APRIL 21, 2018 Mirror-SpeTHE ARMENIAN ctator Volume LXXXVIII, NO. 39, Issue 4534 $ 2.00 NEWS The First English Language Armenian Weekly in the United States Since 1932 INBRIEF Serzh Sargsyan Becomes New Prime Minister amidst Protests YEREVAN (Combined Sources) — Former President Serzh Sargsyan sought to justify his decision to hold on to power on Tuesday, April 17, as lawmakers elected him Armenia’s new prime minister amid COMMEMORATING THE continuing opposition demonstrations in ARMENIAN GENOCIDE Yerevan. Sargsyan denounced the ongoing SEE PAGES 9-22 protests but at the same time downplayed their significance moments after the Armenian parliament voted by 76 to 17 to Ankara Prosecutor appoint him to what will now be the coun- try’s top government post. Seeks to Strip Paylan “The people cannot be unruly,” he said on the parliament floor. “If they were, there Immunity would be millions of people in the streets. ANKARA (PanARMENIAN.Net) — The Ankara You know full well how many people are Chief Prosecutor’s office has prepared proceedings taking part in these demonstrations.” Protests in Yerevan against eight deputies from the pro-Kurdish The main organizer of those rallies, Nikol Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), including Pashinian, pledged to continue his cam- Turkish-Armenian lawmaker Garo Paylan, on the paign which he said is turning into a popu- Pashinian and other critics say that the republic. “People have still not realized grounds of “insulting the Turkish nation, the lar “velvet revolution” against Sargsyan. Sargsyan’s extended rule would deal a severe that there is no one-man rule anymore,” he Turkish state, its army and police forces,” “acting Reacting to the parliament vote, Pashinian blow to democracy and the rule of law. complained at a special session of the against the law on political parties,” “making terror told RFE/RL’s Armenian service Sargsyan claimed that his premiership National Assembly overshadowed by tight propaganda,” and “insulting the president,” (Azatutyun.am) that he will keep trying to will not amount to a third term in office security measures taken in and outside the Hurriyet Daily News reported on April 12. “paralyze the state government system” because he will wield fewer powers than he parliament building. The summary of proceedings said HDP deputies with peaceful acts of “civil disobedience.” did in his previous capacity as president of see PROTESTS, page 2 Osman Baydemir, Alican Önlü, Feleknas Uca, Sibel Yigitalp, Nadir Yıldırım, Dilek Öcalan, Mizgin Irgat, and Paylan had “praised” the imprisoned leader of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), Kurt Focuses on Abdullah Öcalan, in their speeches and publicly expressed condolences to the killed PKK militants, Aintab Armenians’ state-run Anadolu Agency reported on April 10. The summary of proceedings, asking for the Battle for Survival removal of the parliamentary immunities of the eight deputies, has been sent to the Justice Ministry, the agency said. By Alin K. Gregorian According to the Prosecutor’s office, Paylan Mirror-Spectator Staff should be prosecuted for “humiliating” remarks he made in Canada in May 2017 “towards the Turkish nation, the Republic of Turkey and insulting the WATERTOWN — Historian Dr. Ümit Kurt President.” Paylan has been vocal about the plight presented a lecture on Thursday, April 12, of Armenians in Turkey and human rights there. on the battle for Aintab, which highlighted When in Canada in May 2017, the lawmaker held the intertwined histories and divergent a series of meetings in Ottawa and Montreal with paths of the Armenians and Turks in that Members of Parliament and various current and Peace of Art Unveils New Billboards city, now known as Gaziantep. former Canadian officials. He provided an overview Commemorating the Armenian Genocide Even on a micro level, the subject is one of the current political climate in Turkey, the after- particularly close to Kurt, currently a math of the constitutional referendum and the BOSTON — Peace of Art has created a new billboard in commemoration of researcher at Jerusalem’s Van Leer ongoing uncertainty and concern regarding the the Armenian Genocide. continues its annual Genocide awareness campaign, by Institute, as he is a native of Gaziantep. rights and freedoms of the minorities living in honoring the memory of the innocent victims of all genocides. The lecture, co-sponsored by the Tekeyan Turkey. He stressed the importance of acknowl- Since April 10, 2018, digital billboards have been displayed in different cities Culture Association and the Armenian edging history, specifically in regards to the and towns in Massachusetts, calling on the international community to recog- Museum of America and held at the latter’s Armenian Genocide, stating, “unpunished crimes nize the first genocide of the 20th century, the Armenian Genocide. Adele and Haig Der Manuelian galleries, lead to new crimes.” The image on the billboard is an empty bird’s nest surrounded by barbed wire engrossed the 60 or so attendees, many of with the remains of a few feathers. This image symbolizes their violent expul- whom were Armenians whose families had sion from the nest. It refers to what happened to the Armenians living in hailed from Aintab. Turkey. They were removed from their historic homeland through forced depor- Jennifer Liston Munson, executive direc- tations and massacres, by the order of the Ottoman Empire. tor of the Armenian Museum of America, INSIDE Artist Daniel Varoujan Hejinian, president of Peace of Art, said, “The billboards welcomed the remind us that the Armenian Genocide seized 1.5 million lives, while 393,700 guests and Armenians were expelled from their homes and became refugees. Being an emi- noted that the grant child, I felt the pain of the emigration deeply, and it is most regrettable that museum was St. Vartan’s genocide continues to be a tool used by governments against their own citizens. doing a lot of Because of the ongoing war in Syria, thousands of citizens including Armenians, new and excit- have lost their lives and have been forced to leave their cradle, and enter the ing work, Photo Exhibit unknown route of migration with a hopeless dream to return.” refreshing the galleries down- Since 1996, Hejinian has been displaying the Armenian Genocide Page 24 Commemorative Billboards. In 2003, Peace of Art Inc., began to sponsor the stairs and Armenian Genocide Commemorative Billboards. In 2015, Peace of Art Inc., rethinking the launched its Armenian Genocide Centennial awareness billboard campaign, entire flow of how the muse- “100 Billboards for 100 Years of Genocide,” in the U.S. and Canada to com- INDEX memorate not only the victims of the Armenian Genocide but also the victims um works and revisiting objects in the col- of all Genocides worldwide. This year’s billboards will remain on display until lection. She introduced Aram Arkun, exec- Arts and Living . 23 utive director of the Tekeyan Cultural Armenia . 2 April 30, 2018. Community News. 4 The Billboards Locations are Lynn, on Route 1 along the Lynnway and Association of the US and Canada. Arkun spoke briefly about the tragic Editorial . 27 Methuen. International . .. 3 For more information on the organization visit www.peaceofart.org. events after the Armenian Genocide when see KURT, page 28 2 S ATURDAY, A PRIL 2 1 , 2 0 1 8 T HE A RMENIAN M IRROR -S PECTATOR ARMENIA News From Armenia Serzh Sargsyan Becomes New Prime EU Funds Embezzled by Minister amidst Protests Bogus NGOs PROTESTS, from page 1 brushed aside opposition claims that Square in the evening. He said he Predictably, Sargsyan’s candidacy that the economic situation in Armenia hopes to hold there “the biggest rally YEREVAN (Armenpress) — The preliminary inves- was backed by the deputies from his has deteriorated during his presidency. in Armenia’s history.” tigation of the criminal case on embezzlement of ruling Republican Party (HHK), its He listed a raft of official economic The 42-year-old leader of the opposi- grants provided by the European Union (EU) delega- junior coalition partner, data showing sizable increases in GDP tion Civil Contract party continued to tion to Armenia to a number of NGOs has been com- Dashnaktsutyun, as well as more than per capita, individual bank deposits defy police warnings to end his “illegal pleted in the general department of investigations of a dozen lawmakers representing busi- and the number of cars since 2007. gatherings” or face their violent dis- the Investigative Committee. nessman Gagik Tsarukian’s nominally The new premier did acknowledge, persal by security forces. The police Nineteen people were charged with a large-scale opposition alliance. Tsarukian himself though, widespread discontent with said the use of force could start “at any embezzlement scheme. Based on the investigation did not attend the session. sufficient proofs were obtained that embezzlement The vote was boycotted by was conducted from 18 grant programs funded by Pashinian and three other the EU Delegation, and the total money embezzled deputies from the opposition 907,281,869 drams ($1.8 million). Yelk alliance. The five other An investigation showed that during the period Yelk parliamentarians attend- between 2009 and 2016, a group of people developed ed the session and voted grant programs with an initial agreement, acquired against Sarkisian. already registered NGOs through which the pro- In his opening speech in grams had been submitted to the grant programs the parliament, Sargsyan said assessment competition announced by the EU he can continue to govern the Delegation to Armenia. The submitted programs country because he leads a were approved with the support of an employee of party that won last year’s par- the EU Delegation, and the funds for the implemen- liamentary elections. This will tation of programs were provided. be in line with the newly The persons formed false accounting, financial-eco- introduced parliamentary sys- nomic and program documents, in particular, fake tem of government, he said.