RA NATURE PROTECTION MINISTRY EXPECTS EXPLANATIONS FROM GLOBAL GOLD MINING
Noyan Tapan
Jun 28 2006
YEREVAN, JUNE 28, NOYAN TAPAN. The RA Ministry of Nature Protection
expects some explanations from Global Gold Mining (GGM) company
regarding the concessional payment for Getik area. Head of the Earth’s
entrails protection department of the ministry Hamlet Avetisian told
NT correspondent that this payment has not been mentioned in the
documents submitted by GGM, so they asked the company to provide
explanations. Otherwise, it is not ruled out that the issue of
depriving GGM of its licence will be discused.
However, according to the GGM’s press service, the company has not
received any written inquiry from the ministry. Besides, according to
the same source, 13 mln 557 thousand drams (about 32 thousand USD) was
paid as concessional payment, and 375 thousand drams as environmental
protection payment.
To recap, in 2005, GGM purchased shares of Atelia Investment company,
which was conducting an exploration of Getik area, and thus became
a 80% owner of Getik Mining Company.

OSCE OFFICE POSITIVELY RESPONDS TO NKR FOREIGN MINISTRY’S INITIATIVE
Noyan Tapan
Armenians Today
Jun 28 2006
STEPANAKERT, JUNE 28, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. Organization
issues connected with the coming monitoring of Nagorno Karabakh and
Azerbaijani armed forces contact-line were discussed at the June 27
meeting of NKR Deputy Foreign Minister Masis Mayilian with a number
of employees of the Office of the Personal Representative of the
OSCE Chairman-in-Office.
Masis Mayilian expressed satisfaction that the OSCE Office has
positively responded to the initiative of NKR Foreign Ministry to
hold a monitoring in the border zone with Azerbaijan for the purpose
of evaluating the situation on the spot and putting an end to the
accusations of the Azerbaijani side about arsons of populated areas
under NKR’s control.
As Noyan Tapan was informed from NKR Foreign Ministry Press Service, at
the meeting OSCE Office employee Peter Key (Great Britain) introduced
Gunter Folk (Germany), newly-appointed Field Assistant to the Personal
Representative of OSCE Chairman-in-Office, to Masis Mayilian.
Irzhi Aberle (Czech Republic), Field Assistant to the Personal
Representative of OSCE Chairman-in-Office, also took part in the
meeting.

DIASPORAN ART FIGURES PERFORM IN ASHTARAK WITHIN FRAMEWORK OF ALL ARMENIAN CULTURAL FESTIVAL
Noyan Tapan
Jun 28 2006
ASHTARAK, JUNE 28, NOYAN TAPAN. On June 27, an event was organized in
the regional center of Aragatsotn, Ashtarak, within the framework of
the “One Nation, One Culture” All Armenian Cultural Festival. Dance
ensembles of the Australian city of Sydney, Armenian communities of
Iran and Kazakhstan, a choir from Georgia, Diasporan Armenian solo
performers, “Karmravor” dance group of Ashtarak and other ensembles
performed at the concert held at the city palace of culture.

KILLINGS OF ARMENIANS IN RUSSIA UNRELATED TO ETHNIC STRIFE – MIN
by Tigran Liloyan
ITAR-TASS News Agency, Russia
June 28, 2006 Wednesday 11:37 AM EST
Killings of ethnic Armenians committed in Russia of late were not
related to motives of ethnic strife and were rather hinged on selfish
mercenary motivations, Russian Interior Minister Rashid Nurgaliyev
said Wednesday as he addressed a conference of Russian Interior and
Armenian police officials.
He recalled that four Armenians were killed in the first quarter of
the year and Russian investigators solved two of the murders.
“Operatives and investigators didn’t expose any evidence of ethnic
or confessionary strife or any other problems related to religion,”
Nurgaliyev said.
In both cases, mercenary motivations underpinned the criminal acts,
he said.
Nurgaliyev also denounced many mass media publications on the issue
as fakes.
“There’re many people who try to use friendly relations in their
petty political purposes and under-the-carpet struggling,” he said.

WE SHOULD HAVE PREPARED FOR FESTIVAL MORE SERIOUSLY, NATIONAL SELF-DETERMINATION UNION CHAIRMAN CONSIDERS
Noyan Tapan
Jun 28 2006
YEREVAN, JUNE 28, NOYAN TAPAN. “We should have prepared more seriously
before organizing the “One Nation, One Culture” second All Armenian
Cultural Festival. Paruyr Hayrikian, Chairman of the National
Self-Determination Union, expressed such an opinion in his interview
to Noyan Tapan correspondent.
According to him, this festival has only a cognitive character, but
it is time to pass to practical steps. P.Hayrikian said that this year
CIS countries solemnly mark the 15th anniversary of their independence
but nothing was said about this at the “One Nation, One Culture”
festival. “The Armenians spread all over the world have gathered in
their homeland and this was an occasion for solemnly celebrating the
15th anniversary of our independence. A nation becomes united first
of all with its statehood, but this statehood is not evaluated today,”
P.Hayrikian said.

ARREST AS MEASURE OF RESTRAINT CHOSEN AGAINST ALL THOSE ACCUSED OF MILITARY SERVICE EVASION IN 2005
Noyan Tapan
Jun 28 2006
YEREVAN, JUNE 28, NOYAN TAPAN. In 2005, Armenian courts examined 76
cases against 76 persons under Article 327 of the RA Criminal Code:
evasion from regular military service or training excercises. In all
cases, arrest was chosen as a measure of restraint.
Spokeswoman for the RA Prosecutor General Sona Truzian stated this
when responding to NT correspondent’s question about why arrest as a
measure of restraint was chosen with respect to the editor-in-chief of
the newspaper “Zhamanak Yerevan” Arman Babajanian. She said that the
matter concerns a crime that poses a public danger of high degree –
evasion from regular military conscription, so no other measure of
restraint could be chosed in the given case.

ARAM SARKISYAN: ARMENIA AGREED TO RETURN FIVE REGIONS TO AZERBAIJAN
Azeri Press Agency, Azerbaijan
June 28 2006
“The OSCE Minsk Group co-chair from the US Matthew Bryza has
not announced all the details of the negotiating process for the
settlement of the Nagorno Garabagh conflict,” the Armenian Democratic
Party leader, parliamentarian Aram Sarkisyan stated (APA).
He said the co-chairs presented the parties to the conflict with the
map of the five regions which Armenia is ready to return to Azerbaijan
and the map of territories where peacekeeper will be deployed.
“The recent statement by Armenian Foreign Ministry shows that Yerevan
agrees to this document but Azerbaijan is against this variant of
solution. Now Baku taking into account Armenia’s having no territorial
claim against Azerbaijan, demands returning of seven regions not five
and Nagorno Garabagh as well. However, as far as I know, Baku has
agreed to the returning of five regions and a half-Kalbajar region,”
the Armenian parliamentarian said.
Sarkisyan said Arkadi Gukasyan, president of the alleged “Nagorno
Garabagh Republic” will never consent to this way of solution.
“The situation will become so tense that we’ll have to face the 1998
February events. The Armenian authorities are committing treachery.
We urge Robert Kocharyan to make public the content of negotiations
had with Azerbaijan,” Sarkisyan underlined.

“METAKSIA” THEATRICAL FESTIVAL TO BE HELD IN YEREVAN
Noyan Tapan
Armenians Today
Jun 28 2006
YEREVAN, JUNE 28, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. “Metaksia” theatrical
festival will be held on July 2-8 in Yerevan, on the occasion of the
80th birth anniversary of talented actress Metaksia Simonian. Theaters
of Armenia, Stepanakert, Tbilisi will take part in it. Each theater
will present the best performance of its repertoire on these days. Vahe
Shahverdian, Art Director of Gabriel Sundukian National Academic
Theater, declared this at the June 28 press conference.
According to V.Shahverdian, “Artist” competition will be held at the
end of the festival, within the framework of which awards will be
given to the art figures who will win in the nominations of the best
actress, the best actor, the best playwright and the best artist. They
will be given diplomas and Metaksia Simonian’s memorial medal.
“Metaksia was the actress, to which not one, but 10 jubilee events
can be dedicated,” Vahe Shahverdian emphasized.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

BAKU AND YEREVAN HAVE REACHED AGREEMENT ON KARABAKH REFERENDUM
Interfax News Agency
Russia & CIS General Newswire
June 27, 2006 Tuesday 7:07 PM MSK
The issue of the status of Nagorno- Karabakh ought to be solved by a
referendum, and this has already been agreed on between the presidents
of Armenia and Azerbaijan, a statement issued by the Armenian Foreign
Ministry on Tuesday reads.
“The issue of the status of Nagorno-Karabakh must be resolved by the
people of Nagorno-Karabakh by way of referendum and the differences in
the negotiations have nothing to do with the issue of the referendum,
because this issue has already been agreed on by the presidents,”
the statement says.
“The disagreements concern priorities in dealing with the aftermath
of the armed conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh,” the statement explains.
“The co-chairmen are saying for the first time that the issue of
the status of Nagorno-Karabakh has to be resolved by the people of
Nagorno-Karabakh through a referendum.”
“Armenia holds the view that, on the whole, the principles offered
by the co-chairmen of the Minsk OSCE group from Russia, France and
the U.S. are a serious basis for the continuation of talks and we are
ready, on this basis, to have talks with Azerbaijan. Armenia also holds
the view that Azerbaijan’s indecision concerning these elements is
a serious obstacle in achieving progress in talks, and that if such
a policy was to continue Armenia will insist on Azerbaijan having
direct talks with Nagorno-Karabakh.”
In addition, the Foreign Ministry stated, “No matter the size of
the military budget of Azerbaijan, it will never be able to make the
people of Nagorno-Karabakh give up their right to freedom and self-
determination.”

COOPERATION BETWEEN ARMENIA AND ASTRAKHAN REGION TO DEVELOP
Noyan Tapan
Jun 28 2006
ASTRAKHAN, JUNE 28, NOYAN TAPAN. The Armenian official delegation
headed by the governor of Ararat marz Alik Sargsian has been on a
visit to the Astrakhan region (Russia) on June 26-28. Within the
framework of the visit, an agreement between the Armenian government
and the government of Astrakhan region on trade, economic, scientific,
technical and cultural cooperation was signed on June 27. In the
words of A. Sargsian, the signing of this agreement will give a fresh
impetus to further development of mutually beneficial cooperation
between the sides in various spheres.
According to a press release of the RA MFA Press and Information
Department, an agreement on cooperation between the RA Chamber of
Commerce and Industry and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of
Astrakhan region was signed on the same day.
On June 28 the delegation met with representatives of the Armenian
community of Astrakhan region. During the visit, the Armenian
delegation members participated in the festivities to mark the 300th
anniversary of establishment of Astrakhan’s Armenian community.