice Grand INDEX Daughters of Vartan Commander Arts and Living . 13 Kevork Oflazian Armenia . 2,3 Community News. 5 Calls for Creation of Genocide Research Center and Grand Commander Editorial . 18 Steven R. Adams International . 4 SEE STORY ON PAGE 8 2 S ATURDAY, N OVEMBER 2 , 2 0 1 9 T HE A RMENIAN M IRROR -S PECTATOR ARMENIA News From Armenia Armenian Tycoon Expands Textile Business YEREVAN (RFE/RL) — Samvel Aleksanyan, a wealthy businessman Catholicos Karekin II who was for years closely linked to Armenia’s former leaders, inaugurated Marks 20th Anniversary three new textile factories in the pres- ence of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan ECHMIADZIN (Panorama.am) — The 20th on Friday, November 1. anniversary of the enthronement of Karekin II, Pashinyan toured their premises in Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians Yerevan, welcoming the expansion of was marked on November 3 at the Mother See of Aleksanyan’s textile business first Holy Echmiadzin. launched a few years ago. He said the A divine Liturgy was celebrated in the St. Gayane Armenian government is ready to assist Monastery. Following Divine Liturgy, a special in its further growth “within the frame- Pontifical prayer service was offered. Diocesan work of its legal instruments.” Primates from Armenia and the Diaspora, brother- A government statement on hood members and pilgrims were in attendance for Pashinyan’s participation in the cere- the services. mony said that the new factories Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian (C) visits new textile factories opened by businessman The 20th anniversary will be officially celebrated employ around 1,000 people and that Samvel Aleksanian (R), Yerevan, November 1, 2019. next year when the renovation of the Mother Aleksanyan plans to create 2,000 more Cathedral will be completed. jobs there. The tycoon will also open to two similar plants outside Yerevan next playing a major role in the party’s elec- the former regime. In March 2016, for US Increases Funding to year, said the statement. tion campaigns. example, he charged on the parliament Aleksanyan, 51, is one of Armenia’s Opposition politicians and media for floor that Aleksanyan may be evading Armenia richest men who has long controlled years claimed that he enjoyed privileged “tens of millions of dollars” in taxes the lucrative imports of sugar, cooking treatment by the government in return through a fraud scheme allowed by YEREVAN — The United States Embassy in oil and other basic foodstuffs to the for earning the HHK and Sargsyan Sargsyan. Aleksanyan denied those Armenia announced that the US Government has fur- country. He also owns the country’s votes in Yerevan’s Malatia-Sebastia dis- claims. ther increased assistance funding to Armenia in largest supermarket chain. trict, his stronghold. The blue-collar dis- Aleksanyan defected from the HHK 2019. The figure for this year is more than $60 mil- Aleksanyan, who is commonly known trict was notorious for vote buying, vio- faction in Armenia’s former parliament lion, which represents a 40-percent increase over last as “Lfik Samo,” used to have close ties lence and other election-related irregu- in June 2018 just over a month after year’s amount. to former President Serzh Sargsyan larities reported by the Armenian Sarkisian was overthrown in the “Velvet The funding includes projects managed by not only and his Republican Party of Armenia media. Revolution” led by Pashinyan. He has the Department of State and the US Agency for (HHK). He was a parliament deputy rep- Pashinyan repeatedly lambasted the not been openly involved in any politi- International Development, but also the Department resenting the HHK from 2003 to 2018, “oligarch” when he was in opposition to cal activities since then.