THE ARMENIAN MIRRORc SPECTATOR Since 1932 Volume LXXXXII, NO. 3, Issue 4695 AUGUST 7, 2021 $2.00 Armenian National Assembly Holds First New Session, Pashinyan Reappointed as PM By Raffi Elliott Special to the Mirror-Spectator YEREVAN –– The eighth convocation 2021 Artur Aleksanyan Artur Davtyan Simon Martirosyan of Armenia’s National Assembly held its first session on Monday, August 2. Presi- Armenia Athletes Win 3 Medals This Week at Tokyo Olympics dent Armen Sarkissian officially opened TOKYO (Panorama.am) — Armenia Greco-Roman wrestler Artur Alek- Finally, Simon Martirosyan, one of the the reconvened parliament which now won three Olympic medals in Tokyo this sanyan won a silver medal on Tuesday, strongest and most celebrated Armenian includes 107 representatives of the three week: Artistic gymnast Artur Davtyan won August 3. Aleksanyan took on Russia’s weightlifters, won silver in Tokyo on parties which won seats in the June 20 the first medal for Armenia. He scored Musa Evloev in his final bout but was August 3, raising the medal count on the snap election. The vote, which had been 14.733 points in the men’s vault event to defeated 5:1, partially due to a hamstring country’s balance to three at the Olympic triggered as part of a political agreement win the bronze medal on August 2. injury he suffered in his previous fight. Games. to end weeks of political tension in the wake of Armenia’s defeat in the Second Artsakh War, was hailed by local and in- ternational observers as “free and fair.” Based on a complex equation for cal- Pallone Amendment Prohibiting Military culating seat distribution, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s Civil Contract party, which won just under 55 percent of the ballot, sent 71 representatives to the Na- Assistance to Azerbaijan Passes tional Assembly on Monday — one seat WASHINGTON (RFE/RL) — The U.S. in response to Baku’s ethnic-cleansing of shy of an absolute (two-thirds) majority. House of Representatives voted late on Artsakh (Karabakh) and ongoing aggres- In fact, the Armenian Electoral Code’s Wednesday, July 28, to restrict U.S. mili- sion against Armenia,” said Raffi Hampari- Effective Opposition provision specifical- tary assistance to Azerbaijan because of the an, the chairman of the Armenian National ly prevents the formation of absolute ma- conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh. Committee of America (ANCA). jority governments by adapting the num- A bipartisan amendment co-sponsored “This amendment sends the right mes- ber of seats in favor of the opposition. by about two dozen pro-Armenian law- sage that Azerbaijan will not be rewarded Such checks and balances in the electoral makers blocks any such aid that can be for its hostile actions against the Armenian code are designed to foster cooperation provided under Washington’s Foreign Mil- people,” said Mariam Khaloyan of the Ar- across the aisle on important matters such itary Financing and International Military menian Assembly of America. as constitutional amendments. Education and Training programs. The bill does not bar the U.S. Depart- Following a failed appeal to the Con- “This bill sends a clear signal that we will ment of Defense from continuing to trans- stitutional Court, both the Armenia and not aid or tolerate authoritarian regimes fer military equipment to Azerbaijan. “I Have Honor” Alliances, which finished that threaten peace and security, especially The U.S. Congress had banned any see PARLIAMENT, page 2 when those actions are aimed at a fellow kind of direct assistance to Baku through democracy,” said congressman Frank Pal- Section 907 of the Freedom Support Act lone, the main author of the measure hailed passed in 1992. But a decade later it al- Rep. Frank Pallone Lilit Makunts Named by Armenian-American lobby groups. lowed U.S. administrations to waive the Donald Trump significantly increased the “The House today took a principled, ban to help Azerbaijan’s military and secu- security aid to Baku, reportedly providing Armenia’s Ambassador bipartisan stand against Azerbaijan, over- rity agencies. over $100 million worth of equipment and whelmingly voting down U.S. military aid The administration of former President other assistance to Azerbaijan’s State Bor- To the United States der Guard Service in 2018-2019 alone. YEREVAN (RFE/RL) — A senior Azerbaijani border guards also partici- but politically inexperienced member of Senator Carl Levin Leaves pated in last year’s Armenian-Azerbaijani Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s party war in Karabakh. Many of them are now was appointed as Armenia’s new ambas- Lasting Legacy of Friendship deployed along Azerbaijan’s border with sador to the United States on Monday, By Harry Kezelian Armenia where serious cross-border skir- August 2. Mirror-Spectator Staff mishes have been a regular occurrence for President Armen Sarkissian formalized the last two months. the controversial appointment of Lilit DETROIT — Carl Levin (D-Mich- During the autumn war, then Democratic Makunts with a decree initiated by Pash- igan), one of the longest serving Sena- presidential candidate Joe Biden urged the inyan. tors in American history and a steadfast Trump administration to freeze U.S. aid see AMBASSADOR, page 3 friend of the Armenian community, died and “stop the flow of military equipment on Thursday, July 29 from lung cancer. to Azerbaijan.” He was 87. But Biden too waived Section 907 in Levin came from the old school of April this year three months after being public servants whose guiding principle sworn in as U.S. president. was not ideology but integrity. Respect- Pallone also praised the $50 million in ed by colleagues and constituents alike assistance earmarked for Armenia that will on the right and the left, his re-election bolster economic, governance and rule of five times by the people of Michigan law reforms, as well as an additional $2 see TRIBUTE, page 9 million for demining in Artsakh. see PROHIBITION, page 11 MYNAMAR BURBANK, CAL. STUDIO CITY, CAL. Activist, Aurora Armenian Wine and LGBTQ+ Open Laureate Kyaw Spirits Festival Finally Air Market Meets Hla Aung Passes Takes Place in Person with Success Away Page 4 Page 7 Page 12 2 SATURDAY, AUGUST 7, 2021 ARMENIAN MIRROR-SPECTATOR ARMENIA NEWS from ARMENIA Armenian Students Win 3 Bronze Medals in Chemistry Olympiad YEREVAN (PanARMENIAN. Net) — Students from Arme- nia won three bronze medals in the 53rd International Chemistry Olympiad (IChO), held July 25– August 2, the Ministry of Educa- tion, Science, Culture and Sport re- ports. More than 300 students from 79 countries participated in the competition. This year’s event was slated to take place in Japan, but because of the Covid-19 pandemic, students logged into the week-long Olympiad virtually. Composed of Hayk Aghekyan, Leonid Asatry- an, Sevada Nersisyan and Tigran Harutyunyan, the Armenian team secured three bronze medals. In the previous edition of the Internation- al Chemistry Olympiad, Armenia had won one silver and one bronze medals. Pashinyan Speaks with Macron YEREVAN (Public Radio of Ar- Armenian National Assembly Holds First menia) — Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan had a telephone con- versation with French President New Session, Pashinyan Reappointed as PM Emanuel Macron on August 3. PARLIAMENT, from page 1 mayors currently facing corruption charges, Gegham Manukyan of the ARF insin- Macron congratulated Pashin- second and third, respectively, have agreed called on the Speaker of the House to help uated that Speaker of the House Knyaz yan on his appointment to the post to take up their seats in parliament. Twen- release fellow would-be-MPs Mkhitar Za- Hasanov was acting hypocritically by not of prime minister and praised the ty-six representatives of the Armenia karyan and Arthur Sargsyan, whom they condemning the arrests. “You and I have uninterrupted implementation of Alliance, which includes the Armenian insist are political prisoners. long-been vocal about the persecution of democratic processes in the coun- Revolutionary Federation (ARF) and the “Mkhitar Zakaryan and Arthur Sargsyan Kurdish ethnic officials by the Turkish try. Macron announced the deci- little-known Reborn Armenia party, took are not present at his session not because government,” Manukyan told Hasanov –– sion to provide 200,000 doses of their seats on Monday, but their leader, they don’t want to be here, but because himself an ethnic Kurd and a well-known the COVID vaccine to Armenia Robert Kocharyan, was not among them. they’re prevented from being here,” said Kurdish rights activist, and continued, and Pashinyan thanked him. Following weeks of speculation, the former Armenia Alliance MP Aram Vardevanyan, “You once decried the imprisonment of the The prime minister provided president, who continues to face corruption insisting that the two mayors were not ab- Kurdish parliamentarian Leyla Zana as an information on the recent border charges dating to his time in office, an- sent, but “hostages.” act of fascism on the part of Turkish author- provocations by Azerbaijan, as nounced his intention to decline his seat on Mkhitar Zakaryan was the mayor of ities, how do you then describe the absence well as Azerbaijan’s aggressive July 20. Justifying his decision, Kocharyan Meghri in southern Syunik until being of two Armenian parliamentarians today?” rhetoric, emphasizing that their claimed that he was not well suited for a charged with abuse of power earlier this Another Armenia Alliance MP, Andranik purpose is to destabilize the situa- role in opposition; “by virtue of my charac- year. The former mayor allegedly used his Tevanyan, compared the legal proceedings tion in the region. He also consid- ter I have always been a person of executive influence to illegally sell municipal prop- against the former mayors to Azerbaijan’s ered inadmissible the fake trials of power.” He did say he would continue to erty for personal profit.