OCTOBER 31, 2020 MMirror-SpeirTHEror-SpeARMENIAN ctator Volume LXXXXI, NO. 16, Issue 4658 $ 2.00 NEWS The First English Language Armenian Weekly in the United States Since 1932 IN BRIEF Third Ceasefire Armenia Has 2 Azeri Broken by POWs; Azerbaijan 17 YEREVAN (PanARMENIAN.Net) — The Armenian side has two Azerbaijani prisoners of war who have Azerbaijan as been interrogated, according to Rafayel Vardanyan, Head of the Department of Criminalistics at Armenia’s Investigative Committee. Death Toll “They are kept in conditions that comply with international humanitarian law, receive appropriate Mounts medical care and food,” Vardanyan told reporters on Tuesday, October 27. STEPANAKERT (Combined Sources) — Vardanyan said 17 servicemen from the Fighting in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict Armenian side are currently kept in Azerbaijan. zone reportedly spread on Tuesday, October It was reported earlier that an Armenian civilian 27, to an area adjacent to Armenia’s border named Azniv Baghdasaryan was captured by the with Iran. Azerbaijani military on October 7. The Armenian Defense Ministry accused the Azerbaijani army of shelling its border Georgia Bars posts and wounding several Armenian ser- vicemen in the morning. The Azerbaijani Ambulances Headed to side used artillery and combat drones, it said, adding that one of those unmanned Armenia aerial vehicles was shot down over TBILISI (News.am) — Georgia on October 26 Armenian territory. blocked a batch of ambulances from entering A ministry spokeswoman, Shushan Armenia through the Upper Lars border checkpoint Stepanyan, said Armenian army units and between Russia and Georgia, reported the Telegram border guards had to strike back in response. channel of Infoteka 24. They inflicted “considerable losses” on the Stranded in bunkers in Artsakh The ambulances were been sent by the Armenian Azerbaijani side, she wrote on Facebook community of Russia as humanitarian aid. early in the afternoon. The Azerbaijani Defense Ministry denied ‘You Do Not Know What violating in the ceasefire in that area. It said Trump: Armenians that Armenian forces themselves opened “intense mortar fire” at its troops stationed Tomorrow Will Bring’ ‘Incredible People’ in the Zangelan district bordering Armenia’s LONDONDERRY, N.H. — President Trump at a southeastern Syunik province and north- –Artsakh Refugee campaign rally on October 25 made further com- western Iran. plimentary remarks about Armenians, calling them The reported shelling took place near the By Mateos Hayes YEREVAN — As the latest chapter of the “incredible people.” He exclaimed: “You know Armenian-Iranian frontier which has long Special to the Mirror-Spectator Nagorno-Karabakh conflict enters its fourth Armenia? We’re working on that, you know, we’re been protected by Russian border guards. week, it takes a heavy toll on its participants. working.” He said, “Go back and tell your people. Russia also has up to 5,000 soldiers sta- Estimates of casualties sustained during the conflict vary wildly, with conserva- We’ll get that straightened out.” tioned in other parts of Armenia in line with tive estimates pegging it as low as two thousand, whilst some claims put the Later the same day, he tweeted his congratula- number as high as five thousand. Another toll the conflict has taken is in the tions to the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan form of displaced peoples. As many as 75,000 refugees, nearly 90 percent of on an attempted renewal of the ceasefire. Artsakh’s population of women and children, have been forced to leave their homes, whether they be in border towns such as Martakert or comparatively safer cities such as Stepanakert. Eurnekian Gives $3.5 M see REFUGEES, page 4 To Armenia Fund BUENOS AIRES (PanARMENIAN.Net) — Argentine billionaire businessman of Armenian descent Mercury Public Affairs Cuts Ties with Turkey under Pressure Eduardo Eurnekian is donating $3.5 million to WASHINGTON (Politico) – The lobby- Armenia’s border with Azerbaijan. Hayastan All-Armenian Fund, the Fund’s Executive ing firm Mercury Public Affairs has cut In the weeks since the long-running Director Haykak Arshamyan said Tuesday, October 27. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan visits an ties with the Turkish government fol- tensions between the countries flared “Argentinian Armenian entrepreneur, philan- injured soldier. lowing a pressure campaign by on Sept. 27, Armenian-American Armenian-American activists incensed activists have worked to deprive thropist and member of the Board of Trustees of by Turkey’s support for Azerbaijan in Azerbaijan and Turkey of what Aram the Hayastan All Armenian Fund, Eduardo bilateral treaties that commit Moscow to ongoing hostilities with Armenia. Hamparian, the executive director of Eurnekian, has joined the Fund’s “We Are Our defending Yerevan against foreign aggression. The firm’s decision to scrap its $1 mil- Armenian National Committee of Borders” global fundraising initiative by donating Shortly after the outbreak of the war in lion contract with Turkey is a victory for America, described as some of their $3.5 million,” Arshamyan said. and around Karabakh on September 27, Armenia in a conflict that’s playing out most potent weapons: their Washington Russian President Vladimir Putin said that in Washington as well as the disputed lobbyists. see CEASEFIRE page 3 region of Nagorno-Karabakh along see TIES, page 5 INSIDE Balakian Is Founding Member of Komitas in Writers Movement Against Trump Latvia HAMILTON, NY — Several months ago, Peter Page 12 By Aram Arkun Balakian helped found a group called Writers Mirror-Spectator Staff Against Trump (WAT, writersagainsttrump.org), which includes a number of noted Armenian- American authors. The group has nearly two thousand members in all. Its forceful mission statement does not mince words, pro- INDEX claiming “We believe that this presidency is uniquely dangerous to our present and Armenia . 2-4 future society.” Arts and Living . 12 Balakian expounds on it as follows: “We are American writers — now 1,900 of us Community News. 7 — who have come together to work for change in November’s election. We devote Editorial . 18 our lives to language and thinking and ethics. We who founded the organization are International . 6-7 in agreement that Trump’s presidency has been mired in corruption, incompetence, see TRUMP, page 10 2 S ATURDAY O CTOBER 3 1 , 2 0 2 0 T HE A RMENIAN M IRROR -S PECTATOR ARMENIA News From Armenia COVID Cases in Armenia Surging YEREVAN (RFE/RL) — Armenian influx of infected people. He said that other safety rules set by the government. Canadian Legislators hospitals are increasingly struggling to Armenian hospitals may soon be unable Many people stopped taking these pre- cope with the pandemic due to a con- to treat all patients in urgent need of cautions after the start of the deadly war Seek to Expel Turkey tinuing surge in new coronavirus infec- From NATO tions, Health Minister Arsen Torosyan warned on Sunday, October 25. OTTAWA — Members of the Legislative Assembly A resurgence in cases officially regis- of Ontario requested to expel Turkey from NATO tered in Armenia began in mid- and discuss the recognition of the Republic of September and accelerated after the Artsakh, the Armenian National Committee of outbreak on September 27 of the war in Canada reported this week. Nagorno-Karabakh. They slammed the ongoing Turkish-Azerbaijani The Armenian Ministry of Health aggression against Artsakh. reported in the morning that 2,314 peo- On September 27 Azerbaijan, with the support of ple have tested positive for COVID-19 in Turkey, launched a massive attack against the the past 24 hours, compared with 1,371 Republic of Artsakh (Nagorno Karabakh), by using cases registered on October 15. It had all its ammunition, targeting also the civilian infra- reported 850 single-day cases during structures both in Artsakh and Armenia. There are the previous peak of the pandemic in confirmed reports that there are mercenaries in the late June. Azerbaijani army brought from Syria by Turkey for The ministry also reported 23 more fighting against the Armenian side. deaths caused by the disease, bringing the official death toll from COVID-19 to 1,180. Catalonia Parliament As of Sunday morning, there were Statement Calls for End 25,412 active coronavirus cases in the A COVID patient in Yerevan country of about 3 million. More than To War in Artsakh 800 of these patients are hospitalized in a serious or critical condition, Torosyan life-saving medical aid if the spread of that has overshadowed the pandemic. YEREVAN (Armenpress) — The Parliament of said, adding that about 450 others are the disease continues unabated. Torosyan acknowledged that the con- Catalonia adopted a statement on October 21, call- awaiting hospitalization. “If we are unable to hospitalize every- tinuing war has contributed to the sec- ing for an end to military operations in Nagorno In an interview, the minister said that one there may be [coronavirus-related] ond wave of COVID-19 infections. “I Karabakh, condemning the attacks by the the health authorities are now scram- deaths outside hospitals,” Torosyan don’t know to what extent, but it has Azerbaijani armed forces on the civilian population bling to increase the nationwide hospi- warned. He again pleaded with definitely aggravated the situation,” he and supporting the constructive talks between the tal capacity to deal with the increased Armenians to wear masks and follow said. sides aimed at the peaceful settlement of the conflict which should be based on the expression