JUNE 24, 2017 Mirror-SpeTHE ARMENIAN ctator Volume LXXXVII, NO. 49, Issue 4493 $ 2.00 NEWS The First English Language Armenian Weekly in the United States Since 1932 INBRIEF Annual Mirror- Erdogan Decries ‘Unacceptable’ US Arrest Spectator Vacation WATERTOWN — The Armenian Mirror-Spectator Warrants for Staff in Washington Brawl will be closed for two weeks for its annual summer vacation. The issue of July 1 is going to be the last issue Armenian Groups Delighted officials demanded a firm response to the arrest warrants was “wrong, biased and before the vacation. The first issue back will be that violence. lacks legal basis.” of July 22. WASHINGTON (Combined Sources) — Washington DC’s metropolitan police “That the brawl in front of the Turkish Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, chief, Peter Newsham, announced that Ambassador’s Residence was caused by the has furiously condemned the US decision arrest warrants failure of local Three Soldiers Killed to issue arrest warrants to 12 members of were being issued security au- By Azeri Army his security detail because of their involve- for the 12 Turkish thorities to ment in a bloody brawl with peaceful pro- nationals, as well as “Why would I take my guards to the United take necessary STEPANAKERT (Panorama.am) — The testers in Washington DC last month. two Americans and measures; that Azerbaijani forces continue violating the ceasefire In a dramatic escalation of tensions two Canadians. States if not to protect myself?” this incident from firearms, Senor Hasratyan, Spokesperson of between two NATO allies, Erdogan said on Shortly after the Recep Tayyip Erdogan would not the Republic of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh Thursday, June 15, that his government announcement, the have occurred Republic) Defense Army, told Panorama.am, com- would “fight politically and judicially” US ambassador to i f t h e U S menting on the situation on the frontline at night. against the warrants that had been issued Turkey, John Bass, was summoned to the authorities had taken the usual measures On June 16, at around 6 p.m., the Azerbaijani earlier in the day. country’s ministry of foreign affairs and they take in similar high level visits and forces broke the ceasefire regime across the The brawl, in which nine protesters were told the US’s actions were “unacceptable.” therefore that Turkish citizens cannot be Karabakh-Azerbaijan Line of Contact, firing rocket- injured, prompted strong reactions in The ministry said in a statement that the held responsible for the incident that took propelled antitank grenade launchers in the direc- both Turkey and the US, where senior US ambassador was told the decision to issue place,” the statement said. tion of one of the military posts, as a result of Erdogan echoed these statements in tele- which three Karabakh Defense Army servicemen – vised remarks on Thursday night. “Why Arayik Matinyan, Vigen Petrosyan and Vardan would I take my guards to the United Sargsyan were killed. All three were 20 years old. States if not to protect myself?” he said. On June 17, Artsakh President Bako Sahakyan “They have incarcerated our citizens. signed a decree according to which the servicemen How is that possible? ... What type of legis- were posthumously awarded with the “For Service lation is this? What type of law?” Erdogan in Battle” medal for bravery shown during the said. defense of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic state Tensions between the two countries have border. been high since Barack Obama decided to On June 20, Speaker of Armenia’s National arm the Kurdish People’s Protection Units Assembly Ara Babloyan visited the Malayan (YPG) as part of the US efforts to fight Ophthalmological Center, where Karabakh service- Islamic State. man Myasnik Hovhannisyan, 33, who had been The Turkish government considers the wounded during the incident, was receiving treat- YPG a terrorist outfit affiliated with the ment. Hovhannisyan was severely wounded on outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ party (PKK) June 16 and underwent successful surgery. and was further angered by Donald Trump’s decision to continue working with Gala Danilova off Halo Trust explains the organization’s work in Stepanakert. the group. Armenia to Launch The brawl, which occurred as Erdogan Tourism Website Soirée Raises $220,000 for returned from a meeting with Trump at the White House, has pushed the strained rela- YEREVAN (Armenpress) — Armenia’s official tions further, experts say. tourism website will be ready soon, Ara Khzmalyan, Clearing Landmines in Karabakh see ERDOGAN, page 5 tourism director at the Development Foundation of Armenia (DFA), announced, adding that the web- WINCHESTER, Mass. — A dinner party on Saturday, June 10, at the home of site is designed in a way that a person unaware of Raffi and Nina Festekjian, raised $220,000 for Halo Trust’s Safe Steps for the Armenia will have a complete picture about the People of Karabakh Campaign, surpass- Four French-Armenians country. “The website will contain information on ing expectations by the organizers. where the tourist can visit, live, who can host By Alin K. Gregorian The goal is to demine the entirety of Elected to Parliament him/her, how much it will cost and etc. In other Mirror-Spectator Staff Artsakh by 2020. words, the more the information, the more confi- The Festekjians are the co-chairs of PARIS (armenews) — The second round dent the tourist will feel himself/herself in the campaign. of the legislative election on June 18, Armenia. In a digital space we work on attracting Raffi Festekjian said the safety of the nation was paramount in order for its econ- which elected the deputies of the National potential tourists”, he said, adding that the website omy to thrive. “To create a better infrastructure, you need safety,” he said. Assembly (Parliament) for 5 year terms, is created by the cooperation of the State Tourism With safer lands more jobs are created, he noted, adding that Halo itself is the ended with a clear victory of President Committee and the DFA. second largest employee in the republic, and that 90 percent of funds raised for Halo Khzmalyan added that the tourism department go back to Artsakh. is being separated from the foundation to become A vigorous auction of Scout a separate entity. Tufankjian’s photographs and wine from Karabakh, as well as donations, brought the total raised to $110,000, which will be doubled by an anonymous INSIDE donor. Several representatives of The four members of the Parliament in France Halo Trust were present, includ- ing the organization’s CEO, Father’s Maj. Gen. James Cowan. Emmanuel Macron’s En Marche party, Cowan, when addressing the which garnered more than 49 percent of assembled, said many remem- the votes. Day Honors ber the iconic picture of the late Four Armenians were elected to the par- liament. They are: Danièle Cazarian, Princess Diana when she Page 10 walked through an Angolan Guillaume Kasbarian, Jacques minefield that had been Marilossian and Nadia Essayan. cleared, mere months before One French-Armenian candidate, Pascal Scout Tufankjian explains her ties to Chamassian, lost. He suffered from his Karabakh and describes her photographs. her untimely death. He lament- ed that she could not live to see party’s performance in a region where the INDEX that 122 countries signed the right and extreme right are particularly Arts and Living . 13 Ottawa Treaty banning landmines well established. Armenia . 2,3 Community News. 6 So far, he said, Halo has destroyed 1.5 million landmines. “Each one of the He was defeated by Valerie Boyer, whose name is associated with the struggle Editorial . 17 landmines came out of the ground at huge personal risk,” he said. International . .. 4,5 see HALO, page 15 against Holocaust and Armenian Genocide denial. 2 S ATURDAY, J UNE 2 4 , 2 0 1 7 T HE A RMENIAN M IRROR -S PECTATOR ARMENIA News From Armenia UNHCR Welcomes Armenia’s Approach Towards Refugees, Displaced Persons ArmenFilm For Sale YEREVAN (Public Radio of their integration, given constraints in UNHCR wishes to emphasize that Again Armenia) — The United Nations High their ability to work, limited number refugee protection needs to be Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) of job opportunities and low wages. offered without discrimination and YEREVAN (Armenpress) — Less than two years welcomes the receptive approach In addition to persons displaced irrespective of ethnic background or after being returned to the state, Armenia’s govern- both the Government of Armenia and due to the conflict in Syria seeking religion of the displaced. ment-owned ArmenFilm studio is being offered for the overwhelming majority of the protection in Armenia, the country In conclusion of the media briefing sale once again. Armenian population have taken in faces other displacement challenges. on the occasion of World Refugee The sale forms part of a wider sale of state proper- receiving persons displaced due to Among the over 360,000 persons Day 2017 the UNHCR Bierwirth ty, through which the government hopes to raise the conflict in Syria seeking protec- who were displaced between 1988 noted: “In Armenia the recollection approximately $73 million from foreign investors tion in Armenia, according to and 1992 in context of the Nagorno- of the terrible and tragic events from the sale of 47 publicly-owned entities in need of Christoph Bierwirth, the UNHCR Karabakh conflict, some 2,000 have which started 102 years ago entail modernization. Property on sale within the 2017 representative in Armenia. not yet availed themselves to the the memory of many Armenians hav- — 2020 Privatization Program recently adopted by Since the start of the conflict in opportunity of naturalization in ing survived because protection, asy- the Armenian government includes buildings belong- Syria, Armenia has wel- lum was offered to them by other ing to Armenia Post, Yerevan central bus station and comed more than 22,000 nations, in Europe, in the Americas, a jewelery factory.