THE ARMENIAN MIRRORc SPECTATOR Since 1932 Volume LXXXXI, NO. 35, Issue 4677 MARCH 20, 2021 $2.00 Lebanese-Armenian Maral Najarian Freed from Azerbaijani Prison Lands in Beirut By Kareem Chehayeb BEIRUT (Middle East Eye) — A Lebanese-Armenian woman who spent four months in an Azerbaijani prison following last year’s conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh landed in Beirut on March 10. Maral Najarian went missing on No- vember 10 following a Russian-bro- kered ceasefire between Armenia and Azerbaijan, landed in the Leba- nese capital late on Wednesday, March 10. Billboards in MA Exhort President Biden to Recognize Armenian Genocide “Up until I got BOSTON — During March and April 2021, on the eve of cities in the state of Massachusetts, in the United States of on the plane [to the 106th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, Peace of America. The message on this year’s billboards is “Mr. Pres- Beirut], I could not Art (www.peaceofart.org) continues its annual campaign by ident, with honor, dignity and courage, recognize the Arme- believe any of this erecting electronic billboards on busy highways in various nian Genocide.” Continued on page 7 was real,” a dis- Maral Najarian traught Najarian told Lebanese-Ar- menian radio station Voice of Van. “I kept thinking, ‘they’re going to COVID-19 Vaccination Campaign Begins come and kidnap me again’.” Lebanon’s caretaker Foreign Min- ister Charbel Wehbe thanked the Ar- In Armenia Amid Rise in Cases menian, Azerbaijani and Russian gov- ernments, as well as the International By Raffi Elliott Committee of the Red Cross for facil- Special to the Mirror-Spectator itating her release following weeks of negotiations. YEREVAN — Several hundred Arme- see NAJARIAN, page 5 nians have already been inoculated against the COVID-19 virus as the country’s public health officials launch the first stage of its vaccination strategy. According to Health Boston Mayor Walsh Minister Anahit Avanesyan, the first vac- cination campaigns Rescinds Khojaly were expected to start in early February but Proclamation were delayed by sev- Confirms Strong Relationship with eral weeks due to gaps in the global supply Boston Armenian Americans chain. Armenia is a self- By Aram Arkun Health Minister funding participant in Mirror-Spectator Staff Anahit Avanesyan the World Health Or- BOSTON — Boston Mayor Marty J. ganization’s Covid-19 Walsh announced in a letter addressed Vaccines Global Access (COVAX) initiative to the Greater Boston Armenian com- designed to provide equitable access for munity dated March 3 that he was re- developing countries. Last year, Armenian scinding the proclamation issued by authorities signed a $6 million contract with However, with most of Moderna’s early with the initial testing dose for the Sputnik his office forKhojaly Commemoration COVAX to supply at least 600,000 doses of doses already earmarked for US consump- V vaccine, none experienced serious side Day at the end of February, and apolo- the vaccine. However the COVAX system tion, the Armenian government has instead effects, though several reported higher tem- gized for its promulgation. doesn’t allow participating countries to se- approved the Russian-produced Sputnik V peratures for up to two days after the inocu- Walsh explained why such a proc- lect their vaccine of choice, instead supply- and the British-designed AstraZeneca for lation. Vaccination will prioritize healthcare lamation was issued, writing: “Un- ing doses as they become available. distribution. Both these candidates require workers, the elderly, and other vulnerable fortunately on our part, this was done Armenia initially expressed interest in a two-step inoculation process. Avanesyan demographics. Educators, civil servants, without our typical review process, purchasing the vaccine developed by the explained that Armenia subjects vaccine rescue workers, law enforcement and mili- which includes conferring with all American pharmaceutical giant Moderna, candidates to a three-step testing process tary personnel will be the target of the sec- those potentially impacted.” Conver- which is co-founded by Armenian entre- before approving them for public use. ond phase before the vaccine will be made sations with leaders of the Armenian- preneur and philanthropist Noubar Afeyan. Of the 200 candidates who were injected see VACCINATIONS, page 2 see PROCLAMATION, page 7 OPINION WASHINGTON NEW YORK Centennial of Moscow The Armenian- The Whiskered Treaty Sealed with American Aides Old Toymaker of Armenian Blood of General Dwight Baraka Eisenhower Page 17 Page 6 Page 12 2 SATURDAY, MARCH 20, 2021 ARMENIAN MIRROR-SPECTATOR ARMENIA NEWS from ARMENIA COVID-19 Vaccination Campaign Begins Handcuffed Citizens Rally Outside In Armenia Amid Rise in Cases Parliament, Demand VACCINATIONS, from page 1 up in March, now averaging 407 daily cas- died from the vaccine. Return of POWs available to the general public. Vaccina- es. The health minister warned on March For others, their decision to get inoculat- tions will be free for government workers 11 that hospital beds are quickly filling up ed will depend on which vaccine is avail- YEREVAN (Panorama.am) — and low income individuals. despite eight facilities being reconverted to able. The Russian-developed Sputnik V A group of “handcuffed” people Armenian public health authorities say help with the influx of patients. New beds vaccine initially caused concern in Arme- on March 16 held a rally in front that the country currently has enough doses are also being set up to meet the demand nia due to its fast-tracked testing and ap- of the Armenian National Assem- to inoculate at least 15 percent of Armenia’s but “hospital space is not infinite,” the min- proval process, which some critics claimed bly building to call attention to the population by the end of 2021, but Ava- ister cautioned. was motivated primarily by a desire to be issue of the Armenian prisoners of nesyan announced last week that the gov- Around one thousand COVID-19 patients the first to market rather than public health. war (POWs) being held in Azerbai- ernment was in negotiations with Russia to are suffering conditions severe enough to However, despite mixed results in peer-re- jan. They demand that Armenia’s acquire a large shipment of the Sputnik V require hospitalization, while most of the viewed studies, it has proven to be mostly relevant state institutions immedi- vaccine in order to ramp up the process. 8190 active cases remain in self-isolation. safe for consumption. ately resolve the issue of the repa- The vaccination campaign launches Ten people have succumbed to complica- Syuzana, who works in a tech company triation of POWs. amid a renewed rise in COVID-19 cases tions from the virus on Monday, bringing in Yerevan explained to the Mirror-Spec- Before handcuffing themselves, being recorded in the country, which some the total number of fatalities to 3,265. tator that she wasn’t so much concerned the citizens stuck posters to the public health experts warn might be the be- Despite this upswing in cases, author- about vaccination as she was about the lo- gates of the parliament building ginnings of a third wave of the pandemic. ities have denied rumors that the country cal Armenian laboratories’ ability to safely reading: “Either bring back the Armenia had been experiencing a steady would be going back into complete lock- provide it. “I don’t know if they have the prisoners of war or stop the nego- decline in new infection rates in the first down. Schools, businesses, and restaurants right facilities to store it at temperature, I tiations!” Meanwhile, Azerbaijan months of 2021 after registering new daily will remain open. Instead, they have urged don’t trust their sanitary practices,” she officially announced that there are cases in the thousands at the peak of last citizens to go back to stricter observation of said, adding that she’s always had her son no more Armenian prisoners in the year’s bloody war with Azerbaijan. De- social distancing measures: to wear masks vaccinated in the United States, which she country. spite concerns over the low testing rates, in public, remain 2 meters apart, and wash plans on repeating this time around. this data has also been backed up by a cor- hands regularly. The Armenian police has For Dr. Kim Hekimian, Associate Direc- Armenian Pilgrims Visit responding drop in fatalities. Most hospi- also pledged to more actively enforce com- tor of Education for the Program for Global tals which had been converted into special pliance with these rules, adding that it has and Population Health at the Vagelos Col- Dadivank and Amaras, disease control centers have since been ceased issuing fines in the months follow- lege of Physicians, this vaccine hesitancy is Accompanied by returned to their original functions. Some ing the war as many grieved losses of fam- concerning. She points to a previous pub- Russian Peacekeepers experts have speculated that these figures ily and friends. lic health initiative to provide the human may be evidence that Armenia has already Still, public health officials may face an papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine to counter STEPANAKERT (Panorama. attained herd immunity. While Armenia uphill battle in the race to provide ubiqui- cervical cancer, which is a leading cause of am) — A group of Armenian pil- has officially registered 178,702 total cases tous vaccination before mutated versions death among Armenian women. The cam- grims accompanied by Russian of COVID-19 infections across the coun- of the virus make their appearance in the paign was met with mixed success given peacekeepers visited the ancient try, the real figure is estimated to be at least country. Authorities insist that vaccination that a sustained disinformation campaign Armenian monastery complex of three or four times higher, with the virus’ will remain voluntary, but the persistence convinced many would-be recipients that Dadivank in the Karvachar region spread being accelerated by the movement of misinformation about the vaccine, as the vaccine would cause infertility.