ARKA News Agency – 04/21/2004

ARKA News Agency
April 21 2004

Regular meeting of united opposition starts today at the square of
Freedom in the center of Yerevan

RA Prime Minister and Estonian Ambassador in Armenia note the
necessity of stimulation economic relations between two countries

RA President meets the US Ambassador in Armenia and USAID Mission
Director

An exhibition devoted to historical and cultural monuments of North
Artsakh organised in Stepanakert

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REGULAR MEETING OF UNITED OPPOSITION STARTS TODAY AT THE SQUARE OF
FREEDOM IN THE CENTER OF YEREVAN

YEREVAN, April 21. /ARKA/. Regular meeting of united opposition
started today at the square of Freedom in the center of Yerevan. The
organizers of the meeting are Justice bloc, National Unity Party and
Communist Party of Armenia. ARKA correspondent reports from the
meeting that about 5 thousand people take part in the rally. The
meeting was opened by the Chairman of National Democratic Party, RA
NA Deputy Shavarsh Kocharian, who stated that authorities try to make
it seem that opposition tries to get to power by force, which does
not correspond to reality. `Till now opposition acted in the frames
of Constitution, which is a guarantee of our victory’, Kocharian
said. He said that Kocharian is sentenced to failure and statements
of international organizations testify to that. He stressed that the
idea of fight is much deeper than personal political interests of
opposition.
Leader of Justice Bloc Stepan Demirchian stated that authorities that
use any power are doomed. `Armenia must develop by democratic way and
those who prevent this process must go away’, Demirchian said. L.D.
–0–

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RA PRIME MINISTER AND ESTONIAN AMBASSADOR IN ARMENIA NOTE THE
NECESSITY OF STIMULATION ECONOMIC RELATIONS BETWEEN TWO COUNTRIES

YEREVAN, April 21. /ARKA/. RA Prime Minister Andranik Margaryan and
Estonian Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary in Armenia
Andreas Unga noted the necessity of stimulation economic relations
between two countries. According to RA President’s Press Service and
Public Relations Department, in the course of the meeting the parties
attached importance to bilateral co-operation in various fields of
economy, in particular, in industry, agriculture, health care,
tourism, science and culture. Taking into consideration the
importance of IT development for Armenia, Margaryan emphasized the
importance for co-operation exactly in that field and spread of
Estonian Electronic Administration Academy experience in Armenia.
According to the press release, Margaryan and Unga also discussed
issues connected with holding business forums, organization of
visits, and establishing close co-operation between certain
Ministries and Trade Industry Chambers of RA and Estonia for
stimulation of bilateral trade turnover.
In the course of the meeting, Margaryan congratulated Unga on
Estonia’s entrance into EU and expressed hope that Estonia will
become Armenia’s reliable partner, which will contribute to Armenia’s
integration into the EU. Also, Margaryan congratulated Unga on
Estonia’s full membership in NATO, noting that Armenia will keep to
its policy of consistent development of co-operation with that
organization in the framework of Partnership for Peace program.
In his turn, Estonian Ambassador noted that Estonia as a new member
of EU encourages New Neighborhood program , due to which the counties
of the South Caucasus, including Armenia, will have the chance to
become members of European family. A.H – 0–

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RA PRESIDENT MEETS THE US AMBASSADOR IN ARMENIA AND USAID MISSION
DIRECTOR

YEREVAN, April 21. /ARKA/. RA President Robert Kocharyan has met John
Ordway, the US Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary in
Armenia, and Robin Phillips, USAID Mission Director. According to the
RA President’s Press Service Department, issues regarding the
programs on humanitarian aid provision to Armenia by the US
Government were discussed in the course of the meeting. Besides, the
issues of Armenia’s participation in Millennium Challenges Fund
program was touched. A.H.–0–

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AN EXHIBITION DEVOTED TO HISTORICAL AND CULTURAL MONUMENTS OF NORTH
ARTSAKH ORGANISED IN STEPANAKERT

STEPANAKERT, April 21. /ARKA/. In connection with International Day
of monuments and historic places, Haiki Serund (Haik’s generation)
youth organisation, acting in Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR),
organised an exhibition devoted to historical and cultural monuments
of North Artsakh. According to ARKA’s reporter in Stepanakert, the
photos of a famous ethnographer Samuel Karapetyan exhibited reflect
cultural and everyday life of ancient villages of North Artsakh
(Shahumyan, Shamkhor, Khanlar, and Dashkensk regions), where
historical and cultural monuments preserved.
According to specialists, the Azerbaijani side destroyed thousands of
historic monuments on the territory of Karabakh. 167 churches, 8
monastery complexes and 123 historical Armenian cemeteries were
destroyed when Karabakh was part of Azerbaijan, and during the period
of war aggression on the part of Azerbaijan against NKR. A.H. –0–