MAY 21, 2016 Mirror-SpeTHE ARMENIAN ctator Volume LXXXVI, NO. 44, Issue 4438 $ 2.00 NEWS The First English Language Armenian Weekly in the United States Since 1932 INBRIEF Aleppo Attacks Leave Erdogan 200 Christians Dead ALEPPO (Bos News Life) — Sustained rocket Overplays attacks in the last two weeks have left up to 200 Christians dead, workers at Barnabas Fund said. When 1,350 rockets hit the Christian area in Aleppo from April 22 to April 30, 132 individuals were killed, His Hand half of them were women and children. On May 3, another 65 died in the rocket attacks and hundreds were left injured, the aid group added. By Muriel Mirak-Weissbach Barnabas Fund said 35 of the victims who died last week were being treated at the Dabbit Hospital Special to the Mirror-Spectator when a rocket destroyed the place. Two of the patients died on the operating table. The explosion BERLIN — There are good reasons to also partially damaged another hospital in the area, believe that on June 2, the German causing it to close down. A Christian insider said Bundestag (Parliament) will vote up a only 16 out of the 134 hospitals in Aleppo are func- resolution recognizing the Armenian tioning after the recent attacks. Genocide. The government coalition While many of the rocket attacks were carried out by President Serzh Sargsyan giving an interview on the way back to Armenia aboard the presi- parties, Christian Democratic Union Syrian or Russian forces against opposition groups, dential plane. and Christian Socialist Union (CDU- Barnabas Fund said Islamic Rebel groups had threat- CSU) and Social Democratic Party ened to wipe out Armenian Christians in the area. (SPD), plus the Green party, have Last week, a Franciscan priest in Aleppo said the agreed on a unified text, after intense Armenia, Azerbaijan Agree violence in the city is the worst he has seen. debate and repeated postponements. “Never, since the beginning of this terrible war, The title of the document is were things as bad as they are now. I have no words “Remembering and Commemorating to describe all the suffering I see on a daily basis,” the Genocide against the Armenians To Resume Peace Process Fr. Ibrahim Alsabagh, the Aleppo priest told and other Christian Minorities in the Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need. Ottoman Empire 101 Years Ago.” VIENNA (ArmeniaNow) President Satisfied with Artsakh that left scores This must have taken Turkish — President Serzh Azeri Leader Meeting killed and injured on President Erdogan by surprise. Over Sargsyan of Armenia and both sides in the worst Armenia Parliament the past weeks he has acted as though President Ilham Aliyev of violence since 1994. the agreement his government made Azerbaijan agreed to respect the ceasefire The meeting was co-hosted by United Turns down Bill on with the EU over the refugee crisis had in Nagorno Karabagh and resume their dia- States Secretary of State John Kerry, Karabagh Recognition given him carte blanche in dictating logue to find a compromise peace deal dur- Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov European policy. According to the deal, ing internationally mediated talks in and France’s State Secretary for Europe YEREVAN (PanARMENIAN.Net) — A bill Turkish citizens should be able to enter Vienna, Austria, late on Monday, May 16. Affairs Harlem Desir – the top diplomats of on Armenia’s recognition of Nagorno Karabagh’s inde- Europe without a visa, on condition The two leaders met for the first time the Organization for Security and pendence did not receive the backing of the National see ERDOGAN, page 5 since last month’s four-day hostilities in Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Minsk Assembly’s Foreign Relations Committee. Group co-chair countries. Following the discussion, the majority of the After the meeting the top American, committee members did not participate in the vot- Russian and French diplomats said that ing, with only one parliament member, Hamlet Sargsyan and Aliyev will meet again in June Harutyunyan from the ruling Republican Party, to try to revive the peace process and reit- voting against, and another one, Tevan Poghosyan, erated that “there can be no military solu- voting in favor. tion to the conflict.” According to committee Chairman Artak see CEASEFIRE, page 2 Zakaryan, the bill will not be put on the agenda. “It’s still not the right time for this, but that time is not far off,” Zakaryan said. “Generally I agree with the proposal by Zaruhi ADL Releases Statement Postanjyan and Hrant Bagratyan, but this has to be Recognizing Armenian done with 100-percent consent, without any dis- cussions.” Genocide, Support for Earlier, Deputy Foreign Minister Shavarsh Kocharyan had said that Yerevan’s decision to rec- US Recognition ognize Nagorno Karabagh’s independence would be determined by negotiations between the two Armenian states. By Alin K. Gregorian “There is no alternative to a peaceful settle- Mirror-Spectator Staff ment,” Kocharyan said. “And if Azerbaijan attempts to avoid reaching a ceasefire and renews aggression, the issue of recog- BOSTON — The national director and nition will certainly be included in the agenda.” CEO of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), The elegantly attired Vosgi Dagdelen addresses the crowd. Jonathan Greenblatt, made Friday, May 13, a lucky day for mending relations with the Armenian and non-Armenian activists who Dagdelen Honored as Mother of the Year for years had asked the organization to rec- INSIDE ognize the Armenian Genocide and also By Society of Istanbul Armenians of Boston throw its support behind its recognition by the US government. WATERTOWN – The Society of Istanbul Armenians of Boston held a On that day Greenblatt released a state- Aurora’s Mother’s Day dinner celebration on May 14 at the Armenian General ment on the group’s website in which he Benevolent Union center in Watertown hon- stressed his support for both issues. (See the oring Vosgi Dagdelen of New York as “moth- full statement of the ADL with the continu- Story By Aram Arkun er of the year.” Dagdelen, a teacher and ation.) Page 14 Mirror-Spectator Staff administrator both in Istanbul and later New “What happened in the Ottoman Empire York, came with her family to Boston for the to the Armenians beginning in 1915 was occasion. Dr. Aida Minasyan Yavshayan genocide. The genocide began with the rul- served as the master of ceremonies. She is both an advisor to the board of the ing government arresting and executing sev- Society and co-chair of the evening’s event. Arto Kurkjian, vice president of eral hundred Armenian intellectuals. After INDEX the Society, served as the other co-chair. Approximately 60 people were in that, Armenian families were removed from Arts and Living . 11 attendance from Boston, New York and other areas. their homes and sent on death marches. The Armenia . 2,3 Dagdelen was born in Sepasdia as Vosgi Marzvanian but moved with her Armenian people were subjected to deporta- Community News. 6 parents to Istanbul as a four year old. She graduated Esayan School in 1939 tion, expropriation, abduction, torture, mas- Editorial . 17 see MOTHERS, page 13 sacre and starvation. International . 4,5 see ADL, page 12 2 S ATURDAY, M AY 2 1 , 2 0 1 6 T HE A RMENIAN M IRROR -S PECTATOR ARMENIA News From Armenia Armenia, Azerbaijan Agree Armenian Armed Forces Down UAV in Vayots To Resume Peace Process Dzor, Armenia CEASEFIRE, from page 1 OSCE Chairman-in-Office, in the Babayan said work has started in the YEREVAN (Armenpress) — Spokesman of the “The Presidents reiterated their direction of the possible resumption right direction — from the lowest Defense Ministry of Armenia Artsrun Hovhannisyan commitment to the ceasefire and the of the negotiating process on conflict rung, that is, introduction of moni- announces via Facebook that the Armenian state peaceful settlement of the conflict,” settlement,” it said. toring mechanisms. armed forces have downed a reconnaissance reads a joint statement issued by Before the meeting the Armenian “They should start little by little, by Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) at 14:00 on May 13 Kerry, Lavrov and Desire after the and Azerbaijani leaders also held sep- taking small steps to construct, so to in the territory of the Yelpin community of Vayots meeting and published on the OSCE arate meetings with Kerry and top speak, the building of the conflict set- Dzor Province, Armenia. official website. “To reduce the risk of European Union diplomat Federica tlement. This issue has been neglect- further violence, they agreed to final- Mogherini. ed for some unknown reasons, mean- ize in the shortest possible time an The meeting was, in general, posi- while the importance of it has been Armenia to Host OSCE investigative mechanism. The tively received by the Armenian side, voiced by both official Yerevan and Presidents also agreed to the expan- but experts and politicians also gen- Stepanakert many times. It’s all about Economic Conference sion of the existing Office of the eral expect no significant changes in [the introduction of] equipment, YEREVAN (Armenpress) — Armenia’s Central Personal Representative of the OSCE the process as a result of that. which should be installed along the Bank will host a key economic conference in the fall, Chairperson in Office.” On his way back from Vienna to line of contact between Azerbaijan which will be attended by several prominent econo- According to the statement, Yerevan, Sargsyan gave an interview and Artsakh [an alternative name for mists. Sargsyan and Aliyev also agreed on a to Armenian TV channels on board Karabagh], as well as along the bor- The conference on macroeconomics will be held on “next round of talks, to be held in his presidential jet, saying that the der between Armenia and Azerbaijan.