Official translation of speech given by NKR President Bako Sahakyan

“Dear compatriots,

I cordially congratulate you on our state holiday – the Day of the Artsakh Republic.

This holiday is important and memorable for all Artsakh people, as everyone has had his personal contribution to the formation and development of our independent statehood. Of course, we still have a lot to do both in the field of foreign policy and in the socioeconomic sphere. »»»»»

Dear Compatriots,

I congratulate you on the occasion of the Nagorno Karabakh Independence Day.

Artsakh’s independence is one of the most brilliant pages of modern Armenian history, the greatest achievement of our nation. We fully appreciate the price for independence, which was paid by the blood of thousands of Armenian sons and daughters. We honor their undying glory. »»»»»

According to the NKR Ministry of Defense, at around 6:30 yesterday morning Azerbaijani forces attempted to advance on an NKR frontline position in the northeast sector, in the vicinity of the village of Verin Chailou. Armenian forces were able to halt their advance and the Azeri unit left behind 7 dead.

The NKR Defense Army also denied statements emanating out of Baku that the Armenian side had started the incident and that Armenian losses amounted to 3 dead and 1 wounded. During the skirmish Roudik Manasaeryan, an NKR soldier, was wounded.

Meets with Patriarch of Armenian Catholic Church

While during a working visit to Lebanon, NKR President Bako Sahakyan met with Nerses Bedros XIX, the current Patriarch of the Armenian Catholic Church headquartered in Beirut on August 23.

President Sahakyan was accompanied by his advisor Armen Isagulov, Vladik Khachatryan, Minister of Education and Science, and Karo Kebabjanyan, the NKR’s Permanent Representative to the Middle East. »»»»»

On August 21-22, visiting NKR President Bako Sahakyan participated in the celebrations marking the 95th anniversary of the battle of Mousa Dagh and the 70th anniversary of the founding of the Armenian village of Ainjar.

President Sahakyan conveyed the greetings and congratulations of the people of Artsakh to their Armenian brothers and sisters of Ainjar and expressed what an honor and pleasure it was for him to be able to celebrate the two anniversaries with fellow Armenians who have maintained their Armenian identity and traditions over the decades. He noted that the heroic battle at Mousa Dagh served as an inspiration for those who fought for the liberation of Artsakh and called on all Armenians to strengthen the Armenia-Artsakh-Diaspora alliance.

NKR President Bako Sahakyan, who left for Lebanon on a working on August 20, has had a busy schedule since arriving in Beirut.

The next day, President Sahakyan met with representatives of the Artsakh Fund and the NKR’s Permanent Representative’s office and then travelled to Antelias for a reception hosted by Catholicos Aram I of the Great House of Cilicia. Later on, President Sahakyan met with representatives of Armenian traditional political parties at the Armenian Embassy in Lebanon. Also in attendance was the RoA Minister of the Diaspora Hranush Hakobyan. »»»»»

A new two-story school building is being erected in the village of Gishi, in the Martuni region of the NKR. The project is the fourteenth undertaken by the All Armenia Fund in Karabakh.

Presently, there are 170 pupils in the village and the school envisages accommodating up to 320. Financing for the school has been provided by the NKR government and the “Vardanyan Family Benevolent Organization”. The school will open its doors in January of next year.

The Hayastan All-Armenian Fund has begun to build a water-supply system for Avetaranots, a village in the Askeran Region of Artsakh. The extensive project is co-financed by the fund’s French affiliate and the government of Artsakh.

The existing water-supply network of Avetaranots, built in the 1960s, has long languished in a state of disrepair. »»»»»

An interview with Child Psychologist Diana Danielian

On July 12, the Narekatsi Art Union organized the 6th Aram Manukyan Camp in the center of Shushi. Over 100 children, mostly from Shushi, attended the two week camp.

Diana Danielian, a psychologist from the U.S. who has worked with the children last year and this year, was kind enough to answer the following questions posed by Hetq. »»»»»

From July 20-25, a camp was organized in the liberated territories connecting the RoA with Artsakh. The five day open-air camp attracted participants from the RoA, NKR and overseas. »»»»»

NKR Prime Minister Arayik Harutyunyan today appointed Dimitry Atbashyan as the head of the country’s Civil Aviation Board.

The new head has been given ten days to submit a charter and staff list for government approval.

Minsk Group Urges “Greater Spirit of Compromise” on Karabakh

ALMATY, Kazakhstan, 17 July 2010 – The Heads of Delegation of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair countries, Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation Sergei Lavrov, Foreign Minister of France Bernard Kouchner, and Deputy Secretary of State of the United States James Steinberg, released the following statement today:

The Heads of Delegation of the Co-Chair countries recalled the joint statement on Nagorno-Karabakh of December 1, 2009 at the OSCE Ministerial meeting in Athens and reminded the sides of their commitment to seek a peaceful settlement to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict based on the principles contained in the Helsinki Final Act, particularly those related to refraining from the threat or use of force, the territorial integrity of states, and the equal rights and self determination of peoples. »»»»»

English and Western Armenian editions of the book “Karabakh Diary; Green and Black or Neither War nor Peace” have just been published in Beirut.

The book’s author, Tatul Hakobyan, is a well known reporter in Armenia and an analyst with the Yerevan-based Civilitas Foundation. The book was first published in Eastern Armenian in Tehran in the fall of 2008. Last February, the book was published in Russian in Yerevan. »»»»»

A key U.S. House panel responsible for foreign aid voted today to approve $44 million in economic aid to Armenia – a figure $4 million less than the $48 million the same body adopted last year, but $4 million more than the amount proposed earlier this year in President Obama’s budget request to Congress, reported the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA). »»»»»