OCTOBER 19, 2013 MirTHErARoMENr IAN -Spe ctator Volume LXXXIV, NO. 14, Issue 430 8 $ 2.00 NEWS IN BRIEF The First English Language Armenian Weekly in the United States Since 1932 President Hands out Awards at National Syrian Rebels Swap Crosses Atop Academy of Sciences YEREVAN (Armenpress) — President Serge Churches for Al Qaeda Flags Sargisian, on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the establishment of the National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Armenia, signed BEIRUT (AFP) – Jihadist fighters linked the religious furnishings inside, the Syria dominantly Sunni Muslim country wracked decrees bestowing honored titles a and medals to to Al-Qaeda set fire to statues and crosses Observatory for Human Rights said. by more than two years of civil war, but also members of the academy for their contributions inside churches in northern Syria on They did the same at the Armenian on Shiite Muslim mosques. and services in the fields of science and education. Thursday and destroyed a cross on a Catholic Church of the Martyrs, and also see CROSSES, page 3 The president awarded some of the members church clock tower, a watchdog said. destroyed a cross atop its clock tower, with the order of Saint Mesrop Mashtots, others Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant replacing it with the ISIL flag, the with the medal of Anania Shirakatsi or Movses Khorenatsi. (REUTERS) Observatory said. Most of Raqa, locat - TCA Executive Director According to another decree, signed by the pres - ed on the banks of the ident, a number of members have received titles. Euphrates River and To Speak at AGBU Hye capital of the province Sargisian to Attend EU of the same name, fell Geen Program to anti-regime fighters Eastern Partnership in March. PASADENA, Calif. — AGBU Hye Geen will Where the ISIL hold another event in the series celebrating its Summit in Vilnius dominates in the city, 20th anniversary. AGBU Hye Geen will present YEREVAN (Armenpress) — Armenian President it imposes a strict ver - the issue of the changing Armenian Diaspora Serge Sargisian plans to attend the upcoming sion of sharia (Islamic and whether the US Armenian community can European Union (EU) Eastern Partnership Summit law) on the populace. replicate the success of the Middle East, on in Vilnius on November 28 and 29, the Lithuania The London-based November 2 at the Tribune reported. Observatory de- AGBU Pasadena Center, 2495 East The news was confirmed by Armenian Flags of the al-Qaeda-linked Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant nounced these attacks Mountain St. Ambassador to Lithuania Ara Aivazyan at a recent are hung to replace crosses on The Martyrs Church in Raqqah. “against the freedom meeting with the Deputy Speaker of the of religion, which are The first speaker, Lithuanian Seimas, Gediminas Kirkilas, the Seimas. an assault on the Tamar Kevonian will The statement also says that Armenia plans take (ISIL) fighters entered the Greek Catholic Syrian revolution.” review gender inequal - active participation in the Eastern Partnership Church of Our Lady of the Annunciation in Not only have there been attacks on ity in the Los Angeles Programme, despite the fact that on September 3 the northern city of Raqqah and torched Christian places of worship in Syria, a pre - Armenian community. The publisher of Sargisian announced Armenia’s decision to join the Baydzig Mosaix Magazine and Moscow-led Customs Union and take part in the Kalaydjian subsequently a con - formation of the Eurasian Economic Union. Vartan Gregorian Honored in tributor to various “Ahead of the Vilnius Summit, Armenia will seek Armenian publications, Kevonian has tack - to strengthen a political dialogue with the EU and led social issues within the US community. its member states, aimed at promoting mutual Scotland at Carnegie Birthplace Baydzig Arabian-Kalaydjian, a former edu - understanding,” the statement said. cator, editor of Middle Eastern newspapers Armenia wants an achievement resolution to be DUNFERMLINE, Scotland — Part of a park donated by Andrew Carnegie to and at present executive director of the signed during the Vilnius Summit to consolidate its the people of Scotland was named after Vartan Gregorian, president of Carnegie Boston-based Tekeyan Cultural Association, achievements over three years of negotiations on Corporation of New York, on October 14. During the ceremony, a pathway was will discuss the changing Armenian the association agreement. dedicated as “Vartan’s Way” at Pittencrieff Park in Andrew Carnegie’s birthplace Diaspora and evaluate the US Armenian of Dunfermline. The ceremony was part of weeklong celebrations in Scotland sur - diaspora in replicating the success of the rounding the 2013 Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy, an honor awarded by the Middle Eastern communities. Mirror-Spectator Wins family of Carnegie institutions to recognize those who embrace Carnegie’s phi - A question-and-answer period will follow Diaspora Ministry losophy of using their private wealth for the public good. the talk. see GREGORIAN, page 16 Sona Zeitlian, author of studies about Award Armenian women, will offer concluding remarks. She will review the options for invest - YEREVAN — Earlier in October, the Armenian ing in the future and dwell on the role of orga - Mirror-Spectator received a certificate from the nizational networks to insure the active Armenian Diaspora Ministry, as the top newspaper involvement of the urban settlers in the US. in the diaspora. The program will start at 11 a.m. The Diaspora Ministry jointly awards the certifi - cate annually, working in conjunction with the Armenian Journalists’ Union. The certificate also comes with a monetary award. An article with further details will appear in next week’s publication. INSI DE College Bound BOSTON — Middlesex County Sheriff Page 8 Peter Koutoujian, who was running in the October 15 primary ahead of the December 10 special election to fill the US House of Representatives INDEX seat vacated by now-Sen. Edward Arts and Living . 10 Markey, came in second, narrowly los - Armenia . 2 ing to Katherine Clark in a large Community News. 5 Democrat field. A more detailed story Editorial . 14 Vartan Gregorian plants a tree at the Scotland park. on the primary will appear in next International . 3,4 week’s paper. 2 S ATURDAY , O CTOBER 19, 2013 T HE A RMENIAN M IRROR -S PECTATOR ARMENIA News From Armenia Armenian Scholar Urges Putin to ‘Annex’ Karabagh the event of Armenia’s joining the to try to convince Russia to recognize By Naira Hayrumyan Customs Union of Russia, Belarus Karabagh’s independence, after the Activist Appeals and Kazakhstan. war in Karabagh worked for the “uni - There has been no answer to this fication” of the Armenian nation by Armenia’s Decision to YEREVAN (ArmeniaNow) — While question until today, and it looks like organizing two round-the-world trips mass actions of protests against Russia, with the help of its “friends” by sea visiting major ports with Enter Customs Union migrants, especially Caucasus in Armenia, is preparing a variant of Armenian communities along the YEREVAN (PanArmenian.net) — The decision to natives, were being held in Moscow recognition and, thus, political annex - way and making a lot of writing on enter the Customs Union was not taken democrati- on Sunday, with calls for ousting all ation of Karabagh. It is not without state budget money. cally, by means of discussions and consultations, of them from the Russian capital and reason that an international confer - The letter provoked a strong reac - said human rights activist and head of the Helsinki while riot police were dispersing pro - ence titled “The National-Liberation tion on the Armenian segment of Citizens’ Assembly Vanadzor Office Arthur testers near the Biryulyovo market, Struggle of Karabagh: from Gulistan online social networking sites. Some Sakunts, at a press conference this week. in Yerevan a heated discussion went to the Present Day” was held with said that Balayan is, probably, out of He also said that he plans to appeal to the on around the letter of Karabagh pomp in Karabagh a week before the his mind, others argued that while a Constitutional Court requesting to declare the deci- movement activist, writer and publi - 200th anniversary of the treaty. The few years ago this letter would have sion illegal. cist Zori Balayan’s letter calling on very name of the event already indi - been taken in Armenia “with under - Rule of Law NGO chairman Artak Zeynalyan said Russian President Vladimir Putin to cated that the transition from the standing,” now no one understands he is opposed to Armenia’s decision to join the “annex” Karabagh to Russia. Persian into the Russian Empire in who Russia should save independent Customs Union, adding that that decision was “in October 12 marked the 200th Karabagh is considered as the begin - Karabagh from now. Still others violation of the principle of publicity.” anniversary of the signing of the ning of the “national-liberation” argued that the letter was written in Treaty of Gulistan on the results of struggle. And so on the day of the consultation with the authorities of the Russian-Persian war, in which anniversary of the treaty Balayan, Armenia and Russia. Either way, it is Armenians Hack Russia won. According to that treaty, who is considered all but a number clear that Russia is preparing some much of the Persian Empire land, one enemy in Azerbaijan, wrote a 10- acts in connection with Karabagh, Azerbaijani Website including the Karabagh khanate, was page letter to Putin in which he cited which may be accompanied by a “gen - YEREVAN (Armenpress) — Ahead of the forthcom- ceded to Russia “in perpetuity.” The lots of arguments in favor of the erous” political recognition of the ing Armenia-Italy match, the Armenian Cyber Army fact that Karabagh was a part of the Karabagh problem being the problem NKR and its inclusion in the future hacked the website of the Ministry of Education of Russian Empire in accordance with of Russia as much as that of Armenia Eurasian Union as well as the deploy - Azerbaijan.