FEBRUARY 23, 2013 MirTHErARoMENr IAN -Spe ctator Volume LXXXIII, NO. 32, Issue 4277 $ 2.00 NEWS IN BRIEF The First English Language Armenian Weekly in the United States Since 1932 OSCE Parliamentary Assembly President Sargisian Wins Re-Election Visits Genocide Memorial Azerbaijan, its enemy in a ADL US and Canada YEREVAN (Armenpress) — President of the continuing war over the dis - Organization for Security and Cooperation in puted territory of Nagorno- District Committee Europe (OSCE) Parliamentary Assembly Riccardo Karabagh. Migliori visited the Tsitsernakaberd memorial on Congratulates President But while Sargisian’s vic - February 19, to pay tribute to the memory of tory has been predicted for Armenian Genocide victims. months, there have been Migliori laid a wreath at the memorial and some unexpected develop - By David M. Herszenhorn observed a moment of silence for the memory of ments in the campaign. One 1.5 million victims. He also visited the Armenian challenger, Andreas Genocide Institute-Museum, becoming acquainted YEREVAN ( New York Times and Ghukasian, a political com - with the historical documents of the Armenian Armenpress) — President Serge Sargisian mentator who manages a Genocide. Migliori also planted a tree in the easily won re-election to a second five-year radio station in the capital, Memory Alley. term, according to preliminary returns Yerevan, has been on a Migliori said “The goal of our visit is to get released on Tuesday by the Central hunger strike, demanding acquainted and understand what really happened Election Commission. that the incumbent be in 1915. Many countries are not aware of [the] The returns showed Sargisian with about removed from the ballot. Armenian Genocide and time is needed in order 59 percent of the vote, enough to win the Another challenger, [for] all [to] recognize Armenian Genocide.” presidency outright and avoid a runoff. The Paruyr A. Hayrikyan, was Italy, from where Migliori hails, officially recog - former foreign minister, Raffi Hovanessian, shot in the shoulder in late nized the Armenian Genocide in 2000. was a distant second with about 37 percent, January in what the author - the returns showed. ities described as an assassi - Armenians went to the polls on Monday nation attempt, although Azeri Novel Showcases with Sargisian heavily favored to win and there was no known motive. maintain stability in a country that has He is a former Soviet dissi - Courage become an increasingly important, if dent who promoted President Serge Sargisian casts his ballot on Tuesday. ( New YEREVAN (Armenpress) — Mass persecutions initi - uneasy, United States ally in monitoring Armenian independence and photo) York Times ated by Azerbaijani authorities against Azerbaijani Iran’s nuclear ambitions. has run unsuccessfully for writer Akram Aylisli are aimed at politicizing litera - A veteran politician, Sargisian, 58, is gen - president several times. ture, said the president of the Writers’ Union in erally viewed as having presided over mod - Hayrikyan briefly considered invoking a loting to proceed. Armenia, Levon Ananyan. Stone Dreams, a novel est economic improvements in recent years, constitutional provision to delay the elec - Sargisian’s second term will be watched on the massacre of the Armenians in Azerbaijan, even as the country has struggled because tion for two weeks as a result of his injury, closely for any sign of progress in resolving has become the subject of Azeri criticism. of closed borders with Turkey and but he ultimately decided to allow the bal - the war with Azerbaijan and for any indica - “The country and environment the author is liv - tion that Armenia would reduce support for ing and working in is too unfavorable for creating economic sanctions against Iran, as they [such] literature pieces,” said Ananyan. He added make life more difficult in both countries. that Aylisli managed to express two decades of Hovannisian Tells Sargisian to The conflict over Nagorno-Karabagh anguish in one book. continues at a low simmer with periodic “Stone Dreams is a call targeted to humanity, tol - see ELECTION, page 2 Concede to ‘People’s Victory’ erance and harmony. What happened is a challenge against the regional and balanced development of the world,” said Ananyan. By Siranuysh Gevorgyan Ninth Anniversary of Gurgen Margaryan’s Kerry to Begin Tour of YEREVAN (ArmeniaNow) — Raffi Hovannisian, the official runner-up in the Murder Commemorated Europe, Asia February 18 presidential election, gath - YEREVAN (Armenpress) — Secretary of State John ered his supporters in Yerevan’s central YEREVAN (PanARMENIAN.Net) — February 19 marked the ninth anniversary Kerry will travel to four European countries as well Liberty Square late Tuesday afternoon to as Turkey, Egypt and the Gulf February 24 to declare himself the rightful winner of the of the killing of Armenian armed forces member, Lt. Gurgen Margaryan. March 6, on his first trip as the top US diplomat, election, suggesting that the officially the State Department said on Tuesday. declared president-elect, Serge Sargisian, Margaryan, 26, was hacked Kerry will visit London, Berlin, Paris and Rome, should concede defeat. Raffi Hovannisian to death, while where he will attend a gathering of foreign minis - see HOVANNISIAN, page 2 asleep, by a fel - ters to discuss the civil war in Syria, and then move low Azerbaijani on to Ankara, Cairo, Riyadh, Abu Dhabi and Doha, participant, Lt. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland Ramil Safarov, told reporters at her daily briefing. in Budapest Kerry was sworn in as secretary of state on while the two February 1, replacing Hillary Clinton. were enrolled in a three-month English-lan - Lt. Gurgen Margaryan guage course INSI DE within the framework of NATO-sponsored Partnership for Peace program. On April 13, 2006, Budapest District Impulsive Court sentenced Safarov to life in prison for murdering Margaryan. On February 22, 2007, the court rejected the Azerbaijani Buy military officer’s appeal against the verdict, precluding the possibility of pardon for 30 Page 10 years. By a decree of then-President of Armenia, Robert Kocharian, Margaryan was awarded with a posthumous Medal for Courage on INDEX February 19, 2005. Arts and Living . 10 In 2012, Safarov was extradited to Armenia . 2 Community News. 4 Dr. Arshavir Gundjian addressed the gathering sponsored by the Azerbaijan, where he was supposed to serve out his sentence, but was instead par - Editorial . 13 Armenian Democratic Liberal Party in Montreal, in support of International . 3 doned by Azerbaijani President Ilham President Serge Sargisian. See story and photos on page 7. Aliyev and treated as a conquering hero. see MARGARYAN, page 16 2 S ATURDAY , F EBRUARY 23, 2013 T HE A RMENIAN M IRROR -S PECTATOR ARMENIA News From Armenia Sargisian Wins Re-Election ELECTION, from page 1 for instance, enjoying better access to which are growing, will keep developing Film Festival on violence along the line of contact, coverage by the news media. steadily. including frequent exchanges of gunfire Still, Armenia faces a peculiar prob - The president of the European ‘Conflict and and occasional casualties. Peace talks lem when it comes to potential election People’s Party (EPP), Wilfried Martens, Reconciliation’ led by the Organization for Security fraud because of the hundreds of thou - also congratulated Sargisian. and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) sands of Armenian citizens who live He said, “I warmly congratulate YEREVAN (Arminfo) — An international film festi- Minsk Group, which is led by the United abroad, including in the United States — President Sargisian for his election vic - val, titled “Conflict and Reconciliation in the States, Russia and France, have mostly one of the largest percentage diasporas tory and I look forward to personally Central-Eastern European Cinema” opened this stalled. in the world given Armenia’s popula - congratulating him at the Enlarged week in Yerevan. The film “Three Stories of Armenia has traditionally relied heav - tion of 3.1 million, according to the EPP Summit of March 14. Also, I am Galicia” opened the festival at the Blue Hall of the ily on Iran as an economic partner, but World Bank. pleased with the fact that these elec - Moscow Cinema. those ties are now constrained by the With few exceptions, absentee ballot - tions were the country’s best-ever orga - sanctions over Iran’s nuclear program. ing is not permitted. That means the nized and were mostly in line with inter - Iran insists its purposes are peaceful, Armenian election rolls are filled with national standards, as stated by the National Assembly but Western powers accuse Tehran of the names of people who will not international election observation mis - Speaker to Visit Latvia seeking the technology to build nuclear appear in person to vote, creating the sions (OSCE, CoE, EP, ODHIR). I am weapons and have imposed a broaden - potential for fraudulent use of those confident that the country’s democrati - And Estonia ing array of United States, United names. zation process will be further enhanced Nations and European Union sanctions. Sargisian faced relatively weak com - under the leadership of President YEREVAN (Armenpress) — Eduard Sharmazanov, Armenia has supported the mea - petition after his two strongest poten - Sargisian.” vice president of the National Assembly and head of sures, while continuing to engage in tial challengers and their parties This victory represents clear support the Armenia-Estonia Parliamentary Friendship some trade that circumvents them, like announced last year that they would from the citizens for the democratic Group, met with Priit Turk, ambassador of Estonia swapping its electricity for natural gas not compete — former President Levon and economic forward movement, he to Armenia on February 15. from Iran with no money changing Ter-Petrosian of the Armenian National said. Welcoming the ambassador, Sharmazanov hands. Congress and Gagik Tsarukyan of the Martens also congratulated Heritage expressed satisfaction that Armenian-Estonian rela- “Having Iran as your economic life - Prosperous Armenia Party. Tsarukyan party leader Raffi Hovannisian for run - tions are going on positively.