DECEMBER 8, 2012 THE ARMENIAN Mirror -Spe ctaItn Ouor Mirror -Spe ctatror 80th Year Volume LXXXIII, NO. 21, Issue 4266 $ 2.00 NEWS IN BRIEF The First English Language Armenian Weekly in the United States Since 1932 Armenia Voted for Palestine Status Winning Move: Chess Reigns as Kingly Pursuit in Armenia Upgrade at UN JUSTIN VELA PHOTO No One Is Bored with YEREVAN (PanARMENIAN.Net) — Armenia voted Board Game in Nation that for the recognition of Palestinian Authority as a non-member observer state at the United Nations, Adores Grandmasters Foreign Ministry Spokesman Tigran Balayan said. YEREVAN (Wall Street Journal) — The UN General Assembly voted to recognize Reporters stake out Tigran L. Palestine as a non-member observer state by a vote Petrosian’s home. Fans seek his auto - of 138-9 in favor, with 41 nations abstaining. graph. His image is splashed across mag - The UK abstained from the vote, as did Germany. azine covers and his youthful face The Czech Republic, Canada, the Marshall Islands beams from posters on teenagers’ walls. and Panama were among the nations voting with The sturdy 28-year-old isn’t a star ath - the US and Israel in opposing the measure. lete or a movie star. He is a chess grand - master. In this chess-crazy country, that Ayas President to Build makes him a king among pawns. “Chess here is like soccer in Brazil or Noah’s Ark in Sochi football in America,” Petrosian said over SOCHI, Russia (PanARMENIAN.Net) — The presi - coffee at the Yerevan Chess Academy dent of Ayas nautical research club, captain of a before a concert to honor the country’s famed Armenian vessel “Cilicia,” Karen Balayan, top players. The concert featured musi - Students last month at the Patriarch Vasgen elementary school learned to play chess, spoke of plans to construct Noah’s Ark in Sochi, which is compulsory in Armenian schools. cians and singers performing in Russia, at a meeting with Polar Odysseus sea club see CHESS, page 3 president Victor Dmitriev in Petrozavodsk. Dmitriev hailed the idea as a potential interna - tional social and cultural project, expected to involve Mediterranean and Black Sea countries as well as the Armenian Diaspora, among others. Schiff Calls on Appropriations Committee “This might be a unique opportunity to launch a scientific experiment of reconstructing the most To Cut All Security Funding to Azerbaijan famous vessel in human history,” he said. Ombudsman under WASHINGTON — On Tuesday, December security assistance to Azerbaijan, including any acts of aggression against Armenia or 4, Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) sent a letter to Azerbaijan’s International Military Nagorno-Karabagh, and this hateful action Fire over Dink Case Senators Patrick Leahy and Lindsey Education and Training Account (IMET) by President Aliyev undermines all interna - Graham, and Representatives Kay Granger funding. This latest request comes after the tional efforts to bring about a peaceful solu - ISTANBUL (PanARMENIAN.Net) — Pressure is and Nita Lowey — the chairmen and rank - egregious repatriation and release of Ramil tion in the region.” mounting for Turkey’s first ombudsman who was ing members of the State and Foreign Safarov, an Azerbaijani army captain who The full letter Schiff sent to the only recently elected to resign amid criticism from Operations Subcommittees in the House had confessed to the savage 2004 axe mur - Chairmen and Ranking Members is below: the family of slain Turkish-Armenian journalist, edi - and Senate — calling on them to cut all der of Armenian army lieutenant Gurgen Dear Chairmen Leahy and Granger and tor-in-chief of Agos bilingual weekly, Hrant Dink, Margaryan during a NATO Partnership for Ranking Members Graham and Lowey: who was assassinated in January 2007. Peace Program. As you continue work on the 2013 State, According to Hurriyet Daily News , Mehmet Kevorkian’s Genocide “Azerbaijan has committed the most ter - Foreign Operations and Related Programs Ömeroglu, a retired member of the Supreme Court rible subversion of justice — making a hero appropriations bill, I urge you to cut all of Appeals, is under fire for his role in an appeals’ Painting to Remain at of a cold-blooded killer,” said Schiff. security assistance to Azerbaijan, including court verdict. He was one of the judges who “Plainly the investment we have made in Azerbaijan’s IMET funding, in response to approved the late Dink’s sentence under Article 301 ALMA training Azeri forces has been worse than the egregious repatriation and release of of the Turkish Penal Code, which outlaws “publicly wasted. The United States must not tolerate see APPROPRIATIONS, page 16 insulting the Turkish nation,” in July 2006. Dink’s brother, Hosof Dink, said the appeals By Deirdre Fernandes court verdict was the late journalist’s death sen - tence. “Instead of calling those who gave this ver - WATERTOWN (Boston Globe) — Diocese Ecumenical Director Visits dict to account, they are rewarded,” he said. It’s a question frequently asked by vis - Ömeroglu responded saying he was not even itors to the intimate Watertown Iraq as Part of US Delegation aware that the name in that case was “Hrant” since museum: Do you have the Kevorkian it was written as “Firat,” Dink’s official name in the registered documents, according to a daily Radikal paintings? BAGHDAD — Archbishop report on Nov 30. The Armenian Library and Vicken Aykazian, the Diocese’s The main opposition Republican People’s Party Museum of America has a rich collec - ecumenical director, joined US (CHP) also called for Ömeroglu’s resignation. tion of illuminated manuscripts and a church leaders on a visit to Iraq “Under these circumstances, we can say the catalog of portrait photographs of earlier this month, where the del - ombudsman institute in Turkey was stillborn,” some of the 20th century’s leading egation met with government CHP deputy Atilla Kart said. figures, but the grisly paintings by Dr. officials to discuss Christian- Death himself, assisted-suicide advo - Kurdish relations in the coun - cate Dr. Jack Kevorkian, continue to try’s northern region. be a draw. The visit, which took place from see PAINTINGS, page 16 November 3 to 10, was led by INSI DE Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, the retired Roman Catholic archbish - op of Washington. Participants also included Evangelical and Returning Episcopalian church leaders. The church leaders met with government officials of the To Van Kurdish autonomous region, Archbishop Vicken Aykazian greets President Massoud including its President Massoud Barzani in Iraq’s Kurdish autonomous region. Pages 8 and 9 Barzani, Prime Minister Nechervan Idris Barzani, and head of the Security Council Masrour meet with Archbishop Avak Asadourian, Barzani. They also met with local church the Primate of the Armenian Diocese of INDEX leaders in Iraq. Iraq, and to visit the Armenian Church in Arts and Living . 11 Conversations focused on the difficul - Dohuk. In addition, he spoke with govern - Armenia . 2,3 ties facing Christian families in the ment officials about the possibility of build - Community News. 6 region, and on ways the government ing a new Armenian Church in nearby Editorial . 14 “1915 Genocide 1945” could reach out to support this minority Erbil, where some 250 Armenian families International . 4,5 population. reside. Officials promised to clear the way Aykazian also had an opportunity to for the construction project. 2 S ATURDAY , D ECEMBER 8, 2012 T HE A RMENIAN M IRROR -S PECTATOR ARMENIA News From Armenia AGBU’s GORIZ Leadership Program Armenian Freight Plane Holds 4th Annual Seminar Crashes in Congo Media Trainings with YEREVAN (AFP) — A cargo plane that crashed at Journalists Give Participants the Brazzaville, Congo, airport killing all 27 people The Tools to Advocate on board belonged to the Armenian freight special- ist airline, Rij Airways, the Foreign Ministry said Across Europe Saturday. The plane, carrying seven crew members, crashed YEREVAN — From Thursday, as it tried to land in a storm on Friday. October 18 to Sunday, October 21, Most of the victims were local people killed when GORIZ held its fourth annual seminar, the plane skidded off the runway and ploughed into which brings together young leaders houses and a bar in the Congolese capital. with exceptional academic and profes - Of the seven crew members, five were Armenian. sional backgrounds and trains them to Among those were Varazdat Balasanyan, crew com- represent their Armenian Diaspora mander; Ara Tovmasyan; Andranik Gevorgyan and communities throughout Europe. Edgar Avetyan. While previous GORIZ sessions focused on themes such as youth political par - ticipation and economic development in Economy Gets Praise Armenia, during this year’s conference, During the Yerevan-based conference “EU Eastern Partnership Youth Seminar about From World Bank Rep. “EU Eastern Partnership Youth Communication and the Media,” AGBU GORIZ participants learn how to effectively Seminar about Communication and the raise awareness of Armenian issues. YEREVAN (Armenpress) — The Armenian economy Media,” participants learned how to has undergone a major transformation in the last harness the media effectively in order to 20 years; a market environment has been formed put Armenian issues in the internation - speak in front of the camera in the GORIZ seminar. GORIZ participants thanks to inclusive growth and structural reforms, al spotlight. future. A visit to the ArmNews televi - also had the opportunity to join a num - which today is conducive for trade, investment and Working alongside top journalists, sion studio provided further insights ber of Assembly events, attending in technological innovation, noted World Bank’s the 22 GORIZ participants, who trav - into broadcast journalism. The work - particular the session chaired by AGBU country manager for Armenia, Jean-Michel Happi, elled from 10 countries — Armenia, shop, “Media Watch on Hate Speech,” President Berge Setrakian on Saturday, at a reception dedicated to the 20th anniversary of Belgium, Bulgaria, France, Germany, led by the Hrant Dink Foundation, October 20, 2012, where they learned Armenian membership in that body.