INTERNATIONAL SCIENTIFIC CONFERENCE ON “NKR: PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE” TO BE HELD IN SHUSHI
ArmRadio.am
20.06.2006 10:39
NKR Government and the Yerevan State University have imitated a
four-day international scientific conference on “Nagorno-Karabakh
Republic: past, present and future” dedicated to the 15th anniversary
of Artsakh’s independence.
The opening ceremony will take place in Shushi.

TRANSPORT MINISTER SATISFIED WITH PROCESS OF KAPAN – SHIKAHOGH – MEGHRI ALTERNATIVE MOTORWAY CONSTRUCTION
Noyan Tapan
Jun 19 2006
KAPAN, JUNE 19, NOYAN TAPAN. The RA Minister of Transport and
Communication Andranik Manukian paid a visit to Syunik marz on June
16-17 to familiarize himself with the process of constructing the
93.5-km alternative motorway Kapan – Shikahogh – Meghri with RA state
budget allocations. He expressed his satisfaction over the process
of construction work, noting that construction work of 5 bln 599 mln
drams was carried out in 2005, while this year the work will amount
to 6 bln 300 mln drams. The motorway will be put into operation by
late 2006. According to A. Manukian, the motorway’s construction is
in the center of attention of the Armenian President, and he reports
on the construction process to the President every week. “It is a big
project, there will be flaws but they should not impair the quality
of the work. This in a road being built in line with international
standards and should be in line with such standards,” the minister
told reporters.

TODAY IS THE INTERNATIONAL DAY OF REFUGEES
ArmRadio.am
20.06.2006 10:50
Today is the International Day of Refugees. According to the Deputy
Head of the Migration Agency David Hakobyan, there are 311 thousand
refugees in Armenia. Most of them are still homeless.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ARMENIA EXEMPLARY AGAINST BACKGROUND OF AZERBAIJAN AND GEORGIA
PanARMENIAN.Net
20.06.2006 13:15 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Armenia is in the center of the region and for the
time being it can control all produce pipelines theoretically, while
if desired – also practically. It is not casual that the BTC is made
longer and it was laid in a roundabout way, skipping over Javakhk,
though along its border, political scientist Hrazdan Madoyan stated
in an interview with PanARMENIAN.Net. In his words, the Armenian
nation’s spirit is raising now. “The national spirit has got rid of
the victim syndrome, there is no separatism problem in the country,
a good combating army, which has passed Karabakh and won, relies
only on itself and is self-confident. You cannot say this of the two
neighbors, who lost and hope one for Turkey, the other for the US,”
Madoyan said. He believes that Azerbaijan and Georgia are not formed
as democratic states, which is proven by coups d’etat and civil wars in
Georgia and establishment of eastern despotic monarchy in Azerbaijan.
“Armenia is exemplary against this background. The OSCE MG, CE, NATO
want friendship with the bear and want to guard its honey. Recognition
of the NKR will be protracted unless everyone puts off with the
status quo, as it is evident that policy of search for compromise has
exhausted itself and one of the parties will lose. Everyone knows
that the right and truth are on the side of Armenian Montenegro,
while oil is on Azerbaijan’s side. If it were 1939, the NKR would
have been annexed long ago on behalf of Hitler Germany, sorry, I mean
Aliyev Azerbaijan, but it is 2006 now.
The world has not become better, but it became more erudite. By the
way, if a referendum is held in Transnistria and its independence is
recognized, it will be a good signal for demanding a similar procedure
in Javakhk. The legal framework for that is present,” the Armenian
political scientist underscored.

IWG CONCLUDED ITS TWO-DAY ACTIVITY IN NAGORNO-KARABAKH
ArmRadio.am
20.06.2006 13:00
International Working Group (IWG) to Search for the Missing People,
Hostages and Prisoners of War in the Karabakh conflict zone concluded
its two-day activity in Nagorno-Karabakh.
IWG Co-Chair Bernard Klassen expressed his satisfaction with the
meetings with NKR Foreign Minister Georgi Petrosyan, NKR State
Committee on Missing People and Hostages, the leadership of the
Stepanakert Office of the International Committee of the Red Cross. He
noted that the meetings were productive.
“Both the Azeri and Armenian sides declare they have no prisoners
of war and hostages, while the other party has. Our task is to check
the authenticity of this information,” The Co-Chair noted.
Today IWG delegation left Stepanakert for Yerevan.

NUMBER OF TAXI SERVICES BURGEONING UP
Armenpress
Jun 20 2006
YEREVAN, JUNE 20, ARMENPRESS; The number of companies offering regular
taxi services has burgeoned out from 724 last year to 1,068 as of May
1. On average each of these companies has 5 cars. Armenian taxation
service said 282 of these companies with 2,500 cars were in Yerevan
and the rest were across the country.
These companies are paying fixed taxes-6,800 drams per one car in
Yerevan and 5,600 drams per one car outside Yerevan a month. This
year they have already paid 103 million drams in taxes.
Robert Kocharian, a deputy head of the taxation service, predicted no
rise in the number of these companies, but he admitted that part of
the cars may avoid taxation. He said the service is going to improve
supervision over this services and detect illegal operations. He also
said there is no document regulating the work of taxis, neither the
list of mandatory requirements is developed.

JASON HIGHLAND: NEW US CO-CHAIR OF THE OSCE MINSK GROUP WELL FAMILIAR WITH THE REGION
ArmRadio.am
20.06.2006 14:24
The new US Co-Chair of the OSCE Minsk Group is well familiar with the
region, , acting Commissioner on US in Azerbaijan Jason Highland said,
“Trend” Agency informs.
He expressed c0onfidence that Mattew Bryza’s knowledge and experience
will have a positive impact on the activity of the Minsk Group.
“We are very glad that Mattew Bryza will represent the US in the
Minsk Group. He is a talented diplomat in this sphere,” Highland said.
Turning to the activity of the former US Co-Chair of the OSCE Minsk
Group Steven Mann, he noted that Mann carried out his activity with
dignity.

REPORT OF THE AGO GROUP TO BE PRESENTED AT THE SITTING OF THE COE COUNCIL OF MINISTERS
ArmRadio.am
20.06.2006 15:03
On June 21 the report developed based on the results of the Ago
Group’s visit to Armenia and Azerbaijan will be heard at the sitting
of the Council of Ministers of the Council of Europe on the level of
Permanent Representatives, ” Trend” Agency informs, referring to the
Secretariat of the Council of Ministers.
An oral report will be delivered by Head of the Ago Group delegation,
German diplomat Ronal Wegener.

ISSUES OF TERRITORIAL ADMINISTRATION IN THE FOCUS OF RA PRESIDENT’S ATTENTION
ArmRadio.am
20.06.2006 15:44
Issues related to the current works and reforms in the sphere of
territorial administration were discussed during today’s working
meeting of President Robert Kocharyan and Minister of Territorial
Administration Hovik Abrahamyan.
First and foremost, reference was made to the necessity of resolving
the problems with drinking and irrigation water that emerged in the
result of rise of the air temperature.
The Minister presented the positions of the Government and NGOs on
the Law on Yerevan. He received instructions from President Kocharyan
to organize an enlarged discussion featuring political forces, NGOs
and the government.
The issue of transferring the social services under the liabilities
of city communities was discussed.
The interlocutors dwelt on the suggestion of State Cadastre Committee
to raise the cadastre price of land. It was decided that the
corresponding structures should submit arguments regarding the issue.

PROSECUTOR GENERAL’S OFFICE DENIES ALLEGATIONS OF HUMAN ORGANS SALE
Armenpress
Jun 20 2006
YEREVAN, JUNE 20, ARMENPRESS: Sona Truzian, a spokeswoman for the
office of Armenia’s prosecutor general, denied media allegations
about disappearance of a patient from the mental house in Vardenis,
Gegharkunik province and sale of human organs allegedly cut off from
the bodies of its dead residents.
She said an investigation launched to check these rumors found no
supporting evidence. She said investigators exhumed 11 bodies and
none missed a body or an organ. Ms. Truzian said the inquiry was
going on yet.
The allegations were made public by an independent parliament member,
Emma Khudabashian, who was quoted by local newspapers as saying that
a group of residents of Vardenis asked her in a letter to urge fast
investigation into allegations that the mental house’s management
was involved in the sale of human organs for transplants.