MAMMADOV: INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS’ AS WELL AS CO-CHAIRS’ FORECASTS ON NK CONFLICT SETTLEMENT DID NOT COME TRUE

Azeri Press Agency, Azerbaijan
June 7 2006

“The negotiating process between Azerbaijani and Armenian Presidents
is very slow and tough.

However, the process is promising to reach the goal by solving small
issues through stages. Though tough, this step should be taken and
the talks should be continued,” President’s Office international
relations department head Novruz Mammadov said to APA.

Stating that the forecasts on the solution of the Nagorno Garabagh
conflict made by several international organizations as well as OSCE
Minsk Group co-chairs did not come true, Mr.Mammadov recalled Steven
Mann’s forecast “2006 will be promising year in the settlement of
the Nagorno Garabagh conflict.”

“The conflict has a strategic content. The interests of several sates
and regions collide here,” he said.

Responding to the question “Then there will be no turning point
in the solution of the conflict this year too,” Mammadov said,
“Decisive steps can be taken to solve the conflict this year.”

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

KOCHARYAN, BSEC SECRETARY GENERAL DISCUSS PROSPECTS OF BLACK SEA REGION DEVELOPMENT

ARKA News Agency, Armenia
June 6 2006

Yerevan, June 6. /ARKA/. RA President Robert Kocharyan and Secretary
General of the BSEC Permanent International Secretariat Leonidas
Chrisanthopoulos discussed prospects of development of the Black
Sea region.

The sides exchanged views on the developments in the Black Sea region,
addressed issues of stability, security and economy. The sides
also pointed out the importance of encouraging the establishment
of partnership.

Leonidas Chrisanthopoulos has come to Yerevan to take part in the
plenary session of the BSEC Parliamentary Assembly, which is to last
until June 8, 2006.

HEALTH CARE TARGET PROGRAMS BEING REALIZED IN NKR
>From an interview with Azat Artsakh newspaper

DeFacto Agency, Armenia
June 7 2006

NKR Health Minister Zoya Lazaryan’s interview

In 2006 the Nagorno Karabakh Republic /NKR/ state budget has allocated
1 milliard 560 million drams for health care system, which is 350
million drams more as compared with last year.

According to the NKR Health Minister Zoya Lazaryan, 11 491
dram has been provided for an inhabitant versus 9 894 drams in
2005. The Minister remarked increasing financing was mainly aimed
at the ambulatory services. “The health care system’s strategy is
determined by the fact that most people employ ambulatory services”,
Zoya Lazaryan said. She informed in 2005 324 thousand patients had
employed ambulatory services, which surpassed the level of 2004 by
40 %, while only 13 thousand people had employed stationary services.

In the Minister’s words, since January 1, 2006 the system employees’
wages have been raised, making 51 thousand drams for doctors, 32
thousand and nearly 24 thousand for medium and junior medical staff
correspondingly.

The goals of 2006 are determined by the implementation of the target
programs. Five aim programs have been elaborated: first ambulatory
aid to population; ensuring hygienic epidemic security; protection
of mother and child health; struggle against illnesses of social
dependence. State order includes all the five target programs.

Medical aid provided to socially hard -up groups, as well as first
medical aid is rendered free of charge.

In line with the NKR government decision, the separate groups of
population may employ medical aid free of charge. Besides, both in
Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh ambulatory treatment is free of charge.

Any consultation held by a doctor is free of charge, if the district
doctor’s permit is available. In case a citizen applies to a doctor of
narrow specialization without a permit, he must pay according to rate.

In the ambulatory treatment system separate groups of population
are furnished with drugs free of charge. In 2006 the list has been
enlarged. If in 2005 free drugs for 300 drams were calculated for an
inhabitant, current year the amount has been increased to 400 drams.

Some modifications have been made in the issue as well – if only
children up to three years old could use free drugs, current year
drugs are available for the children up to seven years old free
of charge. Solitary unemployed retirees can also use fifty-percent
discount. Besides, the state purchases drugs and provides it to the
polyclinics for ambulatory patients. They are mainly delivered to those
suffering from sugar diabetes, epilepsy, bronchial asthma and cancer.

There is one more innovation. Children’s hospitals and polyclinics have
always served children up to 15, however, according to the new rules
they will serve children up to 18 years old. At children’s hospitals
special attention should be paid to medical service of boys under
the age of conscription.

The weakest link of the health care system is rural medial points.

First medical aid is not always available for a villager, as a result
of which he has to get to the capital city – Stepanakert. Doctors
are available at a few villages only, where ambulatory service is
properly implemented.

It is the first time the Republic state budget has allocated funds to
improve rural population’s medical service. Twice a year a group of
doctors will necessarily leave for regions to examine the population.

Schedules will be made for each populated locality, so the inhabitants
will be informed of the doctors’ visit beforehand.

US DEPARTMENT OF STATE: ARMENIA LARGE SOURCE OF TRAFFICKING

ARKA News Agency, Armenia
June 6 2006

Yerevan, June 6. /ARKA/. Armenia is a large source of trafficking aimed
at sexual exploitation of women, says a report of the US Department
of State.

According to the document, Armenia women are mostly taken to United
Arab Emirates and Turkey.

Armenia is in part both a transit country and a final destination,
the report says.

The persons involved in human trafficking in Armenia, mostly women,
transport the victims to Dubai either directly or through Moscow.

Women are transported to Turkey by buses via Georgia. According to
the report, profit from trafficking of Armenian women has recently
considerably increased.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ALIYEV IS SURE THAT AZERBAIJANI-ARMENIAN CONFLICT WILL BE RESOLVED ON BASE OF NORMS AND PRINCIPLES OF INTERNATIONAL LAW
Author: E.Huseynov

TREND Information, Azerbaijan
June 7 2006

“I am sure that Azerbaijani-Armenian conflict will be resolved on base
of norms and principles of international law,” told the Azerbaijani
president Ilham Aliyev in his interview to a American television NBC,
Trend reports.

Touching up on the period of the solution of the conflict, the
president noted that it was difficult to speak about a fast solution
of the problem because it doesn’t depend on

Azerbaijan only. “The territorial integrity of Azerbaijan is
recognized by all countries around the world and interbnational
organizations. The United Nations Security Council has adopted four
resolutions on unconditional release of Azerbaijani territories
occupied by Armenian troops. The Council of Europe, the Organization
of Islamic Conference, GUAM and other international organizations have
accepted the resolutions requiring the restoration of the territorial
integrity of Azerbaijan and withdrawal of Armenian troops. All these
are base for the solution of the conflict,” told president.

“We will never agreed with the separation of Nagorno-Karabakh from
Azerbaijan or its independence,” added Aliyev. “We can provide
Armenians living in Nagorno-Karabakh with the autonomy status,
including security and certain elements of self-government. However,
this can happen only within the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan,”
told Aliyev.

MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS OF THE REPUBLIC OF ARMENIA
—————————————— —-
PRESS AND INFORMATION DEPARTMENT
Government House # 2, Republic Square
Yerevan 0010, Republic of Armenia
Telephone: +37410. 544041 ext 202
Fax: +37410. 562543
Email: [email protected]

PRESS RELEASE

06-06-2006

Minister Oskanian Meets with BSEC Secretary General Leonidas
Chrisanthopoulos

On June 6, Minister Oskanian received Leonidas Chrisanthopoulos, Secretary
General of the Permanent International Secretariat, Black Sea Economic
Cooperation (BSEC). Ambassador Chrisanthopoulos is in Armenia to participate
in the BSEC Parliamentary Assembly session to be held on June 7 and 8.

Minister Oskanian congratulated the guest on the occasion of his
appointment, and expressed Armenia’s willingness to contribute to enhancing
the efficiency of the organization through active participation. The two
mentioned with satisfaction that BSEC is an institutionalized organization
having experience in regional interaction, as well as great potential for
multilateral cooperation.

Further, the Secretary General presented the future plans of the
Organization, and the reforms to be implemented in the Secretariat located
Istanbul.

The two also focused on a number of issues that are on the agenda of the
forthcoming meeting of Foreign Ministers, as well as the summit of the Heads
of States and Governments to be held next year, on the occasion of the 15th
anniversary of the BSEC.

While speaking on future plans of the Organization, Minister Oskanian
underscored that the development of the transport and energy infrastructures
is a priority for the region’s prosperity. In this regard, he attached
importance to the reconstruction and reactivation of existing
infrastructures.

PRESS RELEASE
Diocese of the Armenian Church of Australia & New Zealand
10 Macquarie Street
Chatswood NSW 2067
AUSTRALIA
Contact: Laura Artinian
Tel: (02) 9419-8056
Fax: (02) 9904-8446
Email: [email protected]

7 June 2006

ARMENIAN ALPHABET INSPIRES AN ARTIST’S EXHIBITION

Melbourne, Australia – Artist, Elefteria Vlavianos launched her exhibition
entitled “Metaphor for Longing” at the Town Hall Gallery in Boroonda, dubbed
the City of Harmony on Thursday, 1st June. At the personal invitation of
the artist, His Eminence Archbishop Aghan Baliozian, Primate of the Diocese
of the Armenian Church of Australia and New Zealand attended opening night.

“Metaphor for Longing” exhibits paintings inspired from the Armenian
Alphabet and 11th century manuscript paintings. Elefteria, or Ria for short,
probes into the heritage of her Armenian mother using Armenian script as
subject matter in conceptualising her birthright and identity. Born to a
Greek father and Armenian mother, Ria grew up in South Africa. The idea for
this exhibition was conceived from early childhood memories of her maternal
grandmother creating beautiful, delicate lace pieces using a unique
needlecraft skill. Acting as the catalyst in the search for her Armenian
roots, Ria approached Archbishop Baliozian for assistance and inspiration as
she embarked on her journey, also receiving support from staff of the
Armenian Community Welfare Centre which she acknowledged in her welcome
speech on opening night.

Ria’s artistic style and creativity in this exhibition is reflected in a
unique genre of painting that is an interplay of marks and stroke patterns
through layers of washes and glazes. To describe the essence of the
exhibit, “the series of works explores the connections and association
between culturally displaced individuals and their communities as they
access, inherit and pass on objects and imagery from the past.”

“Metaphor for Longing” will be on display at the Town Hall Gallery until
24th June, 2006. For details contact the Gallery on (03) 9278-4626.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

PRESS RELEASE
-“Hayastan” All-Armenian Fund
-Governmental Building 3, Yerevan, RA
-Contact: Anush Babayan
-Tel: 3741 52 09 40
-Fax: 3741 52 37 95
-E-mail: [email protected]
-Web:
7.06.06

Ararat Khlghatyan has been appointed second deputy director of the
`Hayastan’ All-Armenian Fund.

Mr. Khlghatyan graduated from the Yerevan State University of
Architecture and Construction. From 2000 to 2006 he held position of
chief specialist at the Ministry of Urban Development. In 2006 at the
Urban development inspection of same ministry he filled position of
inspector for the Kentron and Nork-Marash communities.

PRESS RELEASE
“Hayastan” All-Armenian Fund
Governmental Building 3, Yerevan, RA
Contact: Anush Babayan
Tel: 3741 52 09 40
Fax: 3741 52 37 95
E-mail: [email protected]
Web:

Meeting with Armenians from France

On June 5, Naira Melkoumian, Executive Director of the `Hayastan’
All-Armenian Fund had a meeting with French Armenians at the Fund’s
Executive Board. Mrs. Melkoumian presented the `Rebirth of Artsakh’
project launched in Mardakert, NKR. She presented all the projects of
that large-scale initiative, which include reconstruction of 30 km long
water-main and drinking water systems, construction of four or five
schools in the rural communities, provision of agricultural equipment.
She underscored importance of the agricultural development projects and
mentioned that similar projects will be implemented also in the rural
communities of Armenia, since there is a marked difference in
development progress between the capital and villages of the country.
There is an urgent need for improvement of living conditions in the
regions. According to her, equal social and economic development of all
the regions will substantially decrease the migration from the villages
to Yerevan.

Speaking about the activities of the 19 affiliates Mrs. Melkoumian
appreciated the effective work of the French local committee. She
mentioned that the ardent patriotism and willingness of French Armenians
to make donations is the major factor in that success.

The guests were deeply interested in promotion and organizational issues
of the upcoming fundraising events.

Concluding the 2005 Telethon results Mrs. Melkoumian appreciated the
active national participation, as well as the great interest the young
people showed towards the event. The guests discussed also how to bring
the Diaspora youth closer to their national roots and to make their
visits to the homeland more frequent.

ASBAREZ ONLINE
TOP STORIES
06/07/2006
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WEBSITE AT <;HTTP://WWW.ASBAREZ. COM

1) Azerbaijan’s Refusal to Recognize MKR’s Right to Referendum renders Talks
Fruitless
2) Results Announced for CA Primaries; Krekorian Wins Democratic Primary
3) MKR Foreign Minister Meets with President of Lebanon
4) Karabagh to Hold Constitutional Referendum in December
5) Turkish Court of Appeals Overturns Dink’s Verdict
6) Federer to Face Nalbandian in Men’s Semi-Finals
7) Armenian Parliament Hosts BSEC Meeting

1) Azerbaijan’s Refusal to Recognize MKR’s Right to Referendum renders Talks
Fruitless

YEREVAN (Yerkir)–Talks aimed at resolving the Karabagh conflict do not
produce
results because Azerbaijan refuses to recognize the right of Karabagh’s people
to hold a referendum, said Vice-speaker of the Armenian parliament and
Armenian
Revolutionary Federation Bureau member Vahan Hovhannisian.
He said that people exercise their right to self-determination and express
their will via referendum.
`The point is that Nagorno Karabagh was the first to do it during the post
Soviet age, when the international community was not ready for separation from
metropolises,’ said Hovhannisian.
`When independence was proclaimed in East Timor, Eritrea, Montenegro it was
perceived as a normal phenomenon,’ said Hovhannisian, adding that it seems
`the
same variant’ will be proposed for Kosovo.

2) Results Announced for CA Primaries; Krekorian Wins Democratic Primary

Several candidates supported by the Armenian National Committee Political
Action Committee won Tuesday their respective Primary Races
One of the most important primaries took place in California’s 43rd State
Assembly District, where the main contenders were Frank Quintero and Paul
Krekorian, who had the backing of the Armenian National Committee as well as
many other Armenian community leaders.
Krekorian won the Democratic Primary with 56% of the vote and will face his
Republican challenger this November in the general election. An overwhelming
majority of Armenian American voters residing the 43rd district voted for
Krekorian.
The race for the seat turned ugly during its last few days when Quintero and
his supporters resorted to a negative campaign aimed at dividing and insulting
the Armenian electorate, creating outrage in the community.
Other winners Tuesday included: Adam Schiff with 82% of the vote in the 29th
Congress District; Dianne Feinstein with 87% of the vote for Senator; Anthony
Portantino with 43% of the vote in the 44th State Assembly District; and John
Chiang with 53% for State Controller.
In the primary race for Lieutenant Governor, Jackie Kanchelian-Speier, with
38% of the vote, lost to John Garamendi who had 43%. Marty Simonoff also lost
the Republican Primary in the 72nd State Assembly District.

3) MKR Foreign Minister Meets with President of Lebanon

The Foreign Minister of the Mountainous Karabagh Republic Georgi Petrossian
met
Tuesday with the President of Lebanon, General Emile Lahoud. Accompanying him
were, a delegation from the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) Lebanon
Central Committee Armenian, Armenian Ambassador to Lebanon, Vahan
Der-Ghevontian, and MKR Resettlement Coordinator, Serge Amirkhanian.
During the meeting, Petrossian and Lahoud discussed the current situation in
Karabagh and discussed ongoing efforts to help resettle Armenian refugees from
Azerbaijan.
Petrossian and Lebanese Parliament Member Hagop Pakradouni, along with the
ARF
Lebanon Central Committee delegation, also paid a visit to the Foreign
Minister
of Lebanon Faouzy Salloukh. This meeting also focused on the Karabagh
conflict.
During his visit to Lebanon, Petrossian also visited His Holiness Catholicos
Aram I and other spiritual leaders, the Aztag Daily Newspaper editorial
offices, and the families of Vicken Zakarian and Mher Choulhajian, who were
martyred during the war in Artsakh.

4) Karabagh to Hold Constitutional Referendum in December

YEREVAN (RFE/RL)–The leadership of Mountainous Karabagh Republic (MKR) will
hold a referendum next December on its draft constitution that declares
Karabagh an `independent and sovereign state,’ a senior official in
Stepanakert
said on Wednesday.
Rudik Hyusnunts, deputy speaker of the Karabagh parliament, said that the
decision was made on Monday at a meeting of a government commission that has
for years been working on the text of a first-ever Karabagh constitution. The
commission is headed by Arkady Ghoukassian, President of MKR.
`The MKR President will sign a decree to hold a referendum on the
constitutional draft on December 10,’ said Hyusnunts.
The decree can be signed only after the MKR Parliament debates and endorses
the commission’s constitutional draft. According to Hyusnunts, Parliament will
receive the draft on June 15 and open debates on it in September.
Parliament is
dominated by members of Ghoukassian’s Democratic Artsakh Party and its junior
coalition partner, the Azat Hayrenik Party.
`On December 10 we will try to reaffirm the results of our independence
referendum,’ said Hyusnunts.

5) Turkish Court of Appeals Overturns Dink’s Verdict

ISTANBUL (Armenpress)–Turkey’s National Court of Appeals overturned a ruling
of a lower court that gave a six month suspended sentence to Hrant Dink,
editor
of the bilingual Turkish-Armenian weekly Agos for `denigrating the
Turkishness.’
The Court of Appeals ruled that `the accusations brought against the defender
do not contain material or moral elements,’ reported Turkish daily Zaman.

6) Federer to Face Nalbandian in Men’s Semi-Finals

YEREVAN (Armenpress)The World’s top-ranked tennis player Roger Federer will
take on third-ranked David Nalbandian, an Argentinean of Armenian descent, in
Friday’s semifinals after both players posted quarterfinal victories
Tuesday at
the 2006 French Open.
David Nalbandian ousted sixth seed Nikolay Davydenko of Russia in four
sets to
progress to the French Open semi-finals for the second time in three years.
Nalbandian, 24, beat Federer before, when he won the 2005 Masters Series
event
in Shanghai in 2005.
The 24 year old Federer needs the French Open to complete a career Grand
Slam.
The seven-time major titlist currently holds the Wimbledon, US Open, and
Australian Open crowns and is trying to become the first man to hold all four
Slams since Rod Laver in 1969. Only five men have won all four majors (Don
Budge, Fred Perry, Roy Emerson, Laver, and Andre Agassi).

7) Armenian Parliament Hosts BSEC Meeting

YEREVAN (Armenpress)–The 27th meeting of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation
(BSEC) is underway in the Armenian Parliament building, chaired by the new
Speaker of Armenian Parliament Tigran Torosian.
The agenda at the two day meeting includes discussions on such issues as
energy security, nature protection, trade, transport and communications,
cooperation of law-enforcers, culture, and science.
Around 100 officials from 11 members of the BSEC are taking part in the
meeting, including delegates from Turkey and Azerbaijan.

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