Merkel Concludes Visit to Caucasus
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SEPTEMBER 1, 2018 Mirror-SpeTHE ARMENIAN ctator Volume LXXXIX, NO. 7, Issue 4551 $ 2.00 NEWS The First English Language Armenian Weekly in the United States Since 1932 INBRIEF Belgian Royals Merkel Concludes Visit to Caucasus Conclude Armenia Visit BRUSSELS, Belgium — The members of the During Armenia Visit Calls during her stop in Belgian royal family visited Armenia on August 21 Ottoman-Era Killings Of Armenia and subse- for a four-day stay. The palace has released – quent visit to according to tradition – a video of the king kite- Armenians ‘Heinous Crimes’ Azerbaijan on surfing in Armenia. August 25, the The choice of holiday destination is unusual for YEREVAN (Combined Sources) — chancellor would the royals, who more often opt for traditional holi- German Chancellor Angela Merkel encourage efforts to day destinations like France and Italy. described the Ottoman mass killings of reach “a peaceful However according to a report in De Standaard, Armenians as “heinous crimes against and consensual the family — King Philippe, Queen Mathilde and Armenians,” which “cannot and must not solution” to the two their four children — had already spent some time be forgotten.” countries’ long-run- on the French island Île d’Yeu before heading on to Merkel, who arrived in Armenia from ning territorial con- Armenia. neighboring Georgia on the second leg of flict over Nagorno- According to protocol, the family arrived on two her three-country visit to the South Karabakh. flights into Yerevan: the monarch and the heir to Caucasus on August 24, made the state- In Yerevan, the throne — his daughter Elisabeth — may not trav- ment following a visit to a memorial dedi- Merkel told el on the same flight. cated to the Armenian Genocide. reporters that “it is Selfies on Northern Avenue with Chancellor Angela Merkel According to local reports, the royals were After being greeted at Yerevan’s airport important that the impressed with the local cuisine and especially the by Armenian Prime Minister Nikol conflict is resolved country’s wine, spending five hours on a tasting Pashinyan, Merkel traveled to the peacefully” and that Germany “stands (OSCE) which was established to help find tour of one of the largest producers Armas. Tsitsernakaberd hilltop complex to lay a ready” to contribute to a solution. a solution to the conflict and that “we wreath at the monument dedicated to the Merkel noted that Germany is a member stand ready to assume responsibility within victims. of the Minsk Group of the Organization for the framework of the Karabakh settlement Jailed Armenian Before the trip, Merkel’s office said, that Security and Cooperation in Europe process.” The stop in Yerevan marked Merkel’s first General Hospitalized official meeting with Pashinyan, the former YEREVAN (RFE/RL) — Manvel Grigoryan, a anticorruption campaigner and opposition retired army general arrested recently on corrup- politician who took office in May after tion charges, was hospitalized on August 22 to weeks of mass protests against corruption undergo medical tests ordered by an Armenian law- and cronyism. enforcement agency. see MERKEL, page 3 Grigoryan was transferred from a detention cen- ter in downtown Yerevan to the endocrinology department of the Armenia Medical Center late on August 22. Officials at the civilian hospital refused Police in Turkey on to comment on his reportedly poor health con- dition. Break Up Mothers’ Grigoryan was arrested when security forces raid- ed his properties in and around the town of Weekly Vigil Echmiadzin on June 16. They found many weapons, ammunition, medication and field rations ISTANBUL (New York Times) — The for soldiers provided by the Armenian Defense Turkish police forcefully dispersed a group Ministry. They also discovered canned food and sev- of activists, some of them women in their eral vehicles donated by Armenians at one of The wreck of Aleppo 80s, over the weekend, breaking up a regu- Grigoryan’s mansions. A widely publicized official lar vigil in Istanbul to protest the forced dis- video of the raids caused shock and indignation in appearances of hundreds of people. the country. A Good Time and a Good Cause in Worcester The group, known as the Saturday The Armenian parliament, of which Grigoryan is a member, was quick to allow investigators to pros- WORCESTER — Four Armenian Churches in the Worcester area are coming Mothers, was to hold its 700th meeting on ecute and keep him in pre-trial detention on together for the seventh year in a row to serve a higher purpose: helping Saturday, August 25, to demand justice for charges of illegal arms possession and embezzle- Armenian refugees fleeing Syria in the wake of those who disappeared after a military coup ment. The once powerful general denies the accu- its destruction. in 1980 and in the ensuing fighting sations. By Alin K. Gregorian On September 29, the four churches between Turkish security forces and Grigoryan’s lawyers have repeatedly demanded — Armenian Church of the Martyrs, Armenian Kurdish insurgents in southeastern Turkey. Mirror-Spectator Staff his release from pre-trial custody, saying that the Church of Our Saviour, Holy Trinity Armenian The police used tear gas to stop the protest 61-year-old is suffering from a number of serious ill- Apostolic Church and Soorp Asdvadzadzin and arrested 47 people. All were released by nesses. Armenian Apostolic Church — will host a dance at the Cultural Center of the Saturday evening. Grigoryan served as deputy defense minister Armenian Church of Our Saviour to raise money to help families fleeing Syria start Among them was Emine Ocak, who is from 2000-2008. Until his arrest he was the chair- new lives in North America. said to be older than 80. She has attended man of the Yerkrapah Union of Karabakh war vet- All funds raised will aid refugees from Syria. Half will go to the Fund for the vigils regularly since her son Hasan dis- erans, a particularly influential organization. Armenian Relief of the Diocese of the Armenian Church of America (FAR) and the appeared in 1995. His tortured body was see BENEFIT, page 16 eventually found, but his killers have never been identified. see VIGIL, page 4 INSIDE TCA Launches New Chapter in Los Angeles Keteyian Talk ALTADENA, Calif. — The legacy of the mem- orable leaders who helped solidify Armenian culture in the Diaspora and the homeland lives In LA on as 10 Armenian Americans have pledged to continue in their footsteps by forming the Page 13 Tekeyan Cultural Association (TCA) Metro Los Angeles Chapter on Thursday, August 23. Experiencing a period of revival, the TCA’s newest chapter in Los Angeles joins its counter- INDEX parts around the world as it ushers in a vibrant Arts and Living . 13 and cohesive committee of educated profession- Armenia . 2,3 als who are joining hands to keep the mission of Community News. .. 6 the organization alive, holding in high regard the Newly elected members of the Tekeyan Cultural Association Metro Los Angeles Editorial . 17 Armenian language and culture. chapter with TCA Central Board members of the United States and Canada. International . .4,5 see TCA, page 20 2 S ATURDAY, S EPTEMBER 1 , 2 0 1 8 T HE A RMENIAN M IRROR -S PECTATOR ARMENIA News From Armenia Chinese School Inaugurated in Armenia YEREVAN (RFE/RL) — China has built a state-of-the-art school in Secretary General of La Yerevan where hundreds of Armenian children will study the Chinese lan- Francophonie guage in addition to subjects taught in secondary and high schools across International to Visit Armenia. Armenia The Chinese-Armenian Friendship School was inaugurated on YEREVAN (Armenpress) — Secretary General of Wednesday, August 22, at a ceremony International Organization of La Francophonie attended by Prime Minister Nikol Michaëlle Jean will arrive in Armenia on an official Pashinyan and Chinese Ambassador visit on September 10-14, Armenian foreign min- Tian Erlong. istry’s acting spokeswoman Anna Naghdalyan told Officials said that the Chinese gov- reporters on August 28. ernment has spent more than $12 “During the visit Michaëlle Jean will participate in million on building and equipping The Chinese-Armenian Friendship School was inaugurated on Wednesday, August the 11th conference of International Non- the school located in Yerevan’s 22, at a ceremony attended by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Chinese Governmental Organizations in Yerevan,” she said. northern Kanaker suburb. It is Ambassador Tian Erlong. The summit of International Organization of La designed for up to 405 students aged Francophonie will be held in Yerevan in October. between 10 and 18 who will have Naghdalyan noted that all events within the frame- intensive language courses taught by Pashinyan went on, is also opening a tistics, China has been Armenia’s sec- work of the summit will be held in French, and no Chinese teachers. “new page” in Chinese-Armenian rela- ond largest trading partner for the translation would be provided. “Knowledge of Chinese opens up tions which should now grow closer. last several years. Chinese-Armenian opportunities to access information China and Armenia have “many com- trade soared by nearly 50 percent, to about a huge layer of human history mon interests” and like “strategic $342 million, in the first half of this Republican Party Will year. Not Nominate Mayor Political relations between the two nations have been cordial ever since YEREVAN (Public Radio of Armenia) — The Armenia gained independence in Republican Party of Armenia (RPA) will not nomi- 1991. Chinese President Xi Jinping nate a candidate for the mayor of Yerevan, RPA and his then Armenian counterpart Spokesman, Vice-President of the National Assembly Serzh Sarkisian reported “mutual Edward Sharmazanov told reporters this week. understanding on issues relating to Sharmazanov said the party sees more important pivotal interests and concerns of the foreign and domestic policy issues in the post-revolu- two countries” after holding talks in tion situation, which are more pressing that the local Beijing in 2015.