AUGUST 8, 2020 MMirror-SpeirTHEror-SpeARMENIAN ctator Volume LXXXXI, NO. 4, Issue 4646 $ 2.00 NEWS The First English Language Armenian Weekly in the United States Since 1932 IN BRIEF Israel Urged Massive Explosion Rips Through Beirut, Not to Sell Tekeyan School BEIRUT (AP, Zartonk) — Massive explosions Weapons to rocked downtown Beirut on Tuesday, August 4, flat- tening much of the port, damaging buildings and blowing out windows and doors as a giant mush- Azerbaijan room cloud rose above the capital. At least 60 peo- ple have been killed. YEREVAN (RFE/RL) — Armenia The Tekeyan School and Tekeyan Center were has called on Israel to put an end to damaged as well as Armenian institutions such as large-scale supplies of Israeli-made the Prelacy in Bourj Hammoud and the AGBU weapons to Azerbaijan used by the Demirjian Center and other institutions in Antelias.. latter in the Nagorno-Karabakh con- An Associated Press photographer near the port flict. saw people lying injured on the ground, and hospi- “Arms trade with Azerbaijan is fatal tals called for blood donations. because Azerbaijan never hesitates to Miles from the scene of the blast, balconies were use those weapons against civilian knocked down, ceiling collapsed and windows were infrastructure and the civilian popu- shattered. lation,” Foreign Minister Zohrab The cause of the blast was not immediately clear. Mnatsakanyan told the Jerusalem (@LARALUCYPHOTOGRAPHY] It came at a time when Lebanon is passing through Post newspaper in an interview pub- its worst economic and financial crisis in decades. lished on Wednesday, July 29. Houston/German Armenians Protest It also comes amid rising tensions between Israel “We will consistently pursue this and the militant Hezbollah group along Lebanon’s issue and it will always be an integral Against Azerbaijani Aggression southern border. part of our agenda both on bilateral Online video showed a column of smoke rising and multilateral platforms,” said from the port area from what appeared to be an ini- Mnatsakanyan. “Israel should stop tial explosion, followed by a massive blast that sent this deadly business with Azerbaijan.” By Garine Abrilian Germany’s Armenians up a mushroom cloud and a shock wave racing over Over the past decade Israeli the city. defense companies have sold, with Respond to Aggression Some local TV stations reported the blast was at the Israeli government’s blessing, bil- HOUSTON – On August 1, the Houston Beirut’s port inside an area where fireworks were By Muriel Mirak-Weissbach lions of dollars worth of advanced Armenian community held a protest against stored. The Mirror-Spectator website has a brief military hardware to Azerbaijan. Azeri aggression. The event was held in the Special to the Mirror-Spectator video of the exterior of the Tekeyan School. More The Azerbaijani army used some of Galleria district, a high-traffic area, to spread information will be posted when available. BERLIN — “Make dolma not war.” those weapons, notably sophisticated awareness as effectively as possible. That is the message that Haykanush anti-tank rockets and attack drones, Organizers and supporters from different Sechelyan transmitted on a poster dur- during April 2016 hostilities in backgrounds worked together to ensure the ing a demonstration in Hamburg, Nagorno-Karabakh. It also deployed Houston community was represented as a Germany on August 1. Israeli-manufactured drones against whole. The protest was a great success as the A member of an Armenian youth Armenian military and civilian targets Houston Armenian community joined collec- group, she was one of many in several during the recent deadly fighting on tively to support the Tavush region, Artsakh cities, who had come together to the Armenian-Azerbaijani border. and Armenian soldiers on the frontlines. protest acts of violence against The Armenian military claims to Even though the day started off rainy and Armenians over the past ten days. have shot down or intercepted 13 gloomy, more than 40 attendees joined the see GERMANY, page 3 such unmanned aerial vehicles protest, holding signs, waving flags, passing (UAVs). It demonstrated some of their see DEMONSTRATIONS, page 16 purported fragments last week. The Defense Ministry in Yerevan went on to publicize a photograph of two Armenian officers standing next Young Artists Explore Identity to a SkyStriker “suicide” drone man- To Understand History ufactured by the Israeli company Elbit Systems. A ministry spokesman By Anaïs DerSimonian claimed that it was brought down by Special to the Mirror-Spectator an electronic warfare system. “Our military has neutralized BOSTON — A lot has happened in Armenia Azerbaijani weapons regardless of over the last couple weeks — Azerbaijan has their perceived origins,” waged a regional war during the COVID-19 Mnatsakanyan said when asked pandemic, firing on border villages, bombing a about the Israeli drones. PPE mask factory and threatening to bomb the Armenian nuclear power plant. Events like Tekeyan School of Beirut building (photo courtesy Armenia has long expressed con- Zartonk of Beirut) cern over Israel’s arms deals with this are hard to process for Armenians around Azerbaijan. The Jewish state appears the world; how could this happen? Where do Mask by Joanna Nanajian we go from here? What’s next? see WEAPONS, page 2 see ARTISTS, page 12 INSIDE Special Section Next Week on Anniversary of Bleak Yazidi Treaty of Sévres and Anniversary The Fate of Cilicia Page 4 The Armenian Mirror-Spectator will present a spe- cial issue next week in tribute to the centennial of the Treaty of Sévres as well as the anniversary of the INDEX French war for Armenian Cilicia. Armenia . 2 In addition, the special section will pay tribute to Arts and Living . 10 Mihran Damadian on the 75th anniversary of his Community News. 5 death. On August 5, 1920, Damadian declared the Editorial . 14 independence of Cilicia as an Armenian autonomous International . 3-4 republic under French protectorate. 2 S ATURDAY A UGUST 8 , 2 0 2 0 T HE A RMENIAN M IRROR -S PECTATOR ARMENIA News From Armenia Armenia Seeks to Offset ‘Turkish Threat’ YEREVAN (RFE/RL) — Armenia counts on Russia’s sup- the agenda because they are about challenges facing the port in its ongoing efforts to counter a serious threat to its region and we need a common response to these challenges.” Several Activists national security emanating from neighboring Turkey, a Ankara has blamed Yerevan for the fighting that broke out senior Armenian official said over the weekend. at a western section of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border on Detained at Amulsar Armen Grigoryan, the secretary of the Armenian govern- July 12 and vowed to boost Turkish military support for Baku. YEREVAN (Panorama.am) — A group of activists ment’s Security Council, reaffirmed Yerevan’s serious con- In what appears to be a related development, Turkish and opposing the Amulsar gold mine operation were cerns over Turkey’s vehement support for Azerbaijan shown Azerbaijani troops began on July 29 joint military exercises in detained on Tuesday, August 4, as clashes erupted during and after recent deadly clashes on the Armenian- various parts of Azerbaijan. between them and police officers. Azerbaijani border. The Armenian Foreign Ministry expressed concern at the The defenders of Amulsar blocked the only road “Seeing that Azerbaijan is unable to keep the situation exercises before the Armenian military put some of its forces leading to the resort town of Jermuk after Lydian under control on its own, Turkey is trying to intervene,” on high alert. Defense Minister Davit Tonoyan said on July 28 Armenia removed their mobile cabins from the land, Grigoryan told RFE/RL’s Armenian service. “I think that this that Armenian army units as well as a Russian-Armenian mil- which the company claims is its own, at night. poses a serious threat to the region. It is also a challenge to itary contingent are “continuing to constantly monitor and The situation remains tense. Police officers urge the regional security architecture. The regional security archi- analyze” Turkish-Azerbaijani military activities “with all the activists to open the road, while the latter con- tecture has long been unchanged. Turkey is now trying to reconnaissance means” at their disposal. tinue chanting, “Amulsar will remain a mountain.” change it through its intervention.” Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counter- “We are fully prepared and will take steps to minimize this part Recep Tayyip Erdogan discussed the Armenian- [threat.]” he said. “We also have a lot of work to do in this Azerbaijani flare-up during a phone conversation on July 27. Peace-Keepers Sent to direction with our strategic ally Russia in order to prevent According to the Kremlin, Putin “stressed the importance of such changes in the region.” preventing any steps that could cause an escalation in ten- Kosovo Asked about Moscow’s reaction to the Armenian concerns, sions.” Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov similarly urged YEREVAN (Armenpress) — A peace-keeping unit of Grigoryan said: “The July incidents [on the border] coincided the Turks to exercise restraint. the Armed Forces of Armenia comprising 40 ser- with the coronavirus pandemic, and we have not yet been able Russia is allied to Armenia and has thousands of troops sta- vicemen departed for Kosovo on August 1 to carry to discuss the issue at a higher level. But these issues are on tioned in the South Caucasus state. out peace-keeping mission as part of an American unit, Ministry of Defense Spokesperson Shushan Stepanyan said. Another Fugitive “The members of the unit passed the coronavirus testing before leaving; all the results were negative,” Armenian ‘Given Safe she said. Haven in Russia’ Chief Architect of MOSCOW (RFE/RL) — A lawyer for Ruben Hayrapetyan said on July 30, Yerevan to Retire that Russian law-enforcement authori- ties have effectively refused to extradite YEREVAN (ARKA) — The chief architect of the wealthy businessman linked to Yerevan Artur Meschyan will quit his post when his Armenia’s former leadership and prose- term in office ends, Hayk Marutyan, the mayor of cuted on a string of criminal charges.